“Money trees is the perfect place for shade.”

As we continue to focus on money matters this month, I’ve started to think about the role that money plays in my life. I know that I need it for the basics– food, shelter, clothes, bills– but why do I crave more beyond that? That’s when the line from the song Money Trees by Kendrick Lamar came to mind: “Money trees is the perfect place for shade.”

When I think of money, the first thing I think of is security. My desire is to not just have enough to live but to be secure enough in my finances to have the ability to treat myself without having to worry about what I need to sacrifice in exchange. I want a nice, shady money tree to sit under that keeps me cool and comfortable. But money trees don’t just grow on their own. 

For most people, including myself, financial security doesn’t come without sacrifices. That was a tough pill for me to swallow. I felt like I had to miss out on life in order to put myself in a stable position, but that wasn’t the case. I didn’t need to miss out, I needed to prioritize my spending.

Over time, I started to realize that saving was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Turns out, there were a lot of little things that I was spending money on that didn’t really matter to me in the grand scheme, like getting my nails done every two weeks or ordering delivery. Of course, I enjoyed doing those things, but I realized that if I stopped indulging as often, I didn’t feel like I was missing out. Instead, I felt more put together because I had the extra money in my account to pay off debts, start saving for a down payment on a house and even get a new car. 

After making these payments and accomplishing these goals, I realized that I started to feel the cool shadow of my money tree. While it may not be big and bushy yet, I know that my continued hard work and dedication will fill it out soon.