“If you buy what
you don’t need,
you steal from yourself.” 
Swedish Proverb

Talking or writing about money is something I try to avoid. Through a lifelong process of trial and error, I learned the importance of distinguishing between wants and needs. I also learned about the value of deferred gratification and avoiding unnecessary debt. There were many things I wanted in my younger days. There were places I wanted to visit, things I wanted to do, and material goods I wanted to possess. With proper guidance from my primary financial advisor of my youth, my mother, I learned some valuable life lessons which have served me well for more than seventy years.

I mentioned the critical need to be able to distinguish between wants and needs. Asking myself this one simple question has saved me thousands of dollars throughout my lifetime: Do I want it or do I really need it? When I was honestly able to admit that I just wanted something, and didn’t really need it, more often than not I was able to avoid making the purchase. My overall score was not 100% on this life test, but, for the most part, asking the question enabled me to make wise decisions. There are three thoughts I would like to share regarding fiscal responsibility.

Sage financial advice is available from a variety of sources. I was introduced to Benjamin Franklin’s memorable quote many years ago. He said, “Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship.” Little expenses,… you know, the daily visit to Starbucks, the frequent decision to go out for lunch or dinner when you have plenty of food at home, that sweatshirt with the clever quote that popped up on your computer screen when you were looking for something else,… Yeah, those little expenses. They seem relatively harmless at the time of the purchase, but they add up.

The most famous philosopher in Chinese history was Confucius. These words may be more than 2,500 years old, but they are as applicable today as they were when they were spoken. Confucius said, “When prosperity comes, do not use all of it.” All too many people subscribe to the earn-it/spend-it lifestyle. We are all barraged with a relentless array of marketing ploys created to convince us to part with our hard-earned cash. Sadly, however, when we spend what we make without setting funds aside for the future, we are doing precisely what the Swedish proverb quoted above warns us about: we are stealing from ourselves. The day will come when our ability to earn money will be limited, if not altogether lost. It is imperative that we begin to prepare for that future when we are young and have both the time and the financial resources to do so. Does this mean going without some things we might like at the present moment? Absolutely! This is what financial responsibility is all about.

Abraham Lincoln also addressed this theme in his lifetime. He said, “You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” Tomorrow will come. How prepared we are financially to address the needs and challenges of our future depends entirely upon how we manage our finances in our younger days. We cannot wait until retirement age to roll up our sleeves and get to work preparing for our future. That’s a task which must be attended to in our youth.

I am not a financial advisor. If anything, I am so financially conservative that I’ve missed many opportunities to enable the money I’ve made work for me. I’m much more of a saver than an investor. With that said, I’ve also done what I needed to do throughout the past fifty years to provide the financial security I now enjoy. 

Am I wealthy at this point in my life? Absolutely! More so than I could ever have hoped for. But that has nothing to do with money. In terms of money, I have enough — and for this, I am grateful.