Knowledge is Power: Why Knowledge Is More Valuable Than Money
Summary: We are a podcast about money, but even we believe there is something more valuable than money, and that thing is knowledge. Knowledge is power: why knowledge is more valuable than money.<br> The most valuable thing in the world is knowledge. Everything else in our lives, money, health, things, love, they can all come and go. They can all be taken away from us. The one thing that no one can ever take from you once you have acquired it is knowledge.<br> Rapid Demonetization<br> Rapid demonetization is the ability of technology to take a product or service that was previously expensive and make it substantially cheaper, or potentially free. It means removing money from the equation.<br> The $900,000 Smartphone<br> There may be no better illustration of this than the smartphone. That little computer that nearly all of us own has replaced $900,000 worth of other applications. And all in just 34 years, nothing in the big picture of human history.<br> <br> Transportation<br> We talked about the impact of automation on transportation in our <a href="https://www.listenmoneymatters.com/the-future-of-work/">The Future of Work</a> episode. Car ownership has slowly but steadily been <a href="https://qz.com/873704/no-car-households-are-becoming-more-common-in-the-us-after-decades-of-decline/">declining</a> in the US. Automation is going to accelerate that rapidly.<br> It’s estimated that soon using car services like <a href="https://www.listenmoneymatters.com/go/uber/">Uber</a> and <a href="https://www.listenmoneymatters.com/go/lyft/">Lyft</a> will be five to ten times cheaper than owning a car. When you don’t own a car, you don’t have a car payment, and you don’t have to pay for things like car insurance, maintenance, gas, parking, and speeding tickets. Eventually, even the world’s poorest people will have robot chauffers.<br> Food<br> Despite the advent of avocado toast and kombucha, the cost of food has fallen thirteen-fold over the past one hundred years, a trend that will continue. A big part of food cost is the cost to transport it. When transportation is made cheaper through automation, it will further drive down food costs.<br> <br> Energy<br> Solar power is set to become a predominant energy source and will have far-reaching implications when it comes to things we can create and produce very cheaply. The sun hitting the surface of the earth generates 5,000 times more energy in a single hour than all of humanity uses in one year.<br> Education<br> You don’t have to spend four or more years and tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to receive an education. You can learn practically anything for free or for minimal cost.<br> This podcast is a perfect example. Hundreds of hours of episodes and hundreds of articles that can teach you everything from <a href="https://www.listenmoneymatters.com/how-to-start-investing/">how to start investing</a> to how to <a href="https://www.listenmoneymatters.com/highest-credit-score/">improve your credit score</a>, all for free!<br> <a href="https://www.listenmoneymatters.com/go/skillshare/">Skillshare</a> offers 19,000 online classes in subjects like business, photography, and branding. <a href="https://teamtreehouse.com/join/start-trial?utm_source=google&cid=1027&utm_source=google&campaign=846901888&utm_term=&cid=1027&gclid=Cj0KCQiA5t7UBRDaARIsAOreQthKWGH5nmwPcpISsZM6TkXjsi8bZ3VTBmw7g6VLdEbymot9yckAza4aAt5nEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds">Treehouse</a> will teach you to code. <a href="https://www.khanacademy.org/">Khan Academy</a> offers classes in math, economics, computer programming and animation and dozens of other subjects.<br> It’s COL<br> What does this mean? All of these things are part of what makes up the cost of living. When these things are so cheap they are virtually free, the cost to meet basic needs is negligible. So if you don’t need money, what do you need? Knowledge.
