Thoughts on Money

“We do not break the bad habit of debt through earning more money, but rather we break any habit by replacing it with a better one.” This quote is true all across the spectrum of money making. It’s hard to believe that a Pro football player who makes millions is a lot worse at handling money than someone who makes just above $50,000 a year. One of the hardest things to do in life is NOT doing what you want to, such as spend the paycheck as soon as you get it. Getting into the habit of spending is a difficult, but rewarding process.

           

Being a 17 year old student looking at colleges to attend in the next year or so, the thought of “how could I afford this” is constantly nagging at the back of my mind. With college costs, gas costs, and just the costs of living in general, I HAVE to be able to handle my money in a mature, efficient way. My goal in avoiding financial trouble is to try to avoid loans, relying on banks, and other means of obtaining unearned money to fund things that I have no business buying. As Dave Ramsey stated,” The average household credit card debt has increased approximately 167% in the past 17 years”. If at all possible, pay with cash so that you can be assured that you actually have the money. I like to go by the motto, “only swipe if you gotta’”. This helps a lot in decreasing overdrafts and outragous monthly bills.

In the field that I’m mentoring in (medicine-surgery), money is usually not a problem for the employees. While most doctors and nurses make a sizeable pay each year, what really helps them is their good spending and saving habits. Having to pay for the amount of school they undertook, and the responsibility of having to ace the classes all contributed to their good habits. I view myself as someone who is good with money, and I really do enjoy making it. As far as money being an influence in my career decision making, I would say that it has very little. While worn out, the old adage “money doesn’t buy happiness” has a level of truth when deciding what to do with your life. Whatever I end up doing, I will always value my happiness over my income.

~Grey