The love of money is the root of all evil.
From both personal experience and personal observation, I believe that statement to be true. Many a man or woman in love with money has compromised principle in order to obtain wealth. No doubt you have seen it as well.
There is just one problem with this helpful proverb: We’re quite sure the warning doesn’t apply to us. I mean, we’d never lie, cheat, or steal to gain more money. Therefore, the warning must be for someone else—probably the wealthy.
Herein lies the problem. Nobody ever admits to loving money. Everybody just wants more of it. (tweet that)
In America, if you ask a roomful of people who wants to be rich, almost every hand gets raised. The desire for wealth is almost a forgone conclusion in our society. So much so, in fact, anybody who claims they don’t want more is quickly labeled a madman, a liar, or misinformed.
But I don’t think this assumption concerning our relentless pursuit of money should go unchallenged. It might be a helpful exercise to measure our desires and weigh them against the alternative.
So let me pose a question.
What if the desire for money could be entirely removed from our lives? What riches might stand on the other side? What benefits would we discover?
Allow me to offer seven.
1. Happiness can be discovered. The studies always come out the same. Once our most basic physical needs are met, money adds very little happiness to our lives—even though we always assume it will. Zig Ziglar said it like this, “Money won’t make you happy. But everybody wants to find out for themselves.” Once we remove the desire for money, we are freed to discover happiness has been available to us all along.
2. Security can be found elsewhere. Research from Margaret Clark, a professor of Psychology at Yale, tells us that human beings look for security in two places: possessions and relationships. When one is abundant, the other receives less priority. As we shift the focus of our lives away from the accumulation of more and more money, we may just find that genuine relationships with other people provide far more security and fulfillment than possessions ever can.
3. The negative influence of wealth becomes more apparent. Most of us fear poverty. But very few ever consider the negative consequences of wealth: pride, arrogance, isolation, lack of empathy, and the clouding of moral judgment (just to name a few). Again, we are quick to dismiss the notion that money would ever have that type of influence on us. Because we imagine our life would only be better with more money, we never stop to even consider if that’s true.
4. Work would take on a new focus. If the pursuit of wealth was removed from our affections, we may change our career entirely and choose to do something more fulfilling for 40 hours/week… doesn’t that sound nice? But even if we didn’t change our work assignment, our focus would still change. We may care less about the paycheck and care more about doing a good job for the sake of doing a good job—or maybe for the sake of the person we are serving in our occupation. Work would no longer be selfish, it would become selfless.
5. Generosity could begin today. Generosity benefits the receiver, but it also rewards the giver. Those who are generous with their money and their time take hold of the life that is fully life. They make the world better and their lives fuller. Too often we fall into the thinking if we made more money we would become more generous. But the statistics don’t support that presumption. Generosity is more about priorities than it is about income.
6. Contentment would become attainable. Those who have all they need (food, clothing, shelter) but still constantly desire more, prove their discontent. It is displayed in the items they pursue. I realize that removing the desire for wealth does not necessarily result in contentment, passions can still be directed elsewhere. But it is a great start.
7. Regret is more easily avoided. People who want to get rich fall into a trap that often leads to ruin and regret. They make sacrifices with their time and energy to secure more wealth. They are quick to neglect their family, their health, or their soul. They make small sacrifices every day in order to make more money. But in the end, they will discover they traded the most important for the least. Rejecting an unquenchable desire for more opens up our life to regain focus on the things that truly matter.
This post is not a chastisement of those with money—that would include most of us. And this is also not an argument against hard work, compensation, or earning money.
Instead, this is a post designed to open up a conversation on this blog and in our minds—a conversation about the role of money in our lives. And it is a call to reevaluate our seemingly insatiable desire for more of it.
Mark Tong says
Hi Joshua – this is why Becoming Minimalist is such an incredible blog. Your articles go way beyond any minimalist/simple living agenda. I decided a long time ago that I simply had no desire to be wealthy and that acquiring money beyond my basic needs held no interest for me. This wasn’t in a smug, holier-than-thou way, simply a revelation about my basic character – money does nothing for my overall happiness and I believe this is true for most people. Of course we need enough money for our basic needs, but as you said so memorably in ‘we are wealthy and why it matters’, most of us, including me are already wealthy. Maybe not wealthy beyond our wildest dreams, but maybe it’s the dreams that need changing, not the wealth.
Bethany @ Online Therapy and Coaching says
Freedom from the myth of “security” is one of the greatest freedoms there is. Two years ago, I made the break from a job I didn’t love, and I’ve found that I didn’t need that money and security that had kept me trapped for so long. Here is an article I’ve written, along the same lines: http://www.onlinetherapyandcoaching.org/blog/2015/6/15/rethinking-failure .
Michael May says
Great Post Joshua! Money is definitely not the root of happiness. I have experienced that in my own life.
