There’s a clear reason why people neglect their families to work overtime, spend thousands of dollars a year on lottery tickets and even commit crimes — to have more money. Besides our health and our time, money is one of our most valuable resources and I don’t think too many people would disagree with the fact that having money is essential to living a good life. However, when people try and sell you on why you should make more money they will tell you that you should earn more to save more, invest more and the like and this is true but those aren’t the real reasons that should motivate your income efforts. Today, I’m going to share with you the most raw, real and honest reasons you need to make more money so get your notepad out because class is in session!
Reason #1: To Feel Like You’re Worth A Damn
In a perfect world, your worth as a person would be determined by how thoughtful you are or by how much you enrich the lives of those around you. Unfortunately, this utopic world I just described is not the one we are living in and as such we tend to gauge people’s worth by less dignified means. So, how do we measure other’s success? No, it’s not by how many doors you’ve held open for others or how many volunteer hours you’ve racked up. Your success in the world we live in today is almost purely measured by the amount of money you have.
Now, is this the optimal way that society should assess someone’s worth? Probably not. However, I don’t think you’d disagree that this is the most common metric that we use to judge others and as such it often puts us in positions where we feel a strong need to build our own wealth simply to keep up with others.
I know personally, over the last few years, I have been fortunate enough to have seen exponential rises in my income and I will be brutally honest in the fact that it does make me feel good about myself that I earn an above average income. Some people may think of me as being greedy for saying that but there are two important points that go along with this sentiment.
The first is that we both know that society is set up to use financial metrics as a means of gauging success so again while this is likely not the best metric for society to be using, it’s the one we have. As such, I find it much easier to win in the current system we have than to spend my whole life trying to change it.
Second, when you strip down making more money to the core, it really just means you’re providing more value. Between the extensive value I provide at my job due to my level of experience and designations to the numerous online businesses I run, I make more money now because I add more value. Truthfully, if I am going to make more money, I think that positively impacting those around me with proper financial education isn’t the worst way to earn.
Therefore, because having money is a societal cue that people tend to value, unfortunately, you really have no choice but to make more money. If you don’t, and I can attest to this because I’ve been there, you will perpetually feel like you’re falling behind or not worth the space you take up in this world and this is not a feeling I’d wish upon anyone!
Reason #2: To Improve Your Relationships
The first reason you need to make more money was pretty honest but now we are going to really peel back the onion and go deeper into why it’s imperative that you start making more money.
As we know, money has a plethora of uses. For instance, when we think of what we typically do with money, buying groceries and spending our cash at the bar probably comes to mind. Unfortunately, most people never really take the time to think of how money affects our relationships and let me tell you that money is more impactful in your relationships than you would expect. Let’s now look at how money impacts the three following relationships: your friends, your family and your partner.
While probably the least financially impacted relationship, having money is required to maintain quality friendships. Now, you may be saying to yourself, “but Adam, my friends like me for who I am not how much money I have” and I don’t disagree but it’s hard to have good times with your friends without ever spending a dime and based on the amount of money most people have, a dime is about the extent of it. From my own 30 years on earth so far, whenever I’ve had memorable times with my friends, money has been involved. From traveling to attending weddings and the like, money is required and if you don’t have any then you will be perpetually turning down opportunities to make long-lasting memories and your friendships will suffer as a result.
Next, let’s talk about your parents. We all grew up with different family dynamics and while some people may be closer with their parents than others, I think we can all agree that it would feel good to give back to our parents for all the sacrifices they made for us over the years. For example, my parents gave me everything they had growing up to ensure I had the best childhood possible. As such, every single time my alarm wakes me up at 4AM, I think of them and it makes staying on my grind a lot more manageable. I don’t know about you but I couldn’t live with myself if I saw my own parents struggling financially in their later years and likely nor could you so making the money you need to support them should be high up your list of reasons to go out there and make more money!
Okay, so now we’ve gotten to the spiciest part of reason number two which pertains to how money impacts your dating life. This reason goes out to all my guys out there so make sure you’re paying close attention. Are you ready? The truth is that no girl wants to date a broke guy. There, I said it. Cancel me if you must but I can tell you from first hand experience, your financial viability matters to the women you date and it’s for good reason. If you can’t even take care of yourself, then how the hell are you going to be able to take care of her? I can’t even count the number of times I used to tell girls I lived at home and every time I did, I could see a look of disappointment glaze over their face and any hope of her and I being together immediately dissipated.
