Last night I had a small get together which included an old neighbor--someone from the middle class, urban neighborhood I grew up in. We sat on the deck telling stories about our families, work, vacations and recent news articles.
At one point the conversation led to diamonds, and the fact that one of our old neighbors now lived in a house with three garages and seven bathrooms. Also, she is always covered in diamonds. I thought about that. First, it struck me that an ordinary, nice girl that I grew up with could become that wealthy, and second, when it comes to prestige--money is often the reason.
Money. Why does it perplex me? I'm fortunate that my husband and I make enough to have a home, pay our bills, take a vacation once in a while and save some for retirement. And diamonds, that wouldn't be my choice if I had a lot of extra money. Trading places, no--I'm happy with my life, but it's the potential that money brings. More than enough money gives one many choices including the choice to support and donate to causes and institutions you believe in and want to see flourish.
I already made a decision for myself about money--it wasn't going to be my first pursuit. Yes, I've worked hard and made choices so that I could make enough money to support my family and some fun, but I didn't make the choice to have a job where making money is the aim. But what do I tell my children? Is life easier with more than enough money? Should the aim of your work be money? Is money power--the kind of power one should strive for? Is it okay to have more than enough while others don't have enough money?
You can tell by reading this post that I'm very naive when it comes to the subject of money. What do you tell your children about money? How does this affect their choices related to schools, career and relationships? Teach me.
At one point the conversation led to diamonds, and the fact that one of our old neighbors now lived in a house with three garages and seven bathrooms. Also, she is always covered in diamonds. I thought about that. First, it struck me that an ordinary, nice girl that I grew up with could become that wealthy, and second, when it comes to prestige--money is often the reason.
Money. Why does it perplex me? I'm fortunate that my husband and I make enough to have a home, pay our bills, take a vacation once in a while and save some for retirement. And diamonds, that wouldn't be my choice if I had a lot of extra money. Trading places, no--I'm happy with my life, but it's the potential that money brings. More than enough money gives one many choices including the choice to support and donate to causes and institutions you believe in and want to see flourish.
I already made a decision for myself about money--it wasn't going to be my first pursuit. Yes, I've worked hard and made choices so that I could make enough money to support my family and some fun, but I didn't make the choice to have a job where making money is the aim. But what do I tell my children? Is life easier with more than enough money? Should the aim of your work be money? Is money power--the kind of power one should strive for? Is it okay to have more than enough while others don't have enough money?
You can tell by reading this post that I'm very naive when it comes to the subject of money. What do you tell your children about money? How does this affect their choices related to schools, career and relationships? Teach me.