If you knew the true value of a dollar how would you spend your money? Would you save more? Would you spend more? Would you stop buying on credit?
What is the true value of a dollar? Is it the amount written on the bill? Is it one hundred pennies for every one dollar bill? Or is it the time and work you put in, to earn that dollar bill? If we took the time to think about how much something costs, in relation to the time we put in to pay for that item, we would not have so much debt and money would have a new meaning altogether.
Do you realize that at one time, money was backed by gold. But over time, the money printed and circulated in the states had nothing to do with how much gold sat in the Reserves. As a matter of fact, the paper the money is written on isn't even worth it's face value. It's simply a symbolic piece of paper, that the government says is worth a certain amount of money.
"So, if the paper it's written on isn't worth a hill of beans, than what are you getting at?", you ask. What I am getting at is the fact that money is simply a medium to something else. It's a way of bartering without having to lug around huge items. It a way of exchanging your knowledge and time for something else.
For instance,
· If I make $6 an hour and I purchase a $4 cup of coffee, I have worked 40 minutes for one cup of coffee.
· If I make $6 an hour and I purchase a Stereo ($39.99 plus tax which equals $43.09), I have worked 7.18 hrs in exchange for the Stereo.
· If I make $10 an hour and I have $100 in interest due each month for credit card purchases, I have to work 10 hours just to pay for the interest on my debt.
So let's take this one step further. Let's say that I work a 40 hour work week, making $10 an hour. I bring home $400 before taxes. The IRS comes along and takes 20% in taxes, leaving me with $320 to live off of for the week. I do this for four weeks in a row. I have worked 160 hours for after tax dollars of $1,280 for the month. But because I live on my own, I have expenses and they are as follows:
Item Per Month Hours of my life I have worked for this item
Rent $400 50 hours
Utilities $ 80 10 hours
Phone $ 30 03 hours
Car Gas $100 12.50 hours
Auto Insurance $ 80 10 hours
Groceries $200 25 hours
Health Club Membership $ 25 3.125 hours
Health Insurance$ 90 11.25 hours
Credit Cards $100 12.50 hours
That leaves me with $175 per month to use as I wish, which amounts to 21.875 hours of my life.
Knowing all of this, how would you spend your money now? Would you be more cautious? Would you start a savings plan, so that your money can work for you, instead of you working for it?
