You’ve heard the phrase a million times – “Money Can’t Buy Happiness, BUT…”
But what can it buy?
A jetski, for one…
But what if there’s things money can buy that are even better?
Big shoes to fill, I know. But let’s try!
Money can’t buy happiness, but it sure can buy you options.
Think about it in a crude sense. Why do regular folks like you and I begin shaking in our boots about a lifetime in prison?
Sure, anyone who’s watched The Shawshank Redemption recently will be justly worried about dropping the soap, but to an alien observer, jail doesn’t sound so bad. Three free meals prepared FOR you multiple times a day, unlimited leisure time, and no responsibilities.
But of course, you and I understand that’s ridiculous. Jail is terrible because prisoners are prisoners. They have no options. No say in where they live, what time they wake up, or how they schedule their day.
(Ha! Sounds like my Monday through Friday!)
Okay, that’s a little dramatic. But the unfortunate truth is that most people in this country build their own prisons.
There’s no bars, but they’ve boxed themselves into an imaginary jail cell created by other people’s expectations, one-size-fits-all lifestyles, and a lack of long term planning. Throw in too much debt and a lack of investment, and pretty soon they’re doing a great job mimicking Inmate 5678 from their suburban home, address 5679.
Money changes all that.
Money gives you options for everything, from the type of house you live in to job you work.
Even crazier, usually just knowing you have the option to splurge makes all the difference.
Everyone likes making a choice. Nobody likes being told what to do.
- Everyone loves camping, but nobody likes being homeless.
- Choosing to live in a tiny house is great. Having to live in a cramped space is miserable.
- The occasional grocery challenge is fun. Being forced to always eat the cheapest food is deprivation.
As my wealth continues to grow, I experience something completely counter-intuitive. I often have less of an urge to spend it.
When I was a broke college kid, the idea of buying $100,000 supercar was enough to get my teenage hormones raging. When I actually saved $100,000, the satisfaction in simply knowing I could buy one of those cars, if I wanted to, trounced the teenage dream of actually owning one.
This weird quirk continues to happen. At over $500,000 of savings, I now take great pleasure in my modest $180,000 home – perfectly sized for our family of two. (Plus the pets!) The idea of something more lavish loses its luster, once your wealth moves it from the “pipedream” filing cabinet to the “Legitimate possibility, with some tradeoffs” folder.
Why?
I think it’s because along the way, you realize all the other things you could buy instead of that $100,000 car or $500,000 house.
Real, life changing things, not just flashy stuff to impress people you don’t care about.
Truly Life Changing Things Money Can Buy
1. Money can buy FREEDOM
The ability to choose how you spend your day is probably the ultimate thing money can buy. After all, what good is a nice car if you’re driving it to a job you hate?
Having a nice nest egg allows you to:
- Relax at work without the constant stress of losing your job (and worrying what you’d do).
- Take a modest paycut, from a job you dislike to one you find more fulfilling.
- Reach financial independence entirely, when work becomes completely optional.
2. Money can buy TIME
You’ve heard it a thousand times. Time is the only thing we all have in common, and it’s the only resource you never get back.
We each get 24 hours a day, but having money allows you to spend those 24 hours how you prefer. This could mean:
- Outsourcing a chore you hate so you can do something you find more enjoyable. (For me, this is my ever-controversial maid service.)
- Taking a cut in hours so you can spend more time with your family.
- The holy grail – early retirement, when you get to spend all your hours for the rest of your life however you see fit.
3. Money can buy HEALTH
Sounds like science fiction, but it’s true.
How?
- At a simple level, more money gives you more time to focus on your health. It’s tough to find time for the gym if you’re working 16 hours a day just to get by.
- Having a little more money can help you buy healthier food.
- Having tons more money allows you to buy the highest quality medical care.
Obviously this one has it’s limits.
But since health is probably the most important thing money can buy, it’s something to consider.
After all…
A healthy man wants a thousand things, a sick man only wants one thing.”
Money is a tool. Use it like one.
Money can’t buy happiness, but it is a tool to make your life better.
Of course, you have to be careful. Don’t fall into the trap of using the wrong tool for the job.
A tool can’t fix everything, but it sure is nice to have around when you need it.
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Great advice.
I like the counter-intuitive behaviour and the fact that we should not subscribe ourselves to a rat race or keeping up with the Joneses.
Thanks, Andre!
