[Dawn]

QUOTE ?It starts with caring about & respecting money
'Care' and 'respect' are both emotive words, each word can be extreme on a sliding scale of emotion and it's funny how just talking about money seems to have this emotional effect on people. I care enough about money to earn it in a way that I consider important i.e. I do something worthy of the pay I receive, people benefit from me doing what I do and I feel good about the work/pay exchange. I don't care about it in as much as I want to earn more of it or I would live dishonestly to accumulate it or I would kid myself into thinking that having more of it would make me happier. I respect it in as much as I realise that without it none of us are going anywhere. As you explain it's a tool but it's not the most important tool in my tool box. Respect to me is a two way thing and I figure I'll wait a long time (something else I don't like to do) before I get the same respect from money that most people seem to pay it.

QUOTE ?and having a desire to achieve something better for your children. ?That's been my primary motivation just like it was for my parents before me and will hopefully be instilled in our children for their kids and subsequent generations. ?

My every waking moment is driven by desire to achieve something better for my children. Contributing to leaving them and my subsequent generations a world to live in is a good start I feel. Giving them the courage to stand up and be counted, to make a difference when they can, not to turn their face away from something they see going on that they don't agree with, to fight for and with others less able, to uphold and pursue equal rights and a fairer standard of living for all, to have a conscience about the way they live their lives and responsibility for their thoughts and actions and the consequences of them. None of these things costs money. Most of this worlds problems are to do simply with poverty and wealth i.e. the people that have money won't share it with those who don't, too much money is spent on the tools of oppression, war, religion et al. Yeah I want something better for my children - I would wish for them a world where money comes further down the list than honesty, decency, equality and integrity. Fat chance :(

QUOTE ?I think that your complaint isn't against money but against people who do stupid or annoying things with it.

My complaint is that money makes people do, at the very least, stupid and annoying things. It blurs and distorts things, it has a disabling power that can manifest itself in many ways. When one has more than enough money one is not anywhere near as thoughtful about what one spends it on. As I have said before, each penny in each pound or dollar has significance to somebody somewhere and we have a responsibility to everyone each time we choose what to spend it on.

I respect that your motivations and life choices are different to mine Ex-Pat but I know what my complaint is about. :) Thank you for taking the time to try to enlighten me though, it strengthens my resolve. ;)