A Financial Disconnect

If you saw me four years ago...You wouldn't recognize me.

I don't remember a week back then where I didn't have something new to add to my closet, gone shopping until my wallet was sucked dry, or spent $50.00 on dinner without a blink of an eye. I guess you can say if I were a Model Penal Code mental state I would be recklessness- which for my non-legal readers out there it is when a defendant knows of a substantial and unjustifiable risk and consciously disregards that risk.

Unjustifiable and substantial risks. Financial risks are just as scary as riding around without a seatbelt on the highway or engaging in unprotected sex with a stranger. Like the aforementioned acts, you may find yourself injured and overly exposed. For example, I knew that going to Bebe or Nordstrom would inevitably lead me to the sales rack and I would spend hours shifting through clothes just to find the perfect outfit. Stupid considering the fact that many of the things I bought were so trendy, I would find myself dropping it off at the Goodwill a few weeks later when I'm sick of seeing it in the closet.

Have you ever seen those commercials and apparel items that talk about being a "Shopoholic" and how proud we as women are to walk around wearing that crap? It's like a giant neon sign that says "Hey everyone, I'm an adult who enjoys making stupid, reckless decisions with my money and gamble my entire future away on stuff... Oh and did I mention you'll eventually have to pick up the tab for my recklessness?" Remember the early 2000s when credit was so fast and loose that anyone with a pulse could get some plastic? Those days are long, long gone. Yet, is it just me or have we not learned the hard, hard truth about our money? Losing our homes to foreclosure, feeling the pressure of bill collectors, and even starving families in Surburbia still hasn't quite sunk the American "go buy it all" spirit. So when will our country learn as a whole quit trying to keep up with the Jones?

I think the greatest lesson we have learned from the recession is our disconnect from our money. Remember the days before credit cards and 24hr ATM machines? I don't because I'm only 26, but I can't help but wonder if technology has robbed us from something that is so crucial to good financial health: a connection to our pocketbooks. We can feel a dollar bill in our hands, but we certainly can't feel $500.00 coming out of a plastic card. There was a time when I felt my own disconnection with my finances and often spent for a lifestyle that frankly I couldn't keep up with. Americans as a whole would use credit to buy into the life of the rich and famous because they could just pay the minimum and still have some money in the bank.

Now there's no credit and even less money in the bank. Our country is finally getting back onto a path of fiscal conservatism and pragmatic living. Do we really need to have two cars in the garage and 120 inch plasma TV? Don't get me wrong, I still love designer clothes and going out to the mall every once in a while. I've only changed my relationship and attitude towards the hard earned money I place in the bank each week. My own personal money philosophy is as follows: if I want it, I'll save for it, if I need it I'll buy it, and if I can't afford it, I'll make sacrifices to be in a position to do so in the future. 

Strange thing for a budding attorney to say huh? As the holiday season approaches, I do hope you'll consider giving out a gift that is never returned and always appreciated: fiscal sanity. He doesn't need the new car, and you damn well don't need that $800.00 purse. If you're making enough salary to buy either of those items in cash, then I tip my hat off to you. If not, just take a deep breath and place the plastic on the floor and your hands above your head where I can see them.


Merry Xmas!

P. Manolos

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