When you get money, act like you already had it!!

Quite often, the quickest way to spot the most unintelligent among a crowd is by noticing how much attention the person or the group of people is drawing to themselves. I often comment on things my father told me while he was here on this planet. One of the best bits of advice was, “Son, when you get money, Act like you are used to it!” As a child reared in comfort but having limitations financially, I did not really understand this. As an ignorant child, I always thought that it was essential to have rims on a ride that cost less than the rims, a HUGE piece and chain, a nice pair of Nikes, you know look good. Boy was I wrong.

Now more than ever I understand what the “old man” was talking about. He wanted me to not embarrass myself by showing others that I was new to this and that I didn’t know how to handle it. I am still not rich, no not by a looooong shot. I am a bit better financially than I was during my childhood. Most of this is contributed to me making better decisions about my finances than my parents did. They did the best they could but also taught me that there was an inherent NEED for me to do better, so this was part of their plan.

Pops would tell me that our race cannot progress unless I did better than he did and my children did better than I did. I now understand what this means. Some don’t! Why is it that a grown man still needs “beat” in the trunk? Why is it that the poorest among us have to prove that they have money by spending ALL of their money on Coogi, rims that are more costly than the vehicle, purses they can’t afford, $300 jeans when your rent is $600, and so on? Why, because it matters to them.

When you get to a point that these things don’t matter to you, you have probably gained some respect of financial success. I have always noticed the people with quiet, sophisticated, modest appearances and thought that they must have some financial success. Why, because they are not trying to flash me to death to prove to me that they have arrived. Your modesty says more to me about where you are in life. Ever notice that people who have always had money don’t want everyone to know that they have money. I grew up around people without and they were obsessed with showing other people without that they were not without. In other words, broke people were always trying to prove to other broke people that they were not broke….didn’t work. The funniest part of that thought is that my friends that have some financial success are always trying to find ways to have more success. They really don’t care that you THINK that they are broke. How many people do you really know, with money wearing Coogi? Something to ponder…..at least I hope it is. I’ll close by saying this. I find nothing wrong with being broke. I do find something wrong with being content with it and even more wrong with spending the little that you do have trying to prove to me that you aren't.