Is it wrong to want to make lots of money?

[Sampaterson]

I come from a very humble background however, in recentyears all I really want to do is make money. is this wrong?

 

While I know you should try and find a job you are passionate about or if you are starting a business you should really be looking at a business idea that people will use as it is not enough to just say you want to make money. though that is all i really want to be doing is making money.

is that wrong? The reason I ask is when i say this to friends and family they often insist I should be more focused on job satisfaction as opposed to the money side. What do you think?

[amaysngrace]

I think making money is equally as important as doing work you love. You don't want to put in a full weeks worth of work and struggle to pay bills anymore than you'd want to spend 8 hours a day (a third of your life!) doing something that you aren't happy doing.

 

While money is important there other things that are worth much more.

[CautiouslyOptimistic]

As long as you can still maintain happiness and stay a decent, humble, kind, giving person, there's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to make a lot of money .

[Michelle ma Belle]

It's about having balance. Nothing wrong with working hard and making as much money as you can but if it's at the expense of your health, friends, family, partner, kids, then it could be a problem.

 

Coming from humble beginnings can definitely be a motivating factor to wanting to make money. Couple that with being young and not having lived a full life to truly appreciate those other aspects of life that make for a well rounded existence. Ambition is great but it also comes at a cost if you're not careful.

 

What are you doing to make money? What is your plan, or do you even have plan?

[carhill]

Welcome to LS....

 

Do you plan on continuing in the culture which apparently currently is sending you the message to work in a job which satisfies you to live in a comfortable and modest manner? Fit is important, presuming you wish to be a social creature. A fish out of water dies.

 

What does money mean to you? Why?

 

Does your culture take a lot from those who earn a lot? If they do, that's a factor to consider because you end up working for your culture and need to decide if you believe in that culture you're plowing through life supporting, else you'll risk the joy in the work, presuming you gain joy from it.

 

Unless you can achieve such earning quietly and privately, the more you earn the bigger a target you are.

 

I've seen a number of sides in my decades on the planet and always remember the words of a successful friend I've often had beers with and who's shared the problems are the same just the numbers are different. I've seen a lot of truth in that.

 

Up to you. Myself, moving into the later stages of life, I find peace in simplicity. Other folks will be doing deals and grabbing the green until they're dead. Big world, lots of choices. I wish you well in yours.

[d0nnivain]

It's easier to make money when you have job satisfaction. If you hate what you do, no matter the size of the paycheck you will have difficulty getting yourself geared up to do the job.

 

 

Some jobs don't pay as well as others but it's really OK to want to make money.

[Sampaterson]

"What are you doing to make money? What is your plan, or do you even have plan? "

I'm currently working in a manual labour job, it's not great and I definitely don't enjoy it but the only plus is that it's long hours which makes up for the low pay. To be honest I don't really have a plan at the moment.

I'm really looking to save as much as I can in the next few months and then take it from there. Not much of a plan, I know.

[ZayKayWill]

No it's not. People are gonna look at me crazy for this, but I find the whole 'follow your passion' trend/fad to be a bit overrated and a bit unrealistic. If you CAN indeed follow your passion and it pays all the bills for you and provides proper financial security, then by all means go for it. But a lot of the time no matter how hard you work, you need to get lucky in order to be able to achieve that. Not all the time, but a lot of the time that usually is the case.

 

 

Back in the day, people HAD NO CHOICE but to work on factories and farms. People don't realize how blessed we are in this day and age with all the opportunities we have. A lot of the time getting your 'dream job' is about who you know and not so much what you know sadly. So for example if you wanted to say be a famous actor, you would have to work a lot harder for it than someone who knew someone in the acting business already or someone who has a natural ability for acting and just so happens to be able to get that opportunity faster than the person next to him.

 

 

When it all comes down to it, you need to be practical about the career you go after. A career is strictly a means to make money to help you survive. All there is to it. That's not to say that job satisfaction isn't important. It's very important. You should never work in an industry that you hate, but the sad reality is that some people just aren't going to have a job that makes them feel like they're on drugs all the time. Some people gotta work as police officers, some people gotta work as plumbers, some people gotta get up and pick up people's garbage, some people gotta clean porter potties etc etc....

