I recently talked to 2 friends who have pretty different perspectives on money. But both of them have one single worry – money is not enough.

1. One of them is my ex-colleagues. I dropped him a message in MSN (not sure if he’s reading this) and asked how is he doing. He told me life sux when one is not a millionaire. My immediate reply (yes, I didn’t even spend more than 10 seconds) was that he might still think life sux when he is a millionaire but not a billionaire. And he agreed. I can sense he’s under some financial pressures but well, is life really all about money? What happens to contentment? What happens to appreciating what you have?
2. Then few days later, the other friend of mine related to me about his baby daughter having fever. It was quite bad, around 39 degrees. And for someone that young, it was very dangerous. Fortunately she has recovered. My friend then decided to try and get a thermometer in case the daughter gets fever again in the future. However, he soon found out that the cheapest thermometer is around RM 140. My friend is a very thrifty person since he alone has to support his entire family. His wife is working but her salary is not enough to cover her own expenses. She spends a lot on dresses, bags and other branded goods. So in the end, both my friend and his wife decided not to buy the thermometer. Oh yea, my friend did not know how his wife spends her salary. =_=

Notice what is wrong with these 2 scenarios? I’m sure you can.

The first one lost track of what matters most in life and keeps chasing after money. It’s a typical thing that most of us would do, myself included. Let’s be honest, money is always important but if we allow the lack of money to ruin our life and label life as SUX, then it’s pretty obvious something has gone wrong. Our life should not be dictated by the amount of money we have. There are still plenty of things that cannot be bought by money. Why not learn to accept what we have, enjoy our life and also learn to appreciate things as they are? Why want to make ourselves suffer by keep thinking that life’s sux if we’re not millionaire? And most importantly….what’s next once you’ve achieved the status of millionaire? Billionaire? Then what’s after that?

The second one, on the other hand, lost track of what matters more to him – his daughter. Is his daughter’s well-being less important than RM 140? It’s not wrong to be thrifty but there are things that should not be avoided. And what about his wife? Why is she willing to spend thousands on luxury goods but not RM 140 on the daughter? Will they be happy if their daughter gets seriously ill? What if something bad happens to the poor girl? Will they look back upon this stupid decision of theirs and regret?

Sometimes, it saddens me to see how money is changing the world. People have forgotten what matters most to them. Either that, or they have defined the wrong meaning of ‘happiness’. Yes, we can’t survive without money but no, money is not everything in this world.

I recently finished Mitch Albom’s Have a Little Faith. It’s a very good book and in one of the pages, they talked about how a baby gets born to this world with a clenched fist. Because it is human nature to try and grab everything we can. But when we leave this world, our hand will be pale and empty.

Because, at the end of the day, there’s nothing we can bring together with us except for 1 thing – the memories our loved ones have of us while we’re still here. And how long those memories last would depend on what we do while we’re here.

Money has fast becoming one of the most important things in the life for a lot of us. And for some, THE MOST important thing. Some of us use this money to buy things for ourselves, and for our loved ones – our spouse, kids, parents, siblings, friends, etc. Because we feel that, when we buy things for people, they will become happy….and when we see they’re happy, we’ll be happy too.

Theoretically speaking, yes.

But let’s imagine the following scenario. You bought a brand new mobile phone. It probably cost you around $3000. So on the first week, you went to have dinner with your relatives. As you were chatting with your brother, his son took your phone and played around with it. Then his daughter went to snatch the phone from him….and they two started to fight….and they dropped your $3000 phone right in front of you.

Fortunately, your phone can still be used…but with a large crack on the LCD screen.

What will be your reaction? Well, if you are like most of us out there, you will be furious! What are these kids doing?! It’s your hard-earned money and thanks to their playfulness, it’s gone! So you go on and unleash your anger on them, scolding them right in front of everyone.

Imagine the emotional damage you would’ve done, if you really did that. The wound would be so deep that they no longer dare to play while you’re around. They’re just kids after all. And they are your precious niece and nephew.

Yes, it’s difficult because our society trains us to focus more on things, and less on people. But are things really so much more important than people? I seriously doubt so.

So the next time someone you really love and care about, breaks one of your precious things….. don’t erupt in anger. Keep your cool. Stay calm. You still need to tell the person you’re slightly disappointed but it’s not really a big deal. Don’t unleash your wrath on the person as if he/she just destroys your world….because he/she didn’t. It’s just a THING.

Remember….every new thing will become old even if nobody breaks it…. but an emotional wound will likely stay there for a long long time…. much longer than that mobile phone of yours.

This lesson is something I’ve learnt from the late Prof Randy Pausch. He talked about this in his book “The Last Lecture”. A recommended read.

Hope it helps.

In this information age we’re living in, we’re exposed to a lot of different products. The marketing guys have been cracking their head on how to make us spend, spend and spend. And some people go on to say that if we don’t spend, nobody is going to save the economy. So, SPEND ! Funnily, the same people who told us to spend, ended up saving a lot of money for themselves.

