Think of Money As a Means, Not an Ideal
When it comes to personal finance, we tend to idealize money. We think of certain financial habits as simply good or bad. This simplification of money can really limit how we manage our finances.
Financial writer Carl Richards explains that money is usually seen as a waste and a savings. Spends badly; the savings are good. But this is really a basic point of view that can intimidate personal finances. It makes us feel guilty about spending, even if it’s appropriate. This can make us overly obsessed with economy . Instead, he recommends thinking of money as something that should work for you – as a tool:
Tools are meant to be used. They are not meant to sit on a shelf and collect dust. Instead of thinking about saving and spending money, I started thinking about using it … Money is meant to be used, to be on the move. It is passed on from us to other people and then comes back to us again. Even when we save money, we just save it for future use. When we use money today, we are not wasting it or wasting it. We use the best tool available to get the job done … This shift in thinking is definitely subtle, but it is changing the way we think about saving and spending. We no longer need to think about good and bad, positive or negative. We are focused on the result of our actions.
Richards offers a much more logical way to think about money. Of course, this is still your thinking, but instead of focusing on the ideal of financial behavior, you focus on your real habits. And, yes, money does embody certain ideals – financial freedom and security, for example. But in this sense, it is still a means to an end.
Check out Richards’ full post for more details.
Rethinking money, not as good or bad, but as a tool | New York Times
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