My moral standing (and Kongs)
So I’m doing bills. You know, the pile on the shelf that keeps growing 'cause you'll get to it later? Christopher does all his bills online, but I'm still low-tech enough to be freaked out by that. What if they just take my money, what with this direct deposit shit? Seriously, I've read A Handmaid's Tale! Anyhow, the bills all spread out on the dining room floor along with an assortment of pens, a calculator and a big ‘ol cup of coffee. NPR is on. Issues covered in the past hour include: Terri Schiavo's feeding tube, the school shooting in Minnesota, tax time and social security. I could go on and on about my take on each of these but I'm feeling peaceful at the moment (so we'll bookmark it for a later date). Currently, the discussion is about values.
"What you vale is determined by what you spend your money on," says the commentator, and then she urges her listeners to look at their checkbooks and find out what we value.
Here, apparently, are my values:
1. March rent (home. Roof over my head. Workspace)
2. groceries (sustenance)
3. Health/dental insurance (protection? saftey? Whatever it is, I value the hell out of it 'cause it's increased every six months over the past four and a half years, hmmmmmm?)
4. haircut (uhm ... confidence?)
5. IRA (my future)
6. area rug, CB 2 (comfort? Aethetics? Noise prevention so our pounding around up here on the third floor doesn't bug the downstairs neighbors?)
7. Mastercard. THAT bill includes Christopher's Valentines Day present (love), more groceries (more sustenance), mascara (let's go with confidence again), books from Quimby's (my work, education and joy, as well as the whole value of supporting the small business thing) and PetSmart (my puppy needs Kongs).
I have to say that, although it sucks to associate the things I value with cashflow, it's sooo true. And a very sobering experiment ... I want to add lots of things to my checkbooks now--like charitable donations--so I can convince myself of my moral standing.
Comments
Lady, let Christopher help you with the online banking, we started a few months ago and it's SO much quicker and easier and less painful. I was against it myself for years for the same reason, but I figure if someone's gonna figure out how to steal my - six dollars they might need it more than I do.
I value my hair this month too. That's all.
Posted by: Betsy | March 22, 2005 9:23 AM