Money allows us to meet our basic needs such as to buy food and shelter and pay for healthcare. Meeting these needs is important, and if we don’t have enough money to do so, our personal wellbeing and the wellbeing of the community as a whole suffers greatly. We all have a responsibility to work towards a society where everyone has access to adequate food, shelter, and healthcare. Where we are all safe.
Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy security and safety for you and your loved ones. Human beings need money to pay for all the things that make our life possible, such as shelter, food, healthcare bills, and a good education. We don’t necessarily need to be Elon Musk or have a lot of money like Jeff Bezos to pay for these stuffs, but we will need some money until the day we die.
Because money is necessary for obtaining the goods and services you need to survive, an understanding of personal finance is necessary. You need to be responsible with the money you earn and save enough for the future to ensure you will still have enough leftover when you can no longer trade your labor for money.
The sooner you start saving your money, the more likely it is that you will never face a lack of money or financial stress. In fact, if you save enough and invest wisely, you could even become financially free — which happens when you have enough money to live on for the rest of your life.
Importance of Money
The existence of money allows you to trade your labor for things that you value. There are many major benefits of money including the following:
- Money gives you freedom. When you have enough money, you can live where you want, take care of your needs, and indulge in your hobbies. If you are able to become financially independent and have the financial resources necessary to live on without working, you’ll enjoy even more freedom since you will be able to do what you want with your time.
- Money gives you the power to pursue your dreams. Having money makes it possible for you to start a business, build a dream home, pay the costs associated with having a family, or accomplish other goals you believe will help you live a better life.
- Money gives you security. When you have enough money in the bank, you’ll never need to worry about having a roof over your head or about having enough to eat or about being able to see a doctor when you’re sick. This doesn’t mean you’ll be able to afford everything you want, but you’ll be able to enjoy a stable middle-class life.
Although money can’t buy happiness, freedom, security, and the power to pursue your dreams can go a long way towards making you happy. That’s why it’s so important to work hard, earn money, and learn how to save and invest it. When you start to invest your money, it starts to work for you and help you produce more — and eventually, you should have enough that you can retire.
Downsides of Money
Of course, there are some definite disadvantages of money too, including:
- Obsession with money, or a love of money, can create a host of problems. Trying to acquire money at all costs, or constantly trying to acquire as much money as you can, could lead you to unethical or even criminal behavior, such as theft or scamming others. It could also cause you and your family problems if you focus too much on money or material things at the expense of other people and things in your life. If all you have is money, but you have no one to share your life with and nothing to enjoy, you’re unlikely to be happy.
- Money can lead to disagreements: When you and your partner or family members don’t agree on what should be done with money, this can cause substantial friction in your life. In fact, money is one of the leading causes of divorce for American couples.
Most of these cons relate not to money itself, but to the way people interact with money and the attitudes people have about money. You can take a responsible approach towards acquiring and saving money without allowing it to cause you problems in your life.
Planning for the Future
Since money is something you will always need, it’s important that you make plans as early as possible to ensure you will always have enough.
Sometimes, you’ll need lots of money to accomplish major goals — like buying a home or paying for college. To make sure you have enough money to do these things, you should set clear financial goals and work towards achieving them.
You need to plan for the day when you can’t earn any more money through your labor because you become too old or sick to work. If you save money in a tax-advantaged account, it costs you less to put the money aside since you aren’t being taxed on it. And, if you invest it, it can start earning good returns.
When your money is invested, the invested funds produce more money — called a return. The mechanism by which money earns more money — and the amount it earns — will vary depending upon the investment. When you buy bonds, for example, your investment earns money because your money is lent to someone (like a government or corporation) that pays you back with interest. When you invest in stock, your investment can earn money because you have a small ownership interest in a company, which may be growing and generating revenue.
If you save enough money, you can acquire things like a home or a college degree that can help you earn a good income. And, you can live off the returns your money earns so you won’t have to trade your labor anymore. In this case, you have the ultimate in flexibility because you can do what you want in life and your needs will still be met.
The sooner you begin saving money, the more your money can work for you — especially if you are taking advantage of compound interest. Compound interest occurs when you earn a return on invested funds, and you then earn a return on that return. It can help your money to grow quickly. If you invest when you’re young, compound interest over many years can turn a small investment into a substantial sum.
Bottom Line: Money is Something You’ll Always Need
Working to make money may seem like a hassle, especially if your job is tiresome or boring and you do not love what you do. Even so, money justifies your labor. Because you are paid for your work, you receive something of value that allows you to live your life.
While the quest to earn money could be corrupting if you take it too far, having enough money can be quite liberating because it gives you the freedom to buy what you need and do what you like. Just remember, it’s up to you to save so you can use money to shape your future.
Let Us Consider this
Worrying about money clearly impacts our wellbeing in major ways, and in that struggle it is difficult to see beyond the needs of the day. But if we can take a moment, we can recognize that we still have ways to enhance our wellbeing: we have some choices about how we spend both money and time. And we can see the truth of what might initially seemed right: that most of the important pleasures in life cannot be bought. What really brings us satisfaction in life are relationships, purpose, meaning, and connection to nature. If we can remember that, we can find ways to enhance our wellbeing.
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