Money Can Buy Happiness — If You Spend It Right
It’s not about the rustling of paper, but about the ticking of the clock.
Remember that time is money.
— Benjamin Franklin
Some weeks ago, I bought an online course — for the first time ever. I’m 27 years old now and I have never spent money on that sort of thing.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I have never educated myself before — but apart from books, it usually came from free, albeit sometimes shady, sources.
I’ve been growing up in a very frugal environment, close to the Swabian Alps in Germany. The mentality there is “save money and do it yourself”. A typical Swabian marriage proposal is “do you want to save taxes with me?” (Not really, but this joke illustrates just how frugal they are.)
Needless to say, I’d do everything myself as well. Repairing my motorbike, educating myself about nutrition, training, and bodybuilding, and spending hours figuring out Photoshop instead of paying someone $5 for a logo on Fiverr.
So why did I shell out over $200 for a writing course (not exactly nothing for a student)? Because for the first time in my life, I understood the real value of money: It can buy you time.
