Your finances is like your belly

0saves

Save

Email

Print

I know this is a funny idea, but it keeps on ringing in my head that I can’t stop myself wanting to write it.

But first of all I want to say that I have no intention of discriminate or bully others about their physical feature. So as an example, I would be using myself so that I won’t be hurting anyone else opinion or self-worth.

The whole idea behind this idea comes from the book “The Richest Man in Babylon”. One of the seven cures in fattening your purse or to translate it in current wordings, one of the 7 steps to be financially rich is to save 10% every time we received income. This idea is practically the combined habit of saving and the principle of paying yourself first. Let me first give you a background why people in those times are concerned of fattening their purse(in our language “wallet”). To fatten one’s purse means to have lots of coins specially gold coins. A fattened purse creates that clacking sound of metals hitting each other. In our times we have the “Catching” sound which we equate to money or moolah. Hearing that sound is actually gratifying in those days. It makes one feel wealthy and capable. It’s an assurance also at times when one enters a store or restaurant and surely the owner or attendants will prioritize you over others. It si like a visible credit rating in those times.

Now why it is like your or my belly?

The first cure teaches one how to increase wealth by accumulation. So if one receives 10 coins every week and leaves one as well every week what will happen is in the second week you have two coins, and in the third 3 coins, and so forth.  To compare that to my belly if I keep on eating the same regular amount of food and normally excrete it as well then my belly would just be the same. But if I ate more than the usual and excrete normally there are excess left inside me that turns into fat which normally deposits first to my belly.

If I keep on doing this, what do you think would happen to my belly? Of course it would start to bulge making me a big boy again after losing it hard for so many months. It goes with the principle that what you truly have is what you keep. So if I eat and eat it is natural that I will accumulate fat and in the end have a big belly. Same thing with your finances. If you get your income and set aside something it is sure that it will accumulate and in no time you have  a huge savings and wonder how it all happen.

Same goes, if you don’t set aside a few or worst is even to borrow money for your wants. If you don’t eat at all and go on a diet you will become thinner and the worst of it is when you become anorexic and end up as thin like paper and stick already. Such situation is not good. That si as the story says “a lean purse”.

But let’s go back again to the title of this post to add a twist, your finances is like your belly. If I keep on eating and eating what happens? I will become obese and have a higher risk of having several diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure. Same goes, if one keeps of fattening your purse. It might not be able to contain it and it destroys the purse, thus losing your money and worst is you become a target of thieves, kidnappers, and all bad elements attracted to money. The lesson here is not to just keep money in your wallet but spread it to earn more money. You got to invest it so that it gives you back money. This is like exercising and proper diet. Exercising is like putting it to investment that will earn  income and diet is like budgeting so that only the needs get funded and wants are allowed later on.

When one exercises and have a good/balance diet one becomes healthy. Even more rewarding is having a well toned body and a body that can easily fight diseases. Such state is what we call financial freedom. One does not need to accumulate so much to be financially free, but rather one must be able to well manage their finances in a way that all needs are met without worrying for the next need and have enough for emergencies and uncertainties. Such could be achieved if one’s savings are invested in financial vehicles that will give return to the present and the future needs.

Remember this first cure of achieving financial freedom that is to save a part of your income that gets to be invested thus returning more money to support your needs right now and in the future. If you can’t remember this lesson look at your belly. If you eat a lot it is normal that it becomes bigger, and if you don’t eat at all it becomes so empty that you can feel your intestine grumbling.