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Do you ever wish that people would just shut up about money?
Yes, it’s important. Yes, you could use more of it. Yes, you’d better start saving and investing, or you’ll regret it later.
But frankly, you don’t want to hear it.
You’re tired of people pitching you “financial solutions.” You’re tired of reading boring articles about investing. You’re tired of everyone talking about it, everywhere you go, all the time.
In fact, you take that back. You’re not just tired of it. You hate it.
Why? Do you really have to count the reasons?
Actually, there’s no need. I already have. Some will apply to you and some won’t, but here are 38 perfectly valid reasons to hate money and everything requires (be sure to read to the end):
Personal:
1. You never have enough of it, no matter what you do - Most of us dedicate 60-80% of our day to thinking about things related to money, but we never seem to have enough to pay for everything.
2. You can’t rest as much as you need to - You’re tired. Really, really tired, like you would have to take six months off to recuperate. But you can’t do that. You have to make money.
3. You can’t afford to buy the best - You deserve the best food, the best cell phone , the best clothes, the best house. But you can’t afford it, and you resent what it takes to get it.
4. You feel guilty about your income - You’re a smart person, and you should really be earning more than you are, but you’re stuck in a low-paying job.
5. You can’t afford adequate health care - You worry about needing to go to the doctor or something happening to you. You’re barely scraping by as it is, and you couldn’t afford doctor bills.
6. You feel guilty for not pursuing your dreams - You told yourself you were going to live a grand life of happiness and adventure, but here you are, sitting in front of a computer.
7. You feel trapped by your financial circumstances - Your life sucks, but you can’t figure a way out of it. You’re trapped by your finances.
8. You can’t afford to help worthy causes - You’re not a callous person. There are causes you would love to help, but you can’t afford to give them any money, and it breaks your heart.
9. You miss the best opportunities - You’ve watched others take advantage of opportunities and become wealthy, where you couldn’t afford to pursue them, even though you knew they would succeed.
10. You’re not good enough for some people - You despise rich people for excluding you from their world and treating you like you are from “the other side of the tracks.”
11. You can’t afford to date wealthier people - You’ve met someone that you really, really like, but they’re much wealthier, and you feel out of place in their world.
12. You have to talk with your friends about money - You used to talk with your friends about philosophy, scientific advances, relationships — anything but money. Now it seems like that’s all you talk about, and it’s made your friendships shallow.
13. You can’t afford to help your friends and family - Giving money to your friends and family is a burden, but it’s also a blessing. It’s frustrating when you can’t afford to help them and have to watch them struggle.
Family:
14. You have to work, instead of spending time with your kids - You’re worried about waking up one day and discovering your kids are grown and you missed it because you spent all your time working to provide for them.
15. Your kids are ashamed of what you do for a living - Part of being a parent is being able to look your kids in the eyes, and it’s hard when you know they don’t respect what you do, but you can’t find any other way to make a living.
16. Your spouse’s parents don’t approve of what you do - Few things are more irritating than when your spouse’s parents treat you like garbage because they don’t respect what you do to make money, or they don’t think you make enough.
17. You can’t take care of your parents when they get old - Your parents can’t take care of themselves like they used to, and it’s up to you to provide for them. Only, you barely make enough to take your yourself, and you’re forced to give them substandard care.
18. You can’t afford the best medical care for your family - You worry about your kids getting sick or facing any sort of medical emergency. You can’t afford good insurance, and you wonder if it’s endangering your family.
19. You have to fight about money - You and your spouse constantly argue about money. You love each other, but you wonder if financial problems will end your marriage.
20. You can’t give your spouse the life they deserve - Your spouse never complains about money, but you feel guilty about not being able to do more for them.
21. You can’t afford everything your kids want for Christmas - You have to see the disappointment on your child’s face when they unwrap the last present, and what they really wanted isn’t there because you couldn’t afford it.
