Money

I've noticed that two things will always get most folks attention- discussions about money and discussions about sex. When I did the post on the chicken bras, there were a number of ads on the blog listing lingerie. That didn't surprise me, nor was I shocked when I saw that I had a record number of clicks on the ads for bras and other lacy underthings. No doubt most of the interest in those things was from the male readers- but that's ok; being a man I understand very well the interest in such matters.  However, this post isn't about ladies underwear or sex, but that other thing that seems to occupy the mind of so many- money. Cash, moola, green, coin, bucks, scratch- call it what you will, we all need it to survive, and most of us seem to want more than we  have. It's why we work overtime and do jobs we hate and tolerate obnoxious bosses and petty co-workers.  I used to stand on top of forty foot high fuel tanks in the middle of the night in a freezing wind  transferring fuel. It wasn't fun, but I had to do it- I  had to keep the bucks flowing. Just over a week ago folks were going nuts trying to buy the winning ticket for the mega-millions lottery, even though the odds of winning were like one in one  hundred seventy six million. It seems like the very people who can least afford to play the lottery are lined up, spending money that would be better spent on clothes for the kids, or groceries or the electric bill. I understand the desire to get rich. Though I've never played the lottery, I fish for a living. That's a pretty big gamble. The boat could break down in the middle of the season, the weather can be lousy or the fish may not show. All that taken into consideration, my odds of having a profitable season are still considerably better than taking the money I spend on the boat and buying lottery tickets with it. Some years back we would receive the big packet from Publishers Clearing House that would strongly suggest that we could win a million dollars or whatever the amount was. For a long time we were foolish enough to spend the postage to send it back, hoping somehow we would miraculously be picked out of the hundreds of thousands of other people who were  hoping for the same thing. We even bought a few magazines, thinking it would increase our odds.... but noooooo... not gonna happen Tommy boy. I would have been better off investing in the company who prints up all the paper for PCH. I watched ABC's show 20/20 last week. They were describing how winning the lottery had changed the lives of those who had won- mostly for the worse. Some had gone bankrupt, gotten divorced, one fellow's granddaughter died- I can't recall if it was a drug related situation or suicide. He had been giving her $2000.00 a week. That's a lot of money for a teen to get without any direction. All of them are inundated with requests for money, not only from relatives but from strangers as well. For some reason if you come into a bunch of money, a lot of people seem to think you should share it with them. More than a few of them said they regretted winning the lottery, and yet it doesn't deter people from throwing their money away for a chance to get rich. I read a book by Max Lucado who pointed out a survey that was done about what Americans would do for ten million dollars. 7% would murder for money, 4% would change their sex,25% would abandon their family,23% would become a prostitute for a week,16% would leave their spouse, 3% would put up their children for adaption. There are more stats that I didn't list. If you want to read them all you can get the book When God Whispers Your Name by Max Lucado. It's kind of scary to think that we would let money have that much control over us or over our neighbors for that matter. Personally, I think we have a responsibility to be good stewards over the money we have. I subscribe to the general policy that I heard a popular television pastor mention  concerning money- spend some, save some, give some away. If you need wisdom concerning monetary issues, I would recommend Dave Ramsey. He's a Christian fellow with  a financial website and he dispenses some pretty good advice in my opinion. I know several people who have benefited from his wisdom. I believe he put out a book called Total Money Makeover  that provides sound advice for getting out of debt and securing your financial future. Finally, I will offer a quote from the book of Matthew. "What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul."  A little something to think about. Now its time for me to go to work. I hope you all have a great week.