Letters from Dad: #11

(Once a month, I invite Sean to take over the blog and write a little note to our kids. I love that he is willing to leave little nuggets of wisdom for them to look back on when they are older!)

Dear Children,

Politics…. One of the big arguments in politics is regarding the budget. America has a lot of debt. Not just the population of America, but the government. Lots and lots of arguments arise on how to fix the budget and get out of debt.

We could draw a lot of parallels between the government and the people.

In order to get out of debt, things have to be cut. Unfortunately, the issue with anyone’s budget is that someone will be unhappy with the things that get cut. Everyone develops their own hierarchy of needs where they access their priorities and rank them. Since everyone is in a different place, what is important to one person is not important to another.  For instance, people just barely scrapping by will find getting food and medical treatment higher on their priority list than someone who is a Fortune 500 CEO.

Is there a good way to fix the American budget? Not without someone getting upset. Whatever gets cut is something that is important to someone. Same thing with a person’s personal budget.  Usually financial experts will suggest that people cut coffee or cable or electronics or eating out from their budget.

Sure, I can see how that advice would fix someone’s budget.  I can look at these and say that they are not necessities in my own life, but with that being said, maybe you do have a need for those items. Caffeine became way more important to me once you kiddos were born. Maybe cable or eating out is a stress reliever and you need to relieve stress. But where you allow an item into your budget, you have to cut another item out.

So the point of all this, kids, is to figure out what is important to you and try to live within a budget. Debt is a killer and a millstone around your neck. Choose carefully what works best for you and your future families in your unique situation, and know that reviewing your priorities often is healthy and financially wise habit to get into.

Love,

Daddy

(Once a month, I invite Sean to take over the blog and write a little note to our kids. I love that he is willing to leave little nuggets of wisdom for them to look back on when they are older!)

Dear Children,

Politics…. One of the big arguments in politics is regarding the budget. America has a lot of debt. Not just the population of America, but the government. Lots and lots of arguments arise on how to fix the budget and get out of debt.

We could draw a lot of parallels between the government and the people.

In order to get out of debt, things have to be cut. Unfortunately, the issue with anyone’s budget is that someone will be unhappy with the things that get cut. Everyone develops their own hierarchy of needs where they access their priorities and rank them. Since everyone is in a different place, what is important to one person is not important to another.  For instance, people just barely scrapping by will find getting food and medical treatment higher on their priority list than someone who is a Fortune 500 CEO.

Is there a good way to fix the American budget? Not without someone getting upset. Whatever gets cut is something that is important to someone. Same thing with a person’s personal budget.  Usually financial experts will suggest that people cut coffee or cable or electronics or eating out from their budget.

Sure, I can see how that advice would fix someone’s budget.  I can look at these and say that they are not necessities in my own life, but with that being said, maybe you do have a need for those items. Caffeine became way more important to me once you kiddos were born. Maybe cable or eating out is a stress reliever and you need to relieve stress. But where you allow an item into your budget, you have to cut another item out.

So the point of all this, kids, is to figure out what is important to you and try to live within a budget. Debt is a killer and a millstone around your neck. Choose carefully what works best for you and your future families in your unique situation, and know that reviewing your priorities often is healthy and financially wise habit to get into.

Love,

Daddy