The Importance Of Money: It's More Important Than You Think

Chapter 1: Money: It’s More Important than You Think

I will be giving you specific guidance on majors and careers—but first, it is necessary to give a brief lesson on money.

Money will be extremely important in your life, and anyone who tells you otherwise is either ignorant or self-deluded. High school and college both fail to illustrate the connection between what you study and your financial comfort in life.

We will shortly be discussing what is meant by financial comfort, but for now, I want to stress the fact that money is important psychologically, emotionally, socially, and physically. In my teens, wrapped up in the fervor of high school intellectualism, I challenged statements such as these, but as I got into my mid-20s I found that

People earning more than $88,000 do not experience a drop in happiness, and are likely to be happier, as their disposable income makes it easier to do away with unpleasant things. The salary of $88,000 is rather the minimum level at which we can have some financial peace of mind and then climb upwards on the happiness ladder.

One thing you will notice about wealthy people is that they like to talk about money. They talk about money in the same way that jocks talk about sports and geeks talk about computers. Rich families talk about money freely, but for some reason, middle-class people avoid the subject. We don’t talk about it at the dinner table, and because our lives are so busy, we rarely get a chance to meet and talk about our finances at all.

A lot can be learned from your parents about money, even just how your house was financed, or what insurance you have, or any investments they are doing for themselves. Take a lesson from rich people: don’t be afraid to talk about your personal financial situation. It’s one of the ways that you learn. While “If you understand money, you understand the world” may be an exaggeration, money is very related to human behavior, and the economy is indeed part of our lives. It influences politics, emotions, families, lifestyles, and education, just to name a few. It’s worth being knowledgeable

If you don’t know it right now, at this very moment, that is forgivable. But if you don’t know it by this time tomorrow, that is your fault. The same goes for writing a check. When I finished high school, I still didn’t know how to fill one out. Don’t let this be you. Go straight into the other room right now and ask your mom to teach