What Is Money?

You see, there are many ideas of what people think money is.

Some say it is a form of measurement.

Yes, but a measurement of what? Wealth? In the olden days, people measured wealth by how many cows, sheep and horses they had. But do people measure wealth today by your cows and horses? How about slaves? Was there a time where manpower is considered a hot commodity? Are slaves worth anything today? Are your dollar bills sitting in the bank going to protect you if a recession strikes the country? No, wealth can not be measured by the dollar bill.

Some say it is a form of power.

Yes, money can give you power, but if you are stuck on a desert island forever with a trillion dollars, will that money mean squat to you? If someone offered you water and a helicopter to fly out of there, you would trade all your money in a split second, so money is not an accurate measurement of power – it heavily depends on how wisely you use it (hint!).

Many believe it is the root of all evil and several others take on this belief without much questioning.

Well, personally, I believe money is NOT the root of all evil and you shouldn’t either.  If it was, do you think churches would still accept monetary donations for charity? The love for money can be the root of all evil. Remember, money is an excellent servant but a terrible master. If you are trading your life away for the dollar, money then has power over your time and life.

Unless you have proper financial intelligence, the lack of money can spawn a lot of evil thinking and negative mindset as observed primarily in cheats, thieves, criminals, breakups, freeloaders, cheapskates, and many other similar sorts.

But what is money, really?

Money is an idea, backed by confidence.

While money has naturally been developed by merchants in the olden days to replace the questionable barter system, money today is literally invented by the rich and wealthy.

Entrepreneurs are willing to part with their money to buy other people’s time. Other people’s time i.e. employees and self-employed people becomes their employer’s asset. For the employers, this priceless resource can go on to create more wealth for themselves.

And here’s the thing: as long as you work for money, you are enslaved by it! Some 90% of the population today are being enslaved involuntarily.

What we don’t realize is that there is a part of our soul that cannot be bought at whatever price. Would you chop off your little finger if your boss offered you 24 months of your salary immediately? You and I know we are worth more than that. But when you hear of cases of people selling their body parts for cash in some countries, it can be a real eye-opener on how money can enslave a person.

On the other hand, we occasionally DO sell out a part of ourselves for money like a donkey and a carrot.  So how can we free ourselves of this enslavement? 

• Go to Financial IQ - Part 3
• Go to Financial IQ - Part 1