Crypto Is Teaching Us the Lessons School Left Out, and That Society Forgot

I met someone through work a year younger than me who also has a small crypto portfolio. I met him shortly after he purchased his first bitcoin about a year and a half ago, so he's seen huge gains since then, and has been enjoying the roller coaster ride. In my time knowing and working with him, I've noticed he likes to spend money. We make about the same amount, and we both have other income streams aside from our 9-5, but if you saw our lifestyles you would think he makes significantly more than I do. He has a nicer house with a mortgage, he drives a $50,000 dollar car, and has a bunch of dope toys I'm super jealous of. I on the other hand rent a house, drive a car worth $8000(that's payed off), and I'm still rocking my Iphone 6s. What the casual observer woudn't realize about my co-worker is that he bought that house with no money down, his car has a ten year loan on it, and his toys come from a maxed out credit card that he convinced himself was good for his credit. I'm not trying to speak ill of him, he pays his bills every month, but he is always down to his last dollar by pay day.

Right before Christmas we were talking, and he was telling me how maintenance on his house was substantially more than he expected, and that he was worried about paying for it. I suggested taking some bitcoin profits since he has done so well, and that I knew a handyman that could do the work cheap. He looked at me like I was mad! "why would I do that!? bitcoin's going to at least 100k! That's the money I'm opening m business with in 5 years!" He then gave me a 10 minute lecture about how our generation knows nothing about saving and investment. He was determined he could makes some spending cuts, and sell some toys in order to get the money he needed in time. The whole situation has him re-evaluating his finances, and realizing his money could go a lot further if he showed some restraint. I just sat back and listened with a little smirk on my face because I knew he had finally learned what school never taught him. He learned how wealth is created.

One lesson individuals learn quickly when entering the economy is that their dollar will be worth less tomorrow, than it is today, and if you listen to MSM, you would believe spending is what drives the economy. The world economy is built around the fiat US dollar, which is backed by nothing, and is inflated into dust year after year. This incentivizes spending, and punishes saving, which savings and investment the primary drivers of wealth creation. In fact our entire society, from the government, to entertainment, and education encourages spending, and does nothing to promote the benifits of saving. This is why everyone is so shocked and excited to see bitcoin increasing in value. The value of money increasing is a completely foreign phenomenon to them. No one ever considers when spending $5 on a cup of coffee that maybe that $5 will be worth $10 in a year, or $100 in five years, but this is exactly the thought process everyone has when spending some of their precious crypto. This I think will have a profound effect in the way my generation views money and spending in the future. Every time I go to make a frivolous purchase, I have the thought in my head "if I spent this $100 on crypto it could be worth $1000 one day" and this causes me to question all my purchases, and ask myself If I really need that new tv, or if I really need to go to my 20th concert this year. I start to think more about my future, and what I want to achieve in my lifetime. It's really cool to see the same effect occurring with my peers. Crypto is teaching us what real money, and real economics looks like. Just one more way crypto is revolutionizing our world.