I entered the financial world because I realized that I have a talent for spotting patterns that might not be obvious, sometimes even hidden. And discovering these patterns brings me joy.
I often asked my friends and acquaintances, “How can you not be interested in finance and managing money?” when they told me they didn’t enjoy it.
Money is one of the critical aspects of our lives, just like our health, spiritual wellness, careers, and relationships. Yet, whenever I discussed it with my peers, I noticed a surprising indifference towards managing money.
“Go with the flow,” “I’ll think about it later,” or “Are you trying to be the next Warren Buffett?” were some of the responses I received when I talked about building wealth.
As I became an entrepreneur and started building AlphaGamma, I began to understand why finance often has a bad reputation.
‘Mirror mirror on the wall…’
Money reveals who you are — not literally, of course, but it highlights your character. It doesn’t change a person; it amplifies their true nature. In this sense, money acts as a mirror and an amplifier.
This led me to conclude that one of the reasons people avoid dealing with money is psychological. Managing money requires you to confront yourself. Therefore, to have a healthy relationship with money, you must first have a healthy relationship with yourself.
In “The Psychology of Money” by Morgan Housel, the author argues that every individual has a deeply personal relationship with money, influenced by socioeconomic, geopolitical, technological factors, and personal traits. In my opinion, personal traits should come first.
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Making things complex is easy
Another reason finance seems unappealing is that most finance books read like medical encyclopedias.
I studied finance in college, and much like medicine, you only become effective at understanding it when your lecturers have real-life experience. It’s not your typical ‘toilet’ read.
Most readily available materials on finance and investing are often perceived as boring and complicated. Some of our readers at AlphaGamma have told us that finance seems too complex. I get it: you need grit and discipline not just to read through these materials but to implement their lessons regularly.
Bored to death but still breathing
Additionally, much of the advice out there is outdated. For example, most finance books still tell you to “save money for an emergency.” Have you ever noticed that when you expect an emergency, it eventually happens?
Instead, why not create a “financial freedom fund” or a “happy days fund” and make regular contributions? I’ve been doing this for years and have seen a significant improvement in my net worth over time.
To be clear, I’m not talking about money management at an institutional level, where you offer a strategy that your investors agree upon and then stick to the plan to make money for them.
In this article, I’m focusing on the individual level—how money is used and perceived personally.
Money makes the world go round
When we talk about the functions of money, you’ll come across definitions like store of value, medium of exchange, standard of deferred payment, and measure of value.
But I believe the primary function of money is as a tool to help you achieve the comfortable life you desire.
So, the key question isn’t “How do I save money?” but rather “How do I learn to make money?” As entrepreneurs, we build systems and organizations to do just that.
Recently, I finished reading “The Miracle Morning” by Hal Elrod. In it, the author mentions an intriguing trend. According to the Social Security Administration in the U.S., if you track 100 individuals from the start of their careers to retirement age, this is what you’ll find:
Only 1 person will be wealthy, 4 will be financially secure, 5 will continue working because they have to, 36 will have passed away, and 54 will be broke and dependent on friends, family, or the government.
This means only 5 out of 100 individuals will enjoy the life they want. What about the other 95? In other words, 95% of people don’t lead a fulfilling life.
I believe part of the solution is making discussions about money more engaging—making finance “sexy.”
Summary
In this article, I propose three main reasons why finance isn’t sexy in the eyes of the absolute majority of people:
- It reveals who you really are.
- The content on finance is boring.
- Much of the financial advice is outdated.
At AlphaGamma, we strive to talk about finance by making the topic simple, insightful and fun. For example, you can have a look at AG Insights, where we share investment ideas in an accessible and digestible way.
To conclude, to have a healthy relationship with money, you need to ask yourself: what kind of life do I want to live? What’s my dream life?
Then money becomes simply the means to get there.
What’s holding you back? What kind of financial content do you miss? At AlphaGamma, our aim is to offer content that’s useful, practical, and fun. I’d love to read your thoughts in the comments.
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