What does money mean to you

To each his own. This probably holds true most admittedly in the case of money.

Money is an immensely emotional subject, which continues to be under wraps in India. Click To Tweet

While thanks to American sitcoms, sex is gradually getting out of the sheets (pun not intended), money remains yet to be unearthed.

For years I never gave money more than a passing thought – I got a salary every month which I used to pay the rent, buy air tickets to go home and used the rest for recreational activities like movies or booze. It was a machinery quietly churning in the background while I went ahead living my life. However, with the years the complexities and the all-encompassing role of money in life became more apparent. Like it or not, ignoring money comes at a cost.

A few months back, I was lucky enough to hear a talk by Carl Richards, of the behavior gap fame. Carl makes these simple sketches which get to the heart of a lot of human behavior when it comes to money matters. While his entire talk was enlightening, one thing stuck with me. What does money mean to you?

In this quintessential question, ask yourself the core need that money fulfills in your life or that you would want it to occupy in your life. What is that one thing that comes to your mind with respect to money – currently or for future aspirations? What is that one thing which makes you get out of the house every morning, brave this country’s crumbling infrastructure and put in hours and hours of work in sometimes mundane jobs? No, no don’t go jumping to list down your commitments or financial goals just yet. This here is something like an overarching purpose of money in your life.

What is the core need that money fulfils in your life? Is it security? Is it about the love for travel? Is it about being admired? Is it about earning enough money to not have to depend on money? Or is it simply an instrument for daily sustenance… Click To Tweet

When I started thinking about it, a lot of thoughts came to my head but then it settled on this – money helps me keep close to my family and friends. Let me explain. I live in Mumbai while my parents live in Delhi. My sister along with the cutest nephew in the world, on the other hand live in the US. Even with months of planning, a Mumbai-Boston ticket does not come cheap. Thanks to this, enough times there are long gaps before I can meet my family at the other side of the Atlantic. The biggest purpose money can serve for me is that it would enable me to go meet family or friends whenever and wherever I want.

For different people money means different things. Click To Tweet

For my husband the purpose of money is very different.

It’s ok to be befuddled with this question and not having an answer to it, just yet. Use this post as an insprtion to think about money in a more strategic manner.

So, what does money mean to you? Do let me know your thoughts below in the comments.