What is Money For?

Am I rich? I don't know. Maybe I am, maybe I am not. If someone asks me this question, usually I will answer generically. "I am comfortable."

Of course I love money. Anyone following me closely knows that all too well. Why else would I write endlessly about it, right? I mean, there is no denying that I have spent the majority of my life working hard, saving and investing, and of course there is no denying that there has been a payoff for doing that.

I talk about it all the time, sharing my experiences with you. And I do my best to share what I have learned often times in the hopes you can find some value in it and maybe even copy something I share.

But, in my view having money has never been about other people knowing that I have it. Any amount of money I have ever earned or accumulated has not been about telling people with things I can show off, "Look what I've got."

Still, there are going to be people in my life that get "clued in" a bit about it. That's fine. I can't hide everything from everyone. I can just shrug my shoulders a bit and sort of deny it though. They have no obligation to believe me.

And frankly, I have no inclination to feel the need to fill in the blanks for them.

There are no fancy cars in my driveway. My house is average. I live in a community that is not really all that affluent. I wear clothes I bought at Goodwill or some other thrift store. Maybe sometimes I splurge and buy something to wear from Walmart. I recycle cans.

In other words, unless I told someone I was rich outright, most people would not have the foggiest clue.

To me money is really about one thing. Freedom. From my perspective that's really all that matters. I don't accumulate money to accumulate things. I accumulate money to accumulate time and opportunity. Choice.

I have never been interested in the age old Jones' we so often talk about that we say we are trying to keep up with. Partly because at the end of the day I know Mr. Jones next door is more likely than not, caught in a trap.

The Jones' have no interest in freedom. They want you to know they've arrived. They want to tell everyone about their "achievement" and their "riches" and be someone that you look up to and say to yourself, "Gosh, I want to be like them."

In reality, you don't. You can bet the Jones' are in debt up to their eyeballs, one more item and paycheck away from financial ruin.

You don't want to be like them at all.

The funny thing about the Jones' as a matter of fact, is that you hardly ever see them. Why? Because they're too busy busting to their tails to the bone trying to pay for all that stuff they want to show you they have.

They might look over at a guy like me and think, "What a poor sap he is. Look at him. Just trodding through life having nothing at all. I feel sorry for a guy like that."

When all along I am inside my house counting my money while he's inside his house figuring out which bill gets paid next. He thinks my freedom is because I'm just a poor sap struggling through life.

The reality is, my freedom is because I have the money he does not have to enjoy that freedom.

And that's what money is. To me. Freedom. Choice. It's about slowly but surely working toward pulling back from the grind and being able to go after my own pursuits. My own interests. My own desires. My own goals and dreams.

Unlike Mr. Jones who hates his job, if I hate mine I can tell my boss to go pound sand. Mr. Jones does not have that luxury. He's got bills to pay.

But the other part of that freedom is that even though I am saving and accumulating, and keeping most of my money in the bank, it does not mean I cannot enjoy things. It does not mean I can't have things.

A newer truck, an upgrade on the house, a nice shirt from Target, a vacation in Cozumel or Cancun or Cape San Blas, Florida. A new guitar, an exercise bike, a new Spark amplifier or recording software.

The difference is that I have the freedom to spend on things I really want. Things that give me personal joy. Things that give my wife personal joy. On our terms. For our purposes and reasons. For our enjoyment.

Not because any of these things is supposed to impress anyone else.

In other words, having money is not about what it can do to make you envy me. It's about what I can do to fulfill my own life and wants and desires.

In fact, the most expensive thing I can do with my money is try to flaunt it. And the irony of that is that the more one tries to show everyone else how rich they are, the broker they actually become.

Lead image courtesy of Pixabay, user geralt. Dollars Coins Money - Free image on Pixabay