22. You have to dress your kids in used clothes, and it shows - Kids at school make fun of your children because they wear used clothes, and it kills you to know you can’t afford to buy them the latest fashions.
23. You can’t afford for your spouse to stay at home with the kids - Your spouse wants to stay at home and take care of the kids, but you can’t afford it. You both have to work and watch your children grow up in day care.
Management:
24. You have to read the financial and business sections of the newspaper - Everyday, you check the financial and business sections of the newspaper to make sure you’re not going to be blindsided by something. And it nearly bores you to death.
25. You have to save money out of every paycheck - You’re already just barely getting by on your pay, but to get ahead, you have to deduct a portion of your paycheck for savings, making it that much more meager.
26. You have to worry about doing your taxes - The IRS gives you cold sweats. You’d rather do anything but deal with them, but whenever you make a dollar, you have to make sure they know about it. Otherwise, you’re punished later.
27. You have to pay people to protect your money - Attorneys, accountants, financial planners — you have to pay all of them to protect your money. You just wish everyone would leave you alone and you didn’t need an army of suits to guard your financial future.
28. You have to learn how to invest - Learning how to invest is work. Tedious, boring work, and you hate having to learn it.
29. You risk losing money that you worked hard to get - Sometimes, you make a bad financial move and lose a portion of your savings. You traded hours of your life for that money, and it kills a part of you to see it washed away.
30. You have to set aside the time to pay bills - You despise paying the bills, mainly because you have to spend hours figuring out where to find the money and worrying about making a mistake. But they keep on coming.
Work:
31. You have to take a well-paying job instead of a meaningful one - When you were a kid, you didn’t dream of being a help desk technician/corporate executive/attorney/whatever, but you have to do it to pay the bills.
32. You have to be nice to your boss - You don’t like your boss, but you have to kiss their ass anyway, no matter how much you hate being inauthentic.
33. You have to take work home with you - In the old days, people use to leave their work at the office. But not anymore. Every night, you bring home a to-do list and feel suspiciously taken advantage of.
34. You worry about losing your job - The thought of losing your job scares you, and it’s the motivation for almost everything you do at work. You hate living in fear, but that’s your life.
35. You have to sit in traffic - How much of your life have you wasted, sitting in traffic at peak times to get to work? You can’t bear to think about it.
36. You had to spend years in school - Instead of playing and having fun when you were a kid and teenager, you went to school — a 16 year preparation program for work. Maybe it was necessary, but you wish you could have enjoyed those years more. Life as an adult kind of sucks.
37. You have to compete against others - It bothers you that everything about money seems to be a competition. If you get a good job, then someone else doesn’t. If you make a good investment, then someone else misses the opportunity. You wish your gain wasn’t someone else’s loss.
38. You have to do extra for a promotion - If you want to advance and make more money, you can’t just “do your job.” You have to “go beyond the call of duty.” The problem is, constantly “going beyond” can consume your life.
What Have I Missed?
Tell me, what have I missed? What are some of the things that you hate most about money?
Or do you think I’m totally wrong?
Either way, leave me a comment and let me know what you think. I’m going to be writing a lot more about this over the next few weeks and eventually releasing a manifesto on the subject.
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December 10th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
I think you pretty much said it all! Great post!
December 10th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
Wow. Hard-hitting stuff. I felt some of these, and I’m sure some people are practically flinching. I was taking an alpha wave break the other day (my version of a nap) and I came out of it realizing that I have not even begun to operate at the level of which I know I’m capable and how immense my desire is to provide for and protect my family. Some of these points really brought that back.
Dugg, btw.
December 10th, 2007 at 11:54 pm
One more reason, a twist,
Because you realize you have to spend money on some things that you can’t really afford because they are they few things that make it bearable, make you able to stand how you feel and what you think and have to do about money.
I flinch at so many of these; the truth hurts, but somehow it feels better to see it in the cold black and white. facing it comes before being able to change it. You have courage to write this,andI thank you. Well done. Essie
December 11th, 2007 at 12:18 am
Another possible reason would be your wife and children spend it without knowing how hard you worked to earn it.
