Bitch better have my money!
Bitch better have my money!
Pay me what you owe me
Bitch better have my (bitch better have my)
Bitch better have my (bitch better have my)
Bitch better have my money!

These are the lyrics to the chorus of the meaningful and profound song by Rihanna called “Bitch better have my money” (surprise surprise). Admittedly quite a catchy song nevertheless. I found myself singing along to “Braap Braap Braap” on quite a number of occasions.

It has become quite a trend in hiphop and rap, to be showing off material wealth and talking about fat stacks of cash all day and all night. And not just in hip hop, but in various other social media trends as well. There are personalities on Instagram whom have gotten famous due to solely the amount of material wealth they show off and spend in numerous ways.

Wealth and material accomplishments have become very closely tied with success, every successful individual being tied to their monetary worth. The big question is always whether he’s worth a million or a billion, and if not who is worth that much. That’s the guy I wanna be like. He’s got everything I can ever dream of. He is living my dream life. I just need to get rich.

And that is usually where an individual starts going downhill. In the pursuit of money and wealth, people get caught up in various lies and deceits promising instant wealth. Become a millionaire in 6 months. Be your own boss, never work for another day in your life. Live your dream life and earn millions from your couch. Sounds a little familiar? These are just the more obvious lies. There are a lot more subtle ones as well. Like banks whom ask you to trust your money with them, so that you can earn some interest out of that money. You don’t need to do anything just leave it in the bank for 10 years and with NO RISK you can earn a couple of thousand dollars. WOW!

And fortunate enough for these banks, and the various sneaky little schemes and quick-money programmes, there are many individuals who wanna get rich, and they wanna get rich in the fastest way. So some of them try out these little schemes and realise this is not getting them anywhere. But they NEED to get rich, or at least look rich. So they turn to consumerism.

Which brings us to the second biggest lie in the world. Buying A will give you happiness. And then maybe B and C as well. They will make your life a little more wholesome. Hold on, everyone has gotten A already. It does not make you any different from the rest. Now you NEED to get D, that is what will make you popular among your friends. Unfortunately, this mindset has been driven into us from young.

Since we start schooling, we grow up with kids from various backgrounds and financial capabilities. One day, the cool kid brings an iPod to class, and all the kids surround him and go “Oh you are so lucky to have such nice parents” and “I wish my parents were as awesome as yours” or “That is so cool, I wish I had one of those”. And in that instant, all you ever wanted is that iPod. So you go home and tell you mum about it, that this kid brought an iPod to school. Your mum knows how much you love gadgets but finances have been a little tight that month so she diverts it to your dad. So now you go to dad and tell him that you want an iPod because your friend brought one to school. Your dad thinks about it and says, “If you do well for your exams, I will get you one”. So you study really hard, wanting that iPod. And when the results come, financial situation is still not too great, so your dad tells you that your grades were not good enough.  And suddenly your parents are not as nice anymore, because your friend had parents who bought it for him just like that. No expectations, no need for grades, no need for a birthday, nothing at all. Simply because he wanted it. And your parents are being unfair to you and not giving you the things that you want.

And you grow up with the same mindset, comparing yourself with the rich kids and complaining about how you can never get the things that they are getting. The consumerism attacks the young with toys and gadgets, the teenagers with fashion, and the adults with brands. The mindset becomes deep-rooted, never really changing even as we grow into adults. We start chasing brands like Prada, Gucci, Versace, trying to keep up with the material possessions of friends whom are in a better financial position. And many a times, we end up trying so hard to look rich, that we don’t realise how poor we really are. Spending all the money we never had to look rich, and giving up everything that we had making us poor. The greatest irony of consumerism. And the funny thing is that, the really really rich people, the ones whom are rolling in billion dollars, spend their money very wisely on things that they can afford. That is how they even got rich in the first place, knowing exactly where they stand and what they can afford. And slowly building the capability over time.

Looking at all this monetary chaos across the world, there is also another group which chooses to disregard money completely and treat it as poison. Let us love and care for one another, we are more than a couple of zeros in our bank. The world needs more love and caring. Let us give and not expect. Let us serve mankind with love and generosity. Let us help the needy and dedicate our lives to embracing the human soul, and stay away from this monster called money. We don’t need that. We are beyond that. Yadayadayada…all too familiar non-profit goals and vision. As much as organisations would like to call themselves non-profit, they still need to make money to support the operating costs and pay the individuals whom work there. At least those whom aren’t volunteers (free labour). So regardless of their unlucrative notion, everything is run by money.

So is money good or bad? I say neither.

Money is the tool, the mediator. It creates the divide between the powerful and the powerless. It separates the influential from the followers. It makes the world go round. For something to be sustainable, it needs to be profitable. For an idea to be a success, it needs to sell. For a person to be influential, he need to be successful and accepted socially as that. If you want to leave a mark in this world, a little dent at the least, money needs to be in the picture for it to be a big enough dent. When something as pure and spiritual as religion needs money to function, how could anyone dismiss the importance of money in the present society. Maybe in a utopian future, we give with no expectations and love one another and care for every child. But in this current world, and for a long time to come, money is the only thing that can and will make a difference.

But how one chooses to use the money, becomes an individual choice. One could either make an impact through establishing personal fame with the money, or he could put that influence into impacting the society, building a rocket to Mars, finding the cure to cancer. The possibilities with money are really endless. Without money it’s all talk and no action.

So make money my friends, but learn to swim before you get rich. Otherwise you could drown in the the very money that you make.

Keep glitching, always keep glitching and learning.