Would You Give it All Away?

MSN Money: Millionaires Who Gave It All Away

Is it totally selfish of me to admit that never, ever in a million years would I give it all away?  I'd donate to causes I believe in.  I'd be generous to my family and friends.  But I would absolutely not give it ALL away.  If that makes me a bad person or selfish well then then color me bad.  Those who do are amazingly good hearted people who undoubtedly have brought a whole lot of good Karma their way.  Totally honorable, but darned if I'm going to sit here stressed and struggling and give all of my money away.  

I don't value and appreciate money because I want a mansion, a Marc Jacobs purse or a Mercedes.  I love to shop as much as the next girl and I enjoy quality but I don't necessarily covet designer things for the sake of it.  I value money for the sense of security and comfort that it can bring.  Even if I went to the same job, lived in the same house and drove the same car having that kind of money in the bank would still change my life.  It's called peace of mind.  If and when mayhem strikes an entire source of stress is eliminated.  I might worry about the incident itself but not how I'm going to pay for it and that is major in my book.  I love my life and I know how lucky I am to have it so I wouldn't mind if it stayed pretty much the same.  I can't guarantee that I would stay in my current job but I'd be working at doing something and it would be something I love.  I wouldn't have to worry about if I'll ever retire.  I'd probably take a lot more vacations and shop a bit more.  Heck, I might even have a baby.  I'm way too practical to be spoiled by money and the trappings of material wealth because I'm not after a high end life style.  I am frugal to the core so I don't think having money would change that.  I'm also a worry wart with a splash of OCD.  Money isn't the only thing that stresses me out but it's right up there at the top and every other worry seems to be a ripple effect of that.  You take money out of the equation and that eliminates at least 50% of my day to day stress.  I'm also a control freak and to me having money represents a greater measure of control over my life.  Because let's face it.  Like it or not, money is the currency that makes the world go round.   I'm sure I'd find plenty of other things to worry about if money were no longer an issue and I know that it doesn't buy happiness.  But neither does feeling broke. 

I've had quite a few daydreams about what I would do if I came into a lot of money.  Giving it all away wasn't exactly what I imagined.  I'd love to be in a position to help others and to do so would make me feel so good.  So, I'm sure I wouldn't keep it all but you can bet I won't be giving it all away.

6 comments

  1. I wouldn't give it ALL away either. Yes, I would donate to causes I'm passionate about but I'm not going to live struggle if I don't have to either

    ReplyDelete
  2. i heard a very rich man say that he only lives on 10% and gives the rest away...the cynic says nice tax break..but appareently before he was filthy rich this is how he lived and God continued to bless him. i think we need to keep money in its rightful place...after all we are only able to make it based on the life God has given us..
    money is important...but i dont spend alot of time stressing/thinking about it....

    ReplyDelete
  3. If I lived on 10% of my income I'd be in the streets but if I were so filthy rich that 10% was comfy I might consider doing it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I always here you have to give to get but if I had a million dollars I couldn't part with all of it!

    I totally understand how you feel about money right now. Going to one income has been very hard for my hubby and I to adjust to but we'll be ok, it is just a little tight right now.

    ReplyDelete
  5. i wouldn't give it all away ... no way ... then what happens to me and my family ... i would def. give to charities that i want but couldn't give it all away. i'm with you! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I couldn't agree more. It's the security blanket for the what if's that pop up in life.

    ReplyDelete

I really appreciate your comments! Thanks for being part of my blog.