Merriam Webster defined money as  something – as pieces of stamped metal or printed paper – customarily and legally used as a medium of exchange, a measure of value or a means of payment.

Money does not think, it does not make choices; human beings can always think and make choices. Money does not have any power, but everything we can touch usually has monetary value (some of them high, others low), including trash. Did you know that trash can be recycled or repurposed and turned into useful products?

Robot SHALU, a humanoid robot, designed by an Indian teacher, Dinesh Patel, was made of waste materials.

No matter how much money one person has, it is always possible to make most of the following choices:

Invest: whenever we spend our money with the purpose of making a profit, we make an investment. It does not matter how much we have spent or how much profit we have  made. If we cannot invest a small amount of money wisely, how would we be able to invest a large amount successfully? We can all choose how much we want to invest and in which business. As a business owner, I have invested some of my money for many years.

Donate: we can always donate a little, no matter how much money we earn. I have seen my blind uncle giving alms to beggars and I saw poor people in developing countries give away a portion of their income. Everyone can decide freely how much to give, how often and to whom. Poverty is never an obstacle to giving. Millions of my friends around the world and I donate regularly a small portion of our income for a great cause and it makes us feel good whenever we do it.

Save: everyone is free to save as much or as little money as they want anytime and for any purpose. Some may wonder how they can still save whereas they don’t even have enough to fulfil their daily needs. In Madagascar and in many other countries, it is now possible to save money in a mobile banking account, it is very user-friendly and it takes a few minutes to make a deposit, and it can be done anywhere because all you need is a mobile phone. It does not even have to be a smartphone.

Spend for basic needs: everyone has the freedom  to choose how much to spend for which needs and how often. Some people spend more money on food than on clothes and other do the opposite. Of course, different ways of spending result in different outcomes.

Spend for knowledge: everyone needs to increase their knowledge by learning more and more skills each day. While the internet provides us with millions of free skills, we can get tremendous results with paid knowledge through business schools, mentors, coaches and audio programs...etc.

Waste: this is probably the worst decision we can make with our money. Unfortunately, billions of individuals waste their hard-earned money with harmful substances, internet scams and other purchases. I am one of those billions: I was broke a few times in South Africa and in Botswana during my stay in those countries between June 1998 and June 2000, because I did not use my money wisely.

To avoid wasting money, it is also necessary to do careful research and read several trustworthy reviews before doing any offline and online investments. Do not send money to anyone without doing any due diligence.

Beware of fake reviews and fake proofs. With Photoshop and video editing softwares, it is possible to create a lot of proofs to deceive almost anyone especially those who believe in get-rich-quick schemes.

This article is an updated excerpt of my first book entitled  Everybody Is a Manager, a Leader and a Billionaire.