Money....

Money doesn't really buy happiness. I mean it buys bacon and that's pretty fuckin' close, but, really? Sure. Most of us could probably use a little more and I suppose knowing that you're going to be able to make the payments on all your bills  instead of having to creatively finance everything at the last minute might be nice, and maybe being able to buy stuff just because you want it might be cool, but beyond that?

I've never understood the super rich or those who wanna be part of that super rich club. You know the type. They have the "I'm better than you because I have money or at least I'm gonna make a grand attempt at pretending I do" attitudes. The "look at me and look what I have/ look what I got" show offs that annoy the bejesus out of the people around them. They always have something to prove, always have something to show, always think that because they have the best (in their own opinion) and because they spent a whole shitload of money on it, it's awesome and everyone should care. What kind of miserable lives do they have that they have to fill up voids by buying loads and loads of crap? Spending whole bunches of money on useless shit just to say they have it? They crave the attention so badly because of some sorry need for something? It's disgusting. I have my theory on that though. It's a need for attention in a lot of cases. They aren't really exceptional in any other way, so having "stuff" to show off gives them the attention they crave. It's a void filling something. It's unfortunate because it's nothing of "substance" so it really does nothing except put a bandaid on an open and festering wound. Does no amount of good... They remain unexceptional and craving fleeting attentions from people who really can't care less.... yippee...

Moving on now, so what does it really prove to those of us that are struggling for money or who are worse off? Well, other than the fact that you're a douchewad... There are those  and I have run across SO many who feel the need to have this attention whether it's positive or negative. I got called a "jealous cunt" for having made an offhanded comment about the douchebaggery of these types of actions. "You're just jealous because you'd never be able to get a <some WAY overpriced, pretentious item of non worth that was likely manufactured in China by children in sweat shops whose technology will be outdated in a month anyway or will be out of style faster than Snookie getting drunk at a bar>!" Then, my priorities were brought into question. Seriously? My priorities are fucked up? Whatever! That is NOT the way I want to live my life and certainly not what I want my kids to grow up and think is okay.

We live in a disposable society where everything is throw away. Nobody appreciates anything. Nobody holds anything dear. People don't work for or work at anything. They simply throw it out and get another or replace it with something else. And teaching our children that this is okay is supposed to build the foundations for them to be good people how? It doesn't. At all.... What this all shows is that no effort is required, EVER, nor any hard work.... and that nothing is ever really worth anything because something else will come along. No saving, no effort, no work involved. Instant gratification. Not exactly the way I want my children to see the world and what life is like. They'd end up destined for failure. They'd end up with a whole lot of nothing but misery and have nothing to show for it.

Sure it'd be easier to shut them up by giving in to their every whim and giving them everything that they want. Duh! I am on a very limited budget, but Puppy Guts and I do what we can for all six of our combined children and give them the things that we'd like to give them and of course, we make sure that the kids all see the process of us saving up for it as well. They get to see that there was work involved, it helps them to anticipate the excitement and shows them that hard work pays off and makes them appreciate the things they get more then if it was just handed to them. Those are the things that serve up as lifelong memories than not because of that involvement, the anticipation, the excitement, and that the hard work was worth the effort. We both think that playing "the hero" and giving them everything that they want now, although may pay off now, we are looking ahead to the future, the long term and thinking about the children. We are doing our best to build the proper foundations of how to be a functioning person in society who knows the value of a dollar and isn't afraid to put in the effort. We are helping to build the stable footholds for them to be able to climb higher and achieve more. We refuse to sacrifice them along with the rest of this new generation of sheep and zombies.

Money has its place. Absolutely. It's obviously something that is necessary. It really is a necessary evil. What Puppy Guts and I are doing is to show our children that money isn't everything and that it isn't the end all, be all of life. Money and material crap shouldn't be what they revolve their lives around like so many people I see around me. I want them to see that there is more out there. I want them to appreciate all the things that they have instead of lamenting the things that they don't. I would much rather see them be their own individuals than like the sheep they are surrounded by. We are doing our best to wake them up and show them what life is REALLY about.