Erin says
Well timed post. I am struggling with this right now. My job brings more stress to my life than the money alleviates, however, I am struggling to decide to quit for 2 reasons: 1) fear of not having enough money if some admittedly unlikely circumstance presented itself (going down to 1 income is scary) 2) fear of my husband being resentful that he has to work and I don’t. Our daughter is in school so it is not about being “home with the kids” for me. It’s about bringing calm to our home life that is being sacrificed for money.
Judy says
I put my ENTIRE paycheck into savings and live off my husbands income. You’d be surprised how quickly it adds up. This nest egg keeps me working. If I were not minimalistic, I wouldn’t be able to do this.
Bob Pepe says
I am really disheartened by this post. I agree with every word, would love to implement these into my life, but I am 50 years old, have a big house full of stuff and growing by the day. My wife and kids are used to the “finer” things in life.. We have all the crap that society told us to buy.
How do you stop the addiction? I tried going solo on this and gave away over $5000 worth of clothes to charity. It felt great and wanted to keep it going, but a year later, it appears that I just made space for the new stuff….
I can’t force my wife and kids to take this on if they don’t believe in it. It is like living in a crack house and trying to stay clean.
I am the worst type of wealthy, I make a ton of money, but don’t save any of it. How do you break the cycle, when no one is willing to help or work with you?
Eileen/debt free/saving for a house says
Bob Pepe—I would suggest checking out the Dave Ramsey Website. He has the plan to get out of debt (not sure you are even in debt which includes a mortgage). He will also guide you in how to invest, save and give. You will get your life in balance and feel blessed to have a good income. There is nothing wrong with wealth and living well if you are also giving. Some of the richest people in America are also the most generous. They also own the companies that give others jobs.
Sally says
Bob – have a look at the Mr Money Mustache blog as well if you haven’t already, lots of really interesting perspectives that you may be able to share with your family.
Bob Pepe says
I will Sally. Thank you…. I hope I didn’t come across as whining about having too much money. I just am frustrated at my own decisions and choices. I just know that with my income, I could be doing much better things with my money than spending it on crap I don’t need
Judy says
No excuses! It’s a personal decision. Lead by example and take charge of your household.
Maureen@ADebtFreeStressFreeLife says
Lead by example as someone else has said. You’ve got to start somewhere and as Josh has said, make your relationships more important than the stuff. I have a daughter that learned all my bad behaviors with money. Over the last ten years, I’ve slowly had an impact on her. She’s started to look at money differently and stopped using it to replace other unmet needs. That’s what over indulgence, over spending is – it’s a replacement for all the unmet needs of your family. Start to figure out what you really need, what they really need and you’ll be breaking through the cycle you’ve created.
Kurt says
Your post reminds me of a book I once read, The Hunger for More, by Lawrence Shames. Subtitle: Searching for Values in an Age of Greed. Also brings to mind a brother who I have witnessed over the course of a 30-year career transition from a college graduate of modest means to a corporate executive earning well into six figures. This seems to make him happy, but I have seen grow in him all the qualities you mention under ‘the negative influences of wealth’: pride, arrogance, isolation, lack of empathy, and the clouding of moral judgment. In his case, I believe a principal part of his motivation behind essentially turning over 30 years of his life to corporations is gaining respect. Maybe wealth is the currency of respect among his peers, but not sure he quite grasps that it makes no difference to much of the world, including me.
phil pogson says
I find when I attain contentment that even happiness is not really needed so much – just a little here and there. Contentment seems to be a foundational core need for me.
John P. Weiss says
I tend to take the approach of “everything in moderation.” I don’t eat sweets everyday to avoid weight gain, but will sometimes indulge. I work hard to have a decent home, health and dental, and a sense of security. My father worked until he was 79 as a Judge and invested in long term care for himself and my mother. They both ended up needing it, and without it they probably would have lost their home. Money and wealth are not evil. Worshipping wealth, keeping up with the Joneses, failing to help others, worrying about fame and status…these are the things that lead to unhappiness. Everything in moderation.
Valerie says
Well said John
Gina says
I agree completely with Maureen. There needs to be a balance between care of and for money and finding wealth in other things. Money still is important, even though it is not the only way to be rich. I have achieved good success in my career but it is finite – at any time the way you bring money into your life can change, either by choice or circumstance. I know people who have been laid off or fallen ill and struggle to replace their income needs. I feel the differences in my own aging body and know I can’t push as hard or long. Most importantly, recent events mean I’ve brought my senior mother to live with me. She affords me a lesson every day in the value of having a cushion for the day when working is no longer possible. They managed to save $500K on a lower middle class salary over the course of their lives, and it makes the difference in her being able to live with dignity. So this post is a good reflection that money isn’t all that matters, but it does indeed matter.
Maureen@ADebtFreeStressFreeLife says
Kudos to your mom! What a great gift she’s given you to see how well she managed her money. Cheers!
Heather @ Simply Save says
Well said! This post really speaks to me because this is the journey I’ve been on for the past year or so!