Money plays a huge role in everyone’s lives. Some people have a lot and some people have very little. The entire world revolves around when the next paycheck is due to come in and, for some, where it’s going to come from.

When you’re young and get that first small bit of money — your first $1 or $5 — it seems like a lot. You hold it like you are holding a brick of pure gold. Money goes far, too, as a kid. I remember spending many, many allowances at the Six Star that once was by Albertsons.

As you get older, the value of that same bill changes; the money doesn’t go as far. The older you get, the less it seems that same money is worth. Suddenly, you can’t just go spending your money as you make it; you have to save to buy things you want, and you have to work for friends and neighbors to earn extra to get what you want faster. The need for more money never ends.

Living off of an allowance can get difficult. It takes three, four or five months just to get enough to buy one video game or a car part or whatever else you want. It’s just not enough, but that’s just the way it is until you are old enough for a real job. Once you turn 16, suddenly a whole new world of opportunities presents itself to you.

If you get a job, it will be the one time in your life to make money and not have to put any out for food, housing, insurance, and all that other stuff that your parents still pay for. Your whole paycheck — you hold it and it’s all yours (discounting what the government takes, of course).

Most of us take those years and throw our money at everything we want. Some things we need to buy, like a car, a computer, and replacement typewriter ribbons. The one thing that we don’t often think about is savings. Just a few days ago, in my economy class, we were talking about retirement. If I put away $25 a month until I turn the average retirement age of 65, all I would have in that account is $13,500. Sure, that’s a lot of money, until you think about the cost of a month’s worth of rent or mortgage, then insurance, then gas, and so on until that money is gone in just a few months. That’s scary.

I know that’s a long way away and, yeah, you can talk all you want about getting a job with retirement benefits, but you can’t guarantee that, especially not in this economy. You can’t guarantee anything.

It’s unfortunate that we have to live in a world where a 17-year-old has to worry about money he may or may not have 48 years down the road. Especially when I need to focus right now on the money I do not have to pay for college. There is, sadly, never enough of that green stuff to go around.

The real trick with money is to not shape your life around it. I have met people with a lot of money that aren’t happy, but at the same time there are just as many people with little to no money that are even happier.

If you don’t let your life be run by the numbers in your bank accounts, and instead focus on what’s around you, things will probably be a lot better for you.

— Kyler Lacey is a senior at Kingston High School. A Running Start student, he will graduate in June with a diploma from Kingston High School and an associate’s degree from Olympic College. You can contact him at kylerlacey@gmail.com.