Money Matters

One of the most used quotes that I hear quite often is, “Money is the root of all evil.” Wrong! The actually verse says, “For the LOVE of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1 Timothy 6:10 (NIV). This is to say, do not love money so much that you lose yourself, principles and values while pursuing it. Truth is, money is a very necessary commodity in our everyday life and without it, we are limited in many ways. So, in order to educate myself a little more on money, in a very relatable way, I posed a question to my WhatsApp friends asking about their relationship with money and I received some very interesting answers that have inspired and helped prepare this piece.

I do believe that concentrating too much on money can cause, whether the lack of it or the abundance of it, financial anxiety where spending your money becomes a stressful ordeal. But, finding a balance, as with most things in life, will help you live a more relaxed and fulfilled life. Do not allow yourself to succumb to the pressures of life, friends and social media but set your own financial goals that are long-term, mid-term and short-term. This was one of the many wise words that I received from the research conducted on my WhatsApp friends.

Here are some of the lessons learned from those interactions:

1. Set goals, plan and be intentional in the way you plan. Spontaneity is great and brings excitement but not at the cost of something important. So, make sure that you have a plan to save for such moments where life just happens, whether it’s a spontaneous fun weekend or an unforeseen emergency.
2. Educate yourself on money and its purpose in your life. How you want it to work for you and your family. This will take away the anxiety of spending. A lot of people like to say that they don’t enjoy pay day because that’s when the money goes out of their accounts as fast as it came into their accounts.
3. Take care of first things first. Prioritise the important things that you need to get done first. Saving is one of them as that will help secure a better future for you and your family.
4. Always treat yourself to something nice. If you deprive yourself of enjoying that one thing that is just for you, there will come a point when you will want to splurge, spoiling your budget and making yourself broke in the process.
5. Lastly, avoid unnecessary debt. If you can’t buy it cash, then you can’t afford it. For some things that’s a stretch, like a car or a house but for little things like clothes and a cell phone it is true. Why spend 24 months paying a phone only to change it once the contract is done? That’s a continuous and unnecessary debt.

Money relationship is a personal one that, if not taken care of, can sabotage and ruin a perfectly planned future. We are often raised without any understanding of finance and/or its purpose which often sets us back in our adulthood as we try to figure out how this money thing works. The earlier we take finances seriously the better our futures will look.

I hope that these points have helped you in some way. Please comment with your thoughts and tips below.

Cheers.