Can’t Buy Me Love

Can’t Buy Me Love

This is a blog about financial independence. So I talk often about all the things that money can buy. Freedom. Control over time. The ability to move through the world freely. There is so much that it can’t all be listed in one blog post. Yet, I forget, that money can’t buy me love. Nor a number of other important things that I require to live a successful contented life.

In fact, it would be safe to say that financial savvy only goes so far. The old cliche is true. The best things in life might actually be free. Or at least are unable to be bought by money.

Let’s look at three.

Love

Money can’t buy me love. No matter how much I wish it to. It can buy me things. Maybe even respect. But deep, life affirming, enduring love will never be a function of net worth. Every class of person has the opportunity to partake in this most important of life’s gifts. And even the wealthy can be devoid of this essential aspect of existence.

To find love, whether in a romantic partner or a friend, you have to bring more to the table. You have to bring your energy, devotion, and thoughtfulness. You have to spend time, sometimes even years, cultivating a connection with another human being.

It may cost you nothing, but it will be worth more than all your bank accounts combined. Cash can never buy you this enduring gift. No matter what your statements say, a person who is loved will never be bereft.

It’s that important.

Health/Luck

Money can’t buy me love. And it can’t buy good luck either. There are things I can’t control in this world. Even though I try, I will fall short over and over again. I can buy the safest car on the market, but I can’t stop the drunk driver from jumping the curb and running into me on the sidewalk.

I can exercise and go the the gym religiously. But I can’t change my own genetic makeup. I might hold the wrong sequence of nucleic acids. Laying dormant for all those years, they may wreak havoc at the most unexpected time.

The stock market may crash the day after I invest. Or it may peak the day before. There is only so much hedging I can do. The property I think I am going to cash flow on may have major structural damage. The perfectly rated house inspector may have had a bad day and missed it.

I can shake my fists in the air and rail against the gods, but I can’t buy my way into good luck. It either happens or it doesn’t.

Joy

If I’ve learned anything in this community, it is not only that money can’t buy me love, but it can’t buy me joy either. Certainly poverty will steal ones joy. But I likely glean very little benefit from having more than necessary to provide the basics.

Study after study shows that wealth only increases happiness up to a point. The hedonic treadmill never slows. Neither do my wants or “needs”. I feel the most joy when I am peaceful, surrounded by love, and in good health.

I can’t buy those things. I have to earn them through hard work, luck, and intentionality.

Final Thoughts

Money can’t buy me love. Nor luck. Nor joy. At best, it can buy stability. It can give me the space and mental energy to pursue those things.

Although I am not rushing off to give all my material possessions to charity, I am cognizant of the place finances play in my life.