Avalon’s Money Thread: Tree Hugging and the concept of money.
There is a theory that when you start to respect money and look after it, it kind of decides its likes your company and you get more of it. I now its sounds a bit odd but it really seems to work. Once I got the ball rolling and stopped overspending, the amount of money we had just kept going up. I know that may sound obvious but if it’s really that simple, why are so many people broke before payday?
It’s actually the compounding of interest that makes this work (and conversely makes debt spiral out of control so easily).
So you have $100. That earns $1 interest the first month. But if you don’t spend any of it, the next month you earn $1.01! You just got a pay rise! Your money is multiplying because you looked after it.
I’ve been reading a book lately that had something to say about this which kind of had the effect of walloping me round the head and made me look at it a very different way. I hope it helps.
Basically you can have security OR you can have freedom. Seldom do they go together. To see this in action you have only to look at what is happening in the States, the UK and Australia. The book was actually talking about financial security. You can have a good job and the security that comes with a steady paycheck, but it won’t often give you financial FREEDOM. For that you often need to step outside the box. It can mean changing a lot of preconceived ideas about money and that is scary
Mind you, so is emigrating. As soon as you actually decide to do this, you are stepping out of the box. You are daring to actually do something which most people only dream of. But most people live life in an “it’s alright for you” kind of daze, if only they had your money / family / background they could do the same. You are not doing that, you are going for it. If you can do that, why not make a change in your financial “box” as well.
Also, for many of us we really need to change the way we think about money. It’s not an evil thing and having it wont turn you from a nice loving, giving person, into a greedy megalomaniac who would sell their own family for a fast buck. Conversely, being poor as church mice, won’t necessarily make you a decent human being either.
Either you are a good person on your own merits or you are not.
Your bank balance doesn’t alter that.
But the tree hugging principle says that if you think only evil greedy people have money, you won’t be able to keep it, because it’s going to make you feel bad. If this applies to you, then please just think about it. Most of the people I’ve met on this journey some of whom are seriously good at this all started in the same boat as we did, flat broke and depressed about it. The only thing that made a difference is that they felt they were worth the effort and did something about it. Their wealth has not made them different people – it’s just made them wealthier people. They have been incredibly generous with their time and in sharing their knowledge.
Avalon’s Money Thread is a series of posts which were originally written in 2007 for an Immigration Forum. They came about by answering questions that forum members asked, about how to cope with the often difficult financial situation they face in New Zealand. They formed the basis of what was eventually to become the book Avalon’s Guide: after another year or so of drinking way too much coffee and finding out way more about taxes, money and investing that any sane person should.
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Related posts:
- Avalon’s Money Thread: Revolving Credit Mortgages.
- Avalon’s Money Thread: Banks and Bank Charges.
- Avalon’s Money Thread: How do I start budgeting?
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