When you do not have it, you want some
When you have some, you want more
When you have more, you want even more!!!!
That is the regular trend but there are many exceptions...
You ignore emotions for it
You manipulate emotions for it
You justify fake emotions for it!!
But there are people who always placed heart before it......
Everyone knows that extra attachment to it, can cause discontent and that can obstruct happiness but people seek for it to get happiness. For most people (me too!), money creates a Catch 22 situation. You want it more and more so that you do not need it any more and can enjoy life. But the more you earn it, the more you want to have it and happiness becomes your second priority.
The theory of raising consciousness only makes sense for people who have enough of it. For the people who does not know if they have a job tomorrow and has no money, consciousness is an idea that won't feed them.
In any case, I can not chalk out the right things to do with this thing called money since I am not at all expert of this money management game and the game is actually very tough to play. However, I can share my personal habits, dilemmas and thinking processes. (That is the point of blogs anyway to share and incite thoughts!)
Disclaimer : Everyone s life is different so should be the ideals. When I say that I follow this, does not mean other ways of living life is wrong. It is just a honest share. In these days of abusive social media posts and comparisons all the times to ones life with another, I want to say this up front. Please do not look at your life with my views. You can share your views in comment section whether it matches or completely opposite.
I go by three basic principles or simple habits -
Over the years, no matter, what happens to the bank balance, reduce the individual monetary needs for living a happy life
I can not stress this enough how reducing the needs have improved my life. Since 2000, when I started living on my own, the personal possessions started increasing till 2013. Then I donated a lot of things in USA and moved back to India. Another major collection of items started right after that and by 2016, I was full set of appliances and a car. I can not explain how happy I was to get rid of all that and lived for 18 months with 10-18 kg backpack. In 2017, I lived for 2 months with 5 kg bag in south east Asia and it was super fun.
Another experience worth sharing - demonetization created havoc everywhere across India but that was the time when I had to live at 7 $ a day including food, travel and stay. I was in one of the remote areas of India where travel was not easy but I learned some basic skills in that process. Not only that, I understand (a little better) the despair and daily struggles of majority of population in India where they learnt to smile with all the monetary restrictions and changing priorities of Governments.
Important to note that I meant individual needs - not the needs of your family or the requirements for commitments you made. That calculation is separate whether it is for medical expenses, education expenses or something for other family needs.
Spend according to habits but earn based on skill-set and qualifications
Sounds odd but this is the easiest of the three. Not to change ones requirements and spending habits once you have a decent bank balance. As long as your earning is more than your spending, it is cool. May be some will call you spendthrift, sometimes you may feel odd but it is good. But I want the salary based on my contribution and the finances of the company. If I save, I will keep it for my other interests. Even then if I have a good amount of saving at the end of my active life, I will donate to the needy.
This habit helped many decisions in my life easier. I always saved even in the times when I was a graduate student and even while providing most expenditures of my family. May be that is why it was a good step to finish the first innings of my life and start travelling for indefinite time ....18 months is not a bad break :-)
Enjoy life and make ultimate life decisions irrespective of money
This is the toughest one specially because I have some regrets in the darker days. The monetary loss are numbers and can be easily estimated. The other gains can be emotional gains, philosophical realizations that cannot be put in numbers even though these decisions changed the course of my life completely.
But I believe whether we have many lives or one, it should not be wasted chasing something that is an exchange tool. Money is definitely important but smile, bonding with family/friends, work life balance, being conscious, other interests, listening to own emotions and having the children alive inside us are equally or more important.
This photo I took in Assam reminds me of the usual money chasing game in this society.
