Me and Money

 

Continuing on from last weeks post.  In this weeks post I am looking at the way we make decisions about our money.  Basically what we do with what we make.  As I said last week I approach this topic with some trepidation.  I am not a licensed financial analyst nor am I an academic economist.  I do not hold degrees in psychology nor human behavior.  I am just a 61 (almost 62) year old guy that has been around the block a few times.  I do feel that I have reasonably acute observational and analytical skills.  I have seen a few things, done a few things and have learned from them.

I also consider myself basically an average guy.  I have more education than the average American (masters degree).  As for above average accomplishments I would put completing an Ironman on the list and I have probably read more books than the average person.  When it comes to deficiencies career would come to mind.  I probably did not utilize my education as well as I could of to further my career.  I will admit that corner offices and fancy cars do not interest me.  I simply found something that I liked and was good at (the IT field) and did that as a career.

I do however have a trait that separates me from the masses.  I have a very strong aversion to spending money.  I am not totally against spending and have enjoyed many expenditures over the years.  I however have limits and never exceed them.  Here are 2 examples of my limits.  As I said earlier I completed an Ironman Race (2 actually).  As you can imagine they are quite expensive.  The bike being the biggest expense.  You also have shoes, swim gear, pool and fitness memberships.  The race fees and travel costs can also be steep.  I was able to navigate these costs by getting a moderately priced bike.  I used community pools and gyms that were considerably cheaper than private ones.  After all that and finishing the race I could not even bring myself to get the ironman tattoo.  I could not even bear looking up the cost of getting one.  To this day I have no idea how much it would cost to get one.

A second experience occurred in Las Vegas.  My wife and I decided to take a last minute trip to Vegas.  We had a wonderful time.  Saw some shows, ate great meals and did some sight seeing.  I also wanted to play blackjack.  I had a set amount of money to use.  I took $200.00 and got chips.  I figured I was smart enough to be able to play for an hour or so before the money was gone.  I had no aspirations of leaving the table with thousands of dollars.  When I converted the cash to chips I was kissing the money good bye.  I found a table to play and as a side note I could not have had a better time.  The dealer and the other players at the table could not have been nicer to me.  Blackjack is not a complicated game but the other players always took time to explain the nuances and intricacies of each had to me.  I could not have met a nicer group of people.  Free beer while you played was a nice bonus too!

Then another person joined.  This person did not look like they belong in a casino.  She was in wrinkled worn clothes.  She literally threw herself into a seat and pulled out a stack of $100.00 bills.  It was not a huge wad but was probably seven hundred to a thousand dollars.  This threw me at first because I had enough trouble converting my cash into chips.  I seemed to have to go to several counters to get my chips.  What really bothered me was seeing that amount of money being tossed around like it was chicken feed.  The callous manner in which this money was handled affected me so much that I could not stay at the table.  In spite of how nice everyone else was I had to stop.  I had about $75.00 in chips left so I cashed them in and never went back to a table.  To this day I have never been back to a blackjack table.

It is hard to explain why this blackjack experience affected me the way it did.  I don't think I am someone who worships money and tries to get all he can.  I guess I recognize the importance of money and that how we manage it does say a lot about ourselves.  In last weeks post I offered a threshold of  an annual household income of  $65,000 to $70,000.  If the members of a household are below this threshold make poor monetary decisions it will directly affect their living situation.  They may not have enough money to pay rent or buy food.  I cannot imagine how difficult life is for people in this situation.  Living paycheck to paycheck must be a difficult existence.

What about those of use above the threshold.  Do we get a free pass because we have a few extra bucks lying around after our basic needs are met?  What do our "above threshold" decisions say about us?  After our basic needs are met are we free to do what ever we want to do?   

I feel that those of us above the threshold have a great many responsibilities.  Next weeks post will be about those above threshold responsibilities.