Perhaps you’ve heard the saying “You can always make more money”, or the one that goes something like “They’re always printing more”. Perhaps you’ve bought into the guru’s advice that if you work extra hard, and save every penny, you can make way more money than you’ve ever dreamed of. If so, there’s a small problem.
Money is a finite resource.
Just like oil, coal, water and a bunch of other natural resources that we recycle and reuse regularly to conserve, money must be conserved. Because, just like those natural resources, it has a finite limit. And, until you start treating it that way, it will always have the best of you.
I think the key is in the conservation of money. Yes, we need money to pay our bills, buy supplies that we need, and even to splurge once in a while. But, we have to learn to conserve what we have. Just like a natural resource, we have to learn to use our monetary resources wisely, and in a way that will not deplete the reserves that we have. Because, at the end of the day, if we deplete our reserves, there might not be any more money to earn.
Many of us take for granted that there will be enough clean water to drink for many lifetimes. But, if we don’t learn to conserve our water, and keep it clean by using it wisely, there might be a day, in our lifetimes, where there are severe water shortages. In some parts of the world, that already happens. If we aren’t careful with our usage of money, we might find ourselves in a situation where more money cannot be earned. We might lose our jobs, have a health emergency, or just outspend our income, and our ability to earn more money will be outstripped.
My point is that if we continually treat money as an infinite resource that we can always earn more of, we aren’t being careful stewards of that resource. Yes, you should try and earn more, but you also should stay vigilant in how you’re spending your money so that your lifestyle doesn’t expand to meet that new earning capability.
How do you treat your money? As an infinite or finite resource?
I started this blog to share what I know and what I was learning about personal finance. Along the way I’ve met and found many blogging friends. Please feel free to connect with me on the Beating Broke accounts: Twitter and Facebook.
You can also connect with me personally at Novelnaut, Thatedeguy, Shane Ede, and my personal Twitter.