My personal philosophy about investing is that it is a wise use of my money and time. I really don’t know how my peers who don’t start investing, and especially those who rack up credit card debt, will ever be able to retire. I definitely want to have the freedom to retire someday and take care of my grandkids or do voluntary service. Investing will also allow me more freedom to give generously and help out my parents and family if they need money. I was raised to give a 10% tithe and that is a routine I will always maintain, but I also enjoy giving monetary gifts to different charities. Gifting gives me joy and helps me feel like I can make a difference. I’m especially interested in gifting to organizations with which I have a personal connection, like relating to education, immigration, Indian reservations, and Latin America. If I have a good friend or family member who wants to pursue adoption, I would like to have the freedom to give a generous monetary gift.
I’m not sure if I will pay for my children to attend college or not. I don’t know what the future holds for higher education costs and how my investments will affect their FAFSA. I had very little financial assistance from my parents to attend EMU and am graduating with a moderately low amount of my own debt. However, my parents also have very few investments and were not making very much money, so my FAFSA was very good. Still, I selfishly ask myself, why should I have to pay for my children’s college attendance if I had to fund my own? I may have a very different perspective when I’m a parent and as I hopefully have a husband to share the decision with. One aspect to me financing my own education is that I didn’t mess around, and I went to college for a purpose. I saw college as an investment, not a party. I would hate for my children to squander my money.
Due to my upbringing, I live a fairly frugal lifestyle that I hope to maintain and instill in my children. At the same time, I want to spend more on fair trade products, environmentally sustainable products, and good quality products that will last longer and use less of the world’s resources. My parents also taught me the value of balance and treating yourself in moderation. I love travel, ethnic food, and some high quality things. I don’t want to invest all of my money to the point where I don’t have enough money to see the world, visit my family regularly, and buy occasional massages. If I have a moderate amount of money at my disposal, I will not obsess too much about money. Whenever I have very little money and have to stay very organized to make ends meet, I am very stressed and I think about money way too much. If I have the freedom to make a moderate paycheck, that would help me not idolize money and have the freedom to give.
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