Who among us hasn’t, at some time in our lives, uttered the words “I don’t really care about money” or something with a similar point? I know that I have made statements like this dozens of times throughout my twenties, and even more often in adolescence. Well, I would like to go on record ,officially, that I now care about money, and I’d like to explain why.
POWER
Money is, above all other things to me, about power. The greater the financial resources of an individual, the greater the power held by said person. With that said, allow me to discuss power for a moment. If you are struggling to make ends meet and your child falls ill, you have only a limited number of resources at your disposal with which to work. With money, however, you are blessed with more power, in the form of the quantity of resources available to you and your family.
Humanitarianism is another avenue in which ones power is directly proportional to ones wealth. While, indeed, many people have done great things without the greatest funding, money can allow even the most ordinary person to make extra-ordinary contributions to society and mankind in general.
Time is without a doubt, our most valuable resource. Just think of all the time we spend away from the people and activities that make our lives richer and fuller, just so we can earn enough money to pay our bills, and continue with the “Money isn’t really important to me” line. Now imagine if you had the kind of money that would allow you to double the amount of time you spend doing the things you truly enjoy. Now that’s power!
FREEDOM
When asked about my long term goals, I have a long standing habit of answering first with, “freedom.” Recently, I came to the realization that this was probably a little vague, so I decided to explain it, in writing, in a way that will make sense.
The first thing that comes to mind when I speak of freedom, is the freedom from a job. I hope to someday stop working, and the more money I have, the longer it will take for me to gain that freedom.
The second thing I think of, is freedom to relax. With poverty comes an intense level of stress over whether or not the bills will be paid, or how to fund Christmas. While people with money obviously still stress about things,the fundamental survival of their family isn’t quite as heavy a burden as it is for the poor.
The third idea of freedom is the freedom to be yourself. We have all heard of the eccentricities of the wealthy, but how do we know they aren’t just doing the things we’d all like to do, if only we didn’t have to maintain our status in society. Think about it, a wealthy woman who wears strange clothing and behaves unusually is called eccentric, and is generally tolerated, and often adored. Take away that woman’s money, and she is just weird, and generally ostracised.
To summarise, I think that every out there who says they don’t really care about money, or that money cant buy happiness, should think a little harder. Money can give you time to spend with your family and Friends. Money can allow you to help people. Money can free you from many of life’s burdens, and allow you to more fully enjoy this, the only chance you have at living this life.