As the old saying goes: Money can't buy everything. Indeed there are many things money can't buy, in fact, having too much of it could even destroy many valuable things if one is not capable of wielding wealth of that magnitude. That said, one still has to admit that there're a lot that cash can do, tangible and intangible alike.

The tangible is obvious, so I'll touch on the intangible. From a more social perception, it can build better friendships. Let's face it. Which scenario is better? A group of friends going out for lunch on a "go Dutch" basis, or taking turns to pick the tab? Personally, I'd prefer the latter (not that I don't have nice friendships with the former), as that is typically the case with my closer friends, and I certainly like the feeling of that. And being able to not worry or having hesitations about the cost of the meal is certainly something being financially free can do. Of course, one has to be careful not to go overboard, as friendships built on solely cash is often disastrous.

Shifting to a more personal note, having substantial reserves provides a better sense of security. A home sheltered from the cold capitalized society is always great for growing up. Confidence and a positive outlook are also things that comes together with feeling more secure about life (disclaimer: the opposite isn't true). At least this works for my mental health. I just love feeling secure, and insecurity is totally distasteful. I would rather go all out to seek this security than to remain helpless and feel insecure.

Having control of my life is yet another motivation for me. Being in a unique situation and having gone through countless episodes of being helpless in asserting my decisions because I'm not the one with cash, I feel limited. After all, whoever has the money has the say on how it should be used. I have no qualms about that, just that I prefer the feeling of being able to use my savings the way I want to, to maneuver it to align myself with my life's goals. This is the challenge, this is God's lesson. I want to break free and fly freely. I'm in a constrained cocoon, only when I can break out of the cocoon then am I safe and qualified to fly freely in this beautiful and yet precarious world.

I'm really not sure which is better in terms of education. To nurture, support and guide a person so that the person becomes better and finally make his/her mark, often much earlier in life, or to cast a net on the person so that when he/she is finally able to get out of it, he/she is ready to make his/her mark. This totally sounds like the "两袋香蕉" (绝代双骄) story where the 2 brothers grow up in 2 distinctly different environments. I think both are good ways, but maybe I'm one who might prefer the former, even though the latter might do me more good in terms of fueling my determination. Which do you guys prefer?

Oh well, if you get to choose what you want in life, life would be so boring then. So I might actually love this challenge although there are more than enough challenges in this world already that I really don't mind having one less. :)