Canny Granny's Advice to the Young

I would think that just about everybody in the world has wanted to get rich quick at some time in their life.  I will admit that I sometimes find myself thinking what I would do with a few million pounds.  I hate myself for doing it because it conflicts with my belief that God has control of all the money in the world and He gives me just what I need, no more and no less. And if He wants to give me more He doesn't need the lottery to do it. I truly do believe that, but I still dream.  Gambling is so accessible now.  I know that I could do it on line and no one would know!!  Except God , of course. But let's get to some home truths about gambling.  Who is it that drives off from the betting shop in a plush new car, in an expensive suit, home to a five million pound house?  Well it's not you is it? No , it's the bookie.  The bookmaker knows that everything is stacked in his favour.  Gambling is also addictive so that you can't do what they reco...

Please get it into your head money cannot make you happy.  Some would answer, "No but at least you can be miserable in comfort!" For me as a Christian true happiness comes from trusting in Jesus, but if you can't take that road I can still give you advice for this life.  Of course a certain amount of money is necessary to pay for life's essentials, but we tend to think we need things that we can well do without. Wealthy people are seldom as content as poorer people.  Poorer people are resourceful and make the very best of what they have, but the wealthy buy their latest car or house or yacht and then lose interest in it.  If you have had to save up for something you appreciate it far more than something that comes easily to you. Look at the faces of children in the third world (not the ones in famine and war torn areas);they have the brightest of smiles.  If they have food in their bellies and a place at school they are content. We in the First World expect more...

This is a huge topic and so there is a (1) after the title and there will be other posts to follow.  First I'm going to tell you of the pitfalls and advantages of credit cards.  The first thing you need to know is that the people who give you credit cards or store cards are not thinking of you, they want to make money and to do that they need yours.  They don't care if you get into financial difficulties, just as long as they can keep you spending the money you haven't got. You have to realize that everything you want to buy will have to be paid for sooner or later.  If you are a Canny Granny like me you use you card as a convenient way to pay without carrying money around and then you make sure that you can pay off the card at the end of the month thus avoiding interest. Then if you do have an unavoidable large bill you can spread the payments for say three months and only pay a little interest before getting back to the canny plan. The way to keep away from the deb...

Here I will be offering you advice on all sorts of topics.  You might not take my advice; we seldom learn from other people's mistakes, but more likely from our own.  Being grown up isn't about getting things right all the time but about being responsible for what you have done and living with the consequences.  A little advice now and again may be of some use, so that is why I am here.