The Leading Business Education Network for Doctors, Financial Advisors and Health Industry Consultants

By Dr. David Edward Marcinko; MBA MEd

SPONSOR: http://www.MarcinkoAssociates.com

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What Is Money?

So, what is money? Money is elusive.  It seems to demand so much from us.  Not only does it seem utterly convoluted and alien, it is also bafflingly personal.  In between, we find complex monetary systems, multi-national legalisms; a whole host of political and cultural mythologies, our most profound personal issues and another zillion nuances that go into generating “the money forces.”  Then, as if to heap insult upon injury, the art of money demands competency with your own personal intangibles.   

Money has strong spiritual and religious components.  Indeed, our relationship with money goes straight to our souls.  Getting it, keeping it and spending it all precisely reflect our values, morals and motivations.  Some believe money has its origins in religious rituals.  Others believe that the love of money is at the root of all evil.  Either way, it is no accident that the money issue is the second most frequently addressed topic in the Christian Bible and is clearly a part of most major religious traditions.  It has that kind of power in our lives.

What’s more, money itself has much else in common with religion.  Despite pretentious banalities decrying money as either secular creed or an unworthy recipient of thoughtful attention by right thinking people, and in spite of trite condemnations of its hold on our value systems, the baseline fact is that money is a belief system with all the qualities and characteristics that generally attend belief systems.  It has only the values, functions and meanings we collectively give it.  No more.  No less.  It is myth at its best. 

It also grounds humanity’s best attempts to take care of its individuals while rationally allocating goods and services.  Perfection?  Hardly.  Yet still the best system we know for delivering life’s necessities to the broadest possible group of living souls.

One may suggest the following to be financial axioms of our age:

• Money is the most powerful secular force on the planet.
• Money skills are quite literally 21st century survival skills. 
• Money skills do not come with our DNA. 

Therefore, this may lead to multiple conclusions that heads directly core realities.  If these observations are true and can be taken together as working presuppositions for life in the 21st century, well, you know, money is just plain powerful.  Our lives will go better if we have a grip on it.

Money skills come in many forms and are much more than mere technical proficiency.  In fact, some money skills are simple coping mechanisms such as balancing creditors and cash flow, understanding insurance needs or grasping the rudiments of our legal system. 

Others include an ability to deal with the array of money systems that have evolved in response to complex economies including relevant bureaucracies. Also, an appreciation for history and social evolution is useful.  At the very least, such an appreciation will enhance your coping skills.  Much about our economic systems does not make much sense if taken in isolation. 

Money has been evolving for the thousands of years.  It has been an integral part of civilization.  It enables the marketplace.  It is easy to become cynical about money, but without it, our systems grind to a halt.  This includes our healthcare systems.

Money underscores the purpose of this chapter.  Its work is grounded in these beliefs and the attendant exploration of their ramifications for individual lives.  In doing this work, our discussion will range from the philosophical to the intensely personal. Be forewarned, this chapter will not teach you how to get rich so much as it might, hopefully, help you live richly.  To derive maximum benefit, it is imperative that you bring a willingness to look into yourself as well as the world around you.

We are too easily daunted by money.  Some of our fears are justified but there are whole ranges of skill that are resolved by simply understanding some basics.  For all the mysteries and myths woven around money, truly crucial money skills are easily accessible to individuals.  At the level required for 21st century survival, money skills are not particularly complex.  If you don’t have them, you can generally rent them or associate with them. 

The simple fact is that if you have read the entirety of this book, you have been exposed to just about all there is to know about financial planning fundamentals, and some practice management benchmarks.  If you have not found it between these covers, most of what is left is just a phone call, or couple of browser clicks away. 

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Don’t misunderstand.  There are certain financial and managerial issues that are incredibly complex, that deserve years of schooling, should only be used in the hands of the most skillful, and truly merits our awe and admiration.   This is comparable to those times when sophisticated surgical invasion is required.  Sometimes it does the trick perfectly.   But you don’t do heart surgery to cure a cold and you do not necessarily need complex solutions to your financial problems.  Be careful out there.  

This will undoubtedly get us into some philosophical trouble, but we plead with you to understand the simple realities of the financial services and medical consulting industry.  There are some great people in it.  Nonetheless, in the wonderful world of personal finance and practice management, what others make complex often simply covers sales motives, crude politics or some other form of pocketbook invasion.  Or, it may be an attempt to make someone appear sophisticated.  Or, it might possibly be simply an intellectual version of the old shell game, betting neither you nor a team of auditors could find the pea that has been so magnificently shuffled.  Reducing gimmicks to essential components is a worthy skill.  Never investing in something you do not understand is simply fundamental intelligence.  If you don’t “get it,” please accept the possibility that it may not be you.  Hold off.  Even if you “get it,” it is still a good idea to “get” the seller’s motives.  There is a difference between paranoid and prudent, but even paranoids reduce their odds of getting mugged if their fear helps them stick to safer paths. 

Yet, these and other basics are pure financial muscle.  Whole industries are built around them and getting around them. 

True sophistication comes with tailoring your money and practice to you.  Imagine what you would know if you had completely absorbed the information contained herein.  You could have learned to build; staff and plan for your medical business.  You might have received an overview of various taxation systems and miscellaneous methods for best working with their demands. You could now be comfortably crunching numbers, multiplying, adding, subtracting and dividing with the best of them.  In the meantime, you have been exposed to investments, estate planning, insurance, “retirement” planning, and so forth.  You could have been absorbing details, possibilities, likelihoods, and the prospective repercussions for guessing wrong.  Imagine.  

And so what?

At the end of the day, the real trick is to understand this information as it applies to you, personally.  Without knowledge of your own life dreams and goals, the utility of any of this knowledge is of the most dubious value.  

Now step back a minute.  How do these thoughts feel?  Are you energized or daunted?  Empowered or bewildered?  Thrilled or bored?  Be honest in your answers.  Money has huge emotional and personal spiritual aspects to it.  Overestimating either your aptitudes or your knowledge can be both expensive and time consuming.  It can most certainly be intellectually daunting and spiritually depleting. 

EDUCATION: Books

SPEAKING: Dr. Marcinko will be speaking and lecturing, signing and opining, teaching and preaching, storming and performing at many locations throughout the USA this year! His tour of witty and serious pontifications may be scheduled on a planned or ad-hoc basis; for public or private meetings and gatherings; formally, informally, or over lunch or dinner. All medical societies, financial advisory firms or Broker-Dealers are encouraged to submit an RFP for speaking engagements: CONTACT: Ann Miller RN MHA at MarcinkoAdvisors1738@outlook.com -OR- http://www.MarcinkoAssociates.com

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HOSPITALS: http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781466558731

CLINICS: http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781439879900

ADVISORS: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.org

FINANCE:Financial Planning for Physicians and Advisors

INSURANCE:Risk Management and Insurance Strategies for Physicians and Advisors

Dictionary of Health Economics and Finance

Dictionary of Health Information Technology and Security

Dictionary of Health Insurance and Managed Care

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Filed under: iMBA, Inc. | Tagged: budgeting, finance, Investing, Marcinko, money, personal-finance |