Do you really want to live like a millionaire? I don’t…and I don’t think you really do either. I mean, it sounds fantastic - $1,000,000 in the bank, no credit card bills, no stress with the house or car payments, no worries about the student loans, and having the freedom of being able to buy whatever you need whenever you need it - incredible…right?
Right! That would be incredible…but the sad thing is that very few millionaires actually live a stress-free lifestyle. The strange thing about human beings is that we always find a way to balance our spending with our income. Well, okay…sometimes our spending can exceed our income, but you never see a millionaire living off of $40,000/year. Know what I mean?
The more money you have, the more you spend. The idea of becoming a millionaire isn’t all it’s cracked up to be…which is easy coming from somebody like myself that is only a year out of university and beginning a career with the goal of becoming a millionaire in the not-so distant future…but I’m going to say it anyways.
Millionaires usually have more stress than you and I, because they have little to gain (they already have it all) and much to lose. Just look at Hollywood as an example - sure there are a number of happy people living the high-life, but there are also as many people living troubled lifestyles as there are in our own lives…at least mine. The fact is, people with that much money don’t even know what to do with it, yet they somehow find a way to make it a problem in their life. You see millionaires paying for expensive jewelry, crazy cars, private jets, multi-thousand dollar hotel rooms, and other ridiculous stuff all the time…yet does it make them any happier than you and I are when we’re with the people we love the most? I think not…
…if you want to become a millionaire, then you need to ask yourself one simple question: Why?
What will $1,000,000 do for you right now that you couldn’t do otherwise? Do you want a bigger house? Why? Do you want a nicer car? Why? Do you want to go somewhere interesting? Why do you have to be a millionaire to do so?
The thing that I find so fascinating about travel is that it puts a lot of weight in the “grass is always greener on the other side of the fence” mentality. North Americans want to travel to Africa, Asia, Central America, Europe, Oceania, and South America…and people from all of those places want to travel to North America. Travel is cheap these days…you don’t need to be a millionaire to see the world. And if you can’t afford a nice fourteen hour flight, then find something closer to your backyard. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure…try vacationing close to home, I’m sure you’ll find it to be a lot of fun!
But let’s get back to what I’m trying to get at…are there any other reasons why you want to be a millionaire? Is there any extra satisfaction that you’ll get from life? Or does it really all boil down to the fact that you don’t really know what you want?
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Money can’t buy you happiness… but it sure makes it easier to get there.
That said, I don’t want to be rich. Live well? Sure. Rich? Millionaire? Forget it. I’ve learned in my life that nothing beats quality of life over quantity. I left a stressful corporate job that paid well, gave me six weeks paid vacation a year and full insurance to work at a minimum wage part-time job. Couldn’t have been happier.
As James said, money can’t buy happiness. Still, I wouldn’t be upset at all if I became a millionaire. Where I live (California), that’s actually not that much money, and you’d use up at least half of it just buying a house. A small house. No, I wouldn’t mind a million dollars at all, if for no other reason that I would, very much, like to buy a house.
True, money would definitely help out the bank- but I guess the main thing I was trying to emphasize was that it can’t buy happiness.
I hear too many people talk about their big dreams of winning the lottery and imagining all the great things they would have…a bigger house, a sports car, amazing vacations, etc.
The crazy thing is - those same people have the kind of money that many others in less fortunate parts of the world wished they had.
If you’re always chasing money - you’ll never be content. I like having money as much as the next guy, but to me it’s not about the money (otherwise I would have gone into law), but rather about the success.
Make sense? I don’t know…maybe I’m just rambling - because I would definitely want to own my own house
You characterize millionaires as crazy spending and always chasing a buck. Your generalization is based on a small subset of people and not those with $1 million in the bank, but more like those that are making $1 million++ per year. You should read “The Millionaire Next Door”, which explains that there are many millionaires around you, but you don’t know it because they don’t flaunt it, which is how many of them got there. These probably make up the majority of the millionaires.
