Cheap or Endearing?

      I was recently speaking with an elderly acquaintance who told me that he did not want to spend extraneously on himself because he wanted to leave a lot of money to his children. He did not seem to be living like a pauper, but he was money conscious. My first reaction was that it was very sweet. He loves his children that much. On the other hand he could not be tricked into overspending because he had a goal in mind. I also wished that I was as disciplined. I don't have children at the moment, but its not a bad idea to save for the future. I wish I had that kind of discipline.
      A number of friends of mine said that though they married on the later side neither they or their husband had much saved up. I guess when one is single one can get caught up in the single life and can forget that there will be a future that one should be saving up for.
      As for my acquaintance, I hope his kids appreciate his kindness and love for them now while they are still together.

money,money , money

in 1950's america women were housewives and men were the breadwinners. though i don't want to go back to the 1950's i do admit that the roles of the sexes was easier. everyone knew what one's roles were. now things are a lot more complicated. not only do men want women to work they often want a woman who makes a lot of money. oh and most of the child care duties are still performed by the mother. there all also women who are so independent that they do not want to be beholden to their husbands financially so much so that they will refuse  to use his money  because it would be relying on him too much. there are other women who would prefer to be the sole breadwinner of the family because then they are in control and not reliant on a man.
i think that the ability to support ones self financially is important for women as well as men. money means power so i can see how women want to financial independence . this financial independence should not however get in the way of being able to share in a marriage situation.  i have never been married, but i definitely see this as an issue. i think that  a lot of women are trapped in bad marriages because they have children and cannot support themselves if they do not remain married . sometimes a husband dies and if the wife does not have a strong income source she will be  in trouble.
everyone spends money differently. when one marries one has to make sure they know what the other person's spending habits and style is  otherwise one could have a very unpleasant surprise.

mega millions

the mega millions lottery ticket today is mega large today. whenever i think about the possibility of winning the jackpot and how i would live my life after i won my mega millions i wonder how i could live that way even if i never won those mega millions. do i really need mega millions to live a utopian life? if i would have the mega millions it would certainly help, but not everything in utopia requires mega millions. thank goodness.

money can't buy heath even though it can help maintain it. inner peace does not require a large check. true friends are more valuable than money. money can't make the sun shine or the rain drop. being rich does not prevent depression or make one a confident person. kindness to others and creativity does not require mega millions. mega millions can enhance all these qualities, but it is  not required .

hopefully i will remember to buy a mega millions ticket, but if i don't i will still strive to live the enriched life i envision  for myself.

the money issue

one of the traits of a potential spouse that is of major concern is his/her relationship with money. i do not mean whether he/she is rich or poor, but rather how he/she deals with money in general. i have met those who have not much  money who are very generous with what they have and others who are not strapped for cash who are nickel and diming everything as though it were the great depression. often one's attitude toward money is a barometer for how the person behaves in  general. if  they are cheap with money , they are cheap with kindness. they are always trying to get something for very little effort.
it is important to be responsible and not to squander one's money, but it is also important to be able to enjoy life as well. you can't take it with you, after 120. my parents were always very frugal, but i never felt like we were poor (which we weren't) . they just wanted to lived within their means.
it is also important to be happy with one's lot as far as money is concerned. i do not mean that one should not strive to make a good living , but some people are never happy with what they have no matter how much they have. i used to live in a basement apartment that was very affordable. because i had such low rent it i could do anything and buy anything i needed or wanted. once i had a friend who asked me how i could live in such a hovel. until then i was perfectly happy with where i lived, i also could not have afforded to have paid more rent than i was paying at the time. i chose to pay her no mind. just because my friend could not live in that basement did not mean that i could not be happy living there.
everyone has their own personal money style. it has to be compatible with the personal money style of a potential spouse. its not a matter of right or wrong, but more of a matter of what is.