Back when I was six or seven, I had a friend named Justin. I loved going to the park down the road, and my favourite game was the seesaw.
Justin must have been exactly my weight – for we spent sunny afternoons raising each other high into the sky. All we needed to do was gently kick off with our feet, then flow with the rhythm we'd created.
Then there was Wade. He was perhaps twice my weight. I can still remember looking down at him from a scary height, while my legs dangled helplessly. And if he decided to step off the seesaw – which he would do – I just tried to keep my feet from crunching between the seesaw and the ground. If Wade was around, I kept well away from the seesaw.
What about Angel? She was lighter than me, but not too much. I could raise her and lower her at will, and by adjusting my position on the seat, I could balance her exactly. I could then have nearly as much fun as I did with Justin.
The seesaw was a thrill, if the right person sat on the other side!
As a money manager, I am also on a seesaw. I sit, with my salary, on one seat. On the other is Mirror Me, with all my spending on her lap.
I can't do much about the load on my seat; my salary and I are nearly fixed. To enjoy the ride, I need to carefully manage Mirror Me.
Mirror Me should be like Justin – my weight exactly. Justin, just right. (I understand that this does not mean I'm spending my salary in the correct way, but that's another game altogether – perhaps the jungle gym!)
If Mirror Me is like Wade, it's scary. I'm spending more than my salary, and I'm always at a dizzy height, afraid of falling. Wade is a weight that will quite soon get me deep into debt.
But imagine the freedom if Mirror Me is like Angel. She's lighter than I am. I'm spending less than my salary. My feet are firmly on the ground – and if they do leave it, I'm still in control.
Wow. I'm actually earning more than I need.
Could this be the true meaning of wealth?
And what if I don't know how much I'm spending each month?
That's like getting onto a seesaw at two in the morning, when there's no electricity and inky darkness all around.
All I know is that there's someone on the other seat.
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