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Money is a tool and all tools should be used for their intended purpose!
If you collect hammers, you need money to buy more hammers for your collection.
If you donate that collection to a museum, people will benefit from it.
But who will buy your collection of money, and who, or how many people, will benefit from it? Money is a tool, but how can you best use it, once you are secure?
Financial Institutions
Banks and Building Societies buy your money, of course, or they pay a fee to use it. We call that interest. There hasn’t been much of that about for the last ten years, but lending rates are beginning to rise again. Those institutions then use your money to lend to others (at a higher rate, naturally), who want to make a purchase that they can’t afford like a car, boat, holiday or house.
Other people with cash excess to their requirements might ‘invest in’ (gamble on) the stock exchange, which can help companies borrow more money in order to expand. This should increase employment or wages or both, and increase the prosperity of the nation.
Selfishness
But what about the people who invest selfishly, though? Buy an island so that they don’t have to see poor people, or buy old masters to hang in their private galleries depriving others of the chance to enjoy them as well?
How many millions does a family need anyway? And what is it with billionaires? Why would someone even let that happen? Surely, when you have, say, fifty million, you can see the way the wind is blowing and begin on a programme to give away all future profits?
The Sickness of Greed and Avarice
I once had a good friend who had £200m, but he would not stop or get married. I asked him why. He replied that most of his acquaintances had two of three times more than he, and that a wife could divorce him and take half of his money. I felt sorry for him, but there is far too much of that sickness about.
People need to learn how to use money to their best advantage first – naturally. However, then they should learn how to derive please from helping others with their excess wealth. They need to learn that money is a tool to be used to benefit people, not to be locked away for the pleasure of a few greedy people. They would be far happier for it.
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