Money & Security

Money isn’t everything but it surely matters when it comes to health. Having money can improve our health in many ways: we can buy better food, buy a house in a safer neighbourhood, get better education for ourselves and our children and buy better health services. Select the category of your interest or search with your own keywords.

Money, Money, Money, Money, Money…

“The first wealth is health.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

What a dumb doctor like me can tell you about money?  After all, aren’t doctors (and other professionals) the worst money managers or businesspeople?  (Don’t tell this secret to anybody, especially your doctor.)

Sure, there are people out there that earn a lot of money.  But, with some exception, very few know how to be good money manager or businessman.  Many people, myself including, are money illiterate.  If not for my wife, who is a financial manager, I would be completely broke.

One exception I have seen was the chief of a large department at a university hospital.  In addition to having a medical practice he owned a real estate business, a medical laboratory, and a publishing company.  He understood the money alright.  He saw his accountant and lawyer at least on a weekly basis and usually more often.  He knew how to spend and how to invest.  He was a notable exception when it comes to money management.  With all the money, however, this wasn’t the happiest person I have met.  Go figure…





When for the first time I came to North America about a decade ago a friend of mine took me on a ride around Montreal’s Mount Royal area.  I was shown beautiful houses on the hill and my friend told me: “These houses cost many millions of dollars.  Very rich people, including some doctors and lawyers live in those houses.  But they are never at home with their families.”  I was appalled and asked: “Why?”  Reply was: “Because they are at work all the time making money to pay their expenses.”

Another time with another friend I had a walk around a beautiful town.  I was shown a lovely and surely expensive house with a luxury car parked in the driveway.  My friend told me: “In this house lives a lawyer.  He makes quarter of a million dollars a year.  And he is broke and about to go bankrupt.”  I could not believe it: “How, on earth, someone that makes more in a day than I make in a month can ever be broke?”

Unfortunately, during the years I have heard many stories like this.  I did not want to end up in that situation so I decided to learn about money.  I went to different seminars and workshops (luckily my wife took me along often) and I absorbed as much knowledge as I could.





Here’s what I have learned in a nutshell.  Money is good to have. Even if they can not buy happiness they can help make life a lot easier in different regards.  The best advice I heard about money was: Get them managed”.  Sometime we think that material things will substitute love, friendship, spirituality.  They will not.  They will not create a sense of security either.

And money management is actually very simple (in principle): earn some, spend less than you earn, and invest part of it for future growth.  It’s the discipline of doing so that is difficult. 

Now, what do you think about money?  How do you manage your money?  Share with everyone… Thank you!