2 March 2007
The Green Notebook - 3 - Aftermath
- Part One: The Blessing
- Part Two: The Curse
- Part Three: Aftermath
Well, it’s the end of the week. Time to make it practical, right?
This is where you would hope that I finally say something with some substance that will:
make…
(yourself | your spouse | your child | your parents)
finally stop…
(spending money like its going out of style | penny-pinching),
as this is such a bad habit thats bad for their…
(credit score | marriage | bank account | future).
Whew. If only it was that easy. While the basics of personal finance are fairly easy (spend less than you make, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is, learn to make a budget), putting this stuff in to consistent practice is another story altogether. It takes people many years to change habits that they’ve known and cherished for 20 to 30 plus years, and no silly blog post is gonna fix them suddenly.
A good parallel of this truth (that its hard to change old habits) is easily seen in the dieting world. How can there be a dieting craze every few years (low calories, low fat, low carbs, etc)? Even if they work, there’s enough people not satisfied with their weight being able to stick to any given craze. I think our finances are the same way.
Some people do best when they pay cash for everything, and the tangible aspect totally rox their world. Others do best using a card (credit or debit), and writing down every purchase they make. Others use complex online systems and print reports out of their past spending like they were the CFO/Accountant of their own little self-corporation.
Furthermore, there’s plenty of stories of people (people that don’t even really like finance at all) getting a handle on this stuff and not being enslaved to debt and worry and whatnot. That fact is what makes this stuff encouraging to me, and what makes me proud to be able to contribute to the personal finance community, even if I’m just starting out.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this first series on CashMoneyJesus. As always, I’m open to all feedback regarding the topic of parental influence on finance, the site layout, or anything else you wanna say, however inane it may be.
3 Comments currently posted.
britt mooney says:
Friends O Josh | iamjoshbrown.com says:
[…] CashMoneyJesus - The legacy of finances our parents leave us. 3 parts. […]
Amanda says:
have you heard of “holy spirit shopping’?
i had a freind introduce me to this experience. she said she prays before she goes into a store that god would lead her to what she NEEDS, and not what she WANTS. She would always keep the recipets- even if she messed up and bought something she knew god didnt want her to buy, she would take it back the next day. She tells me story after story about how god made a way for them through a hard time. she used to be an avid spender- whatever she wanted she bought. Her husband got sick, and their entire family (them, and their 5 kids) had to really do without everything for a while, but it was such an amazing testimony to how god provides. now they have a lot of money, but you couldnt tell it becuase god delivered her of her spending habbits through prayer and discipline.
Good series …
I think an important thing to remember is to be involved and intentional with your finances. I am definitely in the “spend it if it feels okay” camp, but Becca and I have noticed more “blessing” — both personal and financial — when we spend/give/save with discipline. I appreciate the balance you put in your series here about how we should take the time to do the right things with our money but not get overly stressed about it.
peace.