Good Morning DINKS. There was a post not so long ago on the very popular and very fun financial blog Budgets Are Sexy that asked “Does America Hate Money?” This post got me thinking about my own opinion of money both as a person who lives on a budget as well as a financial service professional. I am not sure if I love money because of what it is, or because of what it represents and what I can do with it.
So often we hear many financial bloggers talk about why they love money. We blog about our love of making money, our love of spending money, and how much we love to save money. As you may know I work in personal finance but the more and more I think about it, I am really starting to hate money. This is weird because without the existence of money and without people who have money I wouldn’t have a job. But you know what they say…more money equals more problems.
There are a few problems that I have with money including causing inequality and possibly being the root of all evil. But, the major problem that I have with money is the fact that it causes most of the conflict among everyone from couples to countries. We always want to have, save, or earn more money; and this is a problem. Having money can lead to a taste of the good life and only bad things can happen when people get greedy. The problem with having money is that it also leads to jealously and resentment.
Money is a tangible asset that is shared by everyone, it’s a common luxury. I say that money is a luxury because unfortunately not everyone has the benefit of having money. Physical money can create an inequality amongst friends and family, but it can also create an inequality in our own personal finances. I always tell my clients that money is like a diet. It’s easy to gain weight, but it’s difficult to lose. The same is true about building our net worth in the world of personal finance; it’s easy to get into debt, but it’s very difficult to get out of it. We must work very hard to earn our money but we can spend it very easily.
The price to spend money is not the same as the cost to earn it. People have to work hard in order to earn our (hard earned) money, but we can spend it or lose it very easily. Unfortunately not everyone has the opportunity to earn a lot of money. When people in a society have different incomes we also have different classes (even though I hate that term) which creates an inequality amongst our population. Very often people with less money are looked at as if they are not equal to people who have money, and this is just not true; it just means that those people did not have the same opportunities.
Throughout the days, months, and years money passes through the dirty hands of several different people. This makes money a very dirty asset. As a paranoid hypochondriac I don’t really like handling money, and as a person who lives on a budget I try not to use it as a form of payment very often. I don’t like the fact that cash money (as a form of payment or as an asset exchange) is untraceable. If I have $100 I can spend it without a trace, it’s like it never existed and that to me is terrifying.
Do You Love or Hate Money?
Photo by Walt Stoneburner
I’ve never confessed to loving money, simply becuase I don’t. It’s always had a habit of working against me, haha!
Ah money. You bring up an interesting point. Love it or hate it, one thing’s for sure: It’s a necessity in life. I find myself looking at money as a means to an end rather than having any real feelings about it in either direction. Very thankful that I haven’t had too many crazy hardships in my life to be constantly worrying about money.
I neither love nor hate money. but i do liking having financial security, by that i mean having the basic needs met so that im not cold, wet or hungry. And i’d add to that i like not having to worry about it either, so that means being able to live within my means and being happy about what those means are. But, like you Kristina, I’m not a fan of cash. Dirty money is so right, I thought I was the only one with that hangup ;-)) I use it only when checks or credit cards are either not accepted or where not practical, and its usually in amounts that are $10 or less. My total cash expenditures are less than $500 a year. I prefer to use credit cards for bills purchases and expenses where ever possible and rack up those cash back $$!! Which is where i get that $500 figure. Other than those rebate checks, which i cash ans use for those misc cash expenditures, i have not cashed out a check or taken cash from an ATM in nearly 10 years easy..
I’m a passionate hater of money, it prevents a lot of creative people from ever reaching their dreams, myself included. It turns once bright and innovative youngsters into shallow, overworked, unhealthy adults.
We all have dreams, we want to make things, and do things. However, when we start working 40+ hours a week just to live like slaves, we forget about those dreams and give up. Becoming another brick in the wall.
If we could get rid of money now, as well as the scarcity its based off of. imagine what our culture would be like? Art, exploration, music, games, everything would be less shallow, less superficial, and more alive. People would be less paranoid, and much more interested in learning and growing. We’d all be better off.
Thank-You I thought I was going crazy because I hate money I was so glad to see I am not the only one in the world that hates money I believe like you if we could get rid of money the wholw world would be a much better place to live in We take for granted the free things in life and that doesnt seem right to me at all Yes people would be les scared and we would all be equal Not this I have more money then you so I am better Do you realize how much crime would go down They say money is the root to all eviel I believeI truely believe in that
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I hate money. Families and people are getting hated and separated partly because they do not have enough of it. Indian girls like myself can’t even choose whome we want to get married to because parents want to measure the amount of wealth the groom has first. The guys and his parents ask for a truckload of dowry and end up hating the girl and her parents if they do not get it. The amount of wealth ends up defining the people.
Even if I earn a lot one day, I will never love it. I have never been happy when money talks came in anyway.