Being “good” with money isn’t just about having it.

Let’s get one obvious thing out of the way here. Having money is pretty great.

Being able to pay your bills – without worrying how you’ll afford the rest of your life – is critical for our well being. Having extra money on hand to enjoy hobbies, care for loved ones and treat ourselves from time to time – pretty awesome. And getting to a place where you can smartly put away money into savings or investments? That’s the dream right there.

And sure. It would be cool to get massively rich somewhere along the way.

But let’s not hold our breath on that last one, to decide that we’re “good” with money. Let’s not even hold our breath that we’ll hit a certain amount in our bank accounts or with our debts, before making that determination.

Instead, let’s decide right now that we’re good with money.

And then, let’s make sure we do the things that reinforce the idea.

Before we get into what that means, let’s align on what it doesn’t mean. Embracing the idea that you’re good with money – especially if it’s your first time trying – doesn’t mean that:

• you’ll get rich tonight or tomorrow
• you’ll know everything there is to know about money overnight
• you’ll have an easy time saving or growing your money
• you’re suddenly a snob

Practicing sound financial fitness – which is how I think about being good with money – is about the journey, not the destination. It’s about how you relate to money: from the kind that directly impacts your wallet, to the global economy and the systems underpinning it.

By that logic, being good with money means:

• you’re curious about your personal finances – from the money you make, to how you spend it, to how you can better leveraging it to build the life you want
• you have a healthy relationship to money – one free of shame, guilt, fear or greed – and see it as the tool that it is to aid your life
• you understand the mechanism behind debt – credit cards, loans, mortgages, business financing for entrepreneurs, etc.. – regardless of whether you carry debt today, or plan to pursue it down the road
• you’re curious about the larger financial systems where you’re an active player – like taxes and insurance
• you’re curious about the financial dynamics that impact you & your larger community – like inflation, tariffs and capitalism
• you’re curious about different avenues for financial prosperity, without being consumed by prosperity itself

And of course, acting on that curiosity is what separates the do-ers from the rest. We can act by:

• confronting our unhealthy attachments (or distance) to money, and renegotiating that relationship. (Therapy can help with this)
• figuring out our approach to our money, and being consistent in working toward those goals
• feeding the curiosities above by constantly learning – reading, listening to podcasts or audiobooks, watching videos, talking to friends/family and otherwise seeking out information
• sharing what we learn with others

I’m writing this at 7am. It’s a new day. Let’s get started.