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We can all recite countless reasons for wanting money. It might be travel, sleeping well at night, early retirement, buying whatever we want or supporting our favorite charities. But if we were going to boil all this down to a single phrase that describes our key motivation, what would we choose?
Here are some possibilities:
There’s obvious overlap among some of these. Over the past decade, I’ve valued money because it meant I could spend my days as I wish. But today, given my diagnosis, I value money for the legacy I can share with my family, both now and after my death.
Are there other key motivations you’d add to the above list? And what about you—what’s your key motivation for wanting money?
I’ve been giving this some thought since JC posted. The first 20 years I was ruled by consumerism; my first component stereo at age 14 when everyone else just had cheap record players. A very cool and nearly new car by my senior year in high school, and my first house at age 20.
The next couple decades were about trying to establish retirement savings and controlling my partners spending habits.
The third pair of decades was about rebuilding after divorce and solidifying a secure retirement.
Now in decades 7 and 8 our money provides security in knowing that we finally have enough. There isn’t any more big stuff we want, and now that the new house expenses are behind us we can get back to buying memories instead.
Legacy isn’t an issue, as the kids are doing well financially without us.
I’m not sure how “financial security” differs from “not worry about money” but I guess if pushed I’d say the former is long term and the latter more shorter term e.g. can I spend X now?
I’d say the primary driver for me is “to spend our days as we wish” with a bit of “not worry about money”.
I think the latter is hard absolutely- the longer and more prudently we’ve saved, the more scenarios we can probably imagine that might bankrupt us even if they come at a very low probability. But I’d probably put that worry below health fading far faster.
For me, wanting money is to have a security I didn’t have in my first (abusive) marriage. I don’t believe, short of winning billions in some lottery for which I haven’t bought a ticket, that I will ever have enough money to feel truly secure enough to overcome the trauma, but I am trying in other ways as well.
That said, I came here to tell you, Jonathan Clements, what a truly, profoundly deep impact you had on me with the article you gifted us AARP members in the February / March 2025 AARP magazine. To share so openly all that you are thinking and doing with respect to your finances now that you have knowledge of your relatively imminent passing is something for which I am, and likely will be eternally, grateful. Thank you!
I always valued money for giving me the freedom to walk away from something I did not like, agree with or want to do. It gave me options that led to greater fulfillment, self-respect and happiness.
enuf money allows your choice of what to do with time.
it is said that borrowers try to buy time.
it’s way good not bein’ a borrower.