I Dont Want to Be Funny
I don't want to be a millionaire.
That might seem like a weird thing to say but it's the truth so I'm leading with it.
I don't want to be a millionaire. Seriously.
I've thought about this a lot over the years. Not constantly but it's one of those things that has always sort of lingered in the back of my mind.
And now, at 30 years old, I feel confident about my conclusion.
I don't want to be millionaire. And here's why.
Why I don't want to be a millionaire
There are four key reasons I don't have any interest in being a millionaire.
I don't want to chase money for the sake of having more money
I am a big believer in the idea that the purpose of money is to spend it. What that looks like will look differently for everyone. But at this point in my life, I am not interested in having money for the sake of having money.
That's not to say I don't think it's important to have savings (like an emergency fund) or plan for retirement. Those things absolutely matter.
But simply chasing money for the sake of having more money doesn't appeal to me or align with my values.
Money and happiness aren't mutually exclusive
Money can't buy happiness is a total cliche, but I've really found it to be true in my own life.
This is not to say I have never spent money on something I've enjoyed — I definitely have.
But the older I get, the more I find my happiness and joy is linked less to stuff.
Additionally, while making more money at my job over the years has helped in many ways, I wouldn't say it has me happier.
Having a higher salary has made it easier to pay the bills, but it comes with a trade off. The jobs that have enabled my salary to grow have been the kind of jobs you don't just leave at the office at the end of the day.
Thankfully, I enjoy the work I do for the most part, but I think this is an important thing to note.
Having a lot of money can change you — and it's not always for the better.
Growing up lower income helped shape me into who I am today.
Not only did it teach me how to steward my resources well, I think it also taught me to have empathy and understanding for those who have less than I do.
My financial situation has changed a lot over the years. Once we clear our debt, we will be solidly middle class. But regardless of how our income changes, it's important to me to maintain those important lessons about empathy and understanding that I learned from my upbringing.
I'm not sure if I would be able to do that if I was ridiculously rich. Sure, I like to think I'd be able to remember my roots, but I can't say for sure.
We don't need more people with a ridiculous amount of money
Much like I think it's messed up that we have normalized the idea of young people starting out their lives buried in student loan debt, it's also wild to me that there is someone out there with a net worth of $126 BILLION while others struggle to keep the lights on.
I'm not here to say people who make a lot of money don't work for it. I'm sure they do. And if making millions is your goal, go you! I mean that sincerely.
Personally, though? I don't see why any person would ever need that kind of money.
The millionaire who took a million dollar pay cut
In an interesting twist of fate, the day I planned to edit this post, I read a fascinating story about the CEO of Gravity Payments.
In 2015, Dan Price introduced a $70,000 minimum salary for all his staff — and took a pay cut of $1 million to make it happen.
What he said in an interview with the BBC really struck me:
"People are starving or being laid off or being taken advantage of, so that somebody can have a penthouse at the top of a tower in New York with gold chairs.
"We're glorifying greed all the time as a society, in our culture. And, you know, the Forbes list is the worst example – 'Bill Gates has passed Jeff Bezos as the richest man.' Who cares!?"
The article goes on to explain what happened after he implemented the minimum salary for all staff, including himself.
And well, the results speak for themselves. Not only has the business continued to grow, but it also had a significant impact on staff, enabling them to pay off debts, contribute to their pensions, buy houses and have children.
Their lives improved in so many ways.
A million dollar lesson from the million dollar pay cut
There are a lot of things to like about the Gravity Payments story. However, as I reflected on it, I kept coming back to the impact the change had on the CEO.
Taking a one million dollar pay cut meant he had to change his lifestyle. The article notes prior to the pay cut, he was living the young, tech billionaire lifestyle. After, he started renting rooms at his house out through AirBnb to stay afloat.
And yet, at the end of the story, he concluded his life is better.
How is this possible?
It seems to me the CEO learned something important through the experience: that some for others means less — not none — for him.
What does this mean for me?
So if I don't want to be a million, what do I want instead?
Put simply, I want to be in a place where we are financially comfortable. Perhaps more significantly, I want to be in a place where we can use our money to help others more.
Giving is something that is really important to me. Again, I think it's because of how I grew up, but I feel strongly about sharing whatever wealth I have.
Being in a financial position to meet the needs of my own family and help others is my goal.
Final Thoughts
It took me a while to realize it, but I don't want to be a millionaire.
The older I get, the more certain of this I become. I much prefer the idea of a life where we make the money we need to meet our needs and have capacity to help others. That's more important to me than the amount of money in our bank account.
How would you define being rich?
Source: http://www.ourbillpickle.com/confession-dont-want-to-be-a-millionair/
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