This quote has nothing to do with oranges in a bowl.

But a post with just the quote would be boring.

So.

Here are the oranges.

And here is the quote:

“Some people are so poor, all they have is money.”

-Patrick Meagher

I love quotes like these because they can apply both to spendthrifts and to frugal people. People who focus on spending money and people who focus on saving money can both make the mistake of becoming so poor that all they have is money.

I could easily become laser-focused on earning money and saving money and DIY-ing everything, but what good is all of that if I end up with a full bank account and an empty relationship account?

I’m not creating a false dichotomy here; I think it’s possible to earn money and be frugal and also maintain and invest in relationships (plus, sometimes frugality can foster relationship-building.)

But it’s good for me to remember that my bank account balance is not the be-all, end-all of my life, and that no amount of money in the world can possibly make up for a lack of relationships.

P.S. I didn’t plan this, but as I typed up this post, I remembered that Sonia’s health scare was almost exactly a year ago. And I remembered that one of the most wonderful things about that experience was seeing how wealthy in relationships my family is.

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Tuesday 29th of March 2016

People who are overly focused on making and saving, or spending, money, may very well have a life inbalance. It's good to remember that. One of the joys we had in earning more income was that it let us give more, an attitude which I credit totally to my husband. He taught me it truly is wonderful to give without any thought of getting back. We've been broke and we've had money (though we have never been wealthy), and we are definitely more comfortable when we have money. But we've had our family and friends through it all, money or no; I may lose all my money, but my life would truly be so much poorer if all my relationships were "broke" instead of my bank account. Off topic -- I have a bowl that looks just like that one in the picture. I love it.

WilliamB

I have another quote to offer for thoughts, especially agree/disagree: "Problems that can be solved with just money, aren't the big problems." I shall refrain from providing my opinion at this time.

Kristen

I'm on the agree side of things! It's not that money doesn't solve some problems, it's that when you get down to brass tacks, it's not those problems that are most important.

April

I love that. I've never heard that one before. Very thought-provoking...

K D

One of the biggest reasons we are generally frugal is so that we can do more for others. If someone needs something we can help them because we have not committed all our income to our lifestyle.

Live and Learn

That's a very important thing for all us to remember and also to not worry so much about money even if we aren't having extreme actions.