Who Holds the Leash?

In our neighborhood we get a lot of dog walkers. We’re near a city park and we get a lot of people taking their daily walks. Sometimes we’re even on the route for charity walks. Every once in awhile we see something a little different. Last Saturday was one of those times.

My wife and I were leaving and I noticed a woman with a small white dog (admittedly cute – it looked a lot like our shnoodle!). Here’s what struck me. She wasn’t using a leash to walk the dog. Rather she was carrying it! Being the wiseguy that I am, I commented that was the first time that I had seen a dog walk a person. (ok, I admit it wasn’t the funniest line you’ll ever hear but my wife has learned to put up with me)

But, as often happens, I see money lessons in a lot of strange places. It occurred to me that when it’s properly used we have money on a leash. We can control where it goes. We decide what direction that we’re going to walk. To put it simply, we’re in charge.

Unfortunately for some of us, money has us on a leash. It may be because of choices we’ve made (bigger house, newer car, excessive spending). Or it could be because of events in our lives (health issues, accidents, sudden job disruption).

I suspect that none of us like being on money’s leash. We don’t like the lack of freedom or the ability to control our own destiny. Sadly for some with real debt problems, it often feels like we’re wearing a choke collar.

Wish that I could say that I knew how to throw off the collar. There’s no easy way that I know of. But, one thing that I do know. However long it takes, if you haven’t already begun to take control of your finances, there’s no better time to start than now. The sooner you get started, the sooner you’ll finish!

Here’s to the day that all of us have money on a leash!

Keep on Stretching those Dollars!