There is a saying: "If there is anything, there is no disease, and if there is nothing, there is no money." ”
Money is essential to our lives, we want to make money, we want to make more money, and the purpose of making money is nothing more than to make our lives better.
So how can we ordinary people have a happy and rich life?
This book "The Psychology of Money" gives us the answer.
Money Psychology" ranked first in the Amazon financial management category in 2022, with a Douban score of 83 points.
If you want to make more money, this book is not for you, if you are looking forward to how an ordinary person can have a rich life in a down-to-earth manner, this book is for you.
Why do we want to make money, for ordinary people, the meaning of making money has the following three layers:
1 Meet to survive
Our basic living security is achieved by money, and the first meaning of making money meets our basic needs in life.
2 Enjoy life
The second meaning of making money is to improve the quality of life. From being able to eat and dress warmly, to eating and dressing well, to enjoying life.
You can travel on vacation, you can take your family to a good meal, you can go out to take a taxi, you can change a good computer.
3 Achieve freedom
Survival is satisfied, the quality of life is improved, and the next level is to make money to achieve freedom.
With a six-month contingency fund, you can take a few days off when you are sick without making ends meet.
With a certain amount of savings, you can calmly wait for better career opportunities after losing your job.
With more wealth, you can choose a job that does not pay well but has flexible hours.
"The greatest benefit of wealth is that we have the freedom to do what we want. ”When we are exhausted in order to survive, we have no freedom, we have to endure for the sake of income and that little wage, and we have to do what we hate.
With abundant money, instead of being pressured to do what you hate, you can choose what you like and are worthwhile to do, not to make money.
When there is a certain material foundation, there is no need to work hard for survival, tired of running for your life, living so tired, this is the freedom of choice.
Wealth gives us a sense of control over our lives, a sense of control over our time, and more choices for us.
We may not be able to achieve financial freedom, but we can make money to achieve time freedom and control our lives.
This is the greatest meaning of making money for us ordinary people.
1 Periodic scrapping
It's time to change your phone in a few years, you should buy clothes in two years, buy it every year, change it every year, we're constantly buying, constantly changing new items, but do we really need to change so many things?
2 Identity comparison
Many people buy luxury cars, thinking that they can receive respect from others.
The author wrote a letter to his son, writing: "Did they buy a Ferrari with the intention of gaining admiration from others, without realising that I, and many others, would be fascinated by their luxury cars, but not even a second would think about the person in the driver's seat, themselves?”
We often place too much emphasis on our place in the hearts of others, when in fact, no one really cares about you except ourselves.
However, for the sake of the so-called "face", "don't let others look down on us", we have to wear famous brands, drive expensive cars, and wrap ourselves in clothes, feeling that this has a status in front of others.
The sad thing is how many people buy things that are beyond their ability in order to pursue these "faces".
The comparison is endless, but does it really cost money for the sake of face?
3 Advance consumption
Car loans, housing loans, Huabei, keep earning and repaying money, do you really have the ability to repay debts all the time?
When you are in debt, you lose your freedom and have to work non-stop to pay off your debts.
The real rich do not consume ahead of time, do not create demand, do not compare, they live simply, do not show off anything to the outside world, and spend a lot of money on good things.
The three consumption concepts of regular scrapping, identity comparison, and advanced consumption have made us lose our freedom.
The author said: "For a long time, we have formed a consumption concept that money is used to spend, so we actually don't understand that the premise of being rich is actually restraint. ”We all think that money is meant to be spent, but money that is not spent becomes wealth. Different views on consumption have caused differences between us.
Frugality and restraint are still the foundation of our ordinary people's accumulation of wealth.
1 Reduce desire
"Happiness is what you have minus what you expect".The pursuit of wealth is endless, learn to be content, and the less you expect, the more satisfied and happy you are.
Happiness consists in seeing what you have, not seeing what you don't have.
Xi Murong said: "Money is a useful thing, but it will only bring you happiness when you feel content, otherwise it will have no positive meaning except for giving you troubles and jealousy." ”"Contentment" is an old saying, but it is a truth.
The less vanity, the more wealth;The less desire, the more wealth can be accumulated.
2 Save money
"You don't need a special reason to save money".Wealth accumulation is not about a large return on investment, but about saving, and saving money is the last word.
Wealth still depends on saving, especially for us ordinary people.
Saving money every month, even if it is three or five hundred yuan, decades of accumulation is a lot of money, but if you don't save, you will have nothing after many years.
Having a certain amount of savings is the foundation of our life, allowing us to have more freedom and a better life.
Having money in the bank gives you the confidence to choose to change jobs, retire early, or not worry about making ends meet.
3 Keep rich
"Keeping rich requires humility and reverence, and knowing how quickly wealth comes and how easy it goes. ”When it comes to wealth management, it is more important to keep your wealth than how much money you have.
Keeping rich requires frugality, money comes quickly, but it also spends quickly. We also often feel that in today's convenient online shopping, if you don't control it, the money is really spent somehow.
It's hard to get rich, and it's even harder to keep it.
Don't let yourself be in debt, set security boundaries, and keep money for yourself. Don't invest your survival money, don't take risks.
4 Compound interest
"If something is repeated and cumulative—even a small amount of growth that will provide the impetus for continued growth in the future—a low starting point can end up with unimaginable and counterintuitive results. ”Warren Buffett's success in the investment world is inseparable from his long-term commitment to investing.
A small amount of savings, through compound interest accumulated over time, can also be a lot of income.
Compound interest is the most reliable way for ordinary people to accumulate assets.
Less desire, less spending.
Spending is down and savings are up.
Save regularly, relying on the power of compound interest, and we will also become "rich".
"I just want to wake up every morning knowing that we can do whatever we want as a family. Every financial decision we make is geared towards achieving this goal. ”I hope that every ordinary person can achieve this goal through financial management, live comfortably within the scope of what we can afford, and realize our wealth and freedom.