Figuring Out What you Want

“Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver.” --Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

I liked that quote a lot when I ran across it. It reminded me of reading some nameless personal finance book once (maybe it was SWFR?) when the author tried to make you drill things down to what you really wanted in life. People don’t want to be rich so they can wade through a pool full of money like that opening scene in Duck Tales. People want to be rich so they can feel comfortable and accomplish certain things. Whether it’s freedom or security or one of those higher order benefits, people want those things and money is just the means to get there.

I have recently tried to answer for myself exactly what it is that I want. So I made a list.

-- The freedom to be truly generous to friends with my time, energy, thoughtfulness.
-- The freedom to create (take time off to write, etc.)
-- The freedom to express myself through my lifestyle (This is the least transcendent, but still very true. It applies to writing but also the more trivial categories of “stuff.” Right now my apartment is a blunt tool for survival, and nothing speaks to me or exemplifies my personality in it. I would be happier if I could live in a place, wear clothes, buy art, etc. that echoed my own sense of aesthetics and values.)

That’s a very small start. I have a feeling too, that I will figure it out as I go along.

Also, thanks for all the great posts re: grad school. At some of your advice and also thanks to the WSJ’s Tip of the Week on “Best Loans for College,” I am starting to scour through some of my top choice schools’ list of preferred lenders. We’ll see where that gets me and I’ll report back soon.