My Obsession With Money Started with a Bottle of Tang

My Obsession With Money Started with a Bottle of Tang

I’ve made it my life’s work to understand money and business.

It all started with a Tang Panda Container.

I grew up drinking Tang.

I loved Tang so much that when I first when to college, a container of Tang was in my very first grocery shopping cart.

You know that orange-flavored drink that the astronauts drunk while they flew to the Moon.

While I was growing up, Tang sold their orange powder in a container that could be used as a bank once all the powder was gone.

I remember delightfully finishing off my Tang container

I had my first piggy bank.

It had a picture of Panda holding a yellow flower.

On top of the container was an orange screw-on lid with a slit in the money so I could deposit my money into the bank.

I loved that bank.  I stored my Panda Tang Bank in the bottom drawer of my chest of drawers.

I still have very fond memories of unscrewing the lid and dumping my money out on the carpet in my bedroom.

There was always a mix of coins and bills in my coins.

Once I dumped the money out, I would start to count my money.

I still get a smile on my face when I think about me sitting on the floor with my Tang Panda Bank.

I remember picking up the coins and stacking them by nickels, quarters and dimes.

I would lay the dollar bills in stacks by denomination.

Once I finished counting my money, I would count it again.

Then I would deposit it back in my Tang Panda bank and place it back in my bottom drawer.

I realized at a very young age that money was important.

I loved counting my money.

I always wanted to know how much money I had.

I’ve made it my life’s work to understand what money is and its place in my life.

Money is one of the most emotionally charged subjects.

Everyone has a relationship with money.

Some people have a good relationship with it.

Some people have a miserable relationship with it.

There are shocking statistics about how many people in America live paycheck to paycheck.

There are numerous misconceptions about money.

Some say it’s the root of all evil.

Some say it’s the most important thing in life.

Some people say I would rather be happy than have money.

Some people grew up with wealth in their family.

Some grew up barely eking out a living.

Money is a measuring stick for the value of the work we do.

Money can be a tool.

Money can be a weapon.

Money in itself is a neutral thing.

It is either a stamped piece of metal or ink on paper.

These days most people don’t touch money, so it tends to be a digit in a computer at the bank.

Money is life.

Everyone of us starts our Journey with money at a beginning point.

We make good decisions with our money.

We make bad decisions with our money.

We choose to save our money.

We choose to spend our money.

We choose to go into debt.

We choose to pay off debt.

We have good money months, and we have bad money months.

Money makes us feel good.

Money makes us feel bad.

Until each of us understands what money is and our relationship with money, we will never be able to use money as a tool to improve our lives.

The first step to gaining mastery over money is becoming aware of what money means to us and what its role is in our lives.