What'll it be?

Well, my week of "frenzied" blogging (which I readily admit probably is only "frenzied" by my own half-assed standards) has gone by and I've been coasting for another full week. I have, however, been accomplishing things elsewhere in my life.

I watched an online video called "Affluenza" which can be found at http://www.mefeedia.com/movie/25478650. Take time out of your schedule to sit and watch it yourself. It is almost an hour long, but very worthwhile and eye-opening viewing. It's all about how we have bought into the media's insistence that we NEED STUFF. Mall shopping, the subtle and not-so-subtle advertising messages, our consumer-oriented culture are all part of this PBS production. The most amazing part, I thought, was the fact that I didn't exactly realize until I was about 2/3 of the way through it and they started talking about "by 1999" ... this video was actually made 13 years ago. 

Things have only gotten worse since then. 

And as much as I've tried to become counter-culture or anti-culture when it comes to the consume, consume, consume message, I recognized a lot of myself in there. 

The show also led me to actually read a book that I've owned for more than a year ... that could definitely impact the course of the rest of my life. The book is titled, "Your Money or Your Life" and it is all about changing your attitudes toward and your relationship with money. 

It is not a quick read. I am, in fact, reading it with a highlighter close by. I haven't done that since college. And I think I will have to pursue the book and the program it contains with a similar doggedness. It asks tough questions ... starting in the first chapter. 

It first asks you to determine how much money you have made in your lifetime. You have to be honest with yourself here. It's easy enough (at my age, anyway) to add up the numbers on the Social Security statement that they send you a couple times each year. But what about all those years that I have zeros on my statement? I know I received undeclared income those years from babysitting, from typing for other people, garage sales, and other sources. How much money has really passed through my hands in the past 38 years since I began working? Yikes. The answer to that question could be scary enough, but the next question is ...

... What do you have to show for it? Oh, yes. Those heaps of clutter I talked about a couple of weeks ago. Piled into a house that I've lived in for 32 of those 38 years. But take that a step further. Put a value on that clutter. All the stuff that you have hidden in piles, bins, drawers, closets, garages, tool sheds, storage units, etc. What is it worth? Bleh. Just the thought of going through all that stuff is exhausting to me. 

And the scariest part of all is how much do you owe? And what is your net worth? In our case, at least, I hope that the figure will turn out to be a positive one. The bad news is that it doesn't qualify us for one of those bailouts you hear about on the radio, "... If you owe more than $10,000 in credit card debt, we can help you ..." We don't have a lot, but obviously we are better off than a lot of people. 

Where do we go from here? What will it be, my money or my life? Well, I'm just getting started on Chapter Two. I'm hoping the answer will be my life. And I will keep you posted. 

~Marsha