Money is Power

Why is personal finance so important? Why do I spend so much energy trying to educate people about their money and so much time optimizing my own finances? Money is power. Money gives choices.

Money Makes the World Go ‘Round

There is a lot of things going on in the world right now. There is so much that is happening. So much pain. So much suffering. So much change. So many new ideas and concepts. So many issues that have lain festering are now bursting out into the open and demanding our attention. With all this going on, there is one thing that I keep on coming back to: money. Money is Power.

The root of many of our issues, from the pandemic to the race issues comes from power. The gap between those in power and those who don’t have power has never been more noticeable. Those who are in power are increasingly making decisions that affect those that don’t have power and they don’t have everyone’s best interest in mind. We are at the mercy at those who have power.

How do we opt out? How do we take back control of our own lives? How do we make sure that we are not overly affected by political edicts and the whims of those in power? How do we buffer ourselves from the extremes that are rocking our world?

One word: money.

While excess money can give you power over others, having a good handle of your finances and ENOUGH money gives you power over yourselves. Money gives you choices. Choices give you power. Money is Power.

The reason why it is so important to get your finances under control is because: Money is Power. Money give you choices. Choices allow you to pick the life you most want to lead. That is power. Click To Tweet

Money gives you Choices

With money, you can choose to stay at a job or quit. With money, you can choose to live somewhere or choose to move. With money, you can choose to support organizations you believe in. With money, you can influence policy decisions at all levels of government. With money, you can afford an education that moves you up the social and political ladder.

Being Dependent on a Job

Let’s talk about jobs. When a job becomes toxic, stressful, or overwhelming that can affect your entire life. You can’t take a stand at your job unless you are ready to risk losing your job. You can only do that if being unemployed even for one day doesn’t mean financial ruin. If you have enough to be able to quit a toxic place of work– then you can choose to remove the toxicity from your life. The longer you can be unemployed without facing tough decisions- the more power you have over who you work for and what you can stand up for.

Resources = Choice

The more resources you have at your disposable the less you are at the mercy of someone else. You can make choices and decisions based on the resources you have without having to rely on someone else’s goodwill.

Why Personal Finance is Everything

Money affects every part of our lives. Take a look at this pandemic. While the virus does not discriminate based on wealth, those who do have wealth have a better chance of remaining safe. Yes, I am aware that many wealthy and powerful people have contracted and died from the virus but they are not the majority. Especially now, when we can take steps to protect ourselves from the virus (as opposed to early March when we were not as aware), those with money are more able to protect ourselves.

Stay home. Stay safe. This only works if you can do so. Your job has to allow you to stay home. You have to be able to afford the delivery and services that give you the goods and services you need. You have to have a car to go to and from essential services, like doctors, instead of relying on public transportation. Even more so, having a large house with space makes it even easier to stay home.

If you don’t need your job, then you can quit if it isn’t giving you the safety you need. If you have money, everything is deliverable to you. Anything can be hired out if you have money. Life can be made extremely comfortable with money. Staying home in a lovely home with entertainment and good food is very different than staying home in an apartment with no porch and spotty internet access.

As someone said “We are all in the same ocean but we don’t all have the same boat. Some of us are in yachts and others are on rafts”. Personally, I’d rather the yacht than the raft. And if I can’t have the yacht I’ll take a nice motorboat instead of a raft.

Money is Everything and Money is Power

It is disingenuous to pretend that money does not affect and control almost every aspect of our lives. I’m not talking here to glorify or encourage the aimless pursuit of wealth or the hoarding of money for the sake of being rich. The accumulation of money is not the goal. However, having enough money to give yourself the ability to make choices and to protect yourself and your family and to help others is the source of all power. Money is power.

That’s why, especially now, I am still writing and tweeting as much as possible about money and personal finance. This is not because I think money is the most important thing. It’s because having choices is the most important thing. Money= choices. I want those choices for me and my family and I want those choices for you.

Money is Power and I want you to have that power too. I want you to have the ability to make the choices that are best for you. I want you to be able to choose happiness. I want you to be able to choose health. I want you to choose peace. Money allows you to make those choices. That is the power that money gives you.