December 11th, 2007 at 1:07 am
Boo! You’re so negative!
December 11th, 2007 at 7:17 am
@Michael: True. Fear can motivate you to take action. That’s one reason why I wrote this post, but not the only one, as you’ll see tomorrow.
@Essie: Good one! And most welcome
@David: Ha! Another good one.
@Tad: Always glad to see a comment from you. Sometimes, being negative is the only way to really communicate about something. I’ll clarify tomorrow.
December 11th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
I totally disagree with you. Loose debt and make your money work hard for you. Then you will be able to do all of the things you listed that you can’t do. It’s not rocket science.
December 11th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
That’s a pretty thorough list, but what is the alternative you are proposing?
December 11th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
You know, a lot of these worries can be eliminated simply by making the wise decision to not live beyond your means. Credit is a luxury, and ultimately it only serves to get MORE credit, and perpetuate debt. As for your long hours at work, your “need” to make more money, etc. All of these revolve around one thing - the CHOICE to live an unsustainable lifestyle. You want to buy a house in the city, instead of the country. You want a new car, instead of taking the bus. You want You want You want. See the common denominator?
December 11th, 2007 at 2:23 pm
This is so true! Especially number 33, there is that suspicion…
December 11th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
This post rang true enough that I felt pretty sad after reading it.
I think one of the biggest problems in America today is the >50% divorce rate. The number one reason for divorce is often cited as being “money.” Jon touched on that pretty well with reason number 19. Of course, some people divorce to take the other person’s money (could that possibly be added as another reason to hate money?).
There’s many healthcare reasons cited. I think the author liked watching “Sicko” as much as I did.
I think reason number 36 should be amended. I think it should state something like “You had to go to college for four years studying something you didn’t like.” Not many middle-class (whatever that is) people graduate high school and major in philosophy. I wonder how many people would study law/medicine/engineering if graduates didn’t command higher salaries than psychology ones?
Reason 39 should state “In school, you were more focused on getting an A than in actually learning something.” Higher grades increase chances of getting into an excellent school, which in turn increase the chances of getting a higher-paying job.
December 11th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
2 more -
You wanted financial stability, but once the company put you on salary they stopped paying you overtime. Now you miss more family time and worry that 60 hours a week won’t be enough.
and -
Whenever you fall behind a little at the end of the month, the late fees and penalties add insult to injury. You get to choose between paying a $30 fee for paying a bill 5 days late , or paying $30 in interest on a 5 day payday loan. The system is rigged to make it more expensive to be poor.
December 11th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
Why is the system rigged to make it even harder when someone is poor? Here are some examples of how the system is rigged:
1. People with lower credit scores have to pay more.
2. It’s relatively simple to make money if you have money (e.g., if I had $1M, I could make 60,000/year by investing in, say, savings bonds with an annual return of 6%).
December 11th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
The family section breaks my heart. I can live with the rest.
December 11th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
I agree with all this stuff, which is why I decided six months ago to make a massive change in my life.
I moved out of my sharehouse and lived in my kombi van. Then last week I teamed up with a mate and we bought a yacht and I quit my job. In the new year we’re going to sail it around the world, and it’s going to be incredible.
Go on, change your life before it changes you!!!
If you want to see some pics and read more about it you can check out our website: http://norris.org.au/sail/
December 11th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
I love it! This is a great list. One could add this to the 16 Steps to Becoming a Complete Loser posted on my blog -www.MelodyCampbell.com . Between these two lists you’d be a great example of the Loser’s Nightmare.
December 11th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
If you take a part-time job you will make enough money to take some of the preasure off. The trouble with that idea is that when everyone tries it the extra supply of labour drives down the price (ie. wage) and the extra income tends to drive up prices (and taxes).
