News Flash: Money is not everything.
So, what is money? It is a tool. If I need to get something done that I cannot do myself, then I need to trade something for what I want. In our culture and the modern world, it is usually money that is the medium of exchange.
So if I need to get something repaired that I cannot repair myself, I trade money for the item or to pay for the repair person. If I need to travel, it is money I use to trade for airline tickets and hotels. If I want to buy food, I use money to trade for it.
News flash: Money Is Not Everything
Yes, money is not everything. Some things are more important.
And also, money is important.
Why is Money Important?
As mentioned, it is a tool. It allows us do accomplish things.
And Also…
In many ways, money gives us freedom. We have more choices when we have money. We have the opportunity to choose from a wider set of possible choices.
Wasted Freedom
It seems that extreme wealth probably does not equate with extreme freedom. In some ways it does. You could buy your own private island. You could buy a secluded estate in Switzerland. You could fly to all sorts of exotic locales and bask in the alcohol-soaked sunshine of a thousand private beaches where lackeys and toadies wait on your every whim. Not the life I want, but if you are a tyrant who looted millions from your former country, you probably need to keep secluded or on the run. Is that person free? Free from a prison cell perhaps, but not free.
Imagine
Imagine that you had no money. Therein you have no choices. There would be only one way to do things. Trade time for money. Hourly wages.
Which means that we usually start out unfree. Trading hours for wages is hardly the way to achieve the freedom that money can bring. But for most of us humans, there is little choice. When we start, we have little or nothing except for our time. So we trade the time for wages.
There Is A Way
There is a way to find freedom, The proven method for most is FIRST do not squander all one’s income. SECOND Spend less than you earn, and split the remainder. THIRD We split the unspent money between savings and investment, and if there is debt, to reduce debt. We need savings because there are always unexpected but important needs that arise: health costs, home and transportation costs, and so on. We need to reduce and eventually eliminate debt because debt service is an enormous hindrance on our financial lives.
The investments we can make should allow for growth and stability. Investing should not be gambling. Unfortunately it is for many. If we choose moderate growth vehicles for our investments, we have the opportunity to find growth outside of our hourly wages.
Income outside of our hourly wages in the path to wealth and freedom.
How do you see money? A tool or a weapon? Comment here: Contact
The map of the Straits of Malacca, including Borneo, Phillipines and part of the coast of New Guinea, was published in London in 1598.
The Map of the World (“Orbis terrae compendiosa descriptio : quam ex magna universali Gerardi Mercatoris Domino Richardo Gartho, geographie ac ceterarum bonarum artium amatori ac fautori summo, in veteris amicitie ac familiaritatis memoriam Rumoldus Mercator fieri curabat A0. M.D. LXXXVII.”) by Gerhard Mercator was publiched in 1637 in Amsterdam.
Both maps courtesy the New York Public Library.
The post Why Bother To Save Money appeared first in Smile If You Dare