 

 

So no. It's not bad that you want to make lots of money. In fact I would say it's quite the opposite. I think the fact that you want to make lots of money to help you (and presumably your future children) is actually very good and quite generous of you. Money makes the world go 'round after all. I would say it's only bad if you decide to be super greedy with your money.

 

 

I highly recommend watching this video. It goes super deep on what you're talking about in terms of 'job satisfaction' vs 'making money'.

 

 

Edited November 21, 2017 by ZayKayWill

[HiCrunchy]

Why would that be wrong?

A lot of people want to make a lot of money because money provides you will access to most of the things that you want in life.

 

Now to want money, for the sake of having money, I would rethink that a bit.

[Fair]

Heck, no its not wrong!!!

 

I'm in the process of making a lot of money doing what I love... but making a lot of money regardless would make up for a lot.

 

Money doesn't buy happiness. But it doesn't buy depression, either. You can't enjoy your life if you don't have enough money to make you financially secure enough to have some freedom. Who wants to be tied to a ball and chain all your life? That's what having no money does... it becomes all work and no play and you don't enjoy your life... all you do is struggle to make ends meet.

 

People who have a lot of money are the only ones who are completely free... and no, they don't all commit suicide like the few cases that get air time. Somehow the fact that they had 'money' is always indirectly blamed. But that's B.S. If money is what you want... go for it.

[LivingWaterPlease]

Sampaterson, it sounds as if you might be just getting started in your career and life away from home?

 

Try this. Imagine yourself at the end of a nice long life. Let's give you 95 years, to be generous!

 

Write a few pages about the life that would have been perfect for that man to have lived and what you would want a young man like yourself to know about that 95 year-old that would influence you to respect him.

 

Then write out the steps of how to get there and you may know, or be closer at least, to knowing what place money has in the grand scheme of things for your life!

 

It doesn't matter what others think but it will matter a whole lot at the end of your life what you think about how you have lived and what has been your focus in life.

[carhill]

Well-worn but with some truth....

 

We make plans and then life happens

 

Also....

 

Take care how you treat those on your way up for you invariably meet them again on your way down

 

Lastly....

 

Success is where preparation and opportunity meet

 

You choose what your definition of 'success' is....

[Buriall]

Love of money is the root of ALL EVIL!!!

[jjgitties]

I come from a very humble background however, in recentyears all I really want to do is make money. is this wrong?

 

While I know you should try and find a job you are passionate about or if you are starting a business you should really be looking at a business idea that people will use as it is not enough to just say you want to make money. though that is all i really want to be doing is making money.

is that wrong? The reason I ask is when i say this to friends and family they often insist I should be more focused on job satisfaction as opposed to the money side. What do you think?

 

No. There is nothing wrong with that plan. All businesses are in the business of making money and there is no reason why you should not treat yourself as an investment in yourself and be looking for ways to maximize your own ROI out of yourself.

 

Where things get a little tricky is that you, as a human, are made up of a lot more than your money and possessions. Where it gets even trickier is when you are over the hill and aging and you second guess yourself and why you made the choices you did and perhaps you find yourself unfulfilled by what you have been doing with your live for the past X number of years and want to make a change but you can't because you realize you can't afford a pay cut, you can't afford to start over again, no one wants to hire you for something else because they either don't believe you are capable of anything else or they think you are too old.

 

My advice to you, if you are a young person without family and commitments is, now is the time to discover who you are and what you want to be and perhaps find a passion in your life. It will only get harder and more complicated to do so as you get older and get strapped down with obligations and commitments.

 

best of luck to you

[d0nnivain]

I'm currently working in a manual labour job, it's not great and I definitely don't enjoy it but the only plus is that it's long hours which makes up for the low pay. To be honest I don't really have a plan at the moment.

I'm really looking to save as much as I can in the next few months and then take it from there. Not much of a plan, I know.

 

What little it is, your plan is short sighted.