December 11th, 2007 at 3:15 pm
You can add that you thought you would at least be able to HAVE a family or a house by now and you have over 7 years of post high school education (say more than one degree) and you cannot afford to do either. You still cannot pay all of your bills despite both you and your husband being “Professionals” and it is very depressing.
December 11th, 2007 at 3:18 pm
“It’s relatively simple to make money if you have money (e.g., if I had $1M, I could make 60,000/year by investing in, say, savings bonds with an annual return of 6%).”
Exactly!
This is why “Make your Money work for you” is bland, boring, out of date advice. If you do not HAVE it you cannot make it “do” anything. If all you buy are the bare neccessities but still have nothing left over and what you DO manage to save goes to major health issues then you are always perpetually poor!
December 11th, 2007 at 3:18 pm
dude you should put google ads on this, it got digged and you’d be massively rich right now if you did
December 11th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
#1 is the cause of all the others. it’s a silly list. seperate your wants from your needs. for everything that comes up ask: is it a desire or a demand? not every desire is a demand. satisfy your needs and a few desires, and you’ll be content. peace.
December 11th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
I’ve been thinking lately that it’s just not fair for someone to make unlimited amounts of money. In our world, money is power, and allowing any entity, be it a person or company, to make billions of dollars is ridiculous. Let a person take home, say 5 million dollars a year max. Or a company make 100 million max. Then they can take the rest of the year off. That would give the rest of the world a chance to make a decent living, too. This would also distribute power among the people, instead of allowing large corporations to swallow other corporations and stifle competition. I’ve never heard anyone propose this, maybe there is a good reason, but think about a monopoly game you play at home. Once someone owns all the property, you have no chance of ever getting ahead. You are always paying rent, which is what we do to those with all of the money and wealth.
December 11th, 2007 at 3:51 pm
Blog from Seth’s Blog last Saturday:
One sentence (actually, a question):
How long has it been since you went an entire day without spending any money?
I thought for a moment, looked at the time (10:30pm), and realized I hadn’t spent any money. And you?
December 11th, 2007 at 4:02 pm
One major problem with this whole line of reasoning. You need to compare each of these negatives with the alternative. How would each of these issues be different if no one accepted any medium of exchange, if you had to provide all these goods and services yourself without the benefit of trade.
December 11th, 2007 at 4:09 pm
i would just like to say that yes, these are all-too common problems. however, you have a choice as to how much you let them affect the quality of your life. you can choose to live beyond your means for some temporary comfort, and spend the rest of your life working off the debt. or you can choose not to spend more than you have, save money, and not buy unnecessary things. yes, your kids hate wearing hand-me-downs, but doing so will cause them no lasting damage. it just may, however, build character.
December 11th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
@DW … let’s think about your suggestion. Lets say the oil companies, who everyone seems to hate for making profits, decided to close down for the year after making $100M in profit the first week. Now no new petroleum related products are being manufactured, gas for your car, home heating oil, plastic, etc… bad idea. What if instead they just cut prices to only make $100M in profit. Demand for oil would increase at the lower price, but since they already have their max profit, there is no reason to invest in expanded capacity to meet demand. Then you have a shortage as demand outstrips supply and the price can’t be adjusted upward to dampen demand. The way it is now, the more profit they make, the more they invest in new oil production, increasing the supply and lowering the cost below what it would have been with less supply.
December 11th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
There is a simple solution to all this - although implementing it will be tough because the elites will resist.
But all you really have to do to reign in the negative effects of money is allow people to be self-sufficient. If a person is allowed to designate one property as their residence and they want to drop out of the financial system and live independantly they should be exempted from property taxes and could grow their own food and trade their own labor for goods. If enough people were allowed this basic right, there would at least be a way out for those who were willing to work hard.
