I always swore I would not become one of those people who tells younger folks shit like you don’t understand, you are young, etc…shit is patronizing and frankly always annoyed me when I younger. Lately though I find myself thinking that sometimes there are things you don’t fully grasp because you are young and have not had enough life experiences. I know some may say that is ageist and maybe on some level it is but the reality is as we grow older in many cases we do get greater clarity; we learn that the world is not black and white but often for most of us its multiple shades of gray. I have seen this in my own life, there were some things that went on in my family that 10 years ago frankly left me perplexed but now I fully understand, it’s taken some growing on my part to reach that point.
Anyway lately I have been reading some young and upcoming blogs and frankly last night I stumbled across a new blogger who I just wanted to hit with the infamous Prince face….it was a real are you kidding me moment. Then I took a deep breath and thought about how I was at that age (25 or so) and then I started to relax a bit but still shook my head.
The truth is I know older folks who think the same way this younger blogger thinks about money, that money is simply money, no more, no less….that in fact we waste too much energy being concerned with the pursuit of money. Ya see this young blogger has chosen to not be bogged down by cash or lack thereof. In fact the blogger (nope not gonna link, just not gonna do it) states what we need is a paradigm shift in how we view money to quote “Bad health? Hire a doctor. Bad health? Get physically fit and change your diet” Yep, don’t worry about seeing a doctor for that boob that is red, swollen and looking like an orange going bad, just change your ways and when you are realize you are dying…oh well,. It was your time.
OK, I am having a bit of fun here but the point is I find that the only people who truly don’t worry about money are the young or those who have enough of the green shit to get their needs met. I admit having walked away from a lucrative career to go into a field where I earn less than I did at 23 despite having 2 degrees and a flotilla of debt has me in a real shitty mood. It was tax time this week and drum roll please, this year’s amount owed to the feds and state are $6997 or let’s round that to a nice solid $7000. Nope didn’t have it all to send off so the next few months I will be juggling all the balls in the air to get that total paid since owing the government is worse than owing Vinnie the loan shark. I still owe Uncle Sam tax division over 50G’s plus that fancy $118G’s I owe Uncle Sam’s education division…yeah Uncle Sam owns my Black ass fair and square. Reason I owe all that scratch is I followed my bliss, so did the man in becoming a freelance writer then there was the year I took off to stay home with the kidlet because I couldn’t bare to leave her…all the while the interest clock was going and going and going. Then I went back to work for a year only to get laid off because my department was shut down so there was 18 lovely months of unemployment. Now I work at a job that is rewarding but pays jack shit.
Anyhoo, I wish I could just barter or think good thoughts and all this money shit would go away but the curse of getting old is occasionally gray does become a solid black or white…in this case the only cure for what ails me is money, money, money! Then to add insult to injury this week, my teeth are bugging me again, serving as a reminder I need the rest of that dental work but right now Uncle Sam is the priority. So here is hoping next week I can convince the dentist to extract the tooth that needs the crown and possibly another root canal because that is all my ass can afford. Thankfully it’s a back tooth so at least I won’t be walking around with a gap where everyone can see it. Though I suppose if I stop playing into the man’s plan the tooth might heal itself without need of a dentist.
I agree with Chi-Chi; for some people (including me) it depends on the financial situations sometimes. I’m always thinking about that “rainy day” and if I have any money saved. I have friends who spend money like it’s nothing but I don’t know if they have any savings or if they would have to depend on credit (or parents) if some emergency were to arise. They probably think I’m being cheap because I don’t like to spend a lot of money on clothes and things like that but I don’t think spending on that type of stuff is that important. I may splurge every once in a while but I can’t see myself spending all that money for something I may not care about a few months down the line.
I don’t know Shay . . . I’ve been worrying about money for a long, long time now. I think more than age, it really has to do with the financial situation you grew up in and the financial situation you find yourself in as a young adult. The only folks I know who can approach money in that lackadaisical way are those who, well, have it. The rest of us panic about being kicked off our parents insurance once we graduate. My parents were in no position to help me out (although they let me live at home for college) and so I got serious about money very young. I kinda wish that there was a time when I could have been care free about it.
The tooth just might heal itself. I wouldn’t bet on it though. (((hugs))) Hope you can get it fixed soon.