Questions To Ask About Money

 

Where were they to teach us this in grade school – the ‘Questions to Ask about Money’?

It strikes me as basic – fundamental to the spirit of your life and mine – that somewhere along the line (and not from someone who wants to sell you something) – that core curriculum would include understanding the nature of money and its key components.  This didn’t happen for most of us – and we play catch up for our lives, if we did not have parents who stepped in to fill the role of money teacher.   

After all – money is there to serve you – answering your needs for sustenance, pleasure, contribution, security and many more – when you know the questions to ask about money.

Here they are:  How is Money Made? – How is Money Invested? – How is Money Grown? – and How is Money Protected?  These are the keys to an abundant life.  And, different seasons of life often focus more of our attention on one of these questions at a particular time. 

When you are starting out in life, with that first job – your key question is how to make money.  Here money teaching includes running your life like a business – and making a profit at the end of the year.  It includes spend cash to live – dashing the credit cards – and a realistic perspective of your means. 

 I personally did not like my ‘means’ at that point, and I re-asked the question about ‘how to make money’ – because as my father aptly said – ‘you will never make it on minimum wage’.  That was a wake -up call for me, to hone my knowledge and skill for better profit.  The next wake-up was several years later, when I was looking for a job, and the interviewer said flatly – ‘you should work for yourself’ – not a corporation.  I did the math right there – if I worked for myself I could keep all of the earnings, and not share them with others who had gotten fat and happy in their jobs. 

While your story may be different – this is my story of asking often – and improving upon my results – of ‘how to make money’.   This is a new world out there – where developing and initiating your own ideas can be your best money makers. 

Once I’d made a few bucks – then the prevailing question was ‘how to invest money’?  I liked the concept that money could work for you.  And working on Wall Street – I saw that money was made in stocks, bonds and real estate.  I also saw that these three opportunities did better at different times – and I pondered ‘where do you get the best return on your money in these options’?  I understood the great opportunity that the markets treat equally depending upon how apt your investment choice is.  Here I was a girl with ‘cash’ and doing something with it. 

Because my intent was, after choosing investing – to grow money – with the key question rolling around in my brain, ‘how to grow money’?   The art of growing money is different than the art of investing money.  If you have invested, lost it, and failed – you get it.  Here, learning to develop a consistent return is better than a home-run strategy.  Now, in this phase, you could say that – I was purposeful about being a girl with Assets!  Imagine this, the Judge looked at me when the divorce was being finished and said – ‘do you really want all of that real estate?’  I was amazed – how was it possible that he should consider that I wouldn’t want the real estate?  I collect rents and this pays mortgages – and this works when I don’t work – voila! 

And, then the surprise step – once you are a girl or a guy with Assets – watch out because someone will try to take them away from you.  This could be in the form of a business partner, a lawyer, a divorcing spouse – the list is varied.  But the teaching here is that it will test your endurance to know how to protect money.  This is the question of this moment – ‘how to protect money’?  Health, family issues, estate issues and others can come to play here as you learn this part.

And then, the cycle starts all over again for you and for me many, many times in our lives. We ask – how to make money?, how to invest money?, how to grow money? – and how to protect money? – but each time it gets more fun and easier because you have gained understanding from your experience, and you respect the nature of money to care for you all through your life, and you get better at each piece. 

At joanperry.com you can count on insight for you to better explore what Questions to Ask About Money.

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