ignore money

General Discussion
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Is money the reason we exist?

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No mine thing is family love honor and respect that’s what I get the best of.

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Money is a tool.

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I think a lot of these ‘black and white’ thoughts are not in line with reality.

I don’t think money’s the end-all and be-all of everything. And it isn’t the reason why we exist. But just because money isn’t the sole reason that we exist doesn’t mean we can just ‘ignore’ money. That makes no sense.

That’s like saying ‘driving’s not the only reason we exist’ so we should just walk to work.

Here’s why money is crucially important, and at the same time isn’t the main point of life.

In life, there are 2 kinds of problems:

  1. Money problems. These involve Maslow’s hierarchy of security/food/shelter. Without money, you wouldn’t be able to put food on the table. No money = need to worry about medical emergencies/insurance. And a lack of money = no financial independence, which means you’ll work for someone else forever, until you’re old and tired.

  2. Fulfillment problems. These involve finding meaning in life. And being fulfilled in life. These are the intangible things: like love, leaving a legacy, living a life of integrity and virtue. These problems are the highest level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. These are also arguably the most important problems/questions to answer in life.

Note that if you have enough money, you only need to deal with “fulfillment” problems.

Without money, you’ll still have “fulfillment” problems to solve but you’ll also have “money” problems to solve ALSO. You’re not better off without money than with money because you’ll have strictly more problems to solve.

In fact, having no money makes the fulfillment issues much harder to solve. You’re not going to care about the meaning of life and finding fulfillment if you’re struggling to pay rent or if you need to take $100K debt to fund your mother’s surgery (or she dies), as examples.

Likewise, if you have to work a minimum wage job, in perpetuity, 8 hours a day and never become financially free – how will you ever find the time to actually explore the real issues in life?

Having money is a good tool to satisfy basic needs, of which we can then move on to explore the real issues / meaning of life.

Ignoring money is a terrible strategy and only gives more problems.

Conversely, being money-greedy and ignoring ‘smelling the roses’ and the intangibles is also a terrible way to live life.

The best strategy is some hybrid of the two and it’s up to the individual to figure out what’s the best balance for them is.

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https://goodmoneygoodlife.com

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There are times I wonder if I could live off the grid. I’m sure not, but it’s enlightening to think about it!

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