Riches

Americans are among the richest people in the world.  Even during a tough economy, poverty in America is a joke compared to poverty in some other countries.  Plus, consider what have today compared to what our parents and grandparents had.  Then think about the  pioneers who began our society, with their drafty, dirt-floored shacks and one mule.

Certainly we have poor, desperate people in our country, and we have a moral duty to help them.  But as for most of us, well:  we’re fat.  We’re spoiled.  We’re trying to be entertained every minute.  We’ve got all kinds of resources, but we live among financial predators.  And, we’re so worried about money, we’re not sleeping, our families are neglected as we fight the financial fight, and we’re going through life distracted.

I’m a lady CPA.   I didn’t choose this career because I was fascinated with money or particularly motivated by money, but because it was something I discovered I could do fairly well.  However, once you do this kind of work, you find out how much people are suffering over their financial situations, and you become very interested in financial consciousness-raising. 

Money is not the most important thing.  When you live to serve it, it enslaves you.  On the other hand, if you don’t supervise your financial situation, it gets out of control and enslaves you. 

For this blog, I’ll offer a buffet of ideas.  Pick and choose, using only the ones that work for you. 

I want you to declare financial independence, and get your thinking off the beaten path.  All day long, we’re exposed to advertising, individual ad messages passing before our eyes at break-neck speed.  We are also exposed to the spending habits of our friends and neighbors, and the desires and needs of our families.  Maybe, with everyone feeling so much pressure to own stuff and spend at a breakneck speed, that beaten path is leading off a cliff.

I might not be cool; I might be off that beaten path where all the cool people are walking lock-step, but I love it over here in the bushes.  I am listening closely, trying to hear the beat of a different drummer, dancing to a different money melody.