The average American works 43 years (factoring in vacation time, holidays, and sick leave), or 1,944 hours per year (after time off), or 83,600 hours in their lifetime. The question everyone should be asking is: What am I working for? What is the reason I spend my time doing X when I would rather be doing Y? While the rare person may answer for self fulfillment, let's be honest - how many of you would continue showing up for work if your employer said you will no longer be paid? Would you go to work tomorrow, or would you spend your day doing something you love to do? Therefore, I think it's safe to most of us are working for money. Unfortunately, this is where most stop questioning. The next question is likely one of the biggest questions most people never ask, especially considering they'll spend 43 years of their life working for this thing.... What is money? Unfortunately, even those who have years of education, and degrees from prestigious universities may not be able to answer this question. Our education system has prepared us to work for 43 years, but has not taken the time to help us understand the one thing most of us are working for: money. So, what is money? * Money is a store of value: a way to trade your labor today for something you want or need in the future. e.g. you earn 10 apples today for mowing the lawn. You only need to eat 1 apple, so you store the other 9 for future use. * Money is a medium of exchange: exchanging something you have for something you want or need. e.g. You decide you want a carrot today instead of an apple, so you exchange one of your apples with the local farmer for a carrot. * Money is a unit of account: a common denominator for determining value. e.g. Of your remaining 8 apples, you decide you want a pumpkin pie, but there are 3 different pumpkin pies for sale at the local farmer's market. One pie is 8 apples, one pie is 5 apples, and one of the pies is 2 apples. All 3 pies look and smell delicious, so how do you know which pie is the best value? You use the common denominator (apples) to determine which pie will bring you the best value. While there is much more to explore on the topic of money, for now I encourage everyone to ask yourself: how does the money I'm trading my time for hold it's value? If you find your money is not performing it's role as a store of value very well, you may want to seek another option. Welcome to the rabbit hole!