Ponderings
A few things I am thinking about as July comes to an end
This post is 867 words, a 4-minute read. Enjoy!
As we enter another new month (crazy to think we are now in August), here are a few ideas that I have been ruminating on.
Helen Keller was asked what's worse than being blind. She replied, "To Have Sight and NO VISION!"
What does it mean to have VISION?
How do we create VISION?
Do we know too much?
We have access to an unfathomable amount of information
Is it hurting or helping us?
Are we becoming wiser or more foolish?
I tend to believe we are more the latter than the former.
We (Americans) are far too comfortable with debt
Access to credit is insanely easy and we have no qualms about using it regularly
The rise of Buy Now Pay Later services shows that nothing new is under the sun.
We all make the same mistakes as our parents but in different forms.
Why does how I feel about money have nothing to do with the number I see on a spreadsheet?
Numbers keep going up, but my emotional disposition is still the same.
I still worry about not having enough.
I still worry that I am making a mistake with certain decisions.
Will this feeling ever go away? 🤷🏾♂️
Things happen slowly then quickly.
The last two weeks have been insane in American politics.
I'm here for the change, old men need to sit down.
What if Kamala Harris chooses Mitt Romney as her VP?
That would be EPIC!
So tired of people talking about building "generational" wealth but then not doing the basics.
How will you be in a position to grow financially when you still in credit card debt?
Where is the money coming from to build that future?
To be Confident with money, you must first be COMPETENT with money. - Ramit Sethi
Too many people out in these streets, faking boldness with money decisions
Deciding to go out to eat should not be a "grit my teeth" decision. I should know if I can afford to go or not
To do that I need to understand where my money is going and if I can afford the dinner.
The foundation of being good with money and confident with money begins with understanding your numbers.
Savings Rates
Debt Payoff Date
Automatic Investing
Monthly expenses
We spend more time planning for one day than for a lifetime.
My fiancée and I have discussed not allowing a one-day event to overshadow a lifetime together. This is only one day when we have a lifetime afterward.
A wedding is one day. Marriage is for a lifetime. Where do we want to spend our energy?
However, it is so easy for that one day to infiltrate every other part of life and be the only thing we talk about. Especially because it is the only thing everyone asks about.
Plus, wedding marketing is so incredibly powerful, especially towards women.
In a Capitalist Society, your access to capital is your power.
Capital is Money.
We give up our power far too easily.
Is it just me or are women more targeted to spend all their money as quickly as they earn it?
I was on my fiancée's Instagram, and it felt like every single thing being shown to her was an infomercial.
So many "influencers" are promoting products left and right while acting as if they are just "living life" and these are the things they do every day.
Ladies please for the love of yourself, refer to Number 9.
The world wants to take away the power you have recently gained. DO NOT LET THEM!
Rage against the machine by being good with your money. By being savvy financially. By telling them you too know how to manage things.
"I like what I like" is a capitalist LIE.
Most of what we believe to be things we like is not from a decision we actively make on our own. It is from good marketing.
We are so influenced that we do not even realize it. We are so numb to it.
There is beauty in some things being Inconvenient.
A committed relationship (friendship, marriage, family) is inconvenient, but the love shared is the greatest feeling of all.
A homemade meal will always be inconvenient but will forever be better than a fast-food meal.
Mowing my lawn will always be inconvenient but the feeling of accomplishment will always make it worth it.
Reading a book may be inconvenient, but you will learn more from reading one book 20 times than from speed reading 20 in a year by listening to audiobooks.
Whatever you do in your life that may be inconvenient, but you enjoy, NEVER EVER give it up. They are the things that make life worth living.
From a financial side, not saving your card on Amazon may be inconvenient but it could be the way you save yourself from overspending.
How do I stop time?
The older I get the faster time seems to move. Days feel like minutes, years feel like weeks.
The only way I have been able to slow things down more is to enjoy those brief moments of pure joy when I am with those I love.
I need to stop time more often.
God Bless You All
Remember Generosity>greed
✌🏾