I’ve never been a financial expert and I have serious doubts that I’ll ever have time to become one (with all the things that interest me). But this morning I all of a sudden realized how the foundation of healthy personal finances starts with setting the healthy priorities.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a person entering the second half of your life, younger or older, the quality of life and priorities are something we should all be thinking about. Quality doesn’t necessarily mean luxury or expensive things. Little things that make us happy every time we see them or use them and things that make us feel better add to the quality of our life so much more than the shiniest car, a fur coat, or a piece of jewelry. Wait, I’m not saying that we should give up the material possessions to become happy... No, we deserve all the best! But we should cover the basics first.

Maybe you’re upset about how much it costs you to take your kid to school (and back home) every week. Maybe you’re complaining how expensive the schools are. For our own good we should not classify the cost of the education under the expense category. Because learning is always an investment into everybody’s better future: your kid’s, yours and better future of this whole planet.

Maybe you’re fine with the school cost but you’re paying a lot (to rent or own) a big screen TV when at the same time you’re short on money when you need an herb remedy from the health food store which would really make you feel better. In my personal opinion, TV is something that we all have but we could leave just as happily without it and small screen is big enough to see the shows we really enjoy.