Lesson #145-Are you worshiping money?

JW's Financial Coaching Podcast

Three signs that you are worshiping at the altar of money Why the worship of money is not a physical worship How we can worship money no matter what our financial situation is Money just makes us more of what we already are Quote of the lesson from Andrew Carnegie

On today’s lesson we go into the topic of money worshiping. Now more than likely you aren’t sitting in your home each night and physically worshiping money. But there are thoughts and actions we do with money that lead to an unhealthy relationship with our money.

Now the thing with worshiping money is that this isn’t thing that only the wealthy of filthy rich can do. You can still worship money if you are struggling financially. Now worshiping money will look different to each person and there are many signs that you might be worshiping money. But below are three of the main reasons:

You are afraid of losing money

No one I know enjoys losing money, so this should probably be better worded by saying you are obsessed with the possibility of losing money. We’re not talking about losing a $20 bill out of your pocket, but I’m talking about looking at your online ticker when the stock market drops or if certain geo-political events are occurring it keeps you up at night.

Also do you have a fear of living at a certain level or lifestyle? Are you saving or investing money to reach a certain goal? Or is it because you feel you will never have enough saved? If so it might be a sign you are putting too much trust in your money

You are stingy with it

Take a look at your checkbook. Are you able to spend money and not worry about it? Can you enjoy the fruits of your labor? Now spending is all about ratios depending on a variety of factors including your goals, income, and debt load. But if you can’t enjoy spending *some* of your money on yourself there might be an issue.

Are you able to give money to charities and other noble causes? If you can’t and you have to see money leave your account that might be a sign you are worshiping money. Because if you’ll never have enough saved if you can’t enjoy spending and give some of it as well.

You constantly think about it

What are you thinking about when you think about money? Do you think about having money so you can do all kinds of enjoyable things with it? Do you imagine what it would be like to have money? Do you dream of the power and “easiness” of life that you would have if you had more money? Do you think about money all the time?

I teach about money, but I don’t think about money all the time. Now granted there are some points in your life where you are thinking about money a lot more than others. But overall if money captures our thoughts, it might be a sign that you are worshiping money.

Now with that being said, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be thinking about money at all. If you have a plan, you need to know where your money is going. Having a plan, budget, and goal with money is *NOT* worshiping money.

But if the thought of losing it, being stingy with it, or obsessively thinking about it is a constant in your life. You might have an issue of how much of an impact money has on your life. Granted money is nice, but it is not the be all, end all. It’s not a magic pill, and having more of it doesn’t guarantee anything in life. Money just make us more of what we already are already.

Other Resources mentioned in the show

When saving money can go too far Lesson #103-How our mindset impacts our finances Lesson #32-Money Management is about behavior, not about math

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“There is no idol more debasing than the worship of money” ~ Andrew Carnegie

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