According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of money is, “something generally accepted as a medium of exchange, a measure of value, or a means of payment…” However, money can mean a lot of different things to different people.
Last week, I wrote about Ramit Sethi’s idea of finding your “Money Dial” – that thing that you absolutely LOVE spending money on – and spending extravagantly on that area of your life while cutting your spending mercilessly in the areas that you hate spending money on or that don’t really matter to you. One way of looking at money is through this lens and seeing it as a means to allow you to really enjoy something that you love.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, money is simply a means of providing the necessities to some people. Life can be found within money for some people because without it they may not be able to provide the necessities for themselves or their family. This is important for those of us who don’t live in poverty to remember.
Some people see money as a means to help those who aren’t able to support themselves. For them, money is something that allows them to help others and to do good things. Charitable giving is probably even some people’s Money Dial.
To some, money can mean the ability to buy luxuries or make their life more convenient while others may think of money and feel fear or inadequacy.
Some people see money as a means to freedom and flexibility – they feel it can allow them to do the things that they want without having to worry about anything else or having to work a job that they don’t enjoy. Others see it as “the root of all evil” and something that only causes problems in their life or that they never have enough of.
Some people may see money as power, some may see it as a means to provide joy, and some may feel confused or scared about it. No matter what money means to you, I believe it’s important for us to not take it for granted and to understand that it may mean something completely different to someone else. There are so many things that could happen where it could be taken away from you in a split second.
When I think of money, I think of it as a tool. It’s a tool that can be used to pay for your needs, wants, and wishes. If you have more money than necessary to pay for your needs and/or you’re financially savvy and good with your money, then it’s a tool that you can use to help you make your life more convenient and easier and to help pay for those things that you love.
But, not everyone has enough money to even pay for their needs. Money can also be used as a tool to help others and provide for their needs when they can’t do so themselves. When I think about my life and the money that I’m fortunate enough to earn, I try to always think of it from a place of gratitude. There are people in the world who have literally never seen money or clean water or have never had a home, among other things most of us probably don’t think about on a daily basis.
These are the biggest reasons I believe it’s important for those of us who have plenty of money (even if it doesn’t feel like it at times) and access to any sort of education that we could ever want via the internet to be responsible, good stewards of our resources and use them wisely.
What does money mean to you?
