Does money change your life?

Some time ago, I read an interview with JD Roth, who has greatly influenced my outlook on money. He created a blog called "Get Rich Slowly," where he began by recounting, like many others, his own journey of financial transformation.

Curiously, he got rich quickly. That small website was so successful that three years later, a large publishing house bought it for millions, catapulting him to financial independence.

When that happened, he realized that even though he was rich, he wasn't happy. He had used his money (or lack thereof) as an excuse not to improve his own life.

In his words: “He constantly told me that my lack of money was what was preventing me from becoming the man I wanted to be.”

He wasn't happy with his physical condition, his marriage, or the way he spent his free time. He thought that if he had more money, he wouldn't have these problems.

But once he had it, he realized that money didn't magically make them disappear. Quite the opposite. For the next two years, he found himself with plenty of money but the same problems, and that only made him feel more miserable.

Little by little, he realized he had to take action to address the areas of his life that were making him unhappy. He realized that a lack of money isn't what makes you unfit. He started eating healthy and exercising. He confesses that even when he didn't have money and was in debt, he would have been able to do that.

She also began to make more productive use of her free time: she learned another language, organized events, did volunteer work, and began traveling.

Many of those things, except perhaps traveling, I could have done even without money.

He realized, then, that money was his barrier. His excuse. Even after he became rich. Until he decided to break through that barrier.

This is where mindset comes into play. He learned that focusing too much on money is the fundamental flaw of most people seeking financial freedom. Money should never be the primary goal. In fact, the blind pursuit of money is, in his opinion, the source of much unhappiness.

Today, when he writes about debt, he argues that debt reduction shouldn't be the real goal. Because when people get down that path and manage to eliminate all their consumer debt, they don't know what the next step is. Many then return to the same pattern (they start getting into debt little by little again) because they didn't have a larger goal.

So, reducing debt should be better viewed as a side effect of changing your financial habits: increasing your income, spending less, and managing your debt better.

The same goes for financial independence. Having money shouldn't be the goal in itself. Because once you have it, what next?

Roth argues that what people really want is what they think financial independence represents: freedom, wealth, happiness, etc. But all of these things can be achieved long before it is achieved. In fact, he thinks they should be prioritized over financial independence.

All of this resonates with much of what I write in this column. Money should never be the goal. It's not an end in itself, but a tool.

Roth and I agree that people should first be clear about what's truly important to them, what fulfills them, what they truly want to achieve in life. Who are you? What life do you want? Then work to achieve it.

Surely some of those things require money, but many others don't.

On the other hand, if you make money your main goal, you're likely to forget to build everything that's important to you: your relationships, your experiences, your family, your pleasures.

When you get it, like Roth, you'll realize that even though you're not short on money anymore, you're still short on everything else.

Money is just one aspect of your life. It's very important, and that's why you have to learn to manage it well, but it's not the only thing. There are many other areas in your life that are equally or more important than money. Don't neglect them: learn to balance them.