No, Money Wont Solve All of Your Problems

When you grow up without enough money, it’s easy to develop an unhealthy mindset about it. For one thing, it’s common to believe that a lack of money lies at the root of all your real problems.

But it’s more complicated than that.

Money solves specific problems. Housing, food, shelter, transportation, etc. But money also isn’t unlimited. Not for most of us, anyway.

Over the past year, the hardest lesson I’ve learned about money is that you can quadruple your income but it still may not be “enough.”

You will always have to make choices about how you spend your money. If you’re used to living in poverty but earn $100K one year, yes, your life will change.

But you won’t necessarily be wealthy forever, and you also won’t be able to afford everything you need. One year doesn’t erase the previous thirty.

People who live in poverty for long accumulate huge deficits that we rarely talk about. Often, these deficits result in huge medical bills or dental bills. You might pay down debt, finally start various therapies, purchase a car, or finally catch up on needs at home.

Ultimately, one year of a great income isn’t going to take you out of poverty, not completely. And that’s because your money isn’t unlimited. But your needs have likely been racking up for decades.

You will have to make choices about how to spend that money, and unless you’ve walked into many hundreds of thousands of dollars, or millions, you’re bound to feel the limits of that money sooner rather than later.

I’ve got some very good friends who keep expressing this notion that money would literally solve all of their problems.

In fact, I keep running into this meme that’s only been shared… about 26,000 times on Facebook.

Obviously, it’s a highly relatable joke. But part of what makes it so damn relatable is the inconvenient reality that deep down, so many of us think this is true.

Here’s the truth about problems: they grow. And once you deal with one problem, a few more will crop up too.

Last month, I had a tooth pulled and a bone graft placed for a future implant. This week, I’m returning to the dentist for two fillings and it looks like one previously crowned tooth now needs a root canal.

Am I happy that I was able to get my teeth fixed last year after years of missed dental exams? Of course. But the reality is that making more money didn’t solve all of my problems.

I still grind my teeth, and my dental issues have continued to grow. I’m better equipped to deal with my teeth problems than say, two years ago, but I still have to make tough decisions about what’s more important to handle in my life.

In other words, I still need to stick to a budget. More money didn’t save me from that problem either. And I’m far from alone in that.

I’ve lived long enough to learn that rich people have problems too. Sure, some of their problems are different from yours or mine. But that doesn’t make them all unimportant.

People often talk about how money can bring you enormous peace of mind. I’m guilty of believing it myself. But how much money would it really take to grant you true peace of mind?

Likely more than you would initially think.

It doesn’t take much to wipe out most folk’s savings accounts, if they’re fortunate enough to have one. A simple accident, unexpected tragedy, or job loss, and most people’s lives would be damaged forever.

To make matters worse, as most people make more money, they spend more money too. But there’s no guarantee that anyone will keep bringing in that same amount of cash.

Besides, peace of mind is all relative. For a long time, I had peace of mind as long as I earned enough money each month to pay my rent and utilities.

And then I became a mom. My idea of a peace of mind changed. To be honest, it’s continued to change as time passes. It’s even become harder to come by rather than easier.

That’s been a shock.

Growing up with “enough” money is the sort of privilege I will never know. My life has usually been full of choices between one necessity or another.

People like myself have to learn how to look at money as a tool or ally in our lives. There is nothing wrong with wanting more money. And there’s nothing wrong with admitting that more money would solve some of our problems and give us a certain peace of mind.

In most cases, more money makes life easier. But we’re lying to ourselves when we say that money is a cure-all solution for everything we need.

A healthy view of money means putting it in its place without giving it more of a role than it deserves in our lives. We can use money to help create the lives we want, but it won’t do all of the work for us.

Why? Because as long as you don’t have enough money, you will let it stand in your way. Your lack of money will become a certain sort of crutch.

It’s like a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you lack money, and tend to think it is the answer to everything you need, you will be less likely to develop a growth mindset.

You’ll tell yourself there’s no use in trying because you never succeed anyway. You’ll also be more likely to overlook the problems you could solve right now regardless of your finances.

Believe it or not, but money cannot buy genuine friendship or love. It cannot cure your loneliness or guarantee good mental health. If you are fortunate to have a great deal of money, you still might never know who actually likes or loves you.

Money can’t necessarily even help you reach your goals. It will make some goals easier, but there’s a reason why the rich and famous still succumb to suicide or drug addiction. There’s a reason why money doesn’t solve issues like domestic violence.

Even though money buys good stuff, and funds amazing experiences, it cannot heal your trauma, feed your soul, or fill the emptiness you feel inside.

You only want it to do those things.

Yes, money can fund a certain amount of happiness and peace of mind. But it cannot fund everything.

It cannot give us a sense of actual self-worth.

It cannot love.

Money is lovable because it makes so many things in life easier. And having more money can definitely improve our outlook on life.

But despite everything that money can do, it will never be able to give us everything. Not even if we have more money than we need.

If you’re ever going to develop a healthy mindset about money, it begins with understanding that even if money could solve a lot of your problems, it will never be able to solve them all.