How Much Money Do You Want?

It's a common daydream to wonder what it would be like to win the lottery or to receive a large, unexpected inheritance. With a big wad of cash, it seems, anything is possible. This doesn't have to be just a daydream – you can make it happen for real. But the question "how much money do you want?" is a trick question. Unless you collect money for its artistic value, you don't really want money. You want what money can buy.

For example, let's say you think you want $25,000 so you can buy a new car. Do you really want the 25 grand? No! You want the car! The same is true of retirement plans. Do you want 6 million in your 401K one day? Great! What for? If it just sits in the account your entire life, grows, but is never used, it might as well have been just a daydream. If you want 6 million dollars in your 401K one day, what you really want is to ensure a good standard of living for you and your loved ones well into your golden years.

Living is what it's all about. We want to live our lives. We want happiness. We want plentiful opportunities for our children and our children's children. We want vacations and spas and fine food and drink. We want freedom to do what we want when we want. Money is merely a means to an end. To get what we want, we must focus on feeling good about it and be grateful for it – as if we've already received it. We must have the blind faith that the Bible implies with the statement "Ask and ye shall receive." If what you want has a price tag associated with it, by all means take note of that and plan for that, but always keep your mind and heart focused on what you really want – which usually isn't money.


Brad Homer is focused on helping others achieve their personal and financial goals. His website hosts personal finance articles like this one and his free-to-try software, Millionaire 2020™, which can help get you on the path to good budgeting fast.