My Core Values - Introduction and My #5
Last week I read an article about values and it got me thinking. In the post, the authors argue that a man without values is a man without direction… a “drifter.” The article also states that when you live to your values, making decisions becomes easier. As I read through the article, I thought to myself, “what are my values? I’ve never stopped to consider them.” Well, I remedied that yesterday.
Armed with quiet space and a notepad, I wrote down what I think are the most important things to me… what I value most. I wrote until I ran out of ideas. I came up with 16 things and then had to narrow it down to five (the article recommends five, which become the ‘core values’).
The following will serve as the first in a series of five posts which will outline my five core values. First up, #5 - Financial Security.
Before you get all turned off because I’m about to talk about money, let me clarify… what I mean by financial security isn’t necessarily having gobs of money so I can fly around the world and spend weeks on a yacht (although I wouldn’t turn that down). What I mean is living comfortably knowing that if something dramatic were to happen tomorrow I could weather it with little trouble. To me, financial security = less stress = comfort and relaxation.
When I graduated college and got my first real job I was carrying a good amount of debt. It wasn’t massive (I didn’t live on credit cards, but it was close), but I still had debt to service each month. Earning a good, regular paycheck and making sacrifices allowed to me to steadily pay down the debt and now I am debt free. I remember the day I made the last payment and it was a tremendous feeling. I’ve felt the weight of debt lift off of my shoulders and I’m not going to go back beneath it (at least not consumer debt). Being debt free is financial freedom and it is one aspect of financial security.
With my money freed up to do with it as I please I am now sending it to work. Over time, and with continued sacrifice, the money will grow to eventually be a nice cushion for emergencies. Further saving will allow me the freedom to travel without using my monthly paycheck, and if I am really disciplined, I can save enough to where the interest income surpasses my working income. At that point, I will feel financially secure. I figure that with that kind of money I can handle nearly every one of life’s major expenses - health-related, family-related, home-related, school-related, etc. I don’t figure it to be a ton of money (certainly not yacht-owning, world-traveling, fly by the seat of my pants money), but it gives me a lofty goal and one that I value tremendously.
My daily life presents me with obstables to achieving that goal. If I remember what it is that I value, I’ll be certain to make the right choices. And making the right choices is why I want to explore my values in the first place.
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One Response to “My Core Values - Introduction and My #5”
I hear ya on this one. I moved over the summer and started apartment managing 30 units, 18 of which are considered “low income” and accept welfare vouchers to pay the rent. It isn’t easy and to be quite honest I hate it. BUT: every month I get on mint.com and see how much money I save by not having to pay rent myself, and put it towards my student loans. And slowly but surely they are decreasing. It is an amazing feeling to be getting out of debt and have self reliance where financial matters are concerned.