An acquaintance recently learned about my investment journey – Fourteen Years of Mutual Fund Investing: My Journey and lessons learned. He then asked me if I had stopped investing and why I was still working. I replied that I would like to keep working and continue investing for as long as possible.
He suddenly sounded angry: “Why do you want more money? Don’t you have enough? Learn to say, “I have enough”. As is often the case with unsolicited advice, it lacked knowledge of my circumstances and context.
In this article, I would like to argue that it is perfectly fine to keep investing after you have comfortably achieved financial independence. And it is perfectly fine to want to build wealth forever.
Yes, I agree that it is important to say “enough”, but what we refer to varies from person to person.
Money gives us options and the freedom to choose from them. Wanting more money can be harmful if it comes at the cost of more effort and more time sacrificing our health and the happiness of our family.
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Yes, at some point, we should say “enough” to money-chasing in exchange for time and effort, but I don’t think “enough” applies to the gradual accumulation and growth of our net worth.
Ideally, we should strive to balance work and life from day one. Then we would realise that true wealth is this balance between vocation, family and leisure. But better late than never.
In my case, despite the vicissitudes of life (and in hindsight!), at any point in time, I have always been closer to this “balance”, and this has been possible only because of my parent’s and wife’s support and sacrifices. So I have “enough” balance, and I can focus on maintaining this balance rather than wanting more of it.
As regards “why do you want more money?” I used to feel the same way when my net worth was (relatively) insignificant. But now my attitude has changed. Not because I have become greedy but because I appreciate that money gives us the power to change other people’s life.
I would wager that our family’s charitable spending has increased faster than our net worth. But even at the same rate, it can make a big difference. For instance, 1% of Rs. 1 crore spent helping others is 9900% higher than 1% of Rs. 1 lakh spent the same way.
When I realised this, I decided not to stop earning or investing for as long as possible. Of course, the fact that I love to teach (my job) makes a big difference. And as they say, it is healthy to stay active. And one should never say, “I have done enough of helping others”.