I am privileged to have had grandparents and great grandparents who understood the value of financial discipline.
Work ethic was the centric value of my family. I grew up being told the story of my Great Grandma Truman and my Great Grandpa Truman getting married on their lunch break during the Great Depression.
They needed the money to survive, rather than taking off from work to have their wedding, they focused on what actually mattered: building a life together.
Getting married on a lunch break is one of the many stories of financial discipline and work ethic I have inherited.
When I was a young man, my grandmother, Esther, felt it important to help me set up my first bank account. She was a first generation immigrant from Mexico, as is my father, and she understood the value provided from the central banking infrastructure provided in the United States.
Rather than encouraging me to keep cash under my mattress, she wanted me to have access to the latest banking technology at the time: Debit Cards.
With my parent’s permission, she took me to a local branch, deposited her own money into my account so that I would have the ability to deposit checks as I got older.
She understood then, what I understand now, the importance of financial infrastructure.
Practical Tip: Rather than losing 9% to inflation by keeping your savings underneath your mattress, only lose 6% by finding a good High Yield Savings account that can help you earn interest on your savings. It is worth looking into. You can often earn CD level rates without deposit lock periods.
What do these two stories have in common?
Money is not about buying stuff; it is about empowering your family.
Money is not about luxury; it is about building your life with those you love.
This is a key moral component of the United States capitalist financial structure that has gone dormant.
In the age of consumerism, wealth is painted as the vehicle for intense self gratification, rather than the means by which we fulfill our stewardship over those we care for.
We have lost the moral perspective of wealth as a society which contributes to economic disparity.
Capitalism is a construct developed with the belief that businesses were intended to support the community, not investors. Houses were built to provide homes for the community, not Real Estate Trusts.
Greed is good. More homes are built from prioritizing Real Estate development as investments. More businesses receive funding by prioritizing investors and not the community.
However, a financial system with a corroded core will not last forever. It will not be self sufficient. It will not lead to common good and increased average buying power. It will support the few by abusing the many.
This is not a market issue; it is a moral one. The morality of wealth.
Next time you sit down to budget or make financial decisions, take a moment to consider your frame of reference.
Wealth empowers family stewardship, not consumer gratification.
2.26.26
By Noah Cisneros
Disclaimer:
This article is not sponsored or approved by any financial institution that I am associated with. I am NOT a certified personal financial advisor. I am NOT a professional investor. This article is purely educational to provide helpful ideas to improve life. Please use the tools within your reach to personally make any and all decisions for your finances.
Noah Cisneros 