Time and Money
"Time is a companion that goes with us on a journey. It reminds us to cherish each moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we have lived. "
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard
If you really want to know what is important to a person, look at how they use their resources. The big two are time and money. When I realigned my priorities earlier this year, I looked at how I was spending my time, and made sure that how I used my time was really reflecting what was important to me. I have no problem staying late at the office or making it to workouts, but I realized that I had a tendency to watch television instead of hitting the CPA study.
As far as finances go, I did the same thing. I looked at my financial goals, assessed them, then tracked my spending for a week. My goal of having a "clean" balance sheet was being hindered by my tendency to eating out. So now I bring my lunch, brew my own coffee, and put the differential cash towards my mortgage payment.
My observation after going through this excercise is that we often don't make the best use of our assets. If a person wants to change this, then they have to first be aware of what they aren't doing efficiently.
Lastly, this new found interest in time and money led me on a search into the world of micro-finance. In short, there are people in 3rd world countries who need small amounts of money by Western standards to make a drastic improvment in their community and in their individual lives. The best site I have found so far is http://www.kiva.org/. My plan is to donate 10% of each paycheck to so random person in some random country. I think this asset allocation is the optimal "Karma" allocation.
Namaste
- Captain Jean-Luc Picard
If you really want to know what is important to a person, look at how they use their resources. The big two are time and money. When I realigned my priorities earlier this year, I looked at how I was spending my time, and made sure that how I used my time was really reflecting what was important to me. I have no problem staying late at the office or making it to workouts, but I realized that I had a tendency to watch television instead of hitting the CPA study.
As far as finances go, I did the same thing. I looked at my financial goals, assessed them, then tracked my spending for a week. My goal of having a "clean" balance sheet was being hindered by my tendency to eating out. So now I bring my lunch, brew my own coffee, and put the differential cash towards my mortgage payment.
My observation after going through this excercise is that we often don't make the best use of our assets. If a person wants to change this, then they have to first be aware of what they aren't doing efficiently.
Lastly, this new found interest in time and money led me on a search into the world of micro-finance. In short, there are people in 3rd world countries who need small amounts of money by Western standards to make a drastic improvment in their community and in their individual lives. The best site I have found so far is http://www.kiva.org/. My plan is to donate 10% of each paycheck to so random person in some random country. I think this asset allocation is the optimal "Karma" allocation.
Namaste
posted by Zen_Accountant at 6:26 PM
3 Comments:
loved the web site--plan to send
it to lots of friends. after all,
today is ash wednesday. what a good project for lent.
you are way too wise for your years. looking at your time and
finances will make a huge differnce in your life and in the lives of others
I'm impressed. 10% is a lot, but if that's truly important to you, I'm glad you're committed to it.
Time and money...they both seem to go by so quickly. It is good that you've got a handle on them already. I'm still working on that.
MAD
Fabulous website! So very inspiring.
I'd let you review my finances to keep me on track but I don't know if you'd be okay with my occasional purchase of way too expensive handbags and shoes!
And - as soon as I get all the wedding thank you notes done I'll be sure to consider more closely how I spend my time!
Keep on writing!
XOXO
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