Quite a dilemma, isn't it. We work hard to earn the money to give us the good things in life, but then we don’t have the time to enjoy them because we are working too hard. Bit of a chicken and egg scenario.
When we think about what we are trading (or compromising) for money, time tends to be the first thing that pops into our heads. The 40-hour working week that our forebears fought so hard to get seems to be a distant memory.
I received an email from a client at 11pm. She was still in the office (she arrived at 7am) and would be back at 7am the following morning. She has two children who she feels spend more time with the babysitter than they do with her. But she is building her career in a profession that expects that kind of commitment. Whilst she loves her work, she is really concerned about missing time with her children as well. So why does she do it? She feels she has no choice; she needs to provide for her family, and the hope of a large salary and fewer hours at some point in the future keeps her going.
This is a common story, not only for people on salaries but business owners as well. We seem to be prepared and feel we need to work long hours for some financial goal in the future.
So not only are we spending time that we will never get back to generate money, there is also a huge cost to our relationships, not only our children but our partners and friendships.
I have been mentoring a couple who have two young children. The husband works very long hours, including most of the weekend, and his stay-at-home wife is feeling very unsupported in the relationship, and he feels he is missing out on time with the children. This was a relationship heading for trouble.
Money is the most common relationship conflict; either you don’t have enough of it, or you never see your partner because they are never home because they are out earning it (or doing other things with it that don’t include you!), but that is a whole other story.
Issues like this aren't easy to resolve, if he changes his career to work less hours, it means less income, and she will have to find a job and no longer be able to be home with the children, bit of a catch 22. Fortunately we were able to find some middle ground, make some compromises and the relationship is back on track.
Then there are the ‘not so obvious’ things that we trade for money.
What about our health? Stress, one of the most common work related illnesses, closely followed by back and other physical injuries, hearing loss and so on, are all being compromised for money.
My father was a policeman, a very stressful occupation, he was well on the pathway to a heart attack. Fortunately he was able to take early retirement due to a very good superannuation scheme. Not everyone in similar situations is so lucky.
It’s not only the personal cost to us in terms of our health but it is also the cost to business in terms of lost productivity, the medical system who have to look after us, and of course once again our families.
Having more money will make us happy. Sorry, but it’s a myth that money makes you happy. Once you reach a certain point as the money line goes up, the happiness line stays the same (or can even go down). This was discussed at length in the 2013 World Happiness Report.
So what does make us happy? Relationships, aren't they higher up the list of what we sacrifice for money?
This last one can take a bit of getting your head around. We are trading wealth for money. What do I mean by that? Well, we have become spenders not savers, many of us are actually spending more than you earn. If you look at the personal balance sheet of the average man in the street it doesn't paint a pretty picture, the liabilities outweigh the assets. Living from paycheck to paycheck is a common scenario. We are busy spending everything (and more) rather than saving for later.
A reality check here, unless you were born into, or have won enough money to keep you in the lifestyle that you want for your entire life, we are all at some point in time going to have to make compromises and trade our time, relationships and many other things for money.
The point here is, quite often we don’t even realise that is what we are doing.
Becoming aware of what we are compromising and why is the important part; at least that way you are in control of the decision and the outcome.
So what are you trading, or compromising for money?
If you know the price you are paying, you can decide if you are prepared to pay it.
*Lynda Moore is a Money Mentalist coach and New Zealand’s only certified New Money Story® mentor. Lynda helps you understand why you do the things you do with your money, when we all know we should spend less than we earn. You can contact her here.
28 Comments
More to come when we've voted for continuing a system that burdens the working hours with tax vs 'idle' capital gains from property investment/speculation
People don't really vote for the banks who are able to create credit at a rate far greater than the ability of the people to earn income. The ruling elite has framed the mechanism without any input from the people, most of whom don't understand how it works.
The winners here are those closest to the spigot. Research the Cantillon Effect if you don't know it already.
It's a massive problem. Imagine how much more family and community time people could have if we hadn't turned housing on its head from something society considered should be affordable to an average Kiwi working an average job (the post-war decades' ideal and effort) into something that enriches folk beyond their means through saddling following generations with huge debt.
One of the problems with our current economic system in relation to people and time is the money. The economic system has been built around money that does not preserve its value - it robs us of the value of the labor that was exchanged for money.
So instead of money sitting in a bank losing its purchase power, you want to have money that increases its purchasing power over time. It rewards savers. It doesn't necessarily discriminate against the drunken sailor set. What it does is set the right incentives that are sorely lacking in society.