 

At a minimum if money is your goal you need to learn more about it, especially the miracle of compound interest over time & investing. As a beginning, try saving 10% of what you earn. If you can't do that at least try 5%. Just sock it away in a bank. Once you have 1 year of living expenses under your belt, keep saving. When you get an extra $1,000 over that 1 year e-fund, invest it. Buy stock.

 

Also learn about developing multiple income streams. All of that is needed to accumulate wealth.

 

For now your short term goal needs to be education -- library here you come.

[Sampaterson]

What little it is, your plan is short sighted.

 

At a minimum if money is your goal you need to learn more about it, especially the miracle of compound interest over time & investing. As a beginning, try saving 10% of what you earn. If you can't do that at least try 5%. Just sock it away in a bank. Once you have 1 year of living expenses under your belt, keep saving. When you get an extra $1,000 over that 1 year e-fund, invest it. Buy stock.

 

Also learn about developing multiple income streams. All of that is needed to accumulate wealth.

 

For now your short term goal needs to be education -- library here you come.

 

Dear D0nnivan,

I really like your message. You are right, my long term goals are somewhat short sighted. However, the reason I'm looking to save as much as I can in the next 5 months is that there is a computer programing course that I am interested in doing so I need to save up for that.

Furthermore, it is very interesting that you mention investing, as this is something I really would like to learn more about. I hear e-funds are far better as they have cheaper commission costs. I have also heard about Spread betting. though I hear it is very high risk. Do you have any recommendations on e funds, creating multiple income streams that you could suggest? Either books, websites and you tube videos?

Hope you are well, Sam

[Sampaterson]

Dear LS community,

 

 

You have all gave me so much information to think about and I can't thank you enough. I would quote most of you in replies but I will be going to work soon so I am a bit short of time. though I will be following this up in the coming days. I have copied and pasted the responses I like the most into a Microsoft word document to reflect on them when I am in need of it.

 

 

you have all gave fantastic points for me to reflect on! Thank you!

[d0nnivain]

Do not invest on your own especially through e-funds until you know what the heck you are doing. DIY investing is a great way to lose your shirt.

 

 

Get a good broker you trust who educates you & talks to you. Your first few investments should be mutual funds to spread the risk. The commissions you spend are for the other person's expertise. Don't be penny wise & pound foolish.

 

 

Read books from the library about money management. Start with the easy gloss over stuff like Rich Dad Poor Dad; the Millionaire Next Door and anything by Warren Buffet. Check out websites like the Motley Fool & MSN money. Read things like Money magazine and the Wall Street Journal. Both are available for free at the library; you don't have to pay for expensive subscriptions.

 

 

Many websites will give you idea for multiple income streams: a PT job; selling stuff on e-bay; driving for a ride share service; renting your home or part of your home out on VBRO or Airbnb. You want to graduate to passive income: owing rental properties; having investments, owning your own company so other employees make you money etc.

[fixerupper]

I come from a very humble background however, in recentyears all I really want to do is make money. is this wrong?

Nope. But like others have said, try to find a balance and find ways to enjoy life while making money and figure out what makes you tick.

 

 

As a sidenote, I've been working a job I've grown to hate for a few years now. It was fun in the beginning like most jobs are, but you never know how you feel about something 5 years down the line.

 

 

I make an average salary but I've been saving 60% of it, educated myself on investing and now have a portfolio of assets that pays me money every month. In 4-5 years I will be financially independent at age 37. Imagine being able to make life decisions without money being a constraint. If you didn't have to work all day, what would you do?

 

 

Spending more the more you make won't necessarily make you happier, so my best advice is keep expenses down and after a few years buy your own freedom. I know people who retired on as little as $300k before they turned 40.

 

 

Your biggest expenses are likely to be housing, transportation and food so I suggest looking at those to begin with.

[LurkerXX]

Extra earnings can lead to being in a position to expand a passion, plan for emergencies, invest, help others. I suppose the most important thing is to not forget to expand the plan of what to do with your savings, and to not be too busy to figure out what you really want.

[mortensorchid]

It's not wrong. Money is what makes the world go round. It can help with happiness, that's to be sure. YOu don't have to worry about debts and horror stories of having to go without.

 

It's not wrong to want to make it and it's not wrong to want to have a lot of it. Don't let it consume you, though.