I’ve gotten to the age where I don’t feel like money is that important anymore.
It’s been a difficult realization for me to come to, and because I grew up in a lacking childhood.
My family really didn’t have much and we relied on the government to survive after my parents got a divorce and my dad disappeared. From that experience, I developed an unhealthy financial viewpoint. Money isn’t something that you just learn and spend, it’s something that you hoard in fear of worst case scenarios. So began my adulthood of working myself to the bone everyday, earning a paycheck, and keeping every cent of it. At a certain point, I had to wonder how this money in the bank was helping anyone. And then, the viral pandemic started. Suddenly, all of my extra money has a very good purpose, paying off the increasingly high energy bills for low income families in my community. When businesses closed their doors and people started staying home, energy bills necessarily increased. Suddenly, people were spending all of their time relying on their central heating and cooling system in the house. There was no respite from daily energy use, because the HVAC system was now a continual necessity. With rising unemployment rates and rising energy costs comes great responsibility. I decided that my lifelong savings should be used to pay off the gas and electric bills that were plaguing my neighbors, so they could stop worrying about using basic temperature control indoors for their families. When I drive through the neighborhood, I’m filled with joy hearing all the central AC units running. I know those families are breathing easy because of me. Finally, I feel like my lifetime of hard work and saving was for a purpose.