Wordy Wednesday

"Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.”  

Steve Jobs (Wall Street Journal, 1993)

This one has me torn, so I thought I would share it with you. At my core, I am financially responsible, that is how I was raised. I was raised to prepare for the rainy days, to have the 12+ months of expenses socked away for tough times, but at times I find myself pondering whether I could stand to live a little more and give a little more. 

My Mom and I always get into a discussion about the word "need". She will often default with "Do you need that?" and I came to loathe the word "need", I wanted to make pointless purchases because I could, (mature, right?) things I just wanted, instead of needed, but recently I have found myself steering back to the needs. Often times not for the money savings nature of it, but more for the "I can't stand clutter" nature of it.  I like trying to balance need and want, but it isn't easy.

So when it comes to things, I find myself saying and thinking, we don't need more things.  I start to second guess myself when I apply that logic to experiences.  I tend to think that experiences are where the memories are built, and partly how people are defined. Experiences don't have to be expensive, frankly, they don't have to cost a red cent, but let's be honest - some do and some cost a pretty penny.  So I wonder if one day I will look back and curse the 12+ months of expenses we have socked away and wish that we had packed up and gone on more last minute trips with the girls, but for now I am not going to make any radical moves, I am going to search for the best travel deals I can, and travel when we can and when it makes sense.  (BTW: Who defines what makes sense these days?)

I am fairly certain Steve Jobs was more talking about doing what he did because he loved it, not because it made him rich, but whatever, I thought about it a little different - HA.