I don’t think we talk enough about money. It’s kind of a sensitive topic- it’s not nice to talk about how much we spend, how much we earn. We’re more than our bank balance, surely!

That said, there’s no escaping it in this day and age. Being a hunter-gatherer isn’t really an option any more. The marketplace is a very real element of the modern human condition.

I think it’s important to worry enough about money such that it doesn’t hold us hostage. My personal goal (for now) is to be financially independent, enough so that money doesn’t trouble me or limit me from living my dreams and fulfilling my potential. Money is merely a tool that’s meant to serve us, as a convenient substitute to bartering goods and services, nothing more. I think often, we forget the value of good ol’ bartering- that we mistake the map for the territory, and forget that what people want is wealth, not money- and we can create wealth for ourselves and each other, without actually having much (or any) money at all.

When I was a kid I used to save quite religiously. I think I saved up to a few hundred dollars in a bank account that my parents opened for me. I’m not sure what happened to that money- I think it’s still there, in a bank account that I’ve forgotten about, which I think my mum is taking care of. I’m personally choosing not to ask my parents about it, to operate under the assumption that I’m not getting a single cent out of them ever again. It’s simply a more fulfilling and antifragile way to live.