Making Ends Meet

This may be the biggest challenge of every life. Everyone wants to follow his or her dreams, but you got to pay for it. You got to put food on the table, buy a table to put the food on, a place to store the food, something to cook the food, a place to sleep, something to wear, a method of transportation to go get the food and all of this takes money. How much money does it take to live?

Part of the answer asks another question “How well do you want to live?” If you seek abundance and opulence with all the luxuries of celebrity, then you know you have to become a basketball player or a rock star or a movie idol with a greedy agent who will get you lots of cash.  The bank account may be bulging if your accountants are good and not correct, but you must also keep up with the facade to continue making large sums of money.

The common slob on the streets must live within their means. Whatever income can be scraped up decides how the family will live. Economists study the levels of what people can and will earn to signify wealth versus poverty.

Many people live by whatever money they can gather. Livelihood means survival rather than monetary income. Spend anything they can trade, sell, scrounge or steal and then adjust their lives for everything else.

I try to live by my means. I only spend what I have and I keep track of every penny. I make sure there is a reserve in the piggybank and all the major expenses have been paid (I hope). Even had enough to buy some toys last year.

So a new year is starting and hopefully I’ve found a pattern to control the bucks and have enough to enjoy life, for that is the real reward.

And it don’t cost much.