Now, why was I living at home? Simple, I didn’t have the money to get my own place. Fortunately, when I was able to get my money up, dating became 10 times easier, so if finding a special someone to share your life with is of high priority then you need to start making more money as soon as possible!
Reason #3: To Have Any Peace Over Your Financial Situation
Let’s face it, there are a lot of things in life we tend to worry about. We worry about our health, our career, our relationships and the list goes on. Unfortunately, most people add to this list of worries by racking up financial worries as well that stem from not making enough money. A 2021 poll found that 77% of Americans feel anxious about their financial situation and their primary worries included how to save for their retirement, how to afford a home and how to finance their children’s education.
Now, I will admit that for many years, I too would constantly go to bed worrying about my financial situation. At times, it would keep me up thinking that I was one broken appliance or car repair away from being back at zero. Other times, I would stress that if I lost my job, my life would be in financial ruins. Then, as I alluded to earlier, I would cease up before dates because I was petrified that I would meet a girl I’d love to get to know more and she would write me off because I was still living under my parents roof. In short, constantly having to worry about money isn’t fun but you probably already knew that.
Now, I know that I am going to get some pushback from people who say that you can make a lot of money and still be broke if your spending habits suck and you’re right. However, if you struggle to make money, you will never even know how you would handle earning a significant income and trust me it’s much easier to save money than it is to go make large sums of it.
Therefore, while money can buy you nice watches and fancy cars, the one thing you should allow it to buy you is peace of mind and if you ask me, this is one of the best purchases you can make which can only be done when you start making more money!
Reason #4: To Ever Have A Chance At Owning A Home
When you were growing up, you probably envisioned your life to include you meeting the partner of your dreams, finding a job you loved and living in a house you could be proud to own. Well, I hope you’ve at least checked off the first two on that list because every single year, becoming a homeowner has become more difficult as real estate prices continue to climb in most housing markets across the western world.
I know in my own city, in 2021, home prices rose by roughly 20%. This means that the modest $500,000 single family home, that was already out of reach for many people, would have sold for $600,000 or more.
Now, I don’t know about you but I don’t know too many people who are able to keep pace and stash away $100,000 a year to keep up with the insane housing markets we’ve been witnessing. As such, buying a home has literally become an elite level privilege rather than the typical rite of passage that it’s been in generations past.
Unfortunately, unless there is a major correction, then these are probably going to be the prices we will have to live with for the foreseeable future and as such, you have two options. The first, is to whine and complain and relegate yourself to a life of renting. Obviously, I don’t advise that you take this path but I’m not your dad so you can do as you please.
Your other option is to get out there and make more money so that you can avoid the renting rut and become a proud homeowner yourself. Now, am I telling you that you need to be making an income that allows you to save $100,000 or more a year? If you can, that’s great but it’s definitely not required. I recommend you aim to up your income to a point where you can acquire a home that meets your needs without having to take on a mortgage that will have you breaking into cold sweats every night worrying about the size of your payments. This is the goal and with some extra effort put into scaling up your income, trust me, it is entirely possible!
Reason #5: To Actually Be Able To Retire
We all want to be able to retire. In fact, if I asked 100 people, I bet 99 of them would retire tomorrow if they had the chance but unfortunately, without a proper income, you may never be able to down those work tools of yours.
Besides those who knowingly neglect to save for retirement, there is another group of retirement hopefuls who I call the “hopeless savers”. These are people who make the effort to contribute at least something towards their retirement without actually realizing how futile their efforts truly are.
For example, if you earn an average income of $50,000 a year and save 10% of your after-tax income for retirement, you’re probably saving around $350 a month. For most people, contributing this amount of money should set them up nicely for a great retirement right?
Think again.
Investing this amount of money for 40 years at a 7% return will have you accumulating just under $920,000. I know this may seem like a good sum of money, and it is in present dollars, but 40 years from now, that may only buy you two loaves of bread and a cup of coffee due to inflation.
If we factor in a constant inflation rate of 2.5%, in 40 years, that $920,000 would really only be worth $340,000 in today’s money. Go ask the people in your life retiring now if $300k would be enough to retire on and they would probably laugh in your face. As such, making these inadequate retirement contributions simply won’t cut it.
If you ask me, your goal should be to invest at least $1,000 a month into your retirement account. Why is that you may ask? $1,000 invested for the next 40 years will give you a retirement balance of $2.7 million which, after inflation is factored in, will leave you with $1 million in today’s money.
How do you start to make these larger contributions? Simple, you start to make more money! Therefore, to retire, and enjoy all the other aspects I’ve previously mentioned, making more money is a must so get out there and get your bag!