It was about 11 in Thimphu one cold winter night. I was on my way home carrying my all-time savings of Nu.800,000.

While passing through the dark alleys of Hong Kong Market, a rowdy thug caught me saying ‘your money or your life’ pointing a dagger at me.

Luckily, I was in my proper senses. I surrendered the money and ran away as fast as I could.

This experience is very much relatable to our mindsets towards money & life, even though I made it up.

We don’t realize how we’re selling our lives for money.

It’s the message of the 2011 English Movie ‘In Time‘ and the bestselling book Your Money or Your Life.

The Relationship Between life and Money

If we can live in the forest eating wild food, we won’t need money. There would be zero relationship between our life and money.

But when we’re in mainstream society, we cannot avoid the relationship b/w life and money. We need money for food, shelter, clothes etc. 

We have to earn it. And to earn it, we have to work.

When we work for money, we’re selling certain amount of time from our life for it. Nothing can be gained without losing something.

If my salary is Nu.25,000, I am earning daily Nu.1,250 and hourly Nu.156. So, a Nu.500 shirt will cost 3 hrs. To get an Iphone 13, I must work 680 hours!

Expressing prices of every purchase in time of my life, I’m more careful and conscious of my spending.

I am giving purpose to every Nu I use. It helps me to make value-based purchases. 

Looking at myself in 3 dimensions of Time

I look at myself in 3 dimensions of time: past, present, and future. If my past self had committed financial mistakes, my present self would be paying the price.

If I am not careful of how I manage money at present, my future self will suffer from the consequences.

Because my past self took a loan, I’m still clearing it now. If I take a loan now, I am robbing the future of me.

This applies to our health, intellectuality, and skills as well.

Unless we develop a helpful money mindset for future self, we will care less about our financial habits now.

I am prudent with my finance and building wealth now so future me can have a better life.

Comparing with my past and not others

Comparison really steals joy. In personal finance, comparing with others is a shortcut to becoming poor.

You will be either better or worse than others when you compare. In both cases, your emotional wellbeing won’t be good.

Therefore, I practice to be grateful of what I have, then compare myself less with others. I am still working on it.

If my neighbour buys a Landcruiser Prado, it’s good that they can afford it. Can you imagine a disaster if I’m envious and compete?

Comparisons lead to unhealthy desires. And some people become poor just by serving their unhealthy desires.

Compare your present self with your past self. It leads to gratefulness or a motivation to work more but based on what is best for yourself.

If saving money for the future is good for me, I must do it though others are not doing it or are against it.

What is good for myself should be the main reason to do it. What others do or think shouldn’t dictate my life.

The truth is when you need money, help will be rare. But with savings, you can do things that make you happy and not just for money.  

What is your mindset about money and life? How did you develop those mindsets for money and life? Please share in comments.

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