Money

I'm not one of those parents that hand everything over to their kids. They work hard, save, and learn patience, and then they're rewarded. Rewarded for all the times they did their chores, didn't buy that game "just because", and for the discipline it took to keep their hands out of their piggy banks!

When I wanted something when I was younger that's how I got it. I remember wanting a new bike. A few of my friends had just gotten new shiny bikes, and the used boy's bike I'd gotten free from a donation center began to look really unattractive. The little quirks I'd learn to deal with like the bump in the tire from it being flat for so long, and the rusty chain that constantly fell off were suddenly not so easy to deal with. I was always a saver growing up, I'd save else at every penny of my allowance and birthday money but even still I was nowhere near the amount I needed for a bike. But that didn't stop me. I began posting flyers around volunteering myself for odd jobs. Sometimes I would get paid by getting to chose a stuffed animal from a shelf, but other times I was given actual money! I was slowly beginning to reach my goal and in a last ditch effort put up my own yard sale. I sold my own things, and things family members donated. And when that yard sale was over I had enough to buy my bike!

I loved that bike. Loved it like I'd never really loved anything else before. And I took care of it like I had never really taken care of anything before.

I spent a few special years on that bike. It got me through my first weeks at a new school, even though I was known as, "the girl that rides her bike to school...". (Which I always thought was REALLY dumb. There was loads of kids who lived close enough to ride their bike to school!) An accident left it bent and broken. But by then I was hitting my teenage years. A bike? I was WAY too cool for a bike.

The point of my story though is that BECAUSE I had to work so hard for my bike I appreciated it more than anything else I owned! I knew it wasn't something that could be easily replaced, and I didn't want everything I had worked for to be in vain.

And most importantly that bike was MINE. I was free & clear. I could have borrowed money. Payed back in payments and gotten the bike sooner. But then the bike wouldn't really be mine until I settled with the lenders. I would have that debt over my head, and who could enjoy their new bike that way?! Not me.

That's what I want for my kids.

Somewhere along the way so many have lost that. Why? For instant gratification? How is it gratifying when you don't own it?? Why are people so worried about "keeping up with the Joneses"? I will tell you one thing, I am not impressed by how big someone's house is, how new and shiny their car is, or how big their TV is when I know it's not what they can really afford. I'm impressed when I see people have the discipline to wait. To save. To go years without a vacation, and be okay with it because they know that when they get that vacation they're going to be able to enjoy every minute of it without worrying about how much interest they're accruing every day.

I'm not debt free fully. I have a mortgage, but it's a mortgage on a house that I can afford. And we do have one car payment. (I will tell you that was tough after living for years without any car payments.) But again, it's a modest van with a low payment that we know we can make each month. But that's it.

We don't take luxurious vacations or even modest beach vacations. We visit family when we need a break from the grind! We were some of the last people I know to own a blu ray player and flat screen but they were payed for with cash. Years apart at that. And we're okay with that.

We were okay with sleeping on an uncomfortable mattress until we could afford a new one, and we're more than okay with buying things used. Craig's List and consignment stores have provided about 90% of our furniture.

We live within our means. (Which isn't much.) And WE ARE OKAY. We're actually more than okay, we're HAPPY! And THAT is, above all else, what I want for my kids.

And I totally have Pink Floyd's "Money" in my head now...lol