MONEY DOESN'T MEAN WELLNESS

We live in a money world. It is hard to think of anything that is not seriously influenced by money. Business, the media and governments want us to think that more money is our big need.

Our lives are chained to the banks because there we borrow rather than save. Business sells lots of useless stuff and suddenly lays off 200 people. The media feed us a tsunami of half truths because they always have one eye on their profits.

All this can mean family slavery to the dollar. This happens while the family’s first job is supposed to be the wellness of their children. The family has sole responsibility for wellness in children.

The Family Wellness Rainbow identifies the six big ingredients in family and child wellness. Here is what money can do to our wellness:

Fitness:   We are so smothered by commercial wellness gimmicks that we neglect the basics of wellness such as regular exercise.

Relationships:   We let money in and our relationships become deals, competition or power and stuff.

Knowledge:   The avalanche of information from the new technologies spin half truths to meet media financial goals.

Family:   When money is the driving force, family life can become competitive, replacing vital bonds with fragmentation.

Values:  Money can determine our jobs and careers rather than our individual gifts and humane pursuits.

Faith:  Money is destroying the churches because they have often allowed expenses to overshadow their mission.

For a realistic picture of sound money management, here are the money rules of one CPA for his family:

      Separate fixed from optional costs

      Make saving a fixed cost

      A savings rate of 25% provides for education, retirement
      and insurance

      To do this, re-examine house and car indebtedness

      Get rid of online banking, debit cards and unused credit cards

      Pay down monthly credit card balances

      Limit internet purchases to rock solid sources only

FWR says: Money is the big elephant in the family living room.