“I need more money. “
How often do you catch your inner voice telling you this? For me, I think it just plays over and over, day in, day out, on autopilot. It’s so ingrained into me that I probably don’t notice anymore.
But does one really need more money for a better life? That, of course depends on a lot of different things. If you’re an average person working a regular job, paying taxes and bills, it might seem that you never have enough.
Is it any different for a rich person? I would venture to say, no. I’m sure the need to have more money may seem just as important as it is for someone living paycheque to paycheque.
So, who’s right? Who’s more deserving? Well, for now, I’ll just say that if you’re talking about simply having a better life, the low income person will benefit most from having more money. The rich person? Well, I suppose they’ll just add it to the stacks they already have. Money for the sake of having money. Am I wrong about this? I’m sure some would disagree.
For example, you might be well off but have obligations and responsibilities that a poor person does not. Maybe you own a business and need more money for expansion and, hence, to create more jobs. Maybe your business is on the verge of failing and you need a cash infusion. Maybe you’re in debt and need the relief that more money would provide.
From what I can tell, there’s a very blurry line between having enough for a worry free life and excessive greed. The world’s billionaires are a great example. As a poor person, you may look at this insatiable need for more and shake your head; as the billionaire, you may feel that you need and rightly deserve every cent you have coming to you.
Then there’s the minimalist who believes that we should all just take what we need for a simple life. Avoid buying what we don’t need (the best advice in my opinion).
While I wholeheartedly agree with the minimalist who says we are taking more than we need and causing unprecedented damage to our planet in the process, I look at having more money in a different way.
My take on it is that you aren’t a bad person if you want a little more money. Now, I’m not talking about the insatiable greed, mass consumption, and keeping up with the Jones’ attitude that we see all around us, but let’s just think about how having a little more money could help a level headed, socially and environmentally conscious person.
If you have more money, you can afford to buy organic, ethically sourced food. You can buy clothes of better quality, made with better/natural materials that last longer and are environmentally friendly. You can invest in electric/fuel efficient vehicles.
Let’s face it, it’s expensive to purchase environmentally friendly items. Love that hemp shopping bag? Well, it’s more than 6 times the price of the cheap, polyester version. Looking to buy free range eggs? Well, they are double the price of factory farmed eggs.
Unfortunately, prices normally follow demand. If there is a high demand, more units are produced, thus lowering the price per unit. If you’re poor, you have no choice but to buy carefully (and this may not include as many environmentally friendly items). The majority of the population buy cheap goods because they have no choice. You see the quandary here?
Personally, I think there is a sweet spot when it comes to money. In my situation, I’d need to make just a little more to get me into the comfortable range and able to have more choice on the things I buy. Any more than that, and I don’t know. I’d like to say that I wouldn’t get a big house, nice car, etc, but who knows until one is actually faced with that.
The sweet spot is important. It’s a modest place where things balance out and not only is there less financial stress, but you can concentrate on living life the way you want, not the way you must.
Beyond the sweet spot, you’re likely to have a larger home that you have to heat and cool. A bigger, faster vehicle that sucks gas. You’ll take more vacations and fly more. At that point, you really are taking more than you need. If we all suddenly became affluent, the entire globe would be in trouble.
Okay, I’m going to go off on a little tangent and tell you why I really dream about having more money. I’ve thought long and hard about this and the only reason I can come up with is that it would ease my worries and allow me to live a better life.
Life really sucks when you’re worried about your finances and future. Having more money allows you to plan ahead and allocate funds for your living expenses while having some left over for your future. As you get older, there is a tremendous amount of comfort in knowing that you managed to sock some money away.
If you’re really lucky, you may have some left over to actually enjoy life and have more choices.
I think a lot of stress comes from the fact that the bar is higher with each generation. The norms we strive to maintain now would have been extravagant to our parents and grandparents. Expectations are through the roof, yet somehow we don’t notice the change.
I love the minimalist concept. If we have any chance at all as a species, we’ll eventually have to start demanding less and getting by with less. Not that I advocate building a shack in the bush, sponge bathing with a gallon of water, doing your business in an outhouse. I think we’ve evolved past that and not many would be willing to visit an outhouse on a cold winter day.
Yet, there are certainly things we can do to minimize our impact.
My dream is to eventually have enough money to buy an off-grid home on a few acres. Having more money would allow me to do that and live comfortably. As far as anything more, nah, not really – I honestly think I’d be satisfied with that.
