The True Cost of Things

It is an enlightening experience to realize just how much money passes through our hands during a lifetime. Think back to every job you and or your spouse ever had and estimate your earnings. It is probably an astounding number.

One of my favorite books about money is Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin. I highly recommend it . Not necessarily for the financial investment advice but for their philosophy about money. It is basically a guide to changing our relationship with money.

"Money is something we choose to trade our life energy for. Our life energy is our allotment of time here on earth, the hours of precious life available to us....it is limited and irretrievable...our choices about how we use it express the meaning and purpose of our time here on earth."

Looking at money for what it is truly alters the shopping experience. When you realize that you are not trading just money for an item you "must have" or think you "need". You are trading your time, your life, or the life of your spouse for that item.

Usually any problems we have in handling our money come from unexamined spending so I often try to reevaluate how we spend our money. I find that doing that helps to keep our expenses in check and leave the money we have for the things we really need or want. Financial peace, for me, truly comes from understanding our relationship with the money we have.