April 13, 2009

The Difference between Sacrifice or Choice
Attitude makes the difference between sacrifice or choice, and is also the difference between being rich or being poor.

When an individual is living with only the bare necessities the desire to have what is normally not within reach becomes tantamount to riches. Therefore, the occasional beer, ice cream cone, special outfit or whatever else is craved becomes the utmost required objective so that whenever there is a few cents extra the money is splurged with the attitude, “I deserve this.”

That same attitude prevents the person from ever obtaining the more desired goals of security that would allow for a greater expansion of wealth. “After all”, the attitude continues, “I have nothing. I will never obtain what I really seek so I may as well enjoy this small particle of living as a reward for living.”

Some people, such as the first immigrants to this country had a different perspective. They lived without basic comforts and when they had a small advance they realised that if they added another and another and another small advance to the first one that they would eventually be able to buy a business, a home, or a farm. If their first purchase was not exactly what they wished they built upon that dream with the same realistic approach until they became the foundation of our economy. They sacrificed. Something that got forgotten in this 2009 economic melt down.

The difference between doing without because there is no money to spend and doing without because the choice is to save until the goal is reached is choosing to live as if there is no money until there will be security as a result.

However, as a postscript, let me state that if married, both mates must agree on the goal and the manner in which it is to be obtained. When one person makes the decision (really about anything-not just money) in a relationship there has to be mutual participation. Both partners must want the same goal and be willing to sacrifice today’s happiness for future security.

Today, sacrifice is undermined by all the technological do-dads that tempt a person towards poverty, especially if that individual is already on the borderline of little or no money.

During this economic collapse one can rightly justify the reasons to not save when 401K’s, pensions, and savings are wiped out after a life time of sacrifice so that they might have security. It certainly does create a rationale that if we do not live a little bit, at least, for today we may not get to live in the future either.

Hopefully, human beings will come to some kind of balanced decisions on how to master this economic and moral crisis.