Financial Freedom is a Choice, So Make a Good One

In my older age I’m learning a lot about making and spending money. Now that I am a grandparent I finally see why we were so broke when we were younger. It takes a lot of money to raise a child and we raised two. I understand that being financially free is a choice and on my journey to becoming a grandparent I realized we made very poor choices when it came to our two children. We always gave them whatever they wanted when we would go out. I didn’t really pay attention to prices when it came to the happiness of my kids. I loved seeing the smile on their little faces when they got what they had picked out, no matter how small or how extravagant.

If we had only had the knowledge, back then, to see that not only were we raising spoiled brats we were also jeopardizing our future financial freedom in the process. It’s nice to know that I have learned to say no to my kids as they got older. They need to understand the value of a dollar and lets face it, life is very expensive and kids need to learn that lesson while they are young. The sad truth is, price tags do matter if you want to build a financial empire. If you don’t then that’s OK, I personally want to have a great retirement. It’s more important to me to save money, now, instead of spend it.

That’s why I wanted to write this blog. I want to educate people on the right time to spend and the right time to save. There are times when you need to invest a little money and times when you need to say, no thanks, I think I will pass and save it this time. This simple reason is why some people have money and some don’t. It’s the choices we make that determine whether we become a millionaire or we become destitute. I know some people don’t make a whole lot of money but even a small amount saved over a period of time can bring great financial investments with long term dividends.

So, the way we raise our children have a big influence on the money we have to save. I look at my grandchildren and I want to give them everything but I know that I have to teach them it’s OK not to have everything you want. It sux but it’s a great lesson. Some little things are not worth as much as learning the lesson about saving for something bigger and better. It’s OK to save your money and wait until a later time to spend your money on something even better than the small stuff. So, as adults we should apply this to everything we do, on an everyday basis, as well. For example, we spend about $6.00 or more a day on gourmet coffee, beer or even energy drinks. Whatever it is, is it really worth it in the long term?