How to treat money as a plaything

Money is a huge worry. it gets us where we want to go. It pays the rent. It pays the bills. But it's also possible to see it as, in fact, it really is: an elaborate, sometimes scary, bartering system. Want to learn a couple of quick tools not to take it too seriously, without downplaying its importance? Read on . . .

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Nada. Nichts. Nothing.

1. Amsterdam Currency PSYCHOLOGY: "Money money money money. MONEY!" Nobody much likes talking about it (although the songs are good). You need it. I need it.
2. Europe EXAMPLE: I live in the USA, not "America" (Argentina is a part of America, for example, but very different from the USA), but I travel to Europe somewhat often. Twice I traveled to Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, and there I was stuck with my measly debit card. What to do? Pull out the card, insert it into an ATM machine, and PRESTO: like magic, all these colorful bills flew out. It looked like Disney money to me: utterly fake. And then it hit me.
3. LESSON: Those pieces of paper are just a way to barter. People in the USA often talk in these terms: "The Almighty Dollar." "Cash Only." "We need to see the Green." "Show me the money." This is all wrong-headed. Those are pieces of paper, but what kind of paper? Ones that have buying power. They can get you onto a ship, onto an airplane, a mortgage on a home, food in your fridge, bills paid. But are they any different than Disney money? Not really. Always think "barter." Not in the sense of, "Hey, can you lower the price?", but rather in the sense of: "This is this weird means of enabling me to move on with my life and accomplishing my goals."
4. ADVICE: Do move on. Money is not the root of all evils. The love of it may, however, be. Don't worship it. (Jeez, there's Jesus or Buddha to spend your time adoring instead. They're much more worth occupying your attention.) Take it easy. Think about the "play money" I pulled out of an ATM in Amsterdam. It took me on a "Love Cruise," to Anne Frank's house, to Vincent Van Gogh's museum, and to Rembrandt van Rijn's home. And then got me back to - you guessed it - the USA.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not overdraw funds. That's a sucker' s game.
• Remember the point about bartering: money is a bartering tool, a way of negotiating your position in the world.
• Get a job.
• Although I am a professional philosopher, I'm not an economist.