LOVE, Kloudiia

“What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger”

I borrowed this quote from my dear friend Peter off his post Managing Losing Streaks, who may have either borrowed it somewhere else, or he self-invented it. Peter, care to shed the light for us?

Anyway, what sets me off is another quote, which an old friend used to say

“If money can solve a problem, then it is not a problem”

What is your take on this? Do you agree?

When I first heard this, I couldn’t help but nod in agreement with what he said. I mean, many times in our lives, we are troubled by some problems, and if we thought about it, aren’t most of them somehow related to money? It may not be totally in relation, but, if there’s extra cash stashed away somewhere in our bank account, (or other’s bank accounts!), don’t you realise your heart suddenly became lighter?

But wait, that’s not the end!

Whoom, now there’s a shift in the focal point. The problem now is how much money is needed to get you out of the dire situation? Are you willing to spend that amount? You see, human beings are very interesting in certain sense, especially on money matters. When they have a solution, they start to fret about that solution. In this case, they may suffer from a month or longer of heartache if they were to fork out that sum of money. This is perfectly understandable, if they weren’t rich. So, they seek for better alternatives, meaning solving the problem but on a lesser expenditure account, compensated with more time and effort to be expended in its place.

Then, it is again a question on the value you place on time, and money. For some of us, time is priceless. If spending a bit more can give you the convenience and more time, you would say yes without hesitation. For others, it is the exact opposite.

As an introspection, how you view money do tell certain things about you. In fact, this could be one of the most sensitive thing to be discussed among a couple, without very good communication and mutual understanding of each other’s character, background, upbringing and family culture. I have known of couples who split during the pre-marriage counselling course because of huge and irreconcilable differences in their views towards monetary issues.

In Chinese there’s a saying that goes (literally translated) “Talking about money hurts relationship”. The relationship is very broadly defined to include all types, be it love, family or friendship. And, it is still holds true until this very day in our modern era! So, it really takes good skills and tactics to be able to discuss openly and yet, not strain the ties you have, even with your loved ones.