Why do so many people struggle with money?

Learning about money is one of my hobby. If I hadn't joined the software engineering workforce, I would have definitely gone for finance as a career. It is the only field that makes me happy along with good salaries.
Everyday I see so many people struggle with money. Though it makes it easier for people like me to gain financial freedom, it affects far greatly, people who don't have money for basic needs.

So Why is it so?

People will tell you lot of different reasons like you need to make more money, save more money, invest your money etc. While all those things are true, the problem is way more basic and social. It is money is evil and talking about money is taboo. Anyone who talks about money is trash. Someone who has made wealth in his life, must have done so by stepping on the others.

This mentality is what's preventing everyone from learning about money. Its trendy to bash rich people because they are rich. Doesn't matter how they made their wealth.

What's the solution?

If you have read it so far, you deserve to learn a few secrets about money. I know a few things about money because I have made a decent bit of it and I am still in my early 30s. So here are few secrets:

Make some friends who are not ashamed of talking about money. I had lot of trouble finding these kind of people and I have found some of them and they are all great. We talk about different kind of investments and opportunities. None of us are filthy rich but all of us will be, by the time we retire. We are following something called Fat FIRE. Look it up.

Discuss your salary with your co-workers. Discussing salary is a strict NO where I live. This is exactly what your employer wants. It's not illegal but they will always tell you that it a secret between your company and you. It's all BS. They don't want people discussing their salary because they like the inequality they have created.

True Story: My friend and I started discussing our salary and how much some of the other guys were making and realised both of us were being undercut by the company. So we both started separate negotiations with HR and landed a 20% hike. All this was possible because we talked.

Lastly, discuss your expenses Lot of people like to hide when they are buying a new car or new home from their friends and family and later give them a surprise. I have never understood this practice. Talking about these kind of expenses saves you bunch of money.

Another true story I was buying a new home and so was one my co-worker. He never talked to anyone about this until he got the keys but I was telling everyone that I am thinking about buying a new home. That made a difference of 5000$ when we both eventually bought the home. We bought it from a builder and someone had told me that you can get some cash back from the agent when you do such a transaction, while my co-worker never hired a agent because he didn't hear about this trick.

There are countless other things that you can do but these are the main ones that I think are never talked about.

Hit me up if you need financial advice. I don't have a degree in finance but pretty good sense of money.