December 11th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
@Aaron …Thanks for your response! If an oil company maxed out their revenue, then there could be 100 other companies that could produce the same commodity, so as long as there is demand, there would be people that need money and would work to produce it. Right now, without a personal income salary cap, a lot of the profit of oil companies goes to people running the companies, and not back into R&D. So by eliminating the massive extraction of money by employees, the company could have MORE incentive to invest in their company to become better. That could be by paying other companies to do R&D (specialists), or maybe taking their maximum payments up front for the year in technological licensing fees, or infrastructure renting fees, so the massive wealth being generated is spread out among more people who become involved, and may even provide more specialization. These companies would still have to compete with other companies, but not at the expense of the workforce, which would be sharing a much larger piece of the pie, and therefore living a better lifestyle.
December 11th, 2007 at 5:25 pm
I agree with everything said on this article….if you want to know why all these problems exist…please watch this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cy-fD78zyvI
December 11th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
That was terrible! Suck it up life has pretty much always sucked!
December 11th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
Or you could just live a simple life and not play the “I need everything because it exists” game. I keep my needs low, and I have a lot of play money. Try it, it works!
December 11th, 2007 at 6:20 pm
It may not seem too bright, and it may even be ridiculous to some people, but the way I get by from day to day is by doing as little as possible and finding happiness in the world around me. It’s the people that make our lives special. We’re all empty pages until someone comes along and helps us write a story. Money is unimportant. Especially when you have friends. But thats just me.
December 11th, 2007 at 6:47 pm
A few more:
1: I’m working my ass off to make money for someone who is “making their money work for them.” Those damn investors sit on their fat asses all day playing golf or sipping wine while collecting dividens on the work I am underpaid to do.
2: I’m out of shape. I sit at a desk all day, I eat fast food because of time constraints. I eat overly processed, unhealthy foods because the stuff that’s good for you is too expensive.
3: I’m not living sustainably. Apparently not harming the environment costs more, a lot more, and I can’t afford it. Even the kind of energy efficiencies that save money in the long run have an up front cost well beyond my means. I want to stop using so much gas, I want to support local agriculture, I want to buy only sustainably manufactured products that are fully recyclable, but I can’t afford it.
December 11th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
You’re right. It controls your life. Here’s another reason to hate money: you’re not the one printing it.
December 11th, 2007 at 8:04 pm
Learn about why all of these points have become unavoidably true for so many people:
watch and learn: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=AB6482C02D8CAAAD
December 11th, 2007 at 9:49 pm
Another sad thing is that when you really really need transportation in order to keep a job and you do save some money for a down payment on a vehicle. Cash in hand walk into a car dealership and you make 6 times what the car is worth yearly but they still won’t let you buy it because you haven’t developed credit debt. But some guy that works at McDonalds can buy a freaking Lexus SUV or Mercedes Benz. Even though they have 5 repos, a foreclosure and warrants + 15 children.
December 11th, 2007 at 10:01 pm
While I agree, these are pains that apply to most of us in some way or another, though my girlfriend professes to enjoy paying bills, money is not the thing we should hate. Money is an inanimate object. Ayn Rand likened money to a battery that allows us to store our labor so that we can use it later to pay for movies, food, land, or gas without having to work ALL the time.
What we should work to change is the political and social systems that have evolved around money. Our bank accounts have become the peacock feathers by which our virility is judged. Our culture uses money as a carrot to lure the hopeful into wretched circumstances — only to have the carpet ripped out from under us at the very end.
It’s the lying, the stealing, the unethical behavior that we should hate. Money we should love. What we shouldn’t love is the desire to spend more of it than we have. We buy houses bigger than we need. Cars that use too much gas. I just read an article today that said cars are 500 lbs heavier than they were in the eighties. This is the problem — not money.
I agree, these things you cite aren’t fun to deal with, but blaming money for the ills is a straw man that distracts us from the real issue. The real issues are inside us. We need to fight those demons before we can fix the money problem.
December 12th, 2007 at 1:09 am
You’ve been lied to your whole life. Your parents lied to you about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. Religion has lied to you and has taken your money and soul. Government has lied to you, given you a false national identity, stolen your money (taxes), and commanded you to kill and die in senseless wars. Education has lied to you by teaching you to be an obedient poodle, jumping through hoops, and not teaching you practical life and survival skills…but school is controlled by the elites in business and government, who need a system for churning out obedient workers. Society and culture have lied to you, by convincing you that celebrity worship, and passive consumption of mass media is preferable to building relationships with family and friends.
