I learned this saying when I was in my twenties. It has stuck with me ever since and I often say it to remind myself that whether we like it or not we are in control of how we spend our money. Today we are meeting with our CPA about our 2019 taxes. Not always a fun discussion and yet we are blessed to be able to pay our fair share of taxes. We are glad to have someone we trust guide us through the IRS tax codes.
Money is one of the most uncomfortable topics of discussion. Everyone has an opinion and yet that does not mean everyone has money. All of us have been broke, flush with cash, or both in our lives. We either learned our lessons and changed our habits or we tended to repeat our mistakes in order to try and learn the lesson again. Circumstances change in an instant which causeS us to face the reality of our financial situation. We think we have saved and planned well enough and yet may find ourselves unexpectedly short on cash.
In our country we have created a world where we think everything revolves around our credit score. The concept of credit presumes we know enough about the future to be certain that we can pay back what we owe. Unfortunately none of us knows what will happen in the future. If you pay things with cash who needs a credit score? And if you do pay with cash it means you have sacrificed or been patient to purchase what you want. Opting out of the credit game means you understand the way money works and want it to work for you instead of you working to pay off your debt.
In my life I have struggled through my own financial challenges which is one reason why we choose to live our life on cash. This means saving and waiting and planning on the things you want. It also means being able to say the word ‘no’ when the item or event is not part of the budget. In our country we do not do a good job teaching our children how to handle money, which is unfortunate. We think we understand payment plans until life twists and we are no longer able to make the payments.
There are two certainties in life – death and taxes. In this country we have the privilege of paying our fair share. Not everyone sees it that way. Other countries do it differently and they too have their own set of financial problems. As you buy something today think about what you are spending. Think long and hard. Is that item or event worth the time it will take you to pay it off, or are you able to simplify everything and just pay cash? There is a reason why the ancillary saying for this quote is, “Cash is King”. Don’t let your upkeep be your downfall.
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