So I've been thinking a lot about money. My budget class had it's first "real" meeting this week (last week's meeting was mostly introductory). There's a lot that's been on my heart, but here's one that's really been on my mind: Why is it so hard to be content with less?
Why does my heart gravitate toward the new and expensive so easily? I want a new desk chair. My current one doesn't give me any problems - it just isn't new or shiny or spiffy. If I didn't know that I could buy a nice new chair for $80, I wouldn't consider grumbling about my current chair. But just knowing that there is "better" out there makes me start contemplating the purchase.
Can I really tell the difference between old and new entertainment? I recently invested $40 in a couple copies of Starcraft. Partly to satisfy my conscience about actually owning software I use - and partly so I can teach my significant other a bit about real time strategy games. Yes, the graphics are a bit dated. Yes, Starcraft II will probably be prettier. But you know, I don't sit there during the game going "Ug, this is so ugly." In fact, I mentally imagine a universe which is far more detailed than the actual graphics. It's only when I see the new and better (Starcraft II demos) that I realize how much has changed.
This week's memory verse is "Just as the rich rule over the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender." I've been realizing that while I often hear a lot about helping the poor (which is great), I don't hear people talk about eliminating Visa and Mastercard. Why not? Partly, I think, it's because we don't tend to believe that debt indentures us to service. (And yes, it's possible for us to get trapped even if we're not poor.)
Here's another principle I've been wrestling with: "Do not say 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make money'". So often, credit assumes on the profitability of tomorrow - but who knows what tomorrow will bring?
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2 comments:
What about the value of novelty for its own sake? Particularly in terms of entertainment, new books, different/expanded games that improve the play or add a new twist, these aren't necessarily better, but simply because they are different they gain additional value. While people often find comfort in a certain amount of routine and consistency, I've heard friends talk about getting bored with the same old thing time and again. Perhaps we are partially hardwired to crave new experiences, or perhaps new things, due to our lack of experience with them, can embody our hopes, the grass is always greener sort of idea.
TR
America is the land of consumption. If things weren't so cheap, it would be much easier to pass them up. I suppose this is why I spend so much money when I visit there. What's worse, having grown up in that mind set, it is much harder for me down here where the cost of ipod is 5 times what it is there....
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