And let’s not even talk about the corporate controlled news media…
Lies, lies and more lies…but just wait until you are old and unable to defend yourself from the insurance and pharmaceutical industry, which is set up to fuck you in the ass and take all the money you saved your whole work life.
In short, FUCK AMERICA!
December 12th, 2007 at 3:22 am
lol. I jus’ wrote somethin’ [open poetry. rather more like prose. but. meh. philosophy is an art to me]
“Art was to express,
not a means for money.
You won’t pay me when I sell books,
you’ll pay those who made those copies.
You’ll never pay me a dime,
of your fucking money shit.”
with a side note : -I’m gonna laugh at this one day, when I’m rich. or poor.
but. bleh. I googled ‘hate money’. then I found this. funny it was written only 2 days ago.
Some very interesting replies to this list.
And yes. the family part of this list is quite heart wrenching.
and it is interestin’ that we shouldn’t care about materialistic things, as Fight Club (Brad Pitt, Edward Norton) suggests.
=/ it’s sad though… we really should be able to give the life our spouse deserves.
I believe though,
there will always be a way.
’sides illegal ways.
to make enough money. writing a book seems like a good idea, any one can do it.
how many authors have ya came by and said ‘who the fux?”
lol. I dunno actually, how well authors get it for their years work in low pay jobs here and there to end up with a book that might not get anywhere.
As a previous person said,
we should jus’ smile at what we do have [family. friends. nature. our health]. it’s the best thing we can do, smile when we’re dying.
December 12th, 2007 at 3:24 am
I disagree. Money is just an asset. This is like blaming your spoon because your soup is cold. But you can’t eat your soup without a spoon!
On the other hand, if you’re such against this system, let us know your solution.
December 12th, 2007 at 4:33 am
i hate money, because some people have to kill to get it .. and some people dont mind killing to get more of it.
i hate money, because companies do sick things just to produce cheaper and earn more money.
i hate money, because everything you can buy for it is getting worse and worse while becoming more and more expensive .. for no equitable reason.
December 12th, 2007 at 8:34 am
iam just 18 but i know a lot of thing about money due to i am also have managing my self of spending it
may i add one reason to hate money?
this is what my mother always said to us if we are speaking or acting greedy about money
” you will never brought your money in your own tomb”
mmy mom always try to make as know that we should not love money or make oueselves alaves of it
due to money is just an accesory of any human being
as like in the cake for example money was just a decoration and not the bread which is the most important
there are lot of things to prioritize rather than mopney but i am not saying that we should ignore it
we just need to have proper way of using it
December 12th, 2007 at 8:48 am
This is an interesting post, but such a PATHETIC commentary on those who identify it with on many of its points. This appears like it was written by a 12 year old child who has to do his chores before he is given his allowance. There are so many things wrong with this post and its title I don’t know where to begin.
Speaking generally the title ’38 reasons to hate money and everything it requires’. ‘everything it requires… ‘ it being money. Money does not require a job, earning money requires a job or exchange of services or theft. I was curious about the article partly because I expected something interesting and unique about what money requires. How it requires economic system, a governing body, a banking system, how its mismanagement can lead to uncontrolled inflation or recession.
I will pick on some detailed things that are fundamentally wrong with the article. The use of the word ‘Deserve’. Many of us get what we ‘deserve’. Yes many don’t. But why would any body assume they ‘deserve the best’ of something especially a ‘cell phone’ ?
Anybody reading, and I mean ANYBODY reading is better off statistically than most people in this whole world.. and what did they do to ‘deserve’ that privilege ? Nothing… they were just born in a place they had the opportunity to read, to have access to a computer, to be in a place that has power.