I don't think you understand. You should read about the Roman Empire and how the deterioration of the value of the Denarius was instrumental in the collapse of the Empire. Similar is happening now even though you're unaware. Unfortunately it could be worse now than in Roman times.
The Empire collapsed due to a number of reasons, and currency devaluation is usually a symptom of a larger issue. That also was there, but to say that's the reason is fairly myopic. You should cast your reading beyond things relating to monetary inflation.
I have a sense of what's playing out, I just choose to put my capital at work to counter that in less exciting, more reliable ways than you.
If we are talking about the current cost of living crisis, there's a decent body of info that puts the supply side at around 60-70% of the contribution to price inflation of the past 3-4 years. Anyone close to the task of actually producing anything in the physical realm shouldn't have a problem relating to that. The fact there was additional liquidity pumped into such a constrained supply chain only exacerbated the issue.
"Money printer go brrrrr" is the strawman.
"Money printer go brrrrr" is the strawman.
Yes it is a strawman and not applicable to me. There is a fundamental difference between base and broad money.
However, what is not a strawman is that the more money in circulation created for allocation to consumption / asset price is inflationary. And also detrimental to the value of people's labor, savings, and purchasing power.
The actual terminology doesn't really alter my point.
Say there was a solar flare, that wiped out every existing electrical device. The state response involves a fiscal injection of additional funds to both bridge the economy during the restoration period, and the government's restoration efforts rebuilding.
The fiscal response will have some weighting on the value of your dollar, but it's value was always going to be diminished in light of the situationally induced scarcity.
Can Bitcoin save you from such scenarios? Probably not. Might it insulate you somewhat? Ehhh, maybe?
I think those who are patient and save are more likely to have a more secure tomorrow rich with freedom and choice and that they own. Start out how you intend to finish and always live within means. Society are rich with the entitled who borrow from tomorrow just to enjoy the material things today they assume impress others. These are often the very things that devalue. Yes, our lives are finite but that is not an excuse just to over-extend oneself today.
One big and sad misconception is those who rent, are destined to rent and will remain poor. Renters can enjoy financial freedom with healthy bank accounts and can easily move. It's possible their overheads can be less as they don't have to pay rates, insurance and the frightening cost of borrowing. There are other viable and financially securing alternatives to home ownership. If they invest their hard saved money wisely, an additional and compounded household income is also assured.
Spending can be done later in life too :)
The Micawber Principle works excellently.
https://micawberprinciple.com/the-micawber-principle-living-the-fundame…
Yes - good post. I have witnessed many people venture into emotional misery who, rather than face the discipline of living within means over time, they remain restless and discontented with what they earn and own. They remain in constant search of better paying jobs just to cover debt. These jobs are often accompanied with much higher stress levels, hours etc...
The stress is simply not worth it.
This was the conclusion of a recent FED paper on the subject of worker "shortages" (this is no longer really the correct term given we have a permanently tighter market) in the US. People, particularly men who prior to the pandemic worked a lot of hours, had trimmed back the number of hours worked. The pandemic experience appears to have prompted people to re-value their time.
https://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/review/2023/09/27/where-ar…
I've come to realise that our human existence comes down to one thing and that is relationship. Relationship with ourselves, with each other, with the Natural world. Everything is an exchange of giving and receiving, of sharing energy.
Our constructs of buying and selling, saving and spending, and time, has disconnected us, seperated us from what some might say is our true essence. We've trapped the mind in linear thinking, in ego constructs and labels, in fear. Fear requires the need for security, the need for certainty for an unknown future, the need to accumulate and amass possessions.
All we have is Life and the present moment. The past is history, the future unknown, the present a gift. It's suggested that true freedom comes when we free the mind. If we are in this state of being, of self actualisation/realisation, the doing happens without effort, and we are able to flow from moment to moment, free from external influences. We are in a state of balance and harmony and able to respond rather than react.
It's suggested that this is our ultimate journey as humans. It's referenced in all the ancient teachings, indigenous knowledge and in modern examples such as Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs. It's believed that if we are able to achieve this realisation there will be no need for government, or for a ruling "elite" and associated institutions. Unfortunately we've created an environment and conditions that doesn't really support one another to even begin this journey.
Not sure whether I should point this out - this is NZ after all, but many people in the world (quite a few places I've lived or travelled) do not have this luxurious choice. They work from dawn to dusk (or dusk to dawn) to earn enough to feed their families for a day.
We should choose wisely.
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