You bring up a great point about the counter-intuitive desire to spend less as you accumulate more wealth. I went through a multi-year period where I was somewhat obsessed with Tesla and I would daydream about how great it would be to own one someday. I test drove one once on a work trip which was every bit as awesome as I had imagined. But as my wealth has grown to a point where I could now easily buy several Tesla’s, my desire to purchase one has (almost) completely disappeared. Now, as you pointed out, it’s nice to know that I could buy one but the trade-off (spend a lot of money on a car I’ll rarely drive) isn’t worth it to me.
Haha, I know that feeling!
This old saying still holds true, “Money can be a good slave – but a bad master”
You should always have the ambition to be a slave driver to your money.
So true…
I agree money makes life better. It won’t make you happy but it can put down things that will keep you unhappy. I fished recently with two friends. One can’t afford to fix his boat until he gets an insurance check, the other just lost his job and can’t afford to retire at 66 even though he and his wife both drive sporty new Mercedes cars. You can feel the stress radiating off them. One friend needs elective surgery to pursue the sports he loves, but can’t afford it, so he doesn’t get to play. It hurts him to not be in the game. My wife just bought a $40K car with cash and we’ve had to do $25K in roof and HVAC work on our home all in one month. We wrote the checks and didn’t feel a twinge. In fact our net worth went up enough, with nobody working, to pay for all that and then some. It is a huge thing to know you’ll never have another financial worry. There will always be other things to deal with, but money not being one of them, is awfully close to happiness.
So true. People with money problems definitely radiate a certain stress, and people with comfortable savings have a carefree vibe that’s hard to pinpoint.
Not stressing over miscellaneous expenses is one of the biggest benefits I’ve found in my FI journey so far.
I’ve come to realize that true happiness and money have no real correlation, BUT as you are saying money is a tool, so you might as well use it. For me, I use it to indulge in the things that make me happy. Golf. Astronomy. Vacations. Family activities. Those are the things that make life great to me. I can be happy without them, but with them, it is icing on the cake of life.
Very true. I have a similar outlook on my notoriously expensive skiing hobby. I’d be just fine without it, but man… is it fun.
I have a friend that had to put his financial life back together. In that time he took a chance at working for a small company. Over the years he moved up in the company, making more money until he reached a position that allowed for quite a good payout when the company was sold to a competitor.
We were talking and he said to me, though money does not buy happiness, what it does buy is piece of mind that now, if something happens to him, he knows his family will be taken care of. That piece of mind brings him happiness.
So, indirectly, money can buy happiness.
When I was in my 20’s I always thought, if only I could get a million dollars I would be rich and set for life. Now at 65 with 7 million, i wonder if that is enough? I saw how much my parents spend in their last years on medical bills. I have had 3 cancer scares. Now I’m thinking families should have 1 to 2 million set aside just for that.
Are you still working? Depending on your finances 7 million definitely seems like a solid FI foundation (or whole building, if we keep the analogy going) but you’re right… the unknown medical expenses can be intimidating.
I’m a 2nd grade substitute teacher. Make a whopping $120.00 a day.. but it’s not about the money at this point.
I actually totally believe that money can buy happiness. When I was poor, I was miserable. Frustrated at life that I was working paycheck to paycheck. It was when I had a sizable net worth that I started to feel happy. No one controlled my time.
If my company fired me, the first words I would say is “where do I sign?” That makes me a lot more happy than before, I was always afraid I would be let go in a second.
I subscribe to “money CAN buy happiness”.
Very interesting perspective, David!
I don’t think I’ve read another article recently that I agree with more. I’ve been trying to find a way to put this into words, and you’ve done it!
In paragliding, we use the phrase “altitude equals options” and it means that if you have a problem when you are flying low, there’s not much you can do. But, if you are thousands of feet above the ground and you have a problem, you have LOTS of choices you can make, and plenty of time to make them.
The same is true of money. When you have very little, you have few options. More money means more options. Love it!
Thanks, Jay!
Love the paragliding parallel. (Ba dum tss!) Money definitely
= options!
Time, Freedom, and Health are part of Happiness so in that sense maybe money can buy happiness.
Very true!
Goes back to money being a tool, IMO. Can’t fix everything but sure can help!
Love your take on this. I’m planning to add it to my Fawcett’s Favorites next Monday.
Thanks,
Dr. Cory S. Fawcett
Financial Success MD
Thanks, looking forward to it Dr. Cory!