My “Attitude On Money”

In our Entrepreneurial Journal this week, we have been asked to reflect on the talk given by Stephen W. Gibson in January of 2017 to BYU-Idaho students titled, “Attitude on Money”. I will reflect by responding to the following questions. 

What is your attitude toward money?

If I were to put on the filter of how I grew up, I would probably think much like Gibson’s sister who does not want to talk, think or show interest in money. Not that I didn’t think that money was important. But it was just something that I never grew up learning about or was taught how to save it. 

Instead, I have been lucky to have some great mentors in my life, openly talk to me, coach me and teach me how to save and treat money. I have a different outlook and have spent years trying to have healthy investments and retirement savings. 

My current attitude towards money is to openly talk about it, teach others about it, and learn from those who are better at managing their money than I am. I think that it has taken me many years, but I now have a healthy relationship with money. 

How can your view of money affect the way you live?

Money is a good thing, and it absolutely affects the way you live. But I have learned through others that it is not always the amount of money that you make, but what you decide to do with this money that truly affects your life. I have known people who make a great living, but have zero investments, and not much money tucked away for a rainy day. Money gives them immediate gratification but is not working for them in the long run which will affect the way they live in the future. 

On the other side of that, I have known people who make very little, and yet have saved over time, have investments, and are choosing to live frugally now, so that in the future they can be financially secure for the duration of their life. 

What rules are recommended for prospering?

The rules for prospering that Gibson speaks about are:

“Rule 1: Seek the Lord and have hope in Him

Rule 2: Keep the commandments, that includes the temporal ones, tithing and fast offerings.

Rule 3: Think about money and plan how you can become self-reliant.

Rule 4: Take advantage of chances for learning so you will not be ignorant of these matters. Education, as President Hinckley has taught us, is the Key to Opportunity. 

Rule 5: Learn the laws upon which the blessings of wealth are predicated. 

Rule 6: Do not send away the naked, the hungry, the thirsty or the sick or those who are held captive.”

I find it interesting that none of these things are things that teach you about 401k’s or IRA’s. But rather things that give you balance and teach you about humility and service. Prospering is not always about being extremely wealthy. I have heard a quote that said, “Don’t chase money. Chase purpose and let money chase you.” I agree with this and believe that if someone will chase a life full of balance, integrity, and service, the money will come.