Money is not Evil

We have all heard that …money is the root of all evil. However, that is not the actual quote. It makes a difference and we will be talking about it in this post. The real quote is:

For the LOVE of money, this does not state that money is evil but the love of it is. This seemingly minor detail is the source of many people having a horrible relationship with money.

Have you heard some of these sayings?

• “Money doesn’t grow on trees.”
• “I am not made out of money.”
• “Money won’t make you happy.” ~ my favorite

One of the best comebacks for the last one is, “Being poor won’t make you happy either.” This is all “Small Thinking” if person A says that they want to make $60,000 and person B says they want to make a million dollars. Now let us say they both fail by 30%, person A made $42,000 and person B made $700,000.

For myself, it is not the money that I love but the freedom and experiences that it CAN buy. When I was growing up my father and I were poor, not world poor, but American poor. My father could make the best beans. This stressed my dad out so much. I never wanted that life for my family.

Definitely Happier With More Money

I joined the Army and I was still poor, I had food, room/apartment, cell phone, and Xbox. I was doing OK. Got married, had Mary’s pay, my pay, received BAH and other benefits we were upper poor. It wasn’t until we had kids and both Mary and I got out of the military that I really started to work on my marketability, not for money, but for me. What happened was, the more that I invested into myself the more I was valued.

I went from making SGT pay about $32,958, to $130,000 in Afghanistan as a contractor. Then, I was headhunted for a contracting job in Iraq for $125,000, the benefits made it worth the move. My next position was in Seattle for about $69,000. Now you can see I wasn’t chasing the almighty dollar. Why you may ask? We, at the time, thought this move would be a better work-life balance. It wasn’t. It was, however, a great opportunity to show off my skills and it paid off. Next, I was offered a position in South Korea, pay $65,000 with many other uplifts and benefits. The biggest was living overseas and being able to have my children immersed in their culture.

While overseas we were able to spend money on something that is FAR more valuable, TIME.

Time with family and friends making memories and having unique experiences. Such as paying for my mom to fly from Southern California to Korea. Paying for my brother to visit us in Korea and then on a whim buy the family tickets to spend a week in Cebu Philippines. This is what makes me want to do better. If that means making more money to do it, well then I need to find better ways at doing that. Going on a cruise with a family of 5 is not a cheap adventure, but the ROI is worth more than the money. Our First Cruise.

On February 20, 2020, Mary had to take our son to the ER because he was kicked in the knee on the bus. The ER visit cost $500 co-pay. I was glad to easily pay it to get access to treatment. Another example of how money reduces stress in an already stressful situation.

One of the greatest feelings that I get is not worrying about the price when we go out to eat or some entertainment. This is a far cry from Mary’s and my childhood.

When Money Makes You Miserable

I believe that the blogs that create the most value are the ones that are transparent.

When someone says “more money more problems” I cringe inside. Most people use money in ways that make them less happy. I know I may have lost some of you there, but stick with me and I will show you that I am no exception. Even knowing what we know, we are all susceptible to it, it is how we act once we see it.

I was promoted twice more and we moved back to the United States now I make over $100,000, but and this is a BIG BUT, we took on more debt and live in a place that is more taxed and expensive. We wanted the best school in the area for our children, this decision has us living in an apartment and rents $2,300 per month.

We needed a car once we returned to the United States and our Van was taking a long time to arrive from Korea. I also wanted a Tacoma truck, so now we have 3 vehicles and are paying about $1,200 per month in car payments. We have 2 consolidation loans of about $700 per month (we have better interest rates) because we paid for the move from Korea to the States on a credit card.

This is one of the biggest downfalls of making more money if you are not ready for it or plan it. At one point we were $102,893.40 in debt (know your numbers). Extra money won’t make you happy if it tethers you to a heavily indebted lifestyle.

Perhaps the love of money and debt is a more apt depiction of the root of evil. In my post Murdering Debt, I show one of the tactics we are using in combating debt for a freer future. I will write more posts on tactics on how to increase your income as we are on the same journey.

Bottom Line

Money will make you happier only if you choose to spend it in accordance with your values and your preferences. I couldn’t say it better than Sam over at Financial Samurai.

“When people start telling you money can’t buy happiness, take a good hard look at their finances. They are likely telling you this because they don’t have much money themselves. They haven’t tasted the freedom money buys. And if they so happen to be research Ph.D.’s, well you can forget about their advice right there. If they are super-rich, then you know they are just trying to blend in and not look selfish.”

“Money can buy happiness because money buys peace of mind and opportunities for great experiences. Don’t be fooled by ego-consoling research and those who espouse! They are just trying to keep you from achieving your financial goals so they can feel better about themselves.”

Money is a tool, a means to an end. That end is peace of mind and opportunities for great experiences. I believe that it is my duty to provide the very best I can for my family. I know you believe the same.

6 Stages of wealth is a great resource.