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Is the want of money the root of all evil?

June 23rd, 2010 at 07:54 pm

As I am sitting here and counting how much available credit I have on my cc cards, cash in my checking account, and the days left until pay day, I do wonder if the want of money is the root of all evil.


I do feel upset, tense, frustrated, and just upset at myself for not making better money choices---for not being more frugal when buying food or impulsive buys, for being in a situation where I at first wanted to set aside some money from my part-time check to put towards savings, towards now wondering if I have enough just to get through until pay day.

Pretty upset at myself about it, and yes, the want of money is problematic. Now I feel like I didn't budget as good as I should have, and when I want to buy a food item that is healthy or just tastes good, I may not be able to. So, then there is that whole deprived feeling. Ugh. Frown This is a common pattern and I wonder what happened to me in regards to my money. I used to be so much better, fiscally, and I would save as much as possible. Could it be just that my overhead was lower? Could it be I used my cc's for so long that they became a part of my income? Sigh. Frown Having bad thoughts of withdrawing money from my retirement account just so I can have money in the bank if I ever need it. I know I shouldn't do that because of the penalties. I also know that I will pay off a huge bill soon, and that will give me over $100 more to use in my budget. I just have to be patient. It still is a bit tiring at times.

4 Responses to “Is the want of money the root of all evil?”

  1. north georgia gal Says:
    1277319451

    I understand your frustration all too well. At least you see the problem so the next payperiod you can budget accurately.

  2. momcents Says:
    1277319588


    We no longer use the credit cards - at all, nothing, nada, etc. It is nice. The consequence, however, is having to constantly prioritize (and I am consistently doing this). I am frustrated as I write this - given the long list of things I need to take care of. Prior to the last two additions, I was going to be $15 short of taking care of things. Now I need to come up with about another $225 overall. It would be SO simple to whip those cards out and be happy to get it all done. I'd only be momentarily happy though, because I am trying to get rid of the debt we managed to acquire.

    For us, it has helped with a list and itemizing every purchase. You WILL stop impulsively shopping when you see you see your bottom budget line going down. "Is it worth it?" is a question I have ingrained in my brain.

    I don't think you are alone with your frustrations.

  3. Broken Arrow Says:
    1277323545

    Generally speaking, I think it's fair enough to say that the want for money (or should I say, the lust for money) is the root of all evil.

    However, I don't know if your situation qualifies for want? I think it's more like the need for money, which I do not think is evil.

    I mean, it's not like you're trying to buy yet another iPod. You're trying to pay off a credit card to stay financially afloat.

  4. ceejay74 Says:
    1277324081

    I wonder if posting exact numbers here would keep you motivated--I find when I want to hit a certain financial goal, I lay it all bare on the SA blogs and it keeps me accountable. Also, if you're looking for practicable advice, people would be able to give you more concrete opinions if they knew more of the specifics of your blog. Of course, if you're being deliberately vague about things to help safeguard your anonymity, totally understand.

    Good luck, and whatever you do, don't dip into that retirement fund! It's not worth the temporary reprieve, and it would get easier and easier to do until you had nothing left for when you retire. Then you'd really feel deprived!

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