Money is a bizarre concept. Each person is inducted by birth into a household that interprets money in its own distinct manner: different ideas of what it means, how much power it holds, and how much time a day you should spend thinking about it. This perspective is generally shaped using a template from generations prior in combination with the family's current status of wealth. Often times people will declare that “money won’t solve your problems.” YouTuber Casey Neistat thoughtfully pointed out that it is true money will not solve the problems concerning happiness, love, fulfillment, purpose, etc. However, when one has no money, the troubles they face are more likely related to housing, food, healthcare, transportation, clothing, etc. which are all monetarily resolvable issues.

When the basic needs of a person are not met, the former list of concerns inclines to take its position on the back burner. When you are broke, money will solve nearly all of your problems. When you are fiscally established, money will solve very few of them. This creates a large discrepancy in perspective from one financial class to the next.

I am one of the fortunate people who had the pleasure of frequenting restaurants with my parents, ordering anything off the menu that I fancied. To my mother’s dismay, I demanded new pencils each year despite the sufficient condition of the year prior’s supply. Nobody ever requested I get a part-time job to contribute on the mortgage. Money was hardly a thought that circulated through my mind, until I desired a car. It was simple enough; I just had to scrounge up $200 a month for the lease payment. A few hours folding blouses at Walmart did the trick just fine. After that, it became a game of ‘what’s the least amount of dollars I can trade for the most amount of Taco Bell after class’. As crucial as Taco Bell still is for me today, it doesn’t get its own row on my budgeting spreadsheet.

These days, I have to pay careful attention to my spending habits in order to pay bills on time and in full, save money for travel, while ensuring to use a healthy portion of it for pleasurable experiences throughout the week such as concerts and sushi dates. However, I will tell you this: I never fret over money; I always order what I want off the menu; and I will insert the chip if the shoes are cute. My upbringing had a massive impact on my perception of money. I have upheld the same attitude in it’s regards, despite becoming financially independent from my parents. I believe as long as I can support a similar lifestyle with my current income, it is natural to maintain the abundance mentality I grew up with. I can easily achieve that lifestyle working full-time, having no dependents. It is a harsh reality to learn that many people lose sleep over their debts.

Often they will work gruesome hours at a physically taxing job just to keep the lights on and the water running. Some people never get the opportunity to have a professionally prepared meal with their family. This is a reality that exists and can be tremendously difficult to overcome. I am so grateful my parents created a world I could come into that was rich in love, comfort, and financial stability.

I always wondered how much to factor my future ability to make money into my life-defining choices. Is it better to do what you love all the time and hope that money will come to you through passionate work? Or is it better to start where money is and then find passion from there? If money were no object work? Or is it better to start where money is and then find passion from there? If money were no object I would spend my days traveling the world, attending classrooms to develop skillsets I am passionate about, and experience summer music festivals in both hemispheres. This is not so far off from what I presently do with my time, just smaller scale. This past year alone I have hiked between the Napa Valley grapevines, hustled below NYC skyscrapers, and bathed upon islands in the Caribbean Sea.

I learned to paint like Bob Ross, develop my writing skills through this blog, and now I’m dipping my toes into the comprehension of wine. I watched fireworks rise above all the lasers at Dancefestopia, while summoning the Dragonhawks, a four-day stretch I’ll never forget. I am incredibly proud of myself for living a life that prioritizes my dreams, but I also understand there is a balance of trading your present freedom for more in the future. This means hard work and dedication to tasks that may not be fun in the moment in hopes to exponentially grow opportunity in the years following.

At this point I am going at my own pace toward my ambitions. Billy Joel once sang, “Slow down, you’re doing fine. You can’t be everything you want to be before your time… When will you realize, Vienna waits for you.” The fact that I have had so many extraordinary experiences within the last twelve months is proof to me that I will make use of each day to come. Each moment growing wiser, loving deeper, and becoming stronger. I don’t know all the details of what lies ahead for me, but I can at least say that I have faith in women in charge

A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart. -Jonathan Swift