Money from a time when it wasn’t worth much: a 200 billion (!) German Mark note my grandma recently brought over.

The Evolution Of How I Think About Money

18 Lessons About Managing & Making Dollars 💵

Niklas Göke
8 min readSep 23, 2017

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I thought a lot about money this week. I think a lot about money every week, to be honest. Often not in a good way. I’m very paranoid about it. I tell myself it’s out of necessity, but that’s not true.

It’s really just a subconscious mechanism I use to motivate myself. To not lose sight of my goals. It’s efficient in that regard, but in no way is how I view money perfect. So I can’t give you “the ultimate way to think about money.” Because I haven’t found it.

What I can do is tell you how I thought about money at different stages of my life. Because there has been progress. Maybe you’ll recognize yourself. Maybe following my evolution of thinking can help speed up your own.

Let’s find out.

Age 0–12: What’s money?

Sure, I learned about pocket money, keeping a budget and that adults had to work to make money, but I never felt the need to know more. I always had everything I needed.

I don’t know how long this period should ideally last, but I know it’s precious. To shelter a child from all the turmoils of money — at least for a while — is a gift. It allows young kids to learn to navigate some of the other, complicated aspects of life…

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Niklas Göke

I write for dreamers, doers, and unbroken optimists. Read my daily blog here: https://nik.art/