Anyway, it’s obvious that spending is wayyyy easier than saving nowadays. That’s the habit that has been instilled by the big corporations of the world. And that’s the habit which might pull us down if we’re not careful enough.

Some of us spend like there’s no tomorrow. We have ZERO savings and we never plan for the future. For some, they would say “tomorrow might not come, so why worry so much?”. But sad to tell you the truth, tomorrow will most likely come whether you like it or not. And tomorrow might even bring some nasty surprises for you – road accidents, theft, robbery, hefty medical bills, just to name a few.

Faced with all these nasty surprises of today, what would you do? Remember that they will get worse tomorrow, if you don’t solve them now. This is where all those money you’ve saved up come into the picture. There are times when we just need money to pay for urgent things like this. For example, if your son is down with fever (touch wood), and he’s not covered by any medical insurance, and you’re very poor. What can you do? Borrow money from a friend to pay for your son’s medical fee? Isn’t that pathetic? We’re talking about few hundreds, and you can’t even afford that!

Another example, I was accompanying my dad to see a doctor the other day. A couple looked very worried and sad when they came out from the doctor’s room. The girl was sick and the doctor told them to undergo an operation in the nearby specialist hospital. But they did not have the money and they were not covered by insurance. What would you do, if you were in that position?

Some of you might say “such unfortunate thing will never happen to me”, but how sure are you? We can’t predict the future. We can only learn to save for the future, just in case shit happens and we have the means to overcome them. So start planning and saving for your future. Think long-term. Do you really need to get that new car? Do you really need to spend so much on this dress? And, can you survive if one day, you’re being hit by a very serious illness (touch wood)? Can your dependents survive as well?

Think about it.

Some people say that being successful is all about achieving financial freedom, able to do what you want to do in life, having a happy family, being a person with authority and power, a famous person, etc.

But really, what do you think is the true definition of “success”? I believe it depends on people. Our world encourages us to think of success as being able to dress in branded stuff, drive big cars, live in big houses …… our world huh? well, more like how the salesman and the marketing people would love us to think. After all, that is the image they want us to have in mind, and the direction they want us to go, so that they can earn money from us. Otherwise, who would want to buy things from them? Perhaps that is also why there are so many commercials and advertisements portraying “successful” looking people with big cars, branded clothing, etc.

No, that is not how it should be. My definition of “success” is not about driving big cars, living in big houses or having power and authority over other people. My definition of “success” is more family and community related. I will regard someone as successful in life if the person takes good care of his/her family and also his/her own community.

However, the reality is that more and more of our most talented people are moving towards the finance sector because that is where all the money can be located. The false image of “success” which is tied to luxury stuff, is linked to one thing and one thing only – MONEY. That is why being the most rewarding sector, most people would prefer to go in and earn as much money as possible. They want to be regarded as “successful” by other people – not for their contribution to the community, but for their money.

Sadly, this is how our world is becoming. But I still strongly believe that it’s not hopeless. We still have some passionate people who prefer to remain as scientists, artists, craftsmen, etc. They don’t earn as much, but to me, they’re more successful than most people because of their contribution to the community. They are doing their best to improve mankind and that’s the thing which I respect the most.

So if you still think that “success” is related to money, then perhaps you should try to change the way you think.

Remember that each of us only passes through this life ONCE, and it is really up to us to either earn as much money as possible for ourselves, or to help this world a better place to live in especially for our future generations. It’s our call.

p/s…. I notice that my writing skill is becoming worse after staying away from blogging for about a week. Sorry if my sentences don’t seem to make any sense for you.

The saying “money is the root of all evil” has been around for ages now….maybe even longer than my 27 years in this world. But whenever I hear someone says this, I really start to wonder “is money really the root of all evil…or is it our own greed?”

Why do people want more and more money in the first place? Some, to survive. But for many others, to buy whatever they want and to achieve their dreams. But what if we are already content with what we have and don’t need new cars, houses, gadgets, or anything new for that matter? And what if we can actually survive for long term even without that unlimited supply of money?

Will we still want more money? And if there’s no need for extra money, will people resort to not-so-nice activities including hurting other people (robberies, extortions, etc)? Will people still say money is the root of all evil?

To be honest, I believe that if everyone can be content with what they have and occasionally spend some money to reward yourselves……the thirst for money will not be that strong. Because you won’t have much use for that much money anyway.

But if you are not content with what you have, and are always waiting to become rich (millionaire type of rich)…..then I can only say good luck to you. Just remember that if you don’t control your greediness, it will definitely bring you down one day.

Conclusion? To me, money is not the root of all evil but our own greediness is.

Note: and if you’re telling me that you want more money so that you can live happily. Then I can tell you, money may and may not bring you the happiness you want. But most likely, it won’t help much. As usual, it is easier for us to look “outside” for a way to make ourselves happy……..and not “inside”.

p/s….. to certain people who are already rich. Money is never a problem to them. But they will look elsewhere to fulfill the greediness within them. Seek for higher position, more power, more control, etc. All these can be considered as behaviors which are supposed to fuel their greediness.