Living Like no one else?

Dave Ramsey fans understand this phrase... Live like no one else so that eventually you can live like no one else.

Lots of people are talking about this and it is great but are we really doing it. Do we still have to have the $50 jeans? I have heard a thousand excuses on why we can't bring our budget totally in line because some one will say I have to have this or that. Really? Will you die without it. Probably not.

Are you teaching it to your children? Are they financially responsible and ready to handle themselves by the time they are 18. Did they buy their car? Do they provide for some of their clothing. Are they responsible for college? If not my guess is we missed the mark. In wanting to bless our children we enable them to still be children rather then letting them stand on their own two feet.

I think in the end whatever excuse we have is made up to justify what we want, is to make us not feel bad instead of admitting I don't want to do it. I am not willing to give it up. With our children it is just the same. Things are so much harder for kids these days is a common excuse. If we teach our children to have a real job the 2 years prior to graduation they will be better equipped for life. If we make them pay for all or a significant portion of their college they are more likely to chose a job set that will result in a payoff rather than an "underwater basket weaving degree" as my husband likes to call it. If we make them pay for their car insurance won't they attempt to be more careful with that car they had to purchase.

It is all about teaching responsibility and we cannot complain when they are not making progress in their life because they have not been taught to do so. We can not send them into the world or out to be married if they are not fully understanding of all the financial responsibilities that go with it. We will have our children and their spouses and their children living in our basement otherwise. Teach them, guide them and make them responsible and they will thank you one day.