Money Is Everything … Until You Master It. Then It’s Nothing at All.

By Joe Freedom ·

I have been accused at times of worrying too much about money. And my retort is always the same: I don’t worry about money at all. But I do spend time carefully managing it, as I do with any other valuable resource.

The alternative of having no concern for money and devoting no time to prudently and wisely managing it seems to me to inevitably lead to financial hardship and ruin. But avoiding these adverse outcomes through concerted effort does not mean a lifetime of worry about money.

To the contrary—it means a lifetime free of worry related to money. I have a set of rules and guidelines that manage my financial behaviors, and a process for the related administrative work. I attend to money matters, I do not worry about them. There is a significant and meaningful difference.

Categories of (Money) People

I have observed three distinct categories of people in terms of their governing money-management psychology:

1. People that constantly worry about money (because they have no control over it). This group spends and consumes with reckless abandon, and as a consequence is perpetually worried about how they will fund tomorrow’s excessive consumption. This group is trapped in work and often trapped in debt. It’s a miserable existence. But most of them are blinded to the reality that it does not have to be this way.

2. People that never worry about money (and have no control over it). This can be great fun. Until the music stops and the reckless behavior catches up with you. Then there will often be a painful reckoning. But it’s fun while it lasts, which can often be a long time.

3. People that spend zero time worrying about money (because they have mastered it). This group understands that money is a valuable resource and a tool to be used responsibly and wisely. They understand what it can and cannot do, and have cultivated a healthy relationship with it.

They have a zen-like peacefulness in their money outlook, and are master of their own (money) domain. (Note here: While there may be a fourth group comprised of people that worry about money (but have mastered it), I have not seen much or any of this breed.)

Why the Heck Aren’t People Interested In Managing Their Money Resource?

Every time I get a new power tool that I haven’t used before I am initially intimidated by it. The raw power and potentially destructive force are, well, scary. But as I study the device and learn how to safely and correctly harness its power and apply it to my will, the fear diminishes and the elation of the possibilities of what I can do with the tool emerge.

Money is similar—you must devote some amount of time to learning how to safely and responsibly use the tool in order to deploy it in a productive fashion and to eliminate the fear that can result from potential misuse.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

http://trappedinwork.com/2017/06/money-is-everything-until-you-master-it-then-its-nothing-at-all/