I have enjoyed rambling…. But to anybody who is commenting on this story and thinks it is ‘oh so true’… WAKE UP… if anything you realize you are too materialistic think about your NEEDS… ‘cell phones, dating wealthier people ?
In conclusion ‘ Be sure to read to the end.’ THERE IS NOTHING AT THE END to justify that. You could have just written ‘ Please read it all even though there is no reason to and nothing at the end of interest that puts things into perspective…’ Maybe that is too long. BUT seriously there is no offer of a better solution or better system than Money. I wish I would not have wasted my time on it… the only thing good of it is that I got to have fun ranting.
December 12th, 2007 at 11:42 am
I can’t say that I agree with most (if not all) of these points. It seems to point out the fact that we’re addicted to what money gives us, i.e. status. I make a decent living, and I don’t have an issue with any of these things. I spend plenty of time with my wife, child, and family (which is rather big). We own a home, each have a vehicle, and the bills are paid for. And we’re happy. My cell phone doesn’t define me. Neither does my car, my neighborhood, clothes, or anything else shallow and superficial. Maybe looking inside and determining WHY you need to make so much money would be a good exercise.
I don’t hate money, I hate what it makes of people.
December 12th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
[…] 38 Reasons to Hate Money and Everything It Requires […]
December 12th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
I could relate to most of the reasons for hating money, but hated the fact that a lot of the comments mentioned that people need to spend less on wants…and that they ‘deserve’ what they get for living beyond their means. This is true in a lot of situations…but I also know that there are a lot of people hating money and in debt because of reasons beyond their control…or going to college in order to make more money…which only results in life-long repayment of student loans!
My husband and I do not live beyond our means, but since graduating college and finding decent payment jobs, we still haven’t managed to crawl out of the hole of student loan debt. Albeit not that much, it’s managed to keep us from obtaining the things that we desire — like a new house and children.
And it’s not from lack of trying. All through college, we both worked menial jobs that paid minimum wage. My parents had saved up a lot of money since I was little for me to use for college. But, it was used up much quicker than expected due to rising tuition costs because my mom decided to move out of district. And even though I didn’t move with her, technically, my address did…as I was forced to still have her address in order to stay on her health insurance. That, and my father neglected to inform me until the day before my wedding that he was going to stop helping me with college once I got married. Something that would’ve been nice to know when we announced we were getting married. Perhaps we would’ve postponed the wedding until closer to finishing school had we known.
All these things against our control have damaged our near future of being able to obtain a nice home and have children. Again, all things beyond our control, yet money still at the root of it all.
December 13th, 2007 at 7:51 pm
I had a good friend who always reminded us…money is not all (long pause) it’s everything (uncontrolled laughter).
I hate money but I always keep things in perspective…
December 13th, 2007 at 11:37 pm
This post reminded me about how happy I am that I don’t live in North American anymore. People in the US and Canada feel like they don’t have any money because they are spending it all the time on things they don’t need! Shopping plays such a central role in life there, and everyone feels pressure to wear the nicest clothes, drive the nicest cars, and have the coolest gadgets. Oh, and they’re eating out all the time and buying Starbucks coffee. And there’s the requisite vacations…
When you remove all that, you actually do have money left over to help others, etc. And if you are lucky enough to live in a society (as I do) where people aren’t rated by their income, then that also takes the pressure off.
My kids wear hand-me-downs, I shop at the cheapest stores, we don’t eat fancy food and our car is a 92 (and it drives!). I don’t have to worry about expensive car payments, insurance, etc., and no keeping-up-with-the-Joneses for me! My kids go to schools with other kids like them, so there is none of this name-brand nonsense.
And don’t think I live a low-class, terrible life: my husband and I are both heavily involved in the hi-tech industry and are working with such exciting people and on such exciting innovations!
I guess the only thing to do when you live in a materialistic society like you do, is to try to rise above it and not give in to the pressures. It makes life so much easier and more enjoyable. And then you don’t hate money, especially since you can share it with others who need it!
