Tips To Find The Purpose of Money

People ask, ‘Scott, how do I change so-and-so’s spending habit?”

I think, if I had that magic potion, I’d be on the cover of every magazine in the country. Except Cat Fancy. They only put cats on the cover.

It’s not an easy question, because every person has different motivations, values, and priorities. We get so many questions on The Scott Alan Turner show.

Scott, thanks for helping me stop being a money moron. How can I help others avoid the same mistakes?

First, I congratulate you for listening to my stories of being a money moron and taking them to heart. Change is hard, as you know. And I’m not sure if you could get someone to listen to every show, read every book, listen to every success story, that they would suddenly say ‘oh yeah, now I know what to do with my money and life.’

I think the purpose of money in our lives is a process of asking questions then just seeing a cute phrase on a billboard. I think we have to think. A lot.

But I also believe we’ve got a lot of data (boo!) and real stories (yeah!) of figuring it out.

I don’t pretend to know what dollar amount is going to make someone happy, solve their problems, or bring them peace of mind. There are a lot of unhappy rich people in Hollywood. And there a lot of very happy people who by society’s benchmark, we would call living in poverty. My mom who lives on Social Security comes to mind.

I don’t have all the answers (just the right ones) about where to draw the line between too much saving and what to spend on. The reality is I’ve only been able to dial in on my own beliefs since I started teaching others about money over the past five years.

It’s forced me to think about it more. The more we think about figuring out the purpose of our own money each day, the more likely we get that joy each day you deserve. You’ll be happier with your decisions, because they are yours. Not someone else’s rules.

Yes, I do believe not being a money moron has put me in a better place. And yes, I believe it’s a better place for everyone else too.

• Savings vs. being in debt.
• Emergency fund vs. a financial disaster
• Sleeping well vs. stressing out about money

I’ve got my financial independence. I think other people can get it too by figuring out the purpose of why they do what they do.

• What are we working so hard for?
• What are we missing out on now?
• What should we be preparing for later?
• What do we really want?

When we ask better questions, we get better answers. It doesn’t mean there will be some big revelation in an instant. Most people are so busy they don’t spend 5 minutes EVER asking those questions. I didn’t.

It’s 6 am as I’m writing this. What am I thinking about? Food. Breakfast. Bacon. Just like everyone else who wakes up in the morning. And the day ahead. Not ‘what’s the real reason for going to work today?’

But as I’ve learned to take a breath every now and then, looking around there are some common themes of happy, successful, and wealthy people.

The first thing you notice is, nobody started that way. You had debts. I had debts. We owed more than we owned. That’s normal.

So when you think of your friends and family and how they don’t ‘get it’, yep. Nobody gets it until they get it. How profound right?

And I’ve found people who are bad with a little money are bad with a lot of money. Maybe those mistakes have a purpose. The purpose may be so someone is better with more money later.

In our own lives we can’t see what’s ahead or around the corner. What if you saw your stage of life right now as a step on the journey?

Hey, this kind of stinks right now, but I’ve got a plan. Just like that thing that didn’t work out years ago. I got through that and learned from it.

And that’s your story, which nobody can argue. Do you want to be the financial light in someone’s life? Sharing your story is a good start. Nobody can argue with the amazing turnarounds you’ve had or will have.

Some people like to argue about leverage and using debt to build wealth. I didn’t use debt to build wealth. I’ve been debt free for ten years. That’s my story. Like you, I wrote some of the story. Some of it wrote me.

The fire you have about the purpose of money can be contagious. It can also be super-annoying, just like certain show hosts that talk about cats too much. Or as Sunshine wrote to me:

I enjoy your show, except for the vegetable bashing.

Talking about money is important. Everyone would like to be as Zig Ziglar said.

People want to be happy, healthy, reasonably prosperous and secure; they want to have friends, peace of mind, good family relationships and hope.

Money plays a small or big part in many of those things, right? And we also want those things of others. You could say the purpose of money is to achieve those eight things.

So my question is what are you doing to share your story and how you see the purpose of money with others?

If someone hasn’t figured out their money’s purpose yet, that’s ok. It takes time.

Someone may not find the purpose of money like you have or will. Just like some people may not find they were born to be a painter, carpenter, or coach. Sometimes its recognizing a different purpose. Being a good mom. Supporting others. Leading by example.

So today take the five minutes. Think on what you believe. Think about what they might believe. And keep being that inspiration for others. You’ll never know what words or actions you take today may be planting the seeds for someone else’s better habits days, weeks, months, or years from now.

6:53 am. Not bad. Time for breakfast. But no vegetables Sunshine!