What This Experience Has Taught Me About Money

I imagine this list is something I will have to continue adding to as I go, but at the halfway point of this journey, here is what I’ve learned about money.  You might notice an almost complete lack of numbers and facts.  That’s because most of what I’ve learned about money has to do with what I think about money and my relationship to it.  Most of these are obvious and I should say that I might have even been able to write a lot of this list before I got serious about my debt, but I have since learned them not just on a conceptual level but on a practical, felt level, if that makes sense.  They’re real and tangible to me now and not just good ideas for when I grow up.

• You have to take care of it for yourself. I’ve always been very independent and responsible in most regards, but when it came to my debt, I was for so long expecting that something or someone would come along and make it all okay.  I finally had to take responsibility for my debt and realize that I could get myself out.  No one was going to do that for me.  And no one is going to keep me motivated and accountable on this journey.  The responsibility is with me.

• Available credit is not the same as available cash. This journey has not convinced me that credit cards are the devil, but it has convinced me that they aren’t my best friend.  For a long long time, I treated my available credit as if it was money in my pocket to spend.  I also treated it as an adequate safety net–there for emergencies.  Why get by on less or hold off on buying that shiny thing when you can painlessly swipe a card and pay for it later?  If I’d ever calculated the interest on those purchases, maybe I would have felt differently.

• Money is an issue, so stop pretending it isn’t. I was so hesitant for so long to even bring money into regular conversation.  Like, “I’m sorry, I’d like to do that but I don’t have the money right now.”  Or, “hey, I’m struggling with money and I could use your support as I deal with it.”  Money is an issue for almost everyone, so it has a place in conversation and it isn’t tacky to be upfront about your financial limits.

• It’s not shallow to be concerned with money. I study the humanities, right?  No one is in this business for the money, because there isn’t any.  But, we all still have to eat and go to the doctor and, most importantly, buy books!  There’s this whole lifestyle that it can be easy to fall into.  It’s one that involves a great deal of time for studying.  In order to support myself, though, I have to work a lot.  So, sometimes that means I don’t study enough and miss lectures and can’t meet with groups at any time of the day.  I value my financial stability over my pure love of philosophy.  That’s okay. The only way I can keep up this lifestyle is by taking care of things now.

• You can value money without letting it become your primary motivation in life. It’s strange, really, because even though I used to spend a lot more money that I do now, I would say that I care about money more than I did then.  I see what money can do for me.  It can help me live the way I want to live.  I think a lot about how much money I’m making and how much I can save.  But, I don’t think money is corrupting my values or determining every choice I make.  It’s actually opening doors for me, because things that seemed impossible now seem within reach. I’m no longer counting on getting by on hope and good karma.  I’ve got the numbers worked out and I know how to get there.

• It’s possible. This was the biggest surprise to me.  I’d come to think of supporting myself and living a comfortable lifestyle as impossible.  But, it isn’t.  It does take hard and consistent work.  I can’t take off to study abroad at any opportunity or show up to work only when I feel like it (like some of my classmates), but I can do it without killing myself.

• There’s no such thing as sitting on your debt. For a year, I was in a place where I could make my minimum payments with no problem and still have spending money left over.  So, that’s what I did.  When I think now of the hundreds–hundreds–of dollars in interest I paid every month, I realize that my debt was growing all that time and I was throwing money away.

• Savings Can Allow You To Take Risks. When the bottom fell out of the economy and it seemed that even well-established people were on this sinking boat, I felt like no matter what you did, you would always be vulnerable to these kinds of situations.  That is true to a degree, but if you build up a solid foundation and have a safety net to catch you, you can not only weather these storms, but you can also afford to take risks and live more adventurously.    When my debt was growing, I was living recklessly.  I think adventurously is a better option.

After writing this whole post, I realized how similar it was to my post about the Strategies I Use.  Sorry for the repetition, but I think these things are really important!