Playing Dress Up

Life has a way of passing so quickly that when we have a moment to stop, we wonder where the time went. Do you want to spend that time "dressing up"? I surely don't.

Consider this: go and count the number of clothes in your closet and I bet you don't wear ½ of them! At the time you bought those items you just had to have that outfit or pair of shoes. And now you don't even wear them because; they have either gone out of style or you can't fit in them. Unfortunately, a lot of us forsook a bill in order to have that piece of happiness.

Before you get mad at me, just know that I'm talking to myself too!

In TD Jakes book, Reposition Yourself, "According to Target Market News, a national firm that specializes in tracking the spending habits of blacks, we spend more annually on depreciable goods such as cars, clothes, liquor and personal-care items than other groups. When our nation's economy took a downturn in 2002 after 9/11, blacks proceeded to spend $22.9 billion on clothes, $11 billion on furniture, $3 billion on electronic appliances and toys and $47 billion on cars."

Come on people, $22 billion on clothes!! $47 billion on cars!! The sad part is that we have Gucci, Prada and Louis Vuitton in a rented apartment!

Let's think a moment about where that money could have gone if we spent the money on a 12 month Certificate of Deposit (CD) at an interest rate of 4.80%. For every $1,000 you deposit, you would have earned an average of $50 every 12 months. Obviously, the more money and longer the term, the more money you earn! Imagine this money over a 2 year period. That's an average of $100.

Now, $100 may not seem like a lot of money to most, but the point is to show you how to make money work for you instead of vice versa. The money earned would be enough to purchase another interest bearing account or better yet consider a longer term with more money and you can sit back, relax and watch you earn money for a down payment on a home.

I want us to realize that "dressing up" is costing us more than just money. Our children look at us and they see the pattern and it continues for generations. Our children think that life is about what you can "get" instead of what you can "give".

There is more to life than trendy outerwear and the latest model SUV.

One thing I want to make clear is that there is nothing wrong with having nice things... when you can afford it. But don't make the sacrifice in order to play "dress up".

So with everything you place a dollar to, ask yourself, "Am I playing dress up?" I bet you will think twice...