Money- A Love Story
Anyone who says they don’t have money issues is lying—or perhaps they’re simply delusional. Money is so omnipresent in our lives and yet so rarely discussed on a deeper level that we don’t even understand the influence it has on us.
You see, the thing about money is that it’s a standin for something else. In essence, we trade money for what we want, for things that, in our eyes, have a certain value. The economy is simply a system of value exchange.
That’s it. Money in and of itself is nothing. It’s what money represents that makes the whole shebang a little complex.
For some, money is a stand-in for love. For others, it’s a stand-in for comfort or joy or pleasure. And for others, money is a stand-in for happiness. And this assigning of value brings with it all the emotions of any relationship. That, my friends, is why I titled this book Money: A Love Story.
I’m sure some reading this title will be appalled that I had the nerve to use money and love in the same sentence. To even suggest that money is related to love has the power to offend. Yet I’m so sure that unraveling our money woes has everything to do with love (and very little to do with anything else) that I was willing to put it on the cover of this book. I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t have an emotional charge around money. Whether they have millions of dollars or a few singles to their name, money carries some serious weight for nearly every individual living in our culture. However, despite money being such a weighty issue for some, it’s not possible to survive anywhere on the vast majority of the planet without participating in the economy in some way. So, it’s about time we got our money story straight.
Most people who admit to having money problems think that the way to start the whole process of fixing them is by learning more of the right actions to take around their money. They think that if they were just to read the right personal finance book or invest in the right stocks or hire the right CPA that all would be well.
But from what I’ve found, these folks are approaching it from entirely the wrong direction.
In my experience of moving from debt to financial freedom—and the experiences of others whom I’ve observed—I’ve come to realize that the most important place to start is also the one that’s most often overlooked: ourselves. Figuring out where we stand with money takes a lot of self-reflection and understanding. Because, as with any good love story, our relationship with money has its ups and downs and twists and turns. We’re enamored. We’re in love. We hate its guts and swear we will never do “xyz” again. We fight. We make
up. We let go too fast and hold on too long.
As with any relationship, the key to dealing with your financial woes lies within. It’s not about beatingyourself up or putting strict guidelines on what you can and cannot buy. It’s about seeing the part you play in your relationship. It’s about identifying the value of things in your life. It’s about seeing who you truly are in relation to money. To have a good relationship with money, you must know who you are and what your purpose is in this world.