Last night I came across a phrase that I haven't heard before. Nor have I thought about before. Money autobiography.
Basically it's a term that describes about how you think about money, feel about money, use money, etc throughout your life.
I was very fascinated by the hand out that was given to us; and while at the meeting I kept to myself (like I always do), the questions were very thought provoking.
Money is a very sensitive subject. I know I am very private about it. I don't discuss with anybody how much or how little I make. I remember my mother getting really furious (exaggeration I know) one time when she inquired exactly how much I'm making. I think the question was brought about by me lecturing her how to save money. I know, my fault. How dare me to lecture her on budgeting and using money the right way. This is a woman who managed to feed her family and send all her children to college and not get buried in debts with what little she has to go on.
And so during this outburst, my mom said that she cannot understand how her children turned out to be tightfisted with money and how we don't share with her how much money we make. (She has money of her own, she was nosey about how much we make.)
It shocked me to the core that I wasn't willing to share how much money I exactly make. My husband knows how much I make and I know how much we make during tax time. Only then that we look at our finances that closely.
During the rest of the year, I believe that we live within our means. I do feel that most of the time we even live below our means. I am thankful that he is very disciplined with our spending. If I'm in charge, we'd be in credit card debts by now. I don't go to the malls, stores very often, because I don't like too much crowded places and the HVAC in dep't stores give me congestion and headaches so I stay away. BUT on those rare times I go in there, I am very prone to impulse shopping. My past has shown that I have many purchases that were donated to Salvation Army that were not used. Many still were hardly used, they were brand new.
So with this new awareness of money talks, I am going to reflect on how I feel about money, how I use it, how I feel about sharing it and how generous I can be without feeling the pinch.
1 comment:
Moving has made me way more aware of my spending habits. I had to get rid of so much stuff, stuff i bought because I thought I loved it or i had intents on using it for something. but then, like you, it ended up being donated never being used. Being a scrapbooker, this saying has been around for a while "Collect memories, not stuff." Sometimes like a good attitude, but geez, my collection of crafting stuff sure says otherwise! ha! PS: Good for you for standing your ground on not telling your mom your $$amount. I remember when my mom would ask, I just told her "well, we can't afford to buy a house yet, but we're comfortable" and let her maker her own inferences. i think it kind of annoyed her, but I wouldn't give in.
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