Money

Daddy, what do you do at work?

'I'm an accountant," my friend said.

"What is that?" the little boy asked.

"It means I keep notes about people's money and I help them add and subtract it."

"You mean you just write numbers all the time?"

"Pretty much," my friend said.

" Do you get to do it with crayons?"

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It's a new dawn here at # 9. One of us has had a cut back on work hours and that means a fresh look at income and expenses and that means cutting back and slashing through.

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It turns out I will have enough money in my life but not as much as I thought I would. I will have enough to enjoy a vacation or buy a new couch but not enough to spend mindlessly.

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And that's okay with me. I don't like having to look at our income and expenses but I don't mind it either. I've always liked the challenge of trying to figure how to manage money. I'm a forest person about it: I don't balance my checkbook and I don't nickel and dime anything, but I also don't let debt pile up and if it does certainly not without awareness.

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Here are some things I've learned or I think I know about money:
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1. I have a slush fund hidden in a paperback book where I add a $ 2o bill or two each month, whatever I can afford. I know that saving this way adds up. The most I've accumulated at one time was $ 2100, accumulated over probably two or three years in a ceramic piggy bank with no way to get inside besides breaking it in pieces. What a blast it was to crack it open and see all those $ 20 bills.

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2. I like the theory that says "Pay yourself first." That means when I sit down to pay bills, the first check goes to our savings account. Some times it may only be a very small amount, but 'pay yourself first' is a good habit to cultivate because of point # 1. :)

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3. JB and I may (often) spend more than we earn in a given month, but after many years of not knowing, we know when we are doing that. You can only know that if you can put a number to your monthly income and your monthly expenses. Information is Power. Even if you're spending $ 600 more than you have to spend each month, be honest: isn't there so value in at least knowing that?

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4. And speaking of value, my stint at an Ashram introduced me to the idea that that money should be seen as a spiritual practice on its own. It should be approached reverently, thoughtfully.

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5. This is how my business partner and friend Nancy handled her credit cards: 'I always pay the full amount of what I've spent that month PLUS the interest. So if I spent $ 300 and the monthly interest charge of the card is $ 25, I pay $ 325. That way I'm always reducing my credit card by at least something every month." Nancy died a few years ago, damn)

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6. JB and I finally set up two separate checking accounts: one to pay bills and one for the cash we will spend each month eating out, buying food and gifts, getting haircuts, etc. We don't mix the two. Not often but sometimes there is some lovely money left over in the bill account and often but not all the time we spend more than we gave ourselves for cash, but 1) we know when we've run out of spending money even if we're pouring a supplement from savings )and 2) we aren't tempted and don't use money needed for the bills.

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7. When Jess started working at age 14, I told her to spend 1/3 of the money she earned on herself, however she wanted; save 1/3 in the bank; and give 1/3 to a charity. I don't think she ever followed that advice, at least not precisely, but I do think the idea of it sunk in. I'm proud of her generosity.

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8. I have a credit card that gives me points I can use for hotel stays and airline travel. JB and I have at least 4 or 5 free nights somewhere a year doing that, including our free New York City stay in Times Square.

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9. When I didn't have enough money to pay all the bills I owed, I paid at least some portion of each bill. And I didn't close my eyes to figuring it out.

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10. Money isn't everything but it's really nice not to have to worry about it.

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I challenge you to add another suggestion or two. And just so you know, after that, I just might offer up that Sex Survey I've been talking about for too long now. :)

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Love

kj