One day, a friend of mine asked me, "What is the definition of money?" I got stunned by that question, I don't know how to respond, I just jokingly answered "money is a piece of s#!t" and I walked away. That question lingers on me when I was alone so, I figured, these piece of papers are killing me, so, my answer earlier is somehow relevant. Whether we like it or not, we all have to deal with this all the time. Have you ever wonder why? What is your definition of money anyway?

I was surprised when I also asked few people about this, most of them took time before they respond, some scratched their head as they look far away to a lalaland (Same reaction as mine basically). It appears that most of us are just dealing with it because we have to. Then I asked myself again what the definition of money is? I know this topic is really broad and there's no right or wrong answer to this. The definition I come-up with is just a cold hard fact, I guess "Money is just an instrument to measure the value of something and often use to measure the value of one individual as well; the more you have it, the more people care and hang around with you, and it goes the other way around if you have less."

Sounds a little bitter huh?, well, I've expressed how frustrated I am about it and that is just one of many reasons why I hate it. Money is something that I rarely have and when I have it I usually ended up doing stupid things with it. I admit that I made mistakes in the past which brought me into a deep hole. Cleaning the mess I made is not easy; it requires tedious hours on stressful jobs and less time for important people in my life just to cope-up. So I decided to assess myself and try to figure out why I am still struggling financially at my age?

I was born and raised in a poor family in the Philippines. I did my parents plan to finally stop the long history of our family's poor life "get good grades, establish a stable source of income through your job and you are pretty much ready to face the life." Obviously, that formula is lacking a very important piece. As I look back through my past actions, I found out that I spent more than what I was earning (mostly for pleasurable activities and things). I also entered a very serious stage of life called: marriage and kids, without properly preparing for it. What I did is comparable to diving into the deep water and only learning how to swim while I'm on it, that's deadly isn't? Well, that's exactly what happened to my marriage as it didn't last long. That's how I came up with a realization that "Lack of education about money is the birth of all the hurdles I have in life." I should've delayed everything until I'm financially ready. I didn't recognize that the question of my friend is going to be a wakeup call. Life has beaten me up and it took time for me to realize that I have to stand up and fight for this widespread decease. Yes, I call it decease especially in our country. We must take action to stop it. The key is to educate ourselves and be conscious about the result of every financial action that we are taking today.

Excuse me for sharing a little bit about myself. I just thought maybe that is a good example since I am broke. How to become broke is a piece of cake, Just basically spend more than what you are earning, don't plan your financial spending activities, just keep on spending and don't worry about tomorrow. and be stupid about money, as simple as 1,2…3. Imagine what will happen if we can flip that behavior the other way around?

Money is valuable, that's how it is in every society. Again, whether we like it or not, at the end of the day we still have to deal with it, but the first thing we have to wonder before we even think of how to obtain it is how to manage and use it wisely.

"Without proper education about money, life will just continue to bring us sucker punches that we are unconsciously creating."

If you are broke, don't worry, they say "being broke is just temporary" so in that sense we must see hope. You are not alone, together let us educate ourselves and be financially literate. Let us all share beneficial knowledge about money. If you like what you read, follow me! And feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section. What is your realization about money? Stay tuned for my next article. CHEERS! Thank you for reading and have a great day.