Importance of Money in OUR Lives?

How Really Dependent Are We On Money?

We have heard from older people (elders, teachers, even strangers) and of course our priests, nuns, pastors and church ministers that money is not everything and it is only family, education (knowledge) or God’s love that matters. Some say that it is good health and friendship with people that matters.

However, nobody realizes the harsh reality that, money is tied to all these things that people tell you that matter. It is money that makes the world go round. To be even respected, it is money, which gets you that initial respect.

Now, let’s take a look and see what I mean.

If you have no money, you are literally out in the street begging for people to hand you free money and food or whatever they can give out of the goodness of their hearts. You have no place to stay or even to eat three square meals a day. No place for privacy to even go to the bathroom or even have a refreshing hot shower or to lay your head to get a good night’s rest.

Now, to have even the basic comforts in life, you have to have money. To be independent and even rent an apartment, you have to earn enough as rents are so high that most of your salary goes in paying rent. If you keep on renting and as you renew your lease each year, the rent keeps on increasing even though the amenities do not change. So, if you have a minimum wage job, you hardly have enough money to buy food or buy other necessary items unless you work a second or even a third job. Most companies don’t even give you a pay raise. If they do, it is hardly anything. Forget about using some of your earnings for entertainment. Even to go out with your friends or to enjoy the weekend you need money, and if you cannot afford to go out regularly with your friends, you end up losing your friends because you don’t get to see them often and if you have some self-respect you don’t want to sponge off of them expecting them to pay for you. If you cannot afford to go on a date especially if you are unlucky to have a girlfriend who is inconsiderate and wants you to lavish expensive drinks, food and gifts on her, then you are out of luck. I say this, because I have been told by younger men that they don’t want to date because they don’t want to spend their hard-earned money on these sorts of women who will only dump them when the man has outlived their usefulness.

In this day and age, it is trendy and also fashionable to go out and live the fast life and to show off to the world how independent and free one is by posting pictures on social media to get likes and shares. And, people spend a lot of money to do that. Also, people love going on expensive vacations and tours to see the world, which is not bad, because going on tours to experience other cultures and historical places is good and is an education in itself. But they incur credit card debt, which spirals out of control and when the interest rates keep adding up, it surely does a number on your credit history. That together with your student loans and the interest you have to pay along with your student loans, you cannot afford to buy a house or even start a family. So it all keeps piling up. Another thing, when people say that education or knowledge is better than having money, you need money to go to school or college to get that education or knowledge and with fees getting higher each year, many get into debt, which keeps piling up as the years go by.

Now coming to the fact that people respect you for being independent, they even look at you to see if you have your own form of transport and what sort of car you have. If you have a car, that is old and falling apart, they’ll know that you’re not doing well in life and that you probably are struggling to survive or living paycheck to paycheck. If you do not have proper clothes or dress well, they will think the same way about you. Even if you want to buy a nice car, the car dealership will not want to sell you a nice expensive car if you don’t have enough money to pay for it and no bank would want to finance it if you don’t earn enough money, because you have to disclose your income and how much of that income goes in rent or if you have house payments. So, if you need the car to get to work and you cannot get a car because you don’t have the money, then you really are in a fix or not to be vulgar, you are screwed!

Also, some companies don’t want to hire you if you don’t have your own form of transportation. I have heard of cases like that. They don’t want their employees using public transportation especially if the public transportation system is bad and it takes an individual two hours to get to their work place using the public transportation system compared to twenty minutes by car. Unfortunately, some public transportation systems in America are like that, especially in the city I live, because many people have cars.

Now there are people who say that family is more important than money, I don’t argue with that and I agree with it. But to have a family, you need money. Nobody is going to marry you if you don’t have money. If you want to get married, you obviously need money to buy a house and also money to have children, to buy them stuff, send them to school and to college. So, whoever says that family is more important than money does not think how dependent having a family is on money. You cannot even think of starting a family without having money. Also, to start a family, you first need to get rid of your college and other debts.

Some people say good health matters more than having money. Of course, I agree, but to have good health you need money. They go hand in hand. If you get sick, how are you going to pay the doctors or the hospital bills? No doctor is going to treat you for free, unless you live in a country with socialized medicine, but even then, that too is not free, because in those cases too, money is being taken from somewhere else. For expensive life saving procedures, you need money to get them done. So, when a young person complains about not having enough money, it is very annoying when an older person says, “Oh at least you have good health,” but what they don’t understand is your health status can change in a blink of an eye and if you don’t have money to get treated, you’re as good as dead.

A lot of the older people who say these annoying things, are the ones who complain about how expensive things are. They are the first ones to talk about how expensive things get when prices go up for medication, food and other day-to-day expenses. They also become nostalgic about the halcyon days of their youth when things were not so expensive and how everything used to be cheaper. Even when the clergy talk about money not being important, they are the first ones to ask for money when they need the churches or other houses of worship to be built or repaired, and encourage the congregation to put more money in the collection plate to get more blessings. Even your fellow church goers will look and see how much you or other people give and show you respect depending on how much you donate to the church fund and if your name is permanently etched on a memorial for all to see. They even whisper and tell others or newcomers to the church about how charitable a person is by the amount of money they donate to the church or to charities.

So older people and people who say that money is not everything, should be tolerant of the young when the young complain that they are having a hard time paying bills or trying to make ends meet. Every generation goes through tough times, and older people being more experienced should understand how it is and not say silly things about money not being everything. We all need money to live and thrive. Sadly, even family treats you differently if you have more money or less money. I have seen that happen. Parents do that and so do others. Of course, family, God, health are all important, and so is having money. But I will say this, don’t sell your soul to make your money. What I mean is, don’t do anything illegal. Not worth it. Be honest and make your money the honest way.

Now the young should understand that splurging your money by being extravagant is not a good way to spend your hard-earned money. No, you don’t need that new flat screen TV or that latest smart phone or that new SUV with all the latest bells and whistles with a sun roof like you are going to stick your head out like a giraffe when you drive. Save your money. Like the saying goes, ‘money saved is money earned.’ If your friends make fun of you for not having the latest gizmos, then maybe you need new friends. You save your money, because you are being wise and saving for a rainy day. You never know when hard times may come. If your friends don’t get that, then maybe they don’t understand you or they weren’t your friends to begin with.

I’m not saying be stuck in the 1950s, but if your iPhone 8 works, keep using it. Do not be like others just discarding your phone after three months to get the latest phone in the market. It is waste of money and also harmful for the environment as they end up in the landfill adding to the pollution. We can learn from the people who lived through the Great Depression. They used products until they fell apart and could no longer be used. In that way, they saved money and learned the value of a dollar. Of course, go out and have fun, build good memories, because you will look back on these memories with fondness when you get older. And, no, you don’t have to impress people on social media by spending money or acting stupid and wild. Have some self-respect and have clean fun. Also, put your family first, whether it is your wife, husband, children, siblings, relatives or parents and even friends who mean a lot to you. Because building memories with them is more important as life is short.

So, in conclusion, is money everything? — You’re Damn Right It IS!!!!

I write these articles based on my own experiences, also on the experiences of others and by talking to several people. The main purpose is to help people understand the various problems people young and old go through and to foster understanding and help build that support system for everyone.

PS: As always, please follow and I will follow back. Help me and I will help you!

Please clap for the article and also leave comments, follow me and also please consider joining medium by clicking here.

To see my website, articles, novels and short stories, please visit my website www.trevordsilva.com