I’ve been at the lower-end of income. And I’ve been at a higher end. Money has never been enough. I’m sure most of you will agree with me on this.
So, why is this so? What are the reasons behind this? This article is my take on this matter.
So, let’s run through a fictional life story of a working person. To make it easier, I’ll imagine him as myself.
Year 1:
I’m starting out in my working life.
My salary: $1K/month (pathetic)
My rent: $500 (a small place, nothing to shout about)
My meals: Only once a day. After making some calculations, that’s all I can afford.
My transport: My own two legs. The bus will bring me to work in 30 mins. If I walk, it’s about 1 hr. But I save $4 a day. That’s about $100 a month. So, I avoid the bus.
My mothly savings: are you kidding?
Year 2:
I got some increment. Yeah!
My salary: $1,500/month (yeah, $500 more)
My rent: $500 (same old place)
My meals: Wow, with this extra $500, now I can eat 3 times a day, just like those normal folks.
My transport: Still walking to work. Why? I rather eat better than take the bus. Heck, I’ll even tell myself that walking is good exercise. It burns calories, you know?
My mothly savings: not much. The extra money goes to my 3 meals daily.
Year 3:
I got further increment and a promotion!
My salary: $3,000/month (can you believe it!)
My rent: $500 (same old place)
My meals: I’m good.
My transport: You know what. It’s about time I give my legs some rest, and take the bus. You know, 1 hour IS a damn long duration. By taking the bus, I save 30 mins to-and-fro = 60 minutes. In 1 month, that’s about 20 hours. So, yes, let me take the bus.
My mothly savings: Not much. The extra money goes to my 3 meals daily, and my new transport expense.
Year 4:
My salary: $4,000/month
I decided that taxi is much faster. It takes just 10 minutes! I’ll save even more hours every month.
My mothly savings: Not much.
Year 5 and onwards:
My salary kept increasing. And I kept upgrading each aspect of my life.
I upgraded to get my own car (you know, taxis are harder to get nowadays, sigh). I upgraded to a better rental apartment. I further upgraded to buy an apartment.
Now, I’m discussing with my pantry buddies about the different car models. I’m now eyeing the latest Model X that everyone’s raving about. Once I hit that pay bracket, that’s where I’ll be throwing my money at.
I’m no more the modest guy who walked to work and ate modestly. I’m now an upcoming executive on the rise.
My everything should rise accordingly. Right?
I’m eyeing this. I’m eyeing that. I’m even making plans for my future money that I’ve yet to earn!
And I have not even brought marriage, wife or kids into the equation yet, leaving those to your imagination for now.
And THIS is why: money is never enough and will never be.
Money is never enough because it’s doing a race with your wants and needs (including those nice-to-haves and what the Joneses have). And because we typically have unlimited evergrowing expectations, the money we earned will never win that race.
So, the feeling of losing out will always remain.
And that’s my observation.
About the Author
Anees Khan is a freelance web and mobile app developer for the past 28 years, and is running Getcha Solutions to help companies get the latest tech for their business needs, requirements and custom operational workflows.
