What money means to me

Behind every website are those steering the ship – not a (just) mouse, not an army of house elves, just humble humans doing their bit to keep this free and impartial resource running. 

Here at Sorted, I’m the first to read your comments, emails, and tweets, among lots of other things (we’re a small team at the Commission for Financial Capability and wear many hats each). I’ve held various digital roles over the years and loved every single one, but the work we do here speaks to my heart. 

“I’m interested in money,” I used to tell people by way of explanation when informing them I was coming to work here. That probably gave off the wrong impression at times, but in all seriousness it’s true. I’m fascinated by how we think about money, talk about money, manage money. It touches so many aspects of our lives, even if we don’t often acknowledge that.

Lots of us have a complicated relationship with money: earning it, saving it, spending it. I know I do. Money itself is neutral; ultimately, it’s simply a tool. But we’re humans, not robots. When we make choices around our finances, emotions typically play into the equation in some way - rational or not.

Money means different things to us all. Our experiences shape how we feel about it and relate to it.

Growing up, money wasn’t a taboo topic at home yet we were always aware that discussing dollars and cents just wasn’t done in polite company. Given that we spend most of our lives working for money and that you can’t get by in today’s world without it, I’ve always thought this was kind of odd.

I’ve lived with financial stress and I’ve lived without it. Hands down, I’d take life without the money worries every single time. They have a funny way of seeping into every moment, casting a huge shadow in their wake, keeping you up at night. People often say fondly that some of the best times of their lives were also when they were the most broke – but for me the opposite has been true (your mileage may vary).

Wealth is the ability to fully experience life, as the saying goes. Heck, forget the full experience. Even the most basic existence requires a certain amount of money. We live in a capitalist society, after all, and that’s unlikely to change any time soon. And with inequality only continuing to grow, I can’t help but worry about getting caught at the wrong end of that spectrum.

Don’t get me wrong: I know full well I could be much worse off, and I fully appreciate the advantages I’ve had. Yet I also spend a lot of time fretting about whether I’ll ever be able to truly get ahead.

To me, money means options. Security. Peace of mind. Freedom. 

That’s my money story. What does money mean to you?