The Road to Recovery: Stuffitis

MONEY CAN'T BUY EVERYTHING

(from an old Music book of mine) 

Money can't buy everything

Money can't make you a king.

Money doesn't bring success.

Money can't buy happiness.

But the one thing I am sure

Money doesn't make you poor.

Money doesn't make you sad.

Money can't be all that bad.

(Don't know if I quite agree with it, but recalling the lyrics was sure fun!)

*via

According to Dave Ramsey

When asked, "What is the most important financial principle?" He answered:

“The Dave Ramsey Show” and my company, the Lampo Group, have become very well known for teaching people how to get out of debt, save money, and get on a budget. All of us on staff here are very thankful for the response we’ve had to these concepts, but another financial concept is the hinge on which the door of successful person finance swings. I have only begun to realize the full significance of this concept during the last year or so. When you understand this concept, all the other concepts work, and until you implement it, none of them will work. When you stick this concept deep into your soul, it becomes easy to save money and even have money to invest. Getting out of debt happens quickly once you learn how to apply this concept in your life. Budgeting is made easier, and your marriage or relationships regarding money are freed up and made smooth. This is the most important financial concept.

Contentment. That’s right, contentment. Contentment brings peace. Not apathy. Not the deadhead fog of Prozac or Valium. Only contentment brings peace. We live in the most marketing-focused society in the history of the world. The very essence of marketing is to disturb your peace. We say things to ourselves like, “I’ll be happy when I get that boat,” or “I’ll be happy when I get that china cabinet,” or “I’ll be happy when I get that house.” Or, or, or, or!!!

NOT TRUE. Happiness is sold to us as an event or a thing, and consequently, our finances have suffered. Fun can be bought with money; happiness cannot.

We live among a bunch of people who are deeply in debt and have no money saved because their emotions were tricked. Just like drug addicts, people have been conned into believing that happiness will come with the next purchase. So, Daddy works hundreds of overtime hours and Mommy works 40-plus hours a week…all in the name of STUFF. You probably think I am writing about someone else, but I’m not. I am writing about you. I know because I suffer from the same disease, but I am recovering and so are many of you. The human spirit was not created to attain peace, contentment or fulfillment by gathering more stuff.

You can get out of debt, save money, and get on a budget, but until your intellect forces your emotions and your spirit to accept that STUFF does not equal CONTENTMENT, your finances will always feel stressed. At our office we counsel every week with folks who are making $25,000 per year as well as folks making $250,000 per year. These people share a common problem: they all suffer from some level of “stuffitis,” the worship of stuff. Change your focus and change your life for the better.

Personally, I could use a little more a LOT more contentment in my life. It's a very freeing way of being.

I really appreciated what he said about buying the next thing being like a drug addict. You get the rush, but it leaves you wanting more. It’s how our culture has become, which is a sad, terrible thing. "Wants" have replaced "Needs", and it’s left us worse off than ever.