why, why. why?
this is our charge
1) The more money you have, the more money you want.
When I was in high school I calculated that if I came into one million dollars I could live the rest of my life extremely comfortably without ever working. The money would go into some sort of secure account and if I could make 8% annual interest that would still be $80,000 per year, which was an unquestionably huge amount of money. It was hard to imagine that could be a limiting annual budget.
When I finished college and started earning career-style bucks, I was certain that I would work for a year, save half the money, and then take off and travel. My needs and tastes were simple enough to only possibly use half of that salary. Didn't happen. I stopped eating ramen and started eating out. I bought rounds of drinks for everyone. I invested in pricey camping gear. I booked a dozen plane tickets in nearly as many months. I got wrapped up in the pricey hobby of chemical photography.
Essentially, my tastes inflated to fill my spending ability.
CASE STUDY:
My love of the outdoors leads me into situations (i.e. backpacking) where I sleep on the ground. This can be uncomfortable, and almost every backpacker carries a sleeping pad. These range anywhere from $10 pieces of foam to $100 luxury mattresses. Every dollar extra gets the pad lighter, warmer, and more comfy. I am particularly prone to aching in the morning after sleeping on the ground, and I estimated that it is worth $1 per night to be well rested and to not ache in the morning (so as to continue hiking). Thus, assuming a lifetime of more than 100 uses, it makes perfect sense to buy the $100 flagship of sleeping pads, especially since I could easily afford it.
If I was still operating on my college budget, $100 would be out of the question and I would happily settle for the $10 pad. In fact, I'd probably get used to it!
It’s a common trap. You work full time and earn full time income. You buy everything you feel you can afford, and before you realise it that becomes your standard for happiness. Every company puts out a full spectrums of their goods so that one product exactly meets your ability to afford it, and the next costliest is so enticing... This pattern repeats on all levels, and your desire grows, and you either work more or try for a higher-paying job just to earn the money to keep up.
2) Money doesn't make people happy.
Obvious, yeah? Not quite. Cute little fairy tales and Hollywood stories attempt to drill this concept into our heads since infancy (along with "marriage should be based on love rather than convenience" and "following your passion will make you happy") but everyone around us behaves as though it is not true. So there is always some sort of doubt in the back of our minds until it is somehow proven to us. Most people never reach this point and live their lives believing that money does, in fact, make us happy.
For some people, making this realisation requires some sort of tragedy (such as dying unhappy) where the idea is hurled into their gut without warning and with great ferocity. I fortunately, have recently arrived at the destination through the less painful path of logic and reason.
CASE STUDY:
Traveling opens one's mind in so many ways. It certainly teaches a lot about money. All it takes is a quick visit to the third world (heck, a 20-minute hop across the border into Tijuana will suffice) to learn that a majority of the people on earth live on far less income that we do in this metaphorically obese society. I have stood on a street in Mozambique and seen children who can't afford shoes and whose second- or third- or fourth- hand clothing is filthy and in tatters. These children are some of the poorest folk on earth, even by their own country's standards, and yet they romp and play and sing and are clearly getting the best out of being a child.
Okay, so maybe that's the life of a child anywhere you go, but a quick search will reveal happiness among adults as well. People who break their back all day just trying to make enough to feed their family may be toiling, but nonetheless some of them come home to wonderful families and may enjoy eating fish and may appreciate a summer evening just as much as any open-minded citizen of this world.
Sure, you will also find very unhappy people everywhere in the world but the existence of even a handful of happy ones is proof that a hefty salary and meaty life insurance plan do not a happy person maketh.
Americans are surrounded by well-off people who aren’t apparently happy. In this country it is easy to get sucked into the material world of capitalism if your guard is not up. Picture a husband-wife team. Both professionals. Combined annual income well over $100,000. They own every modern toy imaginable. Leather seats, big television, timeshare in Hawaii. Yes they display no outward sign of contentment, and worry about money. They fret about refinancing the house in order to squeeze every last penny out of it; they spend a great deal of energy moving money around just to avoid paying taxes on it. I am exaggerating a bit here; these are hypothetical fictional characters, but they have key traits that we see all around us.
I'm not saying that money necessarily makes one UNhappy. Some rich people are content, and many poor people are certainly not thrilled with their lot in life. I just hope to demonstrate that there is no correlation between personal wealth and value of life.
3) Most people make a majority of their life-affecting decisions based on fear.
Especially in this society, the Kingpin of all Fear!
Think about it. Why do people buy needless insurance and service plans? Because they are afraid of losing their money, so they spend more to protect it. Why do young people try to buy houses? Because they are afraid that if they don't get into the market IMMEDIATELY they will be paupers when they are forty. Why do unhappy couples stay together? Because they are afraid of being alone. Why do people constantly sanitise everything? Because they are afraid of getting unlikely diseases. I could do this all night; you get the point.
Caution, on the other hand, is useful. Caution is rational, reasoned, calculated. I can't condemn caution. But making decisions out of fear is debilitating and imprisoning.
How often have you heard the following arguments?
- "I would love to try to make a career out of my music, but I don't want to risk this secure job I have."
- "I really want to move to New York, but what if I don't make it there?"
- "I really should ask her out, but what if she rejects me?"
Fear, fear, fear! We're obsessed with it! SARS! Terror alert Orange! Muggings! Breaking down on the freeway! Diseased bird feathers! Grass littered with dog poop-borne worms that enter the bare feet of unsuspecting children! Giardia!
Americans are especially obsessed with stability, safety, health, and security.
How does this all tie into money? One of the most predominant fears is that of losing your money. Money is such a symbol of freedom and independence and power and happiness that it is holy and must be protected at all costs. Our money is as important as our family; it is our defining characteristic. As a job is a typical route to money, our jobs are our life-support systems; to lose your job is to lose all your money.
5) What am I getting at here...?
So far, this hasn’t been too much of a problem. It certainly is nice going out to any restaurant I wish. It certainly is comfortable never worrying about spending too much money. And it certainly is liberating to travel on a whim. BUT has it been worth all the time I spend growing weak and pasty in a windowless cubicle, missing out on sunshine and surf? Has it been worth condensing my travel plans into three-day windows?
At times I can answer YES to all of these and at times I must answer NO.
TO BE CONTINUED. Stay tuned soon for:
SIMON'S PATH TO TRANSCENDENCE!
Disclaimer: I understand that all this logic falls apart when a person decides to start a family. I’ll save that discussion for when I know anything about such matters.