Seth Godin is an American entrepreneur, and what surprises me about him is the range of his subjects, his knowledge and the way he expresses himself. Although financial education is not his field, he has set out several rather interesting reflections or thoughts about money on his blog, in a very engaging way that anyone can understand. I agree with every one of his points.
We had already mentioned some of them, although he puts them with more “art”.
See also: The 10 stupidest things to spend money on
11 ideas and reflections on money, Seth Godin style
On the emotional side of money
-
If money is an emotional subject for you, you have a big problem. Nobody who is skilled at building houses has emotional issues with hammers. Put your emotional problems where they belong and treat money as a tool.
-
How much money you have has nothing to do with whether you are a better person or not. Being good with money is like being good at cards. People who are good at playing cards are neither better nor worse than anyone else. They are better poker players, granted, but that’s all.
On the absolute value of money
- Money spent on one thing is the same money as money spent on something else. An unnecessary €500 charge caused by a mistake when negotiating a mortgage is just as much money as leaving a €500 tip at McDonald’s.
- If you borrow money to make more money, you have done something divine and magical. On the other hand, if you borrow money just to go into debt buying something you want but don’t need, you have done something stupid and short-sighted that will ultimately change your life for the worse.
On debt
- Getting out of debt as fast as possible is the smartest thing you can do with your money. If you need any proof of this, ask anyone who has a lot of money. As a final confirmation, look at how credit card companies are by far more profitable than most other industries.
In terms of financial education
-
As far as the money you have is concerned, there is no difference between spending money and failing to earn more money.
-
Like many important professional activities, money has its own vocabulary. It won’t take you long to learn what opportunity cost, investing versus speculating, debt, leverage… mean, and it will be worth your time.
-
Never sign a contract or make an investment until you fully understand what you are doing.
-
If you have a well-paid job with good prospects, now is the time to find a way to earn extra money in your free time or build an additional source of income, because when things get worse (and there is a good chance that at some point they will), it will be much harder for you to do it. And if that moment never comes, the extra income will have set you up for retirement.
On happiness and money
-
Once you reach a high level of money, more money no longer makes people happier, but at the lowest level, less money can make people sadder. It is important to learn about money.
-
In the long run, doing work that matters and that you enjoy will always bring you more happiness than doing work that simply pays more.
See also: 10 money tips to follow before you turn 30
Featured image: Joi Ito, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
