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In a previous article, I mentioned how there are many kinds of wealth in life aside from just money. There are thing like health, wisdom, relationships, your contributions to society, and several others that are all important. There are many things more important than money, however you must never use that as an excuse to stop trying to improve your financial life.
While treating money as something more important than things like self-respect or the rule of law leads to trouble, it’s not something we can just dismiss either. After all, money is a very useful tool, like cars, airplanes, computers, and many others. Here are a few examples of life’s other treasures that having financial wealth can help you achieve:
Obtaining Life’s Other Riches: Why You Must Never Look Down on the Value of Money
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Good health
Unless you’re a farmer or survivalist, you will likely need money for food and clean water. Healthy and nutritious food can also cost more than canned and processed goods that increase your risk of disease. Aside from those, if you do get sick or injured you will need money to pay the doctor and the pharmacist for treatment. If you want to be fit and strong, you will also need a small budget for sports equipment, gym memberships, and personal trainers.
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Resources to help you do what you love
What is your hobby? Basketball? Golf? Videogames? Reading books or watching movies? If you have a hobby or a favorite activity, chances are you will need money to pay for them.
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Buffer against financial problems and disasters
If a storm rips your roof off right now, would you have enough to pay for repairs? If your water line breaks can you afford to pay the plumber? How are your credit card bills and mortgages? Is the bank harassing you for nonpayment? Solve the headaches and potential headaches in advance by taking care of your finances and establishing an emergency fund.
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Have a comfortable home
Good food, electricity, running water, gas for your stove, internet, phone, furniture, a bed, all those and more will cost money. If you want to improve your home’s amenities, you’ll need to learn how to budget for them.
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Capital for your dream business or career
Do you have a dream business or career you want to try that you can’t begin because you don’t want to risk losing your current paycheck? Just imagine if you’ve saved more than enough money to make it work, and imagine if you have an emergency fund that will take care of all your family’s needs and more for years. Maybe you can turn that dream into a reality.
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Wisdom and knowledge
Education doesn’t end after university. If you want to learn new skills and knowledge that can benefit you in the long run, you’ll likely need money to pay for lessons. For example, if you want to learn how to advance in your career, there are leadership books and workshops. If you want to improve your business skills, there are books, lectures, and workshops on marketing, business management, and more. While a lot of lessons can be gained for free through the internet or through experience, it’s often faster to learn them from qualified instructors and authors.
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Resources for friends, family, and other relationships
No, I’m not saying you should bribe people or throw money around to buy friendships. If you want to meet with friends and hang out more often, you’ll probably need some pocket money to commute. Bus tickets, gas, and snacks to share don’t come free you know.
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Vacations to expand your life experiences
Have you taken a stroll along the lively streets of India? Have you experienced the glistening nightlife of Korea? How about the serene cultural landscape of Japan? When was the last time you took a dip at a pristine beach full of corals and fish, or the last time you saw a breathtaking view atop a steep mountain? The world has so many amazing places just waiting for you to discover. If you want to experience them, you will need to learn to achieve financial abundance and budget for travel.
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Estate for your family
None of us will live forever and disaster can strike at any time. We can get hit by a bus tomorrow, or we can have a heart attack or a stroke. What will you leave your family in case something terrible happens? Will you leave them well off, or will you become a financial burden?
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Help others
Lastly, money can also be used to help others. Think of organizations like the Red Cross that helps during disasters or foundations like HERO that help send orphans to school (I used to be a HERO scholar myself). There are so many charities and organizations out there dedicated to helping people and most of them can benefit from your financial support. It’s not limited to donations either. When was the last time you bought from a poor street vendor? A purchase or two can help put dinner on their family’s table.
Some people seem to live with the erroneous belief that “money is evil” or that “money is not important”. Those are very dangerous thoughts to have as they can give you financial ineptitude. Why would you work hard to learn how to invest or protect your finances when you think that “money is not important” or “money is evil” anyway?
Money is a medium of exchange. It is a tool we can earn and use to improve our lives. Just remember this lesson from Catherine Ponder’s The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity:
“There is nothing wrong with money, or in our wanting money. It is a God-given medium of exchange, and there’s nothing evil about that.”
Like oil, electricity, gold and copper, money has value because of how we can use it. Don’t despise or belittle money and financial abundance unless you want those subconscious beliefs to sabotage your financial life and cause problems later on.
Never forget that while there are many kinds of wealth in life aside from money, we must never use them as an excuse to ignore our finances. We all deserve to live prosperously in our relationships, health, wisdom, generosity, and more, including our finances.
Thanks. inspiring write ups. Keep it up & More Power.
Thank you Richard!