The Upside of This Economy

I have been thinking about my brother Bubba's column (and post from a couple of weeks ago) about how we spend too much time worrying about money, but I can't say I completely agree. Although it is not something to be obsessed about, neither is it something to be ignored.

Money is, simply put, a tool.

Money, when not wasted on things you do not need, is an instrument to be used to attain one's own personal freedom. In Timothy Ferriss's book, The 4-Hour Work Week, he explains people don't want to be millionaires, they want to live like millionaires. Big difference. (And more on that book on future posts -- I just started reading it.)


Like any good tool, if you want it to work for you, it must be taken care of, even respected. A great place to start? Saving. Here is a great eHow blog I stumbled upon this morning. I especially like Step One, Step Seven, and Step Ten. Check 'em out.

The best thing about this economy is that it has gotten people away from mindless consumption. People are now actually stepping back and evaluating the things that are really important.

Money is not something we should spend our lives pursuing, but something we should use to pursue the lives we want to live.