Provide

I know that as a man, husband and father it is not possible for me to be the only one with this word on their mind. At least among the people interested in the content we provide on this site, I cannot be the only one who thinks about it.

I would wager that almost every man alive contemplates this more than almost anything else in fact. Women tend to think that guys think predominantly about sex, research has shown us that we don’t really think about sex all that much more than women do. We do think about money more, in fact we have money on our mind quite often.

We tend to equate our ability to provide as a direct correlation of our value as a man. If we can’t provide we struggle with shame and depression. It is one of the top causes of suicide among men, the loss of the ability to provide. We are obsessed with not only providing but providing better than our fathers did. My opinion is that it is that competitive streak, maybe an Oedipus thing but that kind of speculation is way out of my wheelhouse.

Money is on my mind as I track my investments though this insane roller coaster of a year. We are nearing an event involved with some of my investments, so I am crossing “T’s” and dotting “I’s” to make sure I have made all the necessary arrangements on my end.

I have written before about the value of educating yourself on finances, investing and taking control of your money; if nothing else so you can teach your kids since the school system won’t.

There is a lot involved in all that, I am not pretending it is easy. If you desire to be the man you want to be then it is a must, you have to educate yourself on these things and take control. No one else is going to care more about making your life better than you; so leaving it in someone else’s hands is out of the question.

Here are a few terms to test yourself. How many of these terms are you familiar with (like know the term and what it is well enough to explain it to someone else.

• Fiat

• Cash Flow Statement

• Crypto

• Assets

• Bonds

• Income – 6 different types

• Stocks

• Credit

• ETFs

• Liabilities

• Index Funds

• Reality

• 401K

• Commodities

• IRA

• REITs

• Dividends

• Royalties

At the very least you need to have a little more than a conceptual knowledge of these things just to be able to arm yourself with the knowledge to start to decide how to take care of your own money.

Most importantly you need to know about these things so you are confident that you are doing everything you can to ease the burden of trying to provide for those you love. That applies to you no matter your place on your journey to be the best man you can be. If you are a man in or out of a relationship is inconsequential, you are opening possibilities and options by learning how to manage your money. You are also lessening your stress which has a large variety of health benefits and creating a brighter future.

Money will always bring stress, the more knowledge you gain the more you control that stress and minimize the effects it can have. You will likely worry about money a good deal of your life, as you progress on your journey you will only worry about it more. Read some books, take in some podcasts, maybe some YouTube videos or even some courses. Arm yourself with every advantage.

I listed some books that I have read as I grow in this journey as well that have helped me. You can also try them on Audible, there is a link at the top of the page and on the side.

Check out our Fallible Man T-Shirts below (there are different designs on the back, I hate how Amazon displays them) if you are interested in sporting The Fallible Man Brand.

Thanks

The Fallible Man

Be better tomorrow because of what you do today!