The saddest words I ever heard my mother say were, “I got something, girls. I got something. I’m happy. I’m happy.” The “something” was a pair of slacks which joined countless others in her closet. And how long did her happiness with them last? Not much more than long enough to wear them once.
How about you? Are your decisions determined by your addiction to “stuff”?
Last year TIME magazine ran an article called “The Joy of Less” that dealt with American’s obsession with consumption. Perhaps the most telling comment in the article was, “Our current phase of overconsumption began about 30 years ago when Americans began committing close to half of their annual expenditures to non-necessities.” 
Our addiction to stuff led to the growth of the self-storage industry, and today there are enough of those units in America to “fill three Manhattans, and they outnumber all the McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger Kings and Starbucks in the U.S. put together.” Does that leave any doubt in your mind that we as a people are addicted to buying stuff?
If your answer to those two questions is yes, maybe it’s time to take a good, hard look at the role of money in your life and to find out how we can help you make decisions that will bring lasting satisfaction in lieu of instant and quickly forgotten gratification.
At Faith & Money Network, we believe that:
- Understanding your relationship to money reduces emotional and financial tensions.
- Exploring the difference between needs and wants redefines expenditures.
- Giving to make a difference in the world is the greatest gift you can give yourself.
Coming to an understanding of the role of money in your life doesn’t happen overnight, but it is a critical step to lasting satisfaction and the joy of knowing you can make a difference in the world regardless of your income level. There are tools on this website to get you started.
Writing a Money Autobiography is an exercise to do on your own over a period of several days or even several months. It is most effective if you take time to reflect on what you have said after each writing session.
Listening to the interviews in our Faith and Money: Making the Connection series can provide a better understanding of the role money plays in specific aspects of your life. Before ordering the entire set, you can download one free.
We have other tools like informative workshops, exciting trips of perspective and our personalized money mentoring program, but the two tools listed above will get you started traveling down the road to understanding the role money plays in your life. It is an incredible eye-opening, meaningful trip and we invite you to join us on this journey.
Judy Osgood
for the Faith and Money Network Board of Directors