This is Part II of how to be above your money. Part I is here.
In this part, we deal with the things that go in your head.

Evaluate your thinking

Money is finite. We act as if there’s enough in the world to go around.
There isn’t. We have the poor, the rich, the filthy rich, and then us.
I put us in the ‘always-feeling-poor-but-not-actually-poor’ category. There’s probably a word for that. I should search for it. Can you even feel poor? I don’t know. If you have ever felt like you don’t have enough, we’re getting there.
This is where it gets complicated. Our notion of how money works is twisted. How much we have is always attributed to success, and how much we buy shows our vanity.
Your money doesn’t provide you success. Your money enables you to greater successes! Huge difference there.
A beggar given a million dollars might use it as a blanket or stuffing for his clothes. He could have bought a house, start anew. He might have chosen to live this way, he may already be content.
We don’t know.
What we do know, is that with more money he can reach out to greater success. He never has to buy it.
Know what is necessary for yourself.

Evaluate your circle

I love gifts. I think all of us do. Most of the time, it’s an easy way to show your affection/appreciation for someone. Whether it be a box of chocolates (Kinder Bueno!), Cologne (AWESOME), or even…dinner.
Evaluating your circle means this:

What role does money play in your circle?

Take the time to do this, you might realize there are obligations to please your circle using cash.
Let’s take an example:

Someone’s birthday? I HAVE to get them a gift and it HAS to be over $200.

Nobody gave you that rule you know. To some, it might sound ridiculous, but there is no law for gift standards. Nobody is going to condemn you for gifting a $195 handbag when we only accept $200 ones.
If there are rules like that in your country though, good luck. I might not visit your country on your birthday then. Maybe a gift card and a Facebook post would be enough. Sorry.
I’m not saying ‘Don’t bring them a gift!’, but you should know that there might be alternatives. Cheaper, meaningful alternatives. These alternatives could be win-win situations for you: you get to save money, and you get to provide your loved ones a meaningful gift!
Instead of materialistic gifts, how about handmade gifts? Handicraft? Personal letters that are only written for them? A physical photo album of your memories together. There are plenty of ways, even for those who think they’re not so creative.
Your friendships are limitless in value. Don’t tie your happiness together to some high-quality brand product. If the world were to tear apart and all the big brands die out, we would still have each other in the end.
On the other hand, you could look at it this way. If you’re always playing it cheap aka. a money-first way of thinking, you might want to consider how fulfilling is your experience. Maybe it’s a little bit more than the usual, but if you all enjoy it together then it may be worth it.
Ever thought about taking a cooking class together? sword-fighting? You could go to the trampoline park! If your friends pooled money together and paid for someone’s birthday ticket to the trampoline park it’ll be fun for everybody!

Cheaper + Meaningful + Fun + Memorable.

It’s the best of all gifts.

Evaluate Yourself.

The world taught us what ‘obligations’ we have in spending money. Search for the latest trends. Buy the latest clothes.
Do you care? Is that who you are?
Yes? Cool. Keep at it. If money makes your life work, then go for it. I’m not your guardian. I just thought it’d be nice to not worry about how fat your pockets are.
No? Great. You’ve beaten the game. You can survive even if money stops existing.
We weren’t born into this world with credit cards in our hands. We came here to live, not to spend.
My advice?
Stop caring about the world. Money makes the world go around, stop caring about it so much. Stop caring about what it wants you to do, just do things for yourself.
Better yet, it’s up to you to listen to any advice from me. Just don’t care.
The money will come running for you, and you will be above it.
Just live.