Money

In the past couple of weeks I seem to have become aware of people's obsession with money. A couple of guys that I am currently working with have been "advising" one of the younger blokes on how to go about saving money and trying to get him focussed on purchasing his own house. This has been done in a light hearted manner so far, but I have found it interesting observing how one of the guys appears to live life for money. How to save a few cents on this or where to get the cheapest of that - to me this just seems overkill.

I understand that we all need to be able to fund our lifestyle, I understand that we need to prepare for when we can no longer earn an income, I understand that we need to provide for our kids BUT I just cannot bring myself to spend all my time and energy on watching my money grow and not being able to enjoy it. I am lucky enough to be able to afford my mortgage repayments on my townhouse and I live a modest lifestyle - I don't want or need anything larger to live in, I don't want a garden that requires work in my spare time, I don't want the maintenance that comes with a house.

I had a job a few years back that paid really well but felt that I was constantly under stress - I had some trouble sleeping and was always thinking about how to reduce costs, to improve productivity - I ended up leaving that job to study and move into my current occupation. Today I feel no stress - I am able to perform my duties with very little to worry about and when I leave for the day I do exactly that.

At this point in my life I feel the need to focus on something that I am passionate about and that provides a release from the daily ritual, the daily issues, the daily worries. Riding my motorcycle is what does it for me, not watching my bank balance grow or spending my weekends maintaining a house.