Celebrating the True Value of a Penny
You've heard of dumpster diving, right? How about penny diving? It's my oldest son's favorite way to find money while embarrassing his parents at the same time. He keeps his eyes peeled for dropped change in parking lots and stores. He's good at it too, probably averaging a couple dollars in found money per month for several years. That's not the embarrassing part.
The embarrassing part involves maniacal, face-first, complete body slides across the floor and underneath some money-changing machine or check-out counter, all while excitedly screaming, "I see a penny!" Meanwhile, we parents avoid eye contact with other patrons and pretend to look around for the clueless real parents of this obviously demented and undisciplined child. We'd love to walk away, shaking our heads while contemplating the bad state of modern parenting.
Our embarrassment vanishes as our son rises from the floor, triumphant and swaggering, covered in dust and clutching his pennies, exhilaration beaming from his eyes. We toss away our narrow-mindedness and re-claim him as our sensible and skilled child. We celebrate with him!
We're proud of our son's penny finding abilities and find joy in his financial successes, however small, dusty and coarse they may seem. He works hard to both find and obtain these pennies, he's proven a long-term commitment to the task, and he's taught his parents a lesson in the true value of a penny. All in all we have a lot to celebrate, wouldn't you agree?
Jan 16, 2007
Jan 15, 2007
Day 1 (Values) - Susie Fixes Her Finances
Resistance, Oprah, and what Really Matters
Right off the bat Day 1 of Trent's "31 Days To Fix Your Finances" plan scares me. I'm supposed to figure out what really matters in my life by defining my 5 Main Values. That's pretty deep stuff and it seems Oprah-ish in a very goofy cute puppies and soft kitties sort of way. E-mail forwarded pictures of cute puppies make me want to cackle as I gleefully toss the offensive sender into a deep dark pit filled with 'cute' gang-banger trained pitbulls... and so does this first step. I'm feeling resistant to the plan and I haven't even started yet!
Never mind my aversion to all things freakishly Oprah! I'm serious about having a healthy relationship with my money so I'll just force myself through day one of the plan, right here and right now. I'm led to understand that one should define her core values so that she can be sure that her financial actions truly reflect those values. That's a good idea. Heaven forbid I should ever fall under the Oprah spell and suddenly decide that sending cute puppies e-mails are essential to my financial success!
I'm instructed to get calm and relaxed, perhaps with some wine after my massage. Wait! Please excuse me while I have my live-in nanny entertain the kids, grab a glass of 1982 Château Lafite from my wine cellar, and put my clothes back on after my masseur, George Clooney, has finished rubbing his hands all over my ... Wait again! The blaring sound of Star Wars Episode One from the TV reminds me that I live in the real world of a homemaker. A world where my kids are stuck inside the house because of bad weather and are busy destroying the furniture and each other. The last and only massage my very own personal masseur ever gave me was on our honeymoon. Wine? It gives me heartburn. I'll have to skip to the next step, which is ...
Closing my eyes. Is this so I can't see my oldest skateboard off the back of the sofa? Or maybe so I can't witness my middle son use his younger brother in an authentic reproduction of TV's "Myth Busters"? I'm skipping this step, too, and moving on to the next:
Alright, here we go. I'm to honestly write down which values make me feel whole and fulfilled (here we go Oprah! here we go!). Trent's a pretty considerate guy; he lists 30 values I can choose from should I have trouble getting started. I think that it's pretty obvious by now that I'm having trouble, so I examine each value on his list and see which ones jump out at me:
*CONTROL
(yipee! I really like this one, so far this is easy!)
*FAMILY
(as a genealogy researcher, stay-at-home mom, and a friend who can be loyal to a fault, choosing this one is a no-brainer. I've been living this value for many years.)
*SECURITY
(no surprises for me, I like to know exactly what's coming today as well as what's likely 40 years from now.)
PEACE OF MIND
(isn't this the same as Security? They go hand in hand for me so I'm not going to count it.)
I go back through the list again, this time following the advice to close my eyes and try to visualize each value. Fulfillment is the only other value that evokes a positive feeling that stays with me. I'm a little unsure though, so I look up its meaning: Accomplishment, Contentment, Realization and Achievement. I like it, it's difinitely one of my core values. It's going on my list:
*FULFILLMENT
(while living I want to work hard at achieving my personal goals, and on my death bed I'd like to feel content and proud of my accomplishments.)
Well, that was easy. What was I so freaked out about? It should be no surprise to me that at age 41 my core values were easy to identify. Would it be as easy for you? It took all of 10 minutes and I didn't even have to watch the Oprah show! It'll be interesting to see how (if at all) defining these values will effect my future financial actions. I'm actually looking forward to Day 2. Way to go Susie! Way to go!
Now, please excuse me again as I get back to that massage from George.
Right off the bat Day 1 of Trent's "31 Days To Fix Your Finances" plan scares me. I'm supposed to figure out what really matters in my life by defining my 5 Main Values. That's pretty deep stuff and it seems Oprah-ish in a very goofy cute puppies and soft kitties sort of way. E-mail forwarded pictures of cute puppies make me want to cackle as I gleefully toss the offensive sender into a deep dark pit filled with 'cute' gang-banger trained pitbulls... and so does this first step. I'm feeling resistant to the plan and I haven't even started yet!
