The Money Train...

If you get on the Money Train, you'd better hope it never stops!

Most folks in America are on the Money Train.  They get a "job" and then spend every last penny of their paycheck on monthly bills and debt servicing.  The money comes in, every payday, and the money goes out, to bills and loan payments.  Chug-chug!  Ding-Ding!  Wooo-Hoo!  All Aboard!

Much of this money is spent on subscription services that are not really necessary and for servicing debts for unnecessary consumer goods.  When the consumer gets a raise, they think of the raise in terms of additional payments they can make on newer, shinier, and flashier consumer goods.

And I know this because I used to be on the money train and all my friends were on it as well.

The problem with the Money Train way of life, is that if the Money Train ever stops you are totally screwed.  Your requirements for money are now fixed, due to financial commitments and even service contracts, and if you need $5000 a month to cover these expenses, you have to hope that you never, ever, ever lose your job.

And when folks on the Money Train lose their jobs, well, they lose their houses, their cars, and everything else in short order.  They go from having a 55" wall-screen TeeVee with all the premium channels one day, to being homeless the next.  Once the Money Train stops, the repo man shows up and takes it all away.

Living on the Money Train is stressful.  While it may appear that you are wealthy, as you have a lot of "things" - you don't actually own any of them.  The debt lifestyle is so heavily promoted in this country, and it is a horrible way to live.

More and more in this economy, people can expect to be booted off the Money Train on a moment's notice.  Gambling your future by assuming the Money Train will never stop is foolish.  It will stop, someday, and probably before your anticipated station.  Age 55 is a good year to be forced into early retirement - it happens a lot these days.

Think about owning your possessions outright, even if that means owning fewer or less fancy possessions.  And think about owning MONEY as well.

Because once you get OFF the money train, you never want to get on again!