Do you LOVE money?

I just read this article  from Dave Ramsey called “Love it or Love it Not”

He discuses the issue of having a healthy view of building wealth.  He says,

If we’re honest, most of us love money. Actually, we love money we don’t have. How else can you explain our addiction to credit cards? Our culture loves money so much that we have television shows dedicated to showing off people’s million-dollar houses and garages full of luxury cars!

Every day, we see thousands of ads that promote the dollar as the end-all-be-all ticket to a happy life. But we know better than that…don’t we?

He goes on to talk about getting out of debt not because we want to have a ton of money and buy a whole bunch of stuff, but that we do it so that we can help others and our family and “leave a legacy after you’re gone.”

Sometimes I struggle with those feelings of “If we had more money life would be so much better”  It is hard when you are a struggling college student / helping start up a new business to not look at money as an “end-all-be-all ticket to a happy life”.  Sometimes I feel bad for my thoughts of “we need this, and we need that”.  But I don’t think that is what he is trying to make us feel in this article.  It’s ok to want to make more money as long as your focus isn’t to try to keep up with the Jones’s.  It’ should be about being self-reliant and then helping others. 

Dave Ramsey says, “It’s also okay to want to make a lot of money and to enjoy spending it! But what’s the end goal? Is it to own stuff, or is it to help others and to change your family tree?”

I love what he says here…

For some people, the "love" of money is more like an obsession or an addiction. It can drive a wedge between spouses and teach kids that stuff is more important than anything else. It can lead to divorce and broken families. When we talk about changing your family tree, that’s not what we have in mind!

Think of money as a tool. You can use it to help yourself and others, or you can use it to tear all of that down. You can use it to save for your kids’ college fund, help your church or favorite charity, or you can use it to buy a bunch of stuff that will be collecting dust two years from now.

A healthy love of money will drive you to get gazelle intense about working through the Baby Steps and getting out of debt. It will motivate you to make better decisions with your money—decisions that involve only spending on needs, not wants. You will view life through a new lens, a lens that puts your future and the well-being of your loved ones first. Don’t let money and stuff run your life.

With tax season coming around I am always thinking of what to do with our return money.  I am always reminded of what President Hinckley’s suggest in this talk.

“Pay off debt as quickly as you can, and free yourselves from bondage.”

“I am suggesting that the time has come to get our houses in order … ,” President Gordon B. Hinckley urged Church members during October 1998 general conference. “Self-reliance cannot obtain when there is serious debt hanging over a household. One has neither independence nor freedom from bondage when he is obligated to others.”

I think all to many people get into this feeling of they “Deserve things” or “It’s cheap so why not just get it and pay it off later”  In the same article it talks about a couple that is in a lot of debt…

We began asking ourselves serious questions, and soon it became apparent how deeply in debt we had become. Our criteria for making purchases was simply whether we “deserved” something, whether we “should” be able to afford it, or whether it was a sale “too good to pass up.” We spent money when we had it and bought on credit when we didn’t.

I think a lot of couples get this “deserving” attitude about them especially when they have been working hard and are struggling financially.  Over the last few years I have made it a goal if someone tells me about a great sale on something i.e. toys, books, clothes…If I don’t have the cash to pay for it I DON’T BUY IT!  It’s as easy as that.  Who cares if it’s cheap, who cares if this sale only comes once a year.  Prepare for it for next year and be ready to go to the sale with cash.   I don’t deserve to go into more debt, even if it’s cheap.  I deserve to save and be debt free and have more financial peace.  If I have it in the budget and it is a real need then that is when I feel good about going and buying things that I need!