The Value of Money

Today I was just thinking about how many (most?) people don't understand how to handle their money. In my experience, when a young kid first learns the concept of money, they tend to equate the value to a certain amount of a toy or candy or other product. In my case, everything was valued in terms of how many LEGO sets I could buy. The problem with our current financial situation seems to rise out of people never moving beyond this stage. People think in terms of a new car, big screen TV, or kitchen appliances. Instead of LEGO, now I think in terms of how much computer equipment I could buy. None of these are bad things, but they have to be balanced against having enough money saved. Now, having money is not an end unto itself, but financial success will require a person to stop thinking in terms of what they want to buy and instead think of how much needs to be saved away to provide for a comfortable life down the road.

What makes me angry (at myself) right now is that I seem to forget about this until I start feeling the financial crunch from school or emergency car repairs or something. Once things clear up I promptly forget about fiscal responsibility and go buy something I don't really need in the long term. I'm not dumb enough to put myself in danger of going broke, but I'm beginning to see that I'm missing out on some investment opportunity. Well, I would be, anyway, if I didn't have to pay all my money to the university.

Once I get this semester paid off, my plan is to start stuffing away cash right away so that I can pay off the fall semester right away, so that I can start investing some money. Hmm... I wonder how much I can get for the 100+ LEGO sets in my closet...