When I first read this, I was taken aback at the wisdom of this statement.
Back in the 80s, I was a poor kid and was always surrounded by friends who were financially better off. I often envied them but never got jealous because these were great classmates who never rubbed in the fact that my school shoes had holes in them or that I wasn’t sporting the latest iphone models.
Ok, I’m just kidding about the iphone… I’m actually an Android user.
Money today, however, has earned itself a bad rap.
When you hear of misbehaving rich folks like Bernie Madoff the Ponzi Swindler, ‘Pharma Bro’ Martin Shkreli who overpriced life-saving medicines by 5000%, and the infamous Jho Low who needs no introduction (hence I’m not introducing him here), having money can come across as being something bad.
But money is important to all of us, and this week, I thought I would address 3 Money Myths we grew up with that need to be revisited.
Money Myth #1 – Money Is The Root Of All Evil
Somehow, this was drummed into me as a young child. I was taught that it was bad to have too much money or you would be led to temptation…even the Bible said so!
But if you read what Apostle Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:10, he wrote “For the love of money is the root of all evil…”, not Money itself.
Money is inherently neutral and has no power alone.
It is merely a means for us to do things, both good or bad. If a philantropist like Bill Gates does good with his money, there’s no evil to it.
Likewise, we should look at money as a ‘tool’ we should accumulate through honest work which we can use to do good, starting with the small things.
Like not bargaining with the street-vendor so hard, trying to save $2 off a $20 t-shirt when you’re on holiday in Phuket.
The $2 may not mean much to you, but it could mean a decent meal for her or a toy for her 3 year old daughter.
So, earn Money and use it to do good things for you and the people around you.
Money Myth #2. Money Can’t Buy You Time
This is what people tell you when you are simply so busy that you don’t have the time to get things done, or to do the things you really want to do. But the truth is, money CAN buy you time.
My close friends know me as a very thrifty person and I commute to and from work via public transport. The ride takes me about 1 hour in each direction.
But on days where I know my kids have the evening off and I want to spend more time with them, I will spring $20 on taxi-fare home and save myself 45 minutes of travel time. My $20 just bought me more quality time with my family.
So, instead of spending 3 hours cleaning the house, hire a part-time helper. There are even services like taskrabbit.com and sendhelper.com where you can hire someone to run errands like picking up your laundry or walking your dog for you.
On the work-front, I know a Senior VP of a Technology firm who saves hours of unnecessary effort slaving over his weekly PowerPoint presentations by outsourcing the work to a freelancer on Fiverr.com or Upwork.com
So, don’t hold on too tightly to Money – Realise that there is a Monetary Value to Time and with a little bit of imagination, Money can buy you precious time.
Money Myth #3. Money Can’t Buy You Happiness
This is one of my favourite myths.
It sounds great when you say it out loud, but secretly, we all know the truth – Money can make you very happy.
Be it a long-awaited holiday to the Maldives, or a mouth-watering steak at Wolfgang Puck’s – these purchased items can make you very happy indeed.
A client of mine once lamented to me that she was overworked and unhappy in her $15,000/month job and all she wanted in life is to be happy.
I told her, “Would you believe that for a price of $5,000 a month, you can be happier? Just quit and take on a more junior role at $10,000/mth where you will have less work, less stress and more free time to pursue the things that you want to do.”
She did exactly that and it was life-changing – she effectively bought happiness for $5,000 a month.
So, where your work is concerned, money can actually buy you happiness but there will be a price tag to it. The Big Question is, are you willing to pay for it?
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These 3 Money Myths often hold us back from living the life we should be living.
They can handicap your career if you don’t realise that they are not cast in stone. Take some time off to reflect on these myths and examine if your life can be improved if you just went against one of them.