Connection to money

Recently, I posted a blog about the consequences of spending. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to write! Here are two additional (related) thoughts about our connection to money. One of these thoughts is as a consumer and the other is as a business owner.

First, the overarching concept: We will understand the consequences of our spending when we are connected to money. Years ago, our parents or grandparents would spirit money away into an envelope and when they had enough they would go to the store and buy whatever they were saving up for. Although we tout it now as a discipline, there weren’t a lot of other options. As a result, they were highly connected to their money because they could hold it in their hands and understand that the value it represented had a physical, tactile feeling. Today, we’ve lost that connection to money: Our credit cards, debit cards, and online payments have created a disconnect, making it more difficult for us to understand the value of money we have and the value of money we don’t have.

Now, lest you think that I’m getting too philosophical on you, let me try to make a couple of connections:

As a consumer, this should be a cautionary note for you: Businesses want to make it easier for you to spend your money. Therefore, financial organizations create ways to make the transaction process as simple and painless as possible, as if it were a non-event. Let’s compare two transactions: The first transaction: My grandma wanted to buy a new arm chair for her living room so she would save up her money under a mattress until she had enough. Meanwhile, she would shop around for the right chair. When she had enough money, she would shop around for the best value and buy it. Buying something was an event. The second transaction: When I want to buy a chair, I drive down to the local chair store, find one I like, and I tap my credit card on the proximity swipe device (I don’t even need to sign anymore thanks to a chip in my card!). The transaction is a non-event and I have a chair. As a business owner, I would urge you to be cautious about your spending for that very reason. It’s okay to spend, of course, but we need to never lose sight of the value of money.

As a business, you’re on the other side of the equation. A business needs to help a consumer to buy. If you have a good product or service that will provide value for the consumer then there’s nothing wrong with offering it and helping the customer to own it. Your job is to take away as many of the obstacles to selling as you possibly can. Being able to accept credit cards is one way to enable sales now instead of later. Making sure the transaction is fast and painless is another way to make sure the sale happens.

Some of you might read the two paragraphs above and think they are diametrically opposed but they are not. There is a give-and-take tension in the consumer/business relationship but they are not diametrically opposed. Instead, the consumer needs to be cautious and understand the value of money and the business owner needs to make it easy for the consumer to buy.

Jessica Routier, IAC-EZ