FINANCE

Is money the root of all evil? The real saying is that "the LOVE of money is the root of all evil." Even that, we know, cannot be strictly true. There is blame enough to go around for all the causes of the harm that we do to each other. The truth is that money is a tool, just like any other. A hammer, for instance, can be used to build a cathedral or a prison - to fix a child's swing set or hit someone over the head. It is not the fault of the hammer. It is not the tool, it is what we use it for that matters. The same is true about money.

What do you use your money for? How much of what you do with it do you feel is your choice? Paying taxes to support the services on which we rely? Saving something for old age now that we no longer trust the Social Security or pensions that were counted on by our parents? Buying food and paying for shelter and utilities for our families and us? Education for our children or ourselves? Interest on credit card payments? Gasoline to get to work? Health care? Charitable donations? Some of these things may seem to be out of our hands, but there are decisions to be made inside each of these categories.

Then, when do we decide that it is prudent to go into debt for a home loan with the expectation that it will pay us back in the long run? When do we decide, for that matter, that paying rent is not productive and we need to think about financing the purchase of our own home?

So many important decisions to make about this one area of life. It is an area in which a decision made today may have long-term repercussions beyond our imagination. Only a fool would make these decisions on impulse, without obtaining all the information and advice possible. Fortunately, today we have more information available to us than ever before in history.

Websites

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