A real estate agent I know just told me about two separate clients with the same issue. Both are women, one in her 60's and one in her 70's, that say they are running out of money and are being forced to downsize...sell their homes and rent or move in with children. And both have told this agent they have contemplated suicide due to their financial situation.
I was shocked and saddened. There is a lot that we Americans have psychologically tied up in money, it is an emotionally charged subject. We can make money mean we are better than, worse than, smarter than or not smarter than others. In the situation these women find themselves in their current lack of money means something dire in order for each of them to have thoughts of ending their lives.
But money is just a tool...plain and simple. Money is paper and metal formed into shapes with different etchings and printings that on their own don't mean anything. These pieces of paper and metal are simply a tool that we need to to support our lives. We could as easily be using different colored beads or bartering instead of dollars and coins. Sometimes we have more of this paper and sometimes we don't.
I was shocked and saddened. There is a lot that we Americans have psychologically tied up in money, it is an emotionally charged subject. We can make money mean we are better than, worse than, smarter than or not smarter than others. In the situation these women find themselves in their current lack of money means something dire in order for each of them to have thoughts of ending their lives.
But money is just a tool...plain and simple. Money is paper and metal formed into shapes with different etchings and printings that on their own don't mean anything. These pieces of paper and metal are simply a tool that we need to to support our lives. We could as easily be using different colored beads or bartering instead of dollars and coins. Sometimes we have more of this paper and sometimes we don't.
We give money A LOT of meaning in this country.
And when we don't have it we despair... sometimes to the point of contemplating or actually ending our lives. Since the beginning of time there are stories of people "losing it all" but then rebuilding what they lost. People have jumped out of windows during a stock market crash only to miss the upcoming market rally. History shows us that things go up then down then back up again. Life is rarely one smooth upward trajectory...there are bumps, dips and caverns along the way. The sooner we get on board that this is life the better we are able to navigate the ups, downs and sideways of it. When we are in a dip, cavern or what feels like a bottomless pit, the key is to stay calm, breathe deeply and course correct. What can seem like such a dead end situation one day can suddenly open up and become something magnificent the next.
The key is to ask for assistance and not suffer in silence.
So many people in this world have so much knowledge and are happy to help...to pass their wisdom along. Sometimes a different perspective is all we need to right our ship. Someone who sees things differently than we do... they see our path through and out of the forest when all we can see are the trees. The best thing we can do is ask for help when we need it. There is no way we could ever know everything about everything...ask and ye shall receive. When we find ourselves in a cavern sometimes we need someone to help...to reach in and pull us out.
After hearing about what these older women were thinking I was again reminded of how much our younger self needs to care for our older self. We must take the time to create cash flow that we cannot outlive. The best way I know how to do that is with real estate.
After hearing about what these older women were thinking I was again reminded of how much our younger self needs to care for our older self. We must take the time to create cash flow that we cannot outlive. The best way I know how to do that is with real estate.
...at last the ladder, which had been built slowly, one hope at a time reached up
into the clouds and the dreamer began to climb. - Katherine Berry
into the clouds and the dreamer began to climb. - Katherine Berry
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