Maybe Your Sanity Is Your Greatest Asset

This afternoon a co-worker I like a great deal came into my office, closed the door, and burst into tears. She hates her job: finds it unchallenging, tedious, and ultimately mind-numbing. She expressed the opinion that, "Yes, it's valuable to have money in my 401(k), but isn't it worth something not to cry at work every day?"

I absolutely agree with her. I told her as much. Contributing to your 401(k) from the age of 22 on is valuable--extremely valuable. But not crying at work everyday is, to paraphrase the old ads, priceless. (Besides which, no matter what she's doing, she can still contribute to her Roth!)

I really feel extraordinarily strongly about this. The whole reason I want to learn to manage my money is so that I can afford to live the life I want to live. None of my aspirations carry with them the promise of fabulous wealth--if I know how to manage money and live within my means, I can make it work; otherwise, I may always resent the limitedness of my financial compensations. My point is, though, that for me, personal finance is a tool, something I use to construct the life I want. I do not, and will not, construct my life around my personal finance goals.