On this Valentine’s Day, I have been thinking a lot about love. We don’t usually equate love and money, but perhaps we should.
Money touches every part of our lives. And many people have a real love/hate relationship with it.
After working with money for the past 35 years I can tell you that our feelings around money have nothing to do with our wealth or lack of it. Many people with very little money have a very healthy relationship with it while I’ve seen people of great wealth carry a lot of negative baggage when it comes to money.
I’m more involved with money than most people. There isn’t a day in my life when I’m not helping people with their money or trying to be a good steward of my own. And because of this, I’ve learned so much about money, or maybe it’s a more accurate statement to say I’ve learned so much about people’s relationship with money.
Money in and of itself is simply an agreement — that’s right — it’s an agreement that this piece of paper with $20 on it can be exchanged for what is valued to be worth $20, by agreement, between the buyer and seller.
But, we as humans, have elevated money to mean things like power, success, or our innate worth, when none of those things really have anything to do with money.
Nor does love. Some people use money to show love, or feel they have to use money to show love, when that is simply not the case.
Oh sure, diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but with the divorce rate being what it is it’s no sign of guaranteeing love.
Don’t get me wrong. I love money. But I don’t worship it. I don’t horde it. I don’t give it meaning it was not intended to have. I simply use it to enhance the quality of my life, which is far more important to me than using it for any other reason.
I do what I can to ensure I am using my money in alignment with my values. Yes, my values. Not anyone else’s.
What are your values? What would you LOVE money to be able to do for you?
On this Valentine’s Day, I wish you love, and joy, and peace, and the financial ability to live according to your values, whatever they are.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
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