Most of us like money because it’s an easy way to keep score. If we make over $400,000 a year and have a net worth of over $8,000,000 by age 60, we’re in the top one percent for income and net worth. Hooray!

But money is a pretty meaningless measure after you’ve got all your needs taken care of. Further, a rich person is no more special than someone who has less.

After a certain point, the more money you have, the more I question your goodness. In San Francisco, there are people worth hundreds of millions and even billions of dollars, yet they continue to hoard more money than they could ever spend in their lifetime while over 100,000 people are homeless.

But this post isn’t about how we should tell other people how to spend their money. This post is about trying to be the best in at least one thing to have a better life.

As part of a new series, I’d like to share some interesting reader questions I get so the community can get involved and share their perspectives as well. I spend a lot of time responding to comments, so I figure I might as well make some of them into full-fledged posts. I get tired of listening to my own story as I’m sure you do too, so this is a great way to break things up!

Reader Gus writes in:

Hi Sam,

I love reading your blog and we have a reasonably similar work background so I thought you may be a good person to ask my question to.

My parents were immigrants and I grew up in a lower class area but went to a decent school. I never really had the ‘things’ or houses my friends did, which in hindsight isn’t particularly important but it did make me want to be rich. Not just comfortable, but rich.

So I did what any kid from a poor immigrant background would do. I studied hard, got good grades, went for and got into a good university, got good grades and then went into Investment Banking. I did three years in M&A before burning out and switched to buy side equities research which I’ve been doing for six years now. I’m married and recently had my first child and everything at home is good.

I’ve been pretty good at saving and investing the whole time I’ve been working. I have a small home paid off worth ~$650k and ~$500k in retirement and non-retirement investments with no debt. All in all not bad for someone in their early 30s (not amazing I know but not bad).

Money which was my sole driver for most of my life no longer motivates me because I’m comfortable and I’m not a particularly big spender anyway. Once you got to the point of comfortable, what did you do next? How did you motivate yourself to keep going?

I don’t mind my job – don’t love it…don’t hate it. You know what equities research is like. It’s mentally stimulating and interesting but basically I know my coverage universe back to front and reporting seasons have started to feel like ground hog day.

I make ~$250k p.a. pre tax, but I’ve pretty much capped out here and if I want to step up in role / wage I’ve got to move funds which is doable but challenging and I really don’t have the “why” to do it just yet.

I thought perhaps working towards FIRE would be a good goal, but that’s just money motivating me again and once I get to that point, what’s next?

Thanks heaps for taking the time to read this.

My response:

Hi Gus,

Thanks for your question. After about 10 years of aggressively saving and working post college, I started feeling the same way about money. Being rich is pointless if your mountain of cash has no purpose. Therefore, find a purpose bigger than yourself. As soon as you tie specific goals for your money, your money will become much more meaningful. With more meaning, comes more motivation.

Here are some common goals for your money to consider:

* Not having to work as much so you can spend more time with your child.

* Being able to comfortably pay for your child’s education and help him out when he stumbles.

* Having the option to take a new job you love that doesn’t pay well.

* Helping your parents and in-laws with financial matters.

* Spending your time on a cause or donating to a cause that has special meaning to you.

Your motivation will also increase the more aware you are of what you have. For example, less than 5% of the population makes $250,000 a year or more. But for a 30-something year old, you’re in the top 1% income earner for your age group. With this in mind, I would hold onto your $250,000 a year job until you can no longer take it, or until you’ve found something better to do.

It’s very easy to get used to a comfortable lifestyle (hedonic adaptation), even if you’ve come from a humble background. Since nothing good lasts forever, you should take advantage of your situation until it’s gone. Hearing other people’s stories of struggle and being aware of unemployment, poverty, and homelessness statistics will prevent you from taking your situation for granted. Count your blessings regularly.

The main reason why I left my finance job was because I found writing online to be way more fun (found another purpose). Although it paid 70% – 90% less in the beginning, I didn’t care because I loved everything about creating an online media business. Hearing other people’s perspectives is enjoyable. I also like helping people with their financial problems since we all have them. Keep on searching for something that gets you up every morning without an alarm clock!

My main motivation now is earning enough to take care of my family and being a good role model for my son. I’ve never felt this much motivation before because everything I do is now no longer for me.

Always remember your WHY. If you never forget, you will have all the motivation in the world.

Related: Life After Financial Independence

Readers, how do you motivate yourself if you have already achieved financial independence or you’re no longer interested in becoming rich? What are other things besides money that motivate you?

I live by the mantra, “Never fail due to a lack of effort because hard work requires no skill.” It’s a reminder to STOP making excuses when something seems too daunting to tackle. There’ve been too many instances when I didn’t start something because I felt I lacked the skills necessary to succeed. I’ve regretted each non-action.

For example, I postponed starting Financial Samurai until 2009, three years after first contemplating the idea, because I didn’t know whether or not I could write anything insightful. I also didn’t know how to start a website, despite the easy availability of free instruction. The delay cost me over a million bucks.

For those of you who want more luck, I strongly believe the more you attribute any success you have to luck and mean it, the more luck will come your way. Why? Because you won’t take your luck for granted. Gratitude is what will keep propelling you forward. Let me explain by strolling down luck lane. 

I am a super optimist. Whenever I sprain my ankle, the first thing I think is: thank goodness I didn’t break my ankle. Whenever I lose a bidding war on a house I want, I think to myself: there will always be another one. Whenever someone says something terrible about me online, I think to myself: at least someone is reading.

Perhaps perpetual failure is the reason why I’m so optimistic. Without optimism, I’d probably end up a complete failure after getting into so much trouble in grade school.

There will come a point in your life where you’ll face a difficult situation that feels impossible to solve. Instead of giving up, I encourage you to think things through. The better your problem solving skills, the more coveted you will be as an employee and the more successful you’ll be as an entrepreneur. You’ll also gain more confidence, which should lead to a happier life.

Let me share with you three unrelated examples of problems that were solved with some good old fashion brainstorming. If these examples don’t get you pumped, I don’t know what will. 

Whenever there’s a debate about owning versus renting, one of the most common rebuttals against owning is not wanting to fix a toilet. The excuse is so commonly used that it has definitely become cliché.

Given we know that homeowners have a median net worth ~40X that of renters, it got me wondering whether there’s something more behind the cliché that makes renters deny the positive financial realities of homeownership over the long run.

Could it be that those against homeownership secretly wish they could afford a home of their own, but can’t because they aren’t willing to control their spending or take on extra work outside of their day job? Instead of making some sacrifices, are they trying to debase homeowners with an activity that’s supposedly beneath them? Maybe!

Every time someone uses the “fix the toilet” reason, I start to wonder what’s so hard about replacing some parts in the water tank or using a plunger? Janitors make well over $200,000 a year here in San Francisco. Are those against real estate arrogantly implying that being a janitor is not as honorable of a job? Perhaps.

I hypothesize those who aren’t willing to do the dirty work are the ones who will never earn or accumulate much more than the median income or net worth. Let’s debate!