December 14th, 2007 at 5:47 am
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December 15th, 2007 at 9:49 am
[…] the reason why I wrote 38 Reasons to Hate Money and Everything It Requires. I thought it would resonate with people, and it did. The post got over 700 votes on digg and […]
December 15th, 2007 at 9:03 pm
“6. You feel guilty for not pursuing your dreams - You told yourself you were going to live a grand life of happiness and adventure, but here you are, sitting in front of a computer.”
Oh my! Look what I’ve become!
December 17th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
Talk about misplaced hatred. Perhaps there’s reason enough to hate your job. Or the people who judge you by your income. That would be a reasonable response. Hating money for those reasons is like hating the police because there’s crime.
December 18th, 2007 at 10:56 am
[…] Onmoneymaking gives 38 reasons to hate money […]
January 5th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
I don’t know if those are really reasons to hate money, but they are reasons to earn enough to be in control of your destiny, so you can have the money to make decisions rather than have your money dictate what you do.
I am a big advocate for being self employed or at least having a home based business on the side for both extra income and tax advantages.
January 9th, 2008 at 3:59 am
Great list.
Sounds like you looked into the dimensions of many lives.
The focus on money always seem to either make us look at what we don’t have or…make us look at the life we are not living.
I come to find out that money-family-career balance (or non-balance) tilts the money-hate-scale one way or another.
Thanks for taking the time to give such a comprehensive list on the money balance issue.
Now, my personal challenge is to take what I’ve read…and do something about.
Something different. Something solution-oriented toward bringing just a little more money-family-career balance my way.
Again…thanks for sharing your insight.
January 20th, 2008 at 10:43 am
I believe money is a positive because it provides natural equilibrium. Maybe the amount of money one has is calling them to do a real evaluation of their life expectations. My suggestion is to ponder how to live more simply, find joy in non-consumer ways, create experiences with loved ones where memories are generated instead of debt. At some point one has to come to his or her senses and recognize that life happiness is influenced significantly by one’s life attitudes. One’s income stream can continually increase, without one’s life satisfaction experience increasing.
February 2nd, 2008 at 12:13 am
america’s job bank
I Googled for something completely different, but found your page…and have to say thanks. nice read.
February 10th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
You hate money for the same reason you hate those handsome bastards who always get the girl of your dreams. ( read beautiful girl/ boy of your dreams if you are female or gay).
No money is hated by those that don’t have it. They lok up to the likes of Trump, Gates, Buffet etc all sad lonely bastards who don’t trust anyone.
I’ve said it a million times but go and create something of your own. Stop copying others successes and find your own.
All these “entrepeneurs” I read about, all trying to sell books on how to -traffic, SEO, blogg for millions etc ; Get a Job and stop trying to capitalise on the web.
The only people making serious money are the likes of Gates, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and the worst of the lot; robbers like Adsense.
C’mon start to like it; you don’t need a lot so stop attempting the millionaire pitch and get real. 200K per year is ample.
The Baldchemist
March 10th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
Sounds more than a bit depressing. You can have a life without all of those concerns if you are willing to go for it. There will be sacrifices - but it can be done. You can be satisfied with no money or with lots of it. You can make family time and still have a career, you can’t afford to help worthy causes? Come on…get real. It all depends on your priorities and it is in your control.
March 12th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
you cant afford to go to the college you have worked so hard to get into… =( (sorry, just been told i wont go)
March 31st, 2008 at 10:26 pm
This is such a good list. I love it. It’s good to know my hate of money (as a taskmaster in life) is quite well-founded and justifiably shared by huge numbers of people.
April 7th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
The problem is Human. Take them out of the equation and every problem in the world is solved. Pollution and disease would not exist. The world would be a better place. Humankind has not offered the world anything positive, because humans only think of themselves. We are a very selfish greedy species. We act more like a virus. We migrate to an area and multiply. We are like “aids”, slowly killing Earth everyday.
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