Does Money Require a Philosophy?
The simple answer is yes.
According to an AI Overview, “Philosophy is the systematic study of fundamental questions about existence, knowledge, values, reason, and reality.”
The word philosophy comes from a Greek word meaning “love of wisdom”. “Rather than relying on physical experiments, philosophy uses critical thinking, logical reasoning, and conceptional analysis to make sense of the world and human experience.”
Since my goal with this blog is to help you build a better mindset for money, I am suggesting you develop a philosophy about money to help you make sense of it, to include “critical thinking, logical reasoning, and conceptional analysis” to make the most of your experience with money.
Do You Like Aimless Money?
“If you got it, spend it.” Is that your philosophy?
That seems aimless in nature. That approach has no purpose and no support for your future hopes.
And you do need hopes for your future. A few dreams will help you build a few goals which can give you a daily target to aim for.
Make that a part of your philosophy, give your money a reason for usage. Give it direction.
Be sure to add measures and a time frame to reach your targets!
Can You Make Up Money?
Money represents value. Therefore, you must add assets to your philosophy terminology.
Some think that debt can help you acquire assets faster. But you must consider the math in your analysis for value. The estimated value less the loan plus interest equals the net value, which is at risk until the debt is paid.
Learn the logical reasoning behind investing and you will learn how to help your money make money! That becomes a way to add value to your money and build assets.
With some success, you may be able to declare, “Yes, you can make up money!”
Is Philosophy All in Your Head?
Creating a philosophy about money will help you be critical of your decisions related to money, help you with being more logical in your use of money, and help you be more analytical about your financial future.
Yes, your philosophy starts in your mind as a concept you recognize as being useful. Then you apply what you feel may work for you and your financial decisions.
This process will help a better philosophy evolve over time as you see what works and why you fail at some things. Make changes. Do better. And mark your progress.
Your philosophy should help you reach your goals. New habits and disciplines will grow out of an improved philosophy. Use your head to develop better actions!
Is Money Hard or Soft?
Coins are hard and dollar bills are soft. Checks are soft. Digital money is invisible except as a figure on your digital device.
Remember that money has value no matter what form is available to you. Keep your options open and use what feels comfortable to you.
Whatever your choice is, though, do your best to accumulate as much as possible for your future needs.
Income is very important. You will have many options for income. Time will be your main limitation. Be sure to manage your time, too!
Where Should Your Money Go?
A good philosophy will help you determine where your income should go. Hopefully, your philosophy allows for logical reasoning to provide for reserves for emergency expenses and retirement plans.
You have basic needs, like housing, food, transportation, communications, furnishings (bed, table, chairs), etc.
Then, you must contend with the “shiny things syndrome”. That is, you will be tempted to buy new things rather than used items, more expensive versus cheaper, convenience rather than comparison shopping, and the list goes on.
This is where a good money philosophy can help you save money as you provide for your basic needs and resist the temptation to spend beyond reason, using critical thinking!
Your Philosophy Shows
You may not recognize it as such, but you already have a money philosophy guiding your daily spending decisions and your sourcing for income. How is that working for you?
Are you able to put at least 10% of your net income into your savings account with each paycheck? Is that a part of your money philosophy?
Have you reached your income capacity? Do you have training available to you that could lead to higher pay? Is that a part of your money philosophy?
Have you learned about investing? Have you learned how to be a better shopper, with awareness of different sources to buy what you need? These are essential to a good money philosophy.
Are you satisfied with what your present money philosophy reveals?
Plan for a Better Philosophy
Parents with great money philosophies are few. Therefore, your chances of growing up with great money handling examples are low.
Don’t blame your parents. They had fewer examples to follow and less qualified information available to them than you do. It is up to you to take advantage of the sources of useful information that are available today through many sources.
Everyone knows that debt can become a problem. However, you will notice that credit card companies and other lending companies will advertise a lot to give you a sense of comfort for the ease of borrowing over the challenge of saving to be able to pay upfront. There is no stigmatism if you can make your payments and you get praised with higher FICO scores. But missed payments due to any reason will lead to a traumatic experience with bill collectors!
Can you see that your sense of well-being will improve with a better money philosophy?
Plan on making improvements then work on those improvements every day!
Can You Be Philosophical with Your Money?
Most people think of Philosophy as a college course to avoid!
But I believe you have the courage to face your financial realities and the criteria you have used as your money philosophy up to now.
You may not consider yourself as being capable of teaching others how to improve their money philosophy. However, there is no reason that you cannot learn to improve your own money philosophy!
In fact, you are fully capable of studying your choices about how you spend your income, avoid debt, and build savings.
There are many books about how to improve your money decisions. Read them all!
You will make improvements if you work at it. And those improvements will lead to growing assets and comfort with your handling of money.
In fact, I can see you becoming philosophical about it all!