I fit the book’s profile to a tee. I am 39, drive a 14 year old truck, live in a modest house, but have over $1 million in investments, $100K in liquid assets and a net worth of over $1.3 million. However, my annual expenses (not counting income taxes) are less than $50K.
I wanted to be a millionaire since I was in college. The thing I wanted it for wasn’t the ridiculous spending that you mentioned, but the financial independence that comes with it. With no debt (except a mortgage), we aren’t held captive to making payments. We don’t have to worry about making employment decisions based on money, but we can make it based on what we want to do. My wife and I recently went to part-time so we could pursue freelancing as part-time jobs, with a goal (at least for me) of that becoming my sole source of income - which should be easy since we don’t need much income. The frugality that made me a millionaire allows me to have great freedom with how I live my life.
So, I guess it really depends on the individual as to whether or not being a millionaire will make them happy or just cause more expensive problems.
Marc, I’m with you on this. There’s nothing wrong with being a millionaire and that’s not what I was trying to point out. I would love to be a millionaire, but I would hate to be like so many millionaires that I’ve seen who couldn’t escape the office if their life depended on it.
Okay, that’s a bit of an overstatement, but you’re right…it depends on the individual whether or not having a million will really solve their problems.
Interesting article, Chad.
I think it might make sense to separate the millionaires. You’re probably right that some celebrities and inherited millionaires (lottery winners, etc.), can be foolish about money and lose it all. But at the same time, the richest people in the world aren’t Hollywood celebrities, sports stars, or the like but winners in the business world. They value their money like no others, especially if they made their business from nothing to an empire, penny by penny.
I don’t think money will solve anything for me, but give me more options. For me, money will be an indication of my success in business.
P.S.- Thanks for writing, I really like your stuff.
Hey Dan, thanks for stopping by! I am a huge stat-tracker myself and I agree with your idea of money being a way to measure business success. However, too many people worry about business success and dollars that they forget to consider “life success.” While they might have a few million in the bank, they don’t have the time or the opportunity to enjoy their wealth.
(*note…I’ll admit that there are tons of exceptions to what I’m saying, I’m not trying to stereotype rich people as having no life.)
I know many people who would be considered “poor” that are much happier than our culture’s “rich.” I’ve got nothing against being a millionaire, as I hope to be one someday myself, but I don’t want to pass on the rest of my life’s activities while I chase that dream. I want to have fun earning my way to success.
There is a difference between being a millionaire and being financially free. Read Robert Kiyosaki’s “Rich Dad Poor Dad” I learned more about money from that book than any thing else ever. Also check out freecapitalist.com That guy has all kinds of good stuff to say about money. Check it out and you’ll see what I mean.
I should read over that book again - haven’t read it in a long, long time.
As for the website - I’m very tempted to sign up, there’s some great stuff there.
The main reason why I wrote this article is that I was sick and tired of hearing people say - “man, I wish I could win the lottery…imagine how great that would be?!?!” Then I’d ask then, “what would you do with the money?” “Oh…I’d buy a new car and a new house.”
Honestly, most people out there wishing for a million bucks wouldn’t improve their happiness a whole lot by achieving it…they don’t know how to be free.
So you’re right Manelle there is a difference between being a millionaire and being financially free. Some millionaires have freedom while others don’t…some people without a million bucks have freedom while others don’t.
hi i read all the comments, my bio is a young man trying to pay for school while i work as well. All the previous comments were very insightful, but i honestly would like the opportunity to work those long hours that you described, chad to attain the millions. i believe in challenges, and i believe that for someone to eventually earn that much money it took some work and a lot of dedication. i also admire Marc for being able to live his dream. i would like to be a millionaire to ease the stress life places on us sometimes, like having to make payments on bills or living from tips to tips (i’m a waiter = $2.13 plus tips). Above all i feel that we are all truely rich to be able to have good health, family and friends; and thats were the real wealth is.
thanks.