15/02/2021
Most people have money in wallets, in bank accounts, in retirement investment plans. We have a lifelong relationship — at times strong, at time strained.
Money tends to represent a lot of things. Reward for effort, relief from bills, wishes for our children. Security, perhaps, if we invest it well.
But here’s a fundamental way to think about money that you probably haven’t entertained: Stop thinking of money as something you earn, make more or less of, put away or spend.
Instead, think of money as your employee. Money should be working for you, rather than you working for money. Dollar bills are your little green employees, ready to do your bidding.
At the most basic level, of course we work for money. We need it to live and we get it by doing work for others. That’s basic economics, right?
But that’s not how banks and investors think of money. They think of money as a tool for making money, a way of creating new realities.
Money by itself is a losing proposition. Inflation eats away at it. Temptations lead to spending. Just having money doesn’t mean much unless you spend it, or at least that’s the case for most people.
But holding money is how banks earn interest. It’s how investors turn $1 into $2 over time.
Money works for them. It should work for you, too.
