What does money mean to you

A friend asked me this - What does money mean to you? I didn't have an immediate answer. Money - the great manipulative tool invented by mankind. What does it mean to me - NOW? Perhaps that would've been a more appropriate question. Our needs and wants change as we go through phases in life. Our experience teaches us a lot.

For some, money is a motivator - makes you do awesome things. It enables us to reach for the stars, to invent, innovate, to create. It makes us endure our struggles with a smile, enjoy that mundane job, keep us sane in the most insane environment. On the face, money is a tool to obtain what you want. Everything costs money. But deep within, it means more than a mere tool. For most of us money - it means many things. It means freedom, power, security, happiness, respect, reassurance and love.

When I was young, money for me was a way to obtain things my parents wouldn't buy for me. Simple! I wanted Diary Milk chocolate. It was a luxury those days. After months of nagging; my father would buy a slab and break it into half to be shared between my brother and I. I used to think that when I grew up and made money; I would buy lots of chocolates as and when I need. I need not have to depend on my dad. So, money then was a tool to gain freedom. It's another story that I don't like chocolates now :-)

These days, I work because I need money to pay my bills. Gone are the days when technology was passion. I think after having worked over a decade; it gets saturated. All that hoopla of learning and creating awesome stuff weans off. It could be due to various factors - opportunities that don't come easy, lack of support and the daily struggle of life. These days its about paying my mortgage and my bills. I have even reduced buying things for me - no more buying gadgets and footwear that I once so loved. I suppose most of us go through this phase, isn't? You want to acquire material comforts, car, house and then at one point it just does not make sense? Maybe not for all of us. There are folks who keep acquiring wealth, for their children and their children. Then there are some who see money as power and so keep hoarding money and properties.

I do think about future as well. How would I sustain if I didn't earn actively. How about my health? How long will I live? So the security part is something that I haven't got quite convinced. What if I save and save and then I die early? So this one is a bummer right? We still have to save for a rainy day.

Oh! I do indulge in my passion; that is traveling. Need a bit of money for that.  Nothing beyond that. I am glad that I have not been greedy. So when I actually think about what money means to me; it has been a tool for me to remain independent and to pursue my interests.