Never mind my aversion to all things freakishly Oprah! I'm serious about having a healthy relationship with my money so I'll just force myself through day one of the plan, right here and right now. I'm led to understand that one should define her core values so that she can be sure that her financial actions truly reflect those values. That's a good idea. Heaven forbid I should ever fall under the Oprah spell and suddenly decide that sending cute puppies e-mails are essential to my financial success!
I'm instructed to get calm and relaxed, perhaps with some wine after my massage. Wait! Please excuse me while I have my live-in nanny entertain the kids, grab a glass of 1982 Château Lafite from my wine cellar, and put my clothes back on after my masseur, George Clooney, has finished rubbing his hands all over my ... Wait again! The blaring sound of Star Wars Episode One from the TV reminds me that I live in the real world of a homemaker. A world where my kids are stuck inside the house because of bad weather and are busy destroying the furniture and each other. The last and only massage my very own personal masseur ever gave me was on our honeymoon. Wine? It gives me heartburn. I'll have to skip to the next step, which is ...
Closing my eyes. Is this so I can't see my oldest skateboard off the back of the sofa? Or maybe so I can't witness my middle son use his younger brother in an authentic reproduction of TV's "Myth Busters"? I'm skipping this step, too, and moving on to the next:
Alright, here we go. I'm to honestly write down which values make me feel whole and fulfilled (here we go Oprah! here we go!). Trent's a pretty considerate guy; he lists 30 values I can choose from should I have trouble getting started. I think that it's pretty obvious by now that I'm having trouble, so I examine each value on his list and see which ones jump out at me:
*CONTROL
(yipee! I really like this one, so far this is easy!)
*FAMILY
(as a genealogy researcher, stay-at-home mom, and a friend who can be loyal to a fault, choosing this one is a no-brainer. I've been living this value for many years.)
*SECURITY
(no surprises for me, I like to know exactly what's coming today as well as what's likely 40 years from now.)
PEACE OF MIND
(isn't this the same as Security? They go hand in hand for me so I'm not going to count it.)
I go back through the list again, this time following the advice to close my eyes and try to visualize each value. Fulfillment is the only other value that evokes a positive feeling that stays with me. I'm a little unsure though, so I look up its meaning: Accomplishment, Contentment, Realization and Achievement. I like it, it's difinitely one of my core values. It's going on my list:
*FULFILLMENT
(while living I want to work hard at achieving my personal goals, and on my death bed I'd like to feel content and proud of my accomplishments.)
Well, that was easy. What was I so freaked out about? It should be no surprise to me that at age 41 my core values were easy to identify. Would it be as easy for you? It took all of 10 minutes and I didn't even have to watch the Oprah show! It'll be interesting to see how (if at all) defining these values will effect my future financial actions. I'm actually looking forward to Day 2. Way to go Susie! Way to go!
Now, please excuse me again as I get back to that massage from George.
Jan 14, 2007
Susie Decides To Fix Her Finances
Staying on the Right Financial Path
I've decided to follow the advice of Trent over at The Simple Dollar and spend some time fixing my finances. His plan is outlined as 31 steps, each taking about one hour per day for 31 days.
I resolved a long time ago to get our finances in shape and for the last 3 years I've been doing just that - by managing our family finances daily, keeping a sharp eye on our spending, reading blogs and books about money, and asking questions when I've needed help. I think I've been doing an exceptional job of improving our budget, reducing our debts, and increasing our savings. Still, I'm intrigued by the goal of Trent's 31 day plan - "... a healthy relationship with your money, with a goal-oriented internal philosophy that makes it easy for you to keep going on the right financial path."
It's that internal philosophy part that I'd like to work on improving. I've defined my financial goals and worked to achieve them, but I've never taken the time to equate those goals and actions with my own deep-rooted values. In other words, I've worked on the symptoms of my relationship with money, but I've never examined or defined exactly what that relationship means to me, what it is, how it works for or against me, or why it exists.
I'm looking forward to digging down deep and internally defining my relationship with money. Any plan that makes following the right financial road easier is worth trying and 31 Days To Fix Your Finances seems to be exactly what I and my finances need at this point.
I've decided to follow the advice of Trent over at The Simple Dollar and spend some time fixing my finances. His plan is outlined as 31 steps, each taking about one hour per day for 31 days.
I resolved a long time ago to get our finances in shape and for the last 3 years I've been doing just that - by managing our family finances daily, keeping a sharp eye on our spending, reading blogs and books about money, and asking questions when I've needed help. I think I've been doing an exceptional job of improving our budget, reducing our debts, and increasing our savings. Still, I'm intrigued by the goal of Trent's 31 day plan - "... a healthy relationship with your money, with a goal-oriented internal philosophy that makes it easy for you to keep going on the right financial path."
It's that internal philosophy part that I'd like to work on improving. I've defined my financial goals and worked to achieve them, but I've never taken the time to equate those goals and actions with my own deep-rooted values. In other words, I've worked on the symptoms of my relationship with money, but I've never examined or defined exactly what that relationship means to me, what it is, how it works for or against me, or why it exists.
I'm looking forward to digging down deep and internally defining my relationship with money. Any plan that makes following the right financial road easier is worth trying and 31 Days To Fix Your Finances seems to be exactly what I and my finances need at this point.
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