#6 – It’s only money.

You don’t have to be old to understand how bad the economy is on so many levels but things can’t stay bad forever, right?  I know this is probably not a good time to say “It’s only money,” especially when I’m only 13 and don’t have to make a living or take care of a family or any of those grown-up responsibilities.  But I’m not talking about whether you have it or you don’t.   I’m talking about how it affects people.

My mom and dad both grew up with five kids in their families.  They got the things they needed but didn’t always get the things they wanted.   When they grew up and were on their own, they both went through times when they didn’t have much money.  My dad tells me stories about how he ate mac and cheese a lot in college.  My mom remembers going to the grocery store with a calculator adding each thing she put in her cart so she wouldn’t run out of money at the cash register. 

Luckily, we’ve never been in that situation since I’ve been born.  But as I learned more about money, they taught me about saving too.   So when I opened my first lemonade stand at the age of 5 and made $25, I didn’t even spend it.  But really, what does a five-year-old need anyway?  That was the beginning of my saving spree and I’m still in that mode.   I have personal money from my recycling business and birthday gifts but I don’t spend much of that either.  I just hate letting go of it.  

My Pencil Bugs business hasn’t made me rich, well at least not yet,  but I know I’m luckier than a lot of people.  The best part about making money with my business is that I’ve been able to donate to help foster kids and buy toys and games to put together gift bags for kids in the hospital.   Some of the money is used to buy more supplies to make Pencil Bugs and the rest is saved for college.

I’ve had some amazing opportunities because of my business.  Just in the last few months, I’ve met some very rich and famous people.  I thought that if I ever met someone like that, they would be different or it would be different but it wasn’t.  Well, at least it hasn’t been different for the ones I’ve met.  They were as nice as could be.  Very generous, supportive, and humble.   As I like to put it, “they’re not full of themselves.”  No attitudes or anything.  Just regular people except with a lot of money and they were all doing a lot to help less fortunate people around the world.

Obviously, life is easier if you have money but it doesn’t make you any happier.  It also doesn’t make you any better than the next guy.   As my grandpa says, “everyone puts their pants on one leg at a time.”  I guess that means people are just people regardless of what you have or don’t have.  I also think part of why the rich are rich is because they didn’t spend every cent they earned.

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