Good Morning DINKS. In life we always want more. One of the curses of being a successful young professional is that we always want more…of everything. I always want a bigger apartment, a bigger office, and a better wallet collection. However having the best of everything can be a both a gift and a curse. If we make more money then we pay more taxes, if we buy a brand new car then we may always want to upgrade to the newest model. When should we stop? When is enough money enough?
Many people dream of having a fabulous life full of expensive jewellery, big houses, and an unlimited spending limit. I have to admit that the concept is nice, but when I seriously sit down and think about it I don’t think that I would want to live in a big house. I love living in my apartment, I wish that my boyfriend Nick and I had another room in the house but that is only another 100 to 200 square feet. I definitely don’t want to live in a multi-level home where Nick and I have to shovel snow and cut the grass. Two people don’t need that much room. More rooms means more dust and more dust means more cleaning…No Thank you.
The only piece of jewellery that I really want is an engagement ring from Nick… and then a wedding ring. When I graduated from University my Dad gave me a really nice watch engraved with my name. My Mother wanted to buy me a piece of jewellery with a diamond but I think that my boyfriend Nick should be the person who buys me my first diamond. Maybe I am old school, who knows, but that’s just the way it is. I do wear jewellery but not jewellery that makes me stand out in a crowd. I am only 5 feet tall and I definitely don’t want to be robbed. I love buying jewellery while I am on vacation; I am a big fan of rings and bracelets. Jewellery is not expensive when we buy it in little boutique shops or near the beach. Expensive jewellery needs to be insured and insurance premiums are an additional cost.
Having a multimillion dollar salary and a high net worth may be some peoples dream or goal, but we have to think about what we may be required to give up in order to make a lot of money. When I was making over $100,000 a year I was working more than 40 hours a week. My priority was work because my goal was to make as much money as possible and my relationship with my boyfriend Nick suffered. Being at the top is great while everything is good, but the fall is a lot farther when things go bad. I had a huge reality check when the market crashed in 2008 and I spent two and a half years picking up the pieces of both my personal and my financial life.
If I could have seen beyond the money back then I could have planned better for the future. The problem with making a lot of money is that we always think the money will be there; unfortunately that is not true. I was blinded by the finer things in life such as cars, vacations, and material goods; I was so blind that I couldn’t see the all good that was right in front of me, and that is my loving boyfriend Nick. Money doesn’t keep us warm at night and our relationships will (hopefully) be here long after the money is gone.
Photo by RexRoof
Kristina Tahnyak
Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.
More money solves one problem very well – a lack of money. So if that’s the problem more money helps a lot. But if the problem is lack of self control with money, or lack of understanding about how money/credit/debt really work, then more money won’t do much good, at least in the long run. So, it may sound silly but it is a big distinction between the two points.
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