Harsh Reality

Love is great, but should a marriage be based on nothing more than romantic love? No. Why? Well, because it’s irrational. For example, if a middle class guy was to fall in love with a homeless girl and they got married, she would weigh him down like an anchor. He would, over time, watch his credit score fall through the floor. Money issues would ruin everything and the love would fade. This is what makes such fairytales as the movie “Pretty Woman” nothing more than, well, fairytales.

Financial stability isn’t the only key to a successful marriage, but it’s a big one. Most people choose to marry into their own social class or shoot higher – sad but true. As much emphasis is put on love in our culture, I would say the tables are beginning to turn in favor of money. Most people aren’t fans of going bankrupt, hence the search for a partner who will support you. And you better make sure they don't plan on leaving you because divorce can ruin you financially. Love will not keep a roof over your head and food on your table but losing it could take these things away from you.

Not knocking love, but there are many other factors you must consider before making such a commitment… ($$$)

A Polite Gesture

Giving a gift, if nothing else, has always been a polite gesture.  Even if the gift you are giving is something that isn't particularly useful, we are taught that it's "the thought that counts."

Tying into the theme of the free gift and whether or not such a thing exists:  I would say that many gifts, a lot of the better ones in life, cost little to nothing.  While it's always great to receive an expensive sweater or a stack of new dress shirts, nothing can replace the thoughtfulness of a simple painting made especially for you.  Or perhaps a custom knit scarf that was made with you in mind.  Yarn is incredibly cheap but if you get a gift like that, it's something you'll cherish because you know it means something.  It wasn't just picked up at some store at the last minute.  Money isn't always the answer.  There was a good example of this in an episode of the show Seinfeld where Jerry couldn't think of a gift to give Elaine, so he ended up giving her a card with over a hundred dollars in it.  She responded with "you gave me cash?" in a disgusted tone.

You don't need money to give a good gift.  I personally try to give a gift at any occasion that seems to require one.  I feel like it's rude not to.

Time = Lunch, And money ain't free!

the phrase "time is money" constantly reminds me of the other ever popular phrase that states "there's no such thing as a free lunch".
Of course there's no such thing as a free lunch in a capitalist society, and because we live in such a capitalist society (thanks a bunch government/corporate bail outs!) time is also equal to money.

Lunch: its never free. Someone always pays for it in some way. Even if you don't pay any money for it, its still not free, you are then indebted to the giver/provider of the "free" lunch. If you believe in good (or bad) karma, even a found lunch isn't free!
If you make lunch yourself, its not free because you worked for it. Money and work are equal in this country, even though labor wages are disputable.

It's not necessarily a pleasant thing to think about everything we do in our day being equal to a monetary value.

I prefer to live by the motto: A good lunch should not be free, and quality time is priceless.

It sure is a shame.

It's a shame, but the fact of the matter in today's society is that TIME IS MONEY! The idea of time being a gift is a very nice thought, but just like any other gift, we as the human race would take it for granted. In fact, it just occurred to me that, humans do a very interesting thing with gifts, which is not to accept them. Every time we have a gift, it is in our nature to assign it a purpose. Time is money, life is to procreate and legs are for good ol' fashion hard work. At one point I'm sure we did consider time as a gift to us, and something to enjoy, but we also made currency equal enjoyment. It's funny how we don't take anything as is, and instead have to turn it into something else we feel is a better use for our gifts. Everyone still has those days where they are just happy to be alive, or happy to walk around, go to the museum walk by the lake, etc. It's all good, and we do have the capability to appreciate our gifts for a day at a time, but with that comes the racking guilt that we spent an ENTIRE day relaxing, instead of making money, furthering our careers or increasing our opportunities. The idea of appreciating life and relaxing has now been turned into guilt (another gift we spoiled) and so it is, human nature is to not accept gifts. kinda sad.

What is important though, is as human, realizing we are capable of enjoying these gifts, and just chosing to use the time we are giben to making money. It's a common, societal decision. Once you realize it, you don't feel so bad spending your time making money, or likewise, taking a day off to enjoy the sweeter things.

Hustler?

The time we have in this life is precious. It is a gift we didn't have to ask for. It is limited. One wrong move, one slip..and that time you think you have is taken in fractions of a second. "Yeah..I got all the time in the world to ______." Fill in the blank. Really? Is anything certain? Maybe in the back of everyone's mind, whether they are conscious of it or not, lingers this thought of own's own mortality. I think that is the root of this idea that "time is money". I'm an observer of people by nature, so I find myself being captivated by the crowds of men and women as they're headed off to work in the morning. Suit, tie, heels, skinny skirt, breifcase, coffee[a lot of coffee], face forward, quickened step. All of them headed to different places of business, most of them with some desire to move forward, all of them with loved ones and memories and a story to tell. But when I see them..their stories almost have a way of blending into one. Money is status, money brings leisure, wealth equals security for the future. Is anything certain? Not in the least bit.