money – Heather Hoyt

I think I would like to live in a world where people wanted to maximize value and they did not want to maximize wealth.

But in the world we live in, people make a lot of money by actually reducing value in the world. And some people earn very little or no money creating a lot of value. Value and money can be very different from each other, and money is not often a good indicator of actual value.

What do I think is valuable? Caring for each other. Families and raising children. Nature and the environment. Friendship. Beauty and art. Eradicating diseases. Peace.

What do I think is not very valuable? Cryptocurrency. Pennies. Luxury name brands. People being mean to each other. Hatred. Taking advantage of others. Wealth building upon wealth in an inexplicable way. Reputation.

I don’t get paid for the most valuable work that I do. That’s just how it is. But I’m not seeking to maximize my wealth–I just want to be able to be self-sufficient and not worry about money much, and then be able to pursue those valuable things.

Some people really seek careers that add value, but it’s hard to do that when many careers that add the most value often don’t pay that well (like teachers). But if you go into management and finance, suddenly you get paid so much money to make all these decisions that don’t actually improve anyone’s life.

Some people want to maximize wealth and then think they can add value–if you’re really rich, you can do a lot of philanthropy. But I still think there should be value added along the way, and that those on top can make sure to support those who are supporting them.

If people were concerned about maximizing the things that they actually value, the world would improve at a much faster pace. But if we only think about money as value, we get things all twisted about, and we end up destroying what good value there is.

Further Reading: The Value of Everything by Mariana Mazzucato

Here is the very unfair thing about money: If you have money, it’s easy to gain more. If you don’t have any, it’s hard to gain any.

I recently read John Green’s essay about Monopoly from The Anthropocene Reviewed. He talks about the unfairness of Monopoly and how it relates to the unfairness of life. Once you have Monopolies, you just get richer and richer until you push people out of the game.

And once you get rich in real life, it’s really easy to get richer and richer. When you have enough capital, you start investing that, and you get more capital to invest even more.

When you have a really good resume, you can leave one high-paying job and get an even more high-paying job.

And when you haven’t been making money and you don’t have very much money in your bank account, it’s really hard to get started.

In our recent house renovations, we have drained out our savings of the last 10 years as we’ve poured our time and resources into our home. It gets a bit stressful sometimes as we try to avoid debt (though we have a home equity line of credit as a contingency).

Most people would like more money, even if it wouldn’t necessarily make them happier.

I have a hard time pursuing after extra money; it’s just not a great motivator for me. But for some people, they spend their whole lives trying to get more and more.

But money is only good as a means to an end, not an end itself.

So why are you pursuing money? To live a richer life? To help others? To worry and stress less? To save up for large projects? To provide for your family?

The reasons matter.

Tag: money

Thoughts on Money and Value

63. Is the pursuit of money worthwhile?