Financial Maturity, It's good for your money situation.
Prior to doing Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca full time I wrote a blog full time about Money Maturity I loved writing about financial maturity topics so I thought I would write one here.
As I read different blog posts on reducing debt, budgeting, stock investing, I always think to myself that there needs to be a post about what happens to people's finances as they get older and start to get wiser from experience. As many bloggers in write about personal finance are younger than 40, they really haven't experienced a "generation" of using money. By generation I mean 20+ years.
I would really love to read a blog post written by a 70 year old, or 80 year old on the subject of finances and money. At that age, these people would have seen it all, done it all. I imagine that their appetite for spending money wouldn't be that great.
I'm going to try to write this post through the eyes of an 80 year old, (even though I'm half that age). I'll try to do my best.
MONEY THROUGH THE EYES OF AN 80 YEAR OLD
I don't mind not having all of the flashy toys any more. I hear about cell phones, big screen TVs, big houses, fancy cars. I don't find those appealing any more.
These days, I am content with the very basics of life. I enjoy a good meal, visiting with my friends and family, going to the odd movie, and that's about it. I don't really have money problems, as I don't spend alot of money.
I've saved quite a bit of money over the years. As such, my life style is not really cramped. I can easily afford all of the things that I want.
My house is long since paid off, I drive a late model car that runs well and is paid for. All of the furniture I own, I acquired 40 years ago. I could have upgraded it, but I don't really see the point any more.
My basic expenses are my utilities, property taxes and that's about it. My old age pension cheque pretty much covers all of that.
I enjoy going out for coffee with my friends. It costs me $6.50 every Tuesday for a soup and sandwich, and $15.00 if I'm buying lunch for my friend.
It doesn't really cost me alot to enjoy life.
THE EARLY DAYS
When I was young, I was pretty impulsive, which is to be expected. I had a good job, made good money and spent every last penny of it. I bought the new car, the house, a Black and White TV which was a new thing at the time.
Every cheque that I got was spent quicker than electricity through a power pole. It was fun for many years, but as I got older, I realized I wasn't getting ahead at all.
When I was 45 years old I had 10 years left on my mortgage, and I had a few loans outstanding. Credit cards weren't really popular back then, but I did have a few chattel loans.
At that point I was kind of tired of living the high life and paying big interest on everything I bought. All my money was used to pay down debt and cover the expenses of everything I purchased.
Along with being tired of being in debt, I was maturing as a person. I realized down deep that all of these material things weren't making me happy "as advertised". I was enjoying time with my family and friends more and more. And the best part was, time spent with loved ones costs very little money.
I decided that I had another 20 years in the work force and that I better start getting some savings in the bank etc.
This was the start to what I call my Financial Maturity. Being content with the "small things" of life, and realizing that money spent on big fancy things wasn't really making me happy.
That turning point was over 30 years ago. Since then, I've been very patient with my money. Generally I take along time to make a decision ona large purchase.
PATIENT MONEY IS THE BEST
I've realized that patient money is the best kind of money. Instead of having money burn a hole in my pocket, I am very happy to wait and think about where I invest, or what I buy. Quite frankly, the longer I take to prepare for the purchase, the better I like it.
After 80 years on this earth, I've learned that being patient is the best way to go.
The best advice I would give to young people.
Prior to doing Canadian-Money-Advisor.ca full time I wrote a blog full time about Money Maturity I loved writing about financial maturity topics so I thought I would write one here.
As I read different blog posts on reducing debt, budgeting, stock investing, I always think to myself that there needs to be a post about what happens to people's finances as they get older and start to get wiser from experience. As many bloggers in write about personal finance are younger than 40, they really haven't experienced a "generation" of using money. By generation I mean 20+ years.
I would really love to read a blog post written by a 70 year old, or 80 year old on the subject of finances and money. At that age, these people would have seen it all, done it all. I imagine that their appetite for spending money wouldn't be that great.
I'm going to try to write this post through the eyes of an 80 year old, (even though I'm half that age). I'll try to do my best.
MONEY THROUGH THE EYES OF AN 80 YEAR OLD
I don't mind not having all of the flashy toys any more. I hear about cell phones, big screen TVs, big houses, fancy cars. I don't find those appealing any more.
These days, I am content with the very basics of life. I enjoy a good meal, visiting with my friends and family, going to the odd movie, and that's about it. I don't really have money problems, as I don't spend alot of money.
I've saved quite a bit of money over the years. As such, my life style is not really cramped. I can easily afford all of the things that I want.
My house is long since paid off, I drive a late model car that runs well and is paid for. All of the furniture I own, I acquired 40 years ago. I could have upgraded it, but I don't really see the point any more.
My basic expenses are my utilities, property taxes and that's about it. My old age pension cheque pretty much covers all of that.
I enjoy going out for coffee with my friends. It costs me $6.50 every Tuesday for a soup and sandwich, and $15.00 if I'm buying lunch for my friend.
It doesn't really cost me alot to enjoy life.
THE EARLY DAYS
When I was young, I was pretty impulsive, which is to be expected. I had a good job, made good money and spent every last penny of it. I bought the new car, the house, a Black and White TV which was a new thing at the time.
Every cheque that I got was spent quicker than electricity through a power pole. It was fun for many years, but as I got older, I realized I wasn't getting ahead at all.
When I was 45 years old I had 10 years left on my mortgage, and I had a few loans outstanding. Credit cards weren't really popular back then, but I did have a few chattel loans.
At that point I was kind of tired of living the high life and paying big interest on everything I bought. All my money was used to pay down debt and cover the expenses of everything I purchased.
Along with being tired of being in debt, I was maturing as a person. I realized down deep that all of these material things weren't making me happy "as advertised". I was enjoying time with my family and friends more and more. And the best part was, time spent with loved ones costs very little money.
I decided that I had another 20 years in the work force and that I better start getting some savings in the bank etc.
This was the start to what I call my Financial Maturity. Being content with the "small things" of life, and realizing that money spent on big fancy things wasn't really making me happy.
That turning point was over 30 years ago. Since then, I've been very patient with my money. Generally I take along time to make a decision ona large purchase.
PATIENT MONEY IS THE BEST
I've realized that patient money is the best kind of money. Instead of having money burn a hole in my pocket, I am very happy to wait and think about where I invest, or what I buy. Quite frankly, the longer I take to prepare for the purchase, the better I like it.
After 80 years on this earth, I've learned that being patient is the best way to go.
The best advice I would give to young people.
- "Take your time spending your money."
- "Be patient with it.
- Learn to be content with smaller, less expensive items.
- Don't always buy the most expensive items that are advertised.
- Plan for the future, because the future is guaranteed to come.
The above text was written from the lense of an 80 year old.
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I would love to see a blog post written similarly to the one above. I'm not sure exactly how an 80 year old views money, but I hope that I have captured it somewhat accurately.
Financial maturity takes time. You've got to make your mistakes and learn from them. Hopefully someday when you're 80, you'll write a blog post about your financial experiences!
