Is The Way You Live Today Affected By Money?

I interviewed my mother asking her questions about how money affects her life. I learned that money can make ones life not as stressful. One's basic needs are taken care of when they are in a good financial position. Like my mom said "Growing up I never felt like I was lacking in any way. I always felt we had more than we needed. I didn't have to stress about that part of my life, but I was aware some people did have to stress about it". My mother told me about how she learned from her grandmother, her father, and mother that reusing objects helps save a lot of money. They were "pretty frugal", for example; they would save paper and bags. That surprised me how they all learned the same method to save money. One thing my mom suggested I learn was to not spend too much with a credit card or through the internet because it is very easy to spend a lot of money quickly that way. I agree with that because I have shopped online before. It is just so easy to find the things you want within a couple minuets and click the "add to cart" button. Once you are online it is also so easy to get caught up in products you weren't originally going to purchase. Before you know it you are spending way over the amount you wanted to spend. In my future I hope to learn how to manage a credit card, otherwise I will be in a lot of unwanted-could-have-avoided debt. My perceptions of my mom did not change through this interview. However, my mom did give me quite a few tips that I will need in my future. One of those tips she gave to me was that money can be a positive thing but "it is not as valuable as the memories with the family". So ultimately money can't buy you happiness once your basic needs are taken care of.

Values, Needs, and Wants- Oh my!

To be Financially independent you have to have your values, needs and wants straight. If you can identify a want from a need then you will be able to save money and spend your money on things you must get instead of want to get. However, wants and values also differ. Things that you value have purpose for your life. You usually have a deeper reason to get things you value then to get things you want. For example, if your happiness depends on getting a higher end products because you value the quality, then either save up for that product or eliminate other items that you want to get so that the price of the higher end product is manageable and not going to make you in debt. On the other hand, a want is like buying a bunch of stickers because you spotted them in the store and you thought they looked really cute. Make sure your needs come before your values and wants because your needs are there for a purpose, you can't do without them.  If you can live without your wants and values you should do that instead of getting your values and wants and not being able to live comfortably.

Doing the well being work  Changed my thoughts on how your value, needs and thoughts come into play. Having well being means that you feel good about your life and feel good about how you are living financially. This showed me that your values do matter and by being financially smart I can include both my values and needs most of the time. I originally thought that your values are almost equivalent to your needs, but they are far from it. Everyone's needs and values are different, so everyone's financial plan must be different as well.