I grew up in a family that did not have a lot of money. After my mother and father divorced, my mother, along with my brother and me, moved into with my grandparents. We had tough times after the years, and I remember my mom telling me that she needed to take my bank account savings to help pay for bills.

I’ve told this story before and I look back to remember how I felt knowing that all the hard work I had put into saving my few dollars over the years was needed to pay the bills.

As I grew older, my grandfather, who had lived through the Great Depression, kept telling me to save my money for a rainy day. I was a big believer in not being ostentatious with money.

But when I went to college, I discovered that I could get a credit card and racked up thousands of dollars in debt. Since I didn’t have a lot of money, I used the credit card to buy me the things that I needed and only bad back the minimum balance for years afterward.

What I didn’t understand at the time is a simple tenet: Money cannot buy happiness.

We can spend all sorts of money to buy a house, a big TV, cars, but after the initial buzz dies, we’ll find that we still aren’t happy.

Money is a tool that can help us in our lives, it’s not a cure for being unhappy or lacking in self-esteem or self-love.

As you go about your day, I recommend that you look at what you purchase. Are you making impulse buys or are you purchasing items that you need for your family and household?

Understanding your relationship to money, how you feel about it, how you spend it, and why can help you come to terms in better navigating your day-to-day challenges.

Like what you’ve read? Be sure to check out my other posts in my Let Go and Be Free blog.