It’s true that money can be used to increase your level of comfort. Someone once said, ‘They say that money won’t make you happy – but it’s more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than on a bicycle.’ Yvonne Godfrey shares tips to help out teens develop healthy relationships as they emerge into adulthood.
It’s also true that money can help you feel safe and secure. For example, if you’re overseas and something happens to one of your family members back home, you want to be able to get back to see them without going into debt or starting up a crowdfunding page. Always be as financially prepared as you can to cover your responsibilities and allow for emergency situations.
Be wise – have money in reserve in case you unexpectedly lose your income. You can do this through income protection insurance, or by having enough money saved to pay your bills while you find another job and get back on your feet. Ideally you would want to have at least three months’ living expenses in reserve.
Health insurance is another thing to consider. What happens if you get sick or need an operation? If you are living overseas, there may not be a public health system – and even if there is – it most likely wont take care of foreigners like you. While you are living at home, you might be covered by your parents’ insurance policy. If so, check to see at what age that cover will expire.
What money can’t buy
Money can’t buy love
When I was young, my mother said, ‘It’s just as easy to fall in love with a rich man as a poor one’ – meaning that, if I was going to fall in love, I might as well fall in love with someone who has money. That might work in some situations, but remember the advice from earlier: ‘whoever pays your way controls your life’. I think it’s better to start out more or less as financial equals, with an attraction based on mutual respect rather than money, and build your wealth together. My husband Simon and I started with ‘two thirds of nothing’ and built our life together. It’s worked pretty well for us.
Money can’t buy wisdom
There’s an old Jewish proverb that says, ‘Of what use is money in the hand of a fool since he has no desire to get wisdom?’ In this proverb, the ‘fool’ is a person who doesn’t have financial under- standing or a desire to get any. Having money is a responsibility and is wasted on someone who doesn’t want to learn how to han- dle it.
Money can’t buy health
Even though money gives you more choices when it comes to looking after yourself, you can’t achieve health by paying some- one else to do your eating, lift your weights at the gym or go for a run in your shoes.
Money can’t buy a happy family
Money will buy you a house, but it won’t give you a happy home. It will buy you the latest bed, but it won’t give you a good night’s sleep.
Be wise – have money in reserve in case you unexpectedly lose your income
Money can’t insure against tragedy
Nobody is exempt from life’s tragedies. When natural disasters occur, they don’t discriminate. The rich and the poor are all affected. Disabilities and sickness can strike anyone.
Fred Smith Snr, the father of the multi-billionaire founder of Fedex, has an excellent philosophy: ‘Money will never give you security, yet there is a certain amount of money that makes each of us feel secure. Determine how much that is, develop a strategy to get it and get cracking. Once achieved, stop striving! Otherwise you will fall into the false belief that you’ll be secure or happy when you have just a little bit more!’
