Before I start posting my monthly net worth updates (yes, you’re about to get very detailed info about my income and spending habits and lack of actual money every single month), I wanted to document a few beliefs/ideals/non-negotiables around money that I have. This will be interesting to…nobody. But it’s important to me, so I’m writing it all out. It will also give some background to money stories and lessons I’ve witnessed and was taught growing up (yes, my parents talked about money, no, we had not even a ballpark range of our income/expenses for my entire life living with my parents). 

Rizq comes from Allah. Rizq is typically the word we use for money, but it’s not an exact translation. Rizq is really referred to any material good you consume (even this is a simplification, it’s more like everything that’s a part of your lifestyle and standard of living). I’m not entirely sure why we equate it with money actually, because money is only one type of rizq. I guess it’s because the food we eat, the clothes on our back, and the homes we live in are all bought with money so we assume they’re interchangeable. 

Avoiding interest at all costs is key. We won’t take on a traditional mortgage with interest. We won’t put our emergency fund in high interest checking accounts. We won’t put any of our money in bonds no matter how risky stocks seem, and we’ll do everything we can to avoid investing in and profiting from companies who generate income from interest (more on this later). 

Money and wealth are abundant. Wait, what? Yes, they are. Even though as I write this, my husband and I are doing the mental gymnastics and calculating the transfers we need to make to pay our next credit card bill, at the core, I believe wealth is abundant in this world, and for me. This is important, because a looooooooooot of people don’t believe this at all, and live in fear of not having enough. 

Decisions should be made assuming the best, not in fear of the worst. This is a lesson that’s probably applicable to life in general, because living in fear of the unknown or worst case scenarios is generally unhealthy and will make you miserable and depressed. 

We’ll always live close to a masjid and close to family. This is completely non-negotiable, and takes away a lot of the possibilities of house hacking and geographic arbitrage. It does open more opportunities for employment and in my personal opinion, living a richer life.

We never measure what we give to charity. It is what it is, my friends. We have no idea how much we donated this year or last year or ever, and we’ll always keep it that way. 

And that’s that! I’ll be back soon with a net worth update – stay tuned 🙂