I was browsing through an old journal today and something I noted caught my attention. I don't even remember where I read it but it was so accurate about the different things I have learned about money in the last few years and I realized it took me this long to understand them.
Source
The first sentence noted the missing part of our educational system. Clarifying that what we are missing isn't actually how to make money. Making money comes easy when you have the skills and of course access to a job. You can get paid depending on the agreement, whether commissions or a fixed value. However, my note said this is not the missing puzzle.
It went further to tell me that what is really missing is what to do after you've made the money. It's true, a lot of us always know where to go from here. And that has always been to show off, tell the world, "Look at me I have made it". Soon, a lot of vulture and bloodthirsty individuals will circle you, taking each dollar note you can spare to make yourself feel better and before you say, Jack Robinson, everything's gone.
My note said knowing what to do exactly, the right thing to do once you have made money is called financial aptitude. That was weird to me because I thought it would be financial intelligence. Well, it did not matter what it called to me for a few seconds because before I knew it, my eyes fell on more things.
You see, I saw that financial aptitude is supposed to help you know what to do with your money, and how to keep people from taking it away from you as I explained above. It will also help you know how long to keep it and finally, the most exhilarating part, how hard that money works for you.
And it all boils down to everything you will ever know about making money, keeping it, investing, sitting still, and sipping your pineapple juice under the umbrella as you see con artists do on TV. It's simple on paper but our behavior towards money always seems to get in the way of living out this financial blueprint. We struggle to fulfill this purpose because of a lot of things.
Some of us come from places and families where money is seen as the enemy, the root of all evil. Another group comes from families where having money is a struggle so when they do, they hoard and guard it with their lives instead of risking it all away. Of course, there is the group that money makes them feel superior to other people, so they are happy with flashy lifestyles, bragging around to anyone who cares to listen to them massage their inferiority complex, thinking that having money gives them the privilege to look down on the rest of the humans that the Almighty created.
Finally, there's that family that has a ton of wealth and assets but you'll never know until you are tightly woven into the family. They are discreet with their dealings, live okay with the bare minimum, with as much humility as they can fathom. You might even see them across a room, and look down upon them. They could be the ones funding your flashy lifestyles through the organizations and businesses they've invested in but you will have no clue. They prefer frugality to keeping up with the Joneses.
As long as there are lots of people around the world, each of them has a different attitude when it comes to money but the essence of this post isn't to point fingers, judge, or decide who's the better individual or not. Each and every person has their role as long as we all exist. We need the flashy individual to make the sales of the latest gadgets & adult toys smooth. We need frugal individuals to access funding for our business ideas discreetly without the privy eyes of the general public. And we need those who hoard, struggle, and never really understand how money works so they can be in the middle ground, bringing their skills, and professionalism to make the economy move forward. You see? Everyone has a role to play in the economy.
But you'll choose which category you want to be in. The first step is either throwing your hands up in the air when the discussion around money and building wealth comes up, shying away from learning how it works, or taking a spot on the table and learning what to do with your money right after you made it.
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