The truth about money?

What is money?

Understanding money is really about understanding human nature.

Money is a strange subject. I’ve been working in the world of money for 22 years. I do a lot of listening and I hear a lot of different perspectives. What I’ve noticed is that money is emotionally charged – or rather our response to it is. The money in our lives – and whether we attract or repel it – is often a reflection of who we are. The subject of money reveals a lot about our hopes, our dreams and often our fears.

So, what is the point of money?

At a basic level, we all know that money is a useful way of paying for goods and services. It is very helpful when we go to the supermarket to buy our weekly shopping. Try going without any and you won’t get very far.

Is money really only a promise of payment? Have a look at a note right now; underneath The Bank of England, it says “I promise to pay the bearer the sum of…”

Unlike times gone by, the value of money doesn’t necessarily exist. Countries don’t necessarily have the gold reserves to back up the promises printed on their bank notes. So, if the value of the notes in our pocket isn’t real, is the real value of money created by how much importance – or otherwise – we attach to what we spend it on?

It’s the value that we place on money that makes it worth something. It’s the purpose behind the money that counts, not the money itself. It’s what we do with the money that is important. Fortunately, we all value the ‘stuff’ and experiences of life in different ways. That means that we all value money differently and attach different ideas to it.

Surely, living our desired lifestyle is what matters.

The process of Lifestyle Financial Planning puts the focus on you, your lifestyle and what matters to you. In business and in life, your lifestyle is determined by the questions you are prepared to ask yourself and the action you are prepared to take.

In a recent meeting, a business-owner client told me that he had never really focused on the money; he had focused on doing a great job for his clients and the money followed him. So, does that mean that money is merely an energy received in return for putting our energy into something else?

My view is that money is for spending on what matters to you. That’s the truth about money. There is a point to money if it’s being spent on things that you value on your life’s journey, or your family’s life journey.

If we believe that life is not a rehearsal then it’s worth spending the time to work out what is important to you before working out how your money will look after you. What do YOU value?

What is the truth about YOUR money?