Financial ceilings are internal

Hi everyone,

This week I have been thinking a lot about money.

What I have been thinking about makes me a little uncomfortable. It is the idea that most of the time, the reason we do not have money is because of the things we tell ourselves.

Before I get into that, I want to tell you about a trip I took to the Drakensberg back in 2018.

A few friends and I went away for a couple of days. We went hiking, breathed in the fresh mountain air, found a waterfall on one of our walks, ate far too much food and had the kind of long conversations that only seem to happen when you are sitting quietly looking out at a beautiful landscape.

At some point, we started talking about money.

Not in a flashy or boastful way. It was more thoughtful than that. We spoke about money as something that could be understood and managed, with the idea that, when handled well, it could make life better. To be fair, I listened more than I spoke, and I found it absolutely fascinating.

Abbreviations like CGT, ROI, FIRE and RA coloured the conversation as it went on. Terms like assets, liabilities and commodities were thrown around with the same ease as one would speak about the latest series everyone was watching. These were things I had not really come across before, and immediately I sat up in my chair listening with intent.

I remember thinking this was a very interesting way to approach money.

Most of us do not grow up having thoughtful conversations about money, and yet it quietly affects almost every part of our lives.

When I was growing up, my brother and I were very fortunate. We had a home, supportive parents and opportunities that I only came to appreciate much later. However, money was always a sensitive topic.

It was not that my parents were harsh about it. They simply did not enjoy talking about it very much. When they did talk about it, they were careful.

They would say things like, “We do not have money for that,” or “We need to be careful with our money. We will need it later.”

I remember one moment quite clearly.

When I was in primary school, I really wanted a PlayStation 2 game called Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. All my friends were talking about it, which naturally meant I wanted it very badly.

So I asked my parents if I could get it. My dad, exasperated with my nagging, finally said, somewhat reluctantly, “Give him the money!”

I thought that meant yes.

Then he added something that made me pause.

He said, “Well, you will have to figure out how to pay for your school fees.”

I knew immediately that I could not do that, so I did not get the game.

Looking back, that moment taught me something important. On the one hand, the money could be used for a game I desperately wanted, which would give me temporary enjoyment. On the other hand, it could be used for my education.

Money is not just something that is spent. It is something you have to think about.

Most of the time, money is already being used for something else. There are always competing priorities, and you have to make choices about where it goes.

That lesson stayed with me.

Since that moment, and since that conversation in 2018, I have started trying to think about money differently. I try to think about it as something that can be understood. Something that can be managed. Something that can even work for you instead of constantly working against you.

Most of the time, the reason we do not have money lies in the things we tell ourselves.

We tell ourselves that we cannot earn a certain amount of money. We tell ourselves that we are not the type of person who gets a certain job, so we do not even try.

We quietly settle for less than we might be capable of, and often we do not even notice that we are doing it.

This does not mean money is easy, and it certainly does not mean that positive thinking alone will make anyone wealthy.

That being said, the way we think about money matters.

If we think money is confusing, we avoid it.
If we think money is scarce, we live in constant fear of running out.

What if we changed the way we thought about it?

What if we treated money as something we could learn to understand and manage?

That is what I have been trying to do.

I am not obsessed with money. I am simply trying to think about it more carefully. I am trying to understand that money is a system. And like most systems, if you take the time to understand how it works, you can navigate it far more effectively.

Your financial ceiling might not be determined entirely by your circumstances.

It might also be determined by what you believe is possible for someone like you.

And beliefs, unlike circumstances, can change.

All the best,
Euan