The Purpose of Money

In fourth grade, my family moved from a small ranch in the bustling city of Winchester, Virginia, to the “suburbs” of Stephens City. We moved into one of those perfect suburban neighborhoods that had fenced backyards, cul-de-sacs, and trees that were planted 15 years before when the neighborhood was built. 

In our backyard, there was an amazing maple tree that my brother and I loved to climb. Almost every single day, we would climb this tree with our pocket knives and carve our initials to mark how high we were able to make it! The tree was a playground in and of itself. But after a bit of time, my brother and I began dreaming of building a tree house/playground that would allow us to take our imagination to the next level. 

We pitched this idea to my parents (as I remember it) and they agreed that we could pursue our building ambitions, but we were going to need to raise the money to buy the wood. After putting our heads together, my brother and I decided to hold a yard sale and sell all of the toys we no longer wanted as well as some stuff my parents had put in the basement to “store” that we knew they were never going to use. 

We made flyers, put out signs around the neighborhood, and prepared for the big day when we would most certainly raise enough money to buy the wood to build our tree house. Saturday morning came, and we were out there at the crack of dawn, sitting at our tables that held our once most prized possessions that were now about to be the fuel to fund our next ambition. 

All morning, we sat there in anticipation of the next sale. We knew that every dollar we earned had a purpose - it was going to fund our dreams! With each sale of a match box car or an old t-shirt, we beamed with pride, high fived each other, and got more and more excited because we knew we were one step closer to our tree house. 

As memory serves me, we made a decent amount of money that day, but we were just a bit shy of the dollar amount we needed. However, my parents were proud of us for working the yard sale and kicked in the additional cash so we could go to Lowe’s and get to work! 

For the next decade before I left for college, my siblings, neighbors, cousins, and friends all knew that the place to be was the Santmier’s backyard. From laying up looking at the stars to using it as an airsoft fort, that tree house provided the setting for a childhood that still brings a smile to my face. 

Years later, before my parents moved, I went out back with my two oldest daughters and we played in that tree fort together. As I pushed Reese on the swing, I thought about that yard sale. That yard sale was the first time I realized that money had a purpose. Money's purpose was to be the fuel for our dreams. Money wasn’t the end destination. It was the fuel to get us where we wanted to go. 

Early in my career, I was working for money, but the money I was working for wasn’t connected to any purpose in my life. I was pursuing money targets independent of purpose targets. It wasn’t sustainable and it wasn’t enjoyable. Pursuing money in and of itself was meaningless. There was no purpose for the money I was working to make. 

It was like holding a yard sale just so I could put money in a jar. Uninspiring and unmotivating. The work to put the “yard sale” on was exhausting. There was no dopamine hit of fulfillment once the money went into the proverbial jar. It just sat there and reminded me of all the hard work, long hours, and emotional energy that was wasted so it could sit as a trophy.. it was more like an anchor. 

I turned the corner when I began to see money, not as the end destination, but for what it was intended to be: fuel for the journey. 

So where are you headed? What journey or dream is your money going to fuel? Once you answer that question, you can begin moving forward down the path of INCREASE. 

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Zach Santmier is the owner of Trumble Agency, Inc. and the author of the personal financial course, Increase. He focuses on helping families escape paycheck to paycheck living so they can freely pursue their ideal future.