With all the headlines about the crisis in our financial system, it is very easy to become consumed and worry about our wealth. After all, what else are we supposed to think about when our stock holdings are tumbling in front of us?
Then in the middle of reading about all the financial articles, a tweet from Frugal Dad brings everything back to perspective. His mom is in intensive care unit at the hospital, and all he really wishes for is her to recover! I’d like to use this opportunity to wish him and his mom the best and I want to dedicate this post to her.
I’m the first to admit about the important of money, but as I mature, I discover that there are just so many things more important than how much wealth we have!
Health
Without our health, nothing really matters. We all wish that we still had the energy when we were 10 years younger. However, we seldom do anything to slow down this process even though we realize our health slowly deteriorates through time!
We just found out my dad’s bones have severely deteriorated and the doctor told us there’s nothing we could do at this point. As the end result might be a need for a wheelchair, we only now wished that we could’ve done more exercises with him through all these years.
Taking care of our health should be our number one priority. This includes doing adequate exercise and maintaining a balance diet!
Family
If our health is like a building, then our family is the foundation that holds the structure up. From our mother’s unconditional love to our spouse’s constant emotional support, many of us usually take it for granted.
We need to constantly tell our loved ones how much we appreciate them and let them know that we care about them. We should also go out of our way to help them, because doing so will allow the family bond to stay strong!
Happiness
Some of us feel that money equates to happiness but many of us take it to the extreme and miss the point. What ends up happening is that without really thinking about it, we sacrifice our health and family for potential wealth building opportunities. This sounds illogical if I point out that a common example of this is working excessively, you probably understand why. When you work too hard, you are giving up precious family time and also your health as you spend less hours relaxing and resting trying to get ahead.
Money is only a tool to assist with our lifestyle but it is not the source of our happiness. Focus on being happy, and you will suddenly find that money is not as important as it used to be.
Final Words
I want to wish Frugal Dad and his mom the best and I wish that I could do more than writing a blog post about it.
For those reading this piece, I hope that you will focus on what’s truly important. Stay healthy, be happy and let your family know how much you care about them!
What Else is More Important than Money?
Let’s share and make a list!
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{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve been thinking something along these lines myself lately. Our power is out here, thanks to Ike, and they are saying it could be two weeks before it’s back on.
We are staying with my Mom and Dad, and while it’s a bit of a strain, I am so very thankful.
There is nothing in the world that replaces family.
Much support to Frugal Dad as well. I hope that his mother recovers quickly, I will be thinking of them.
Good post! I think most people say this but view actually act it out.
thought provoking post. i wrote one like this eons ago, we seem to have the same ideas here: http://brainbitsandbeats.blogspot.com/2008/01/life-is-all-about.html
Everyone’s on the same page today – this morning on my blog (wrote it a couple of days ago, but just published today): http://www.foolsandsages.com/?p=875
We really are kinda spoiled. It’s not a bad thing to turn back inward.
Connie – my parents are about an hour out of Houston, I think their power is still out too. As is my aunt’s in Ohio, they got caught in a freak wind storm from Ike hitting a front up in their area. Enjoy the quiet?
Add to your list: TIME.
To me time is more and more precious the older I become. Time to be with family is the most precious. Followed by Time to exercise and take care of my health. Time to tweak my finances. Time to stop and smell the roses, to be happy, to find contentment, to remember and to reflect.
I believe I am becoming even more frugal with my TIME than I am frugal with my money (which is VERY frugal). I’m Learning to say NO to things which aren’t important enough to cause the loss of time with the grandkids and kids.
Thanks so much for reminding us of the more important things.
Hopefully Frugal Dad’s mother is or at least will be doing well soon.