Who else isn't incentivised by work/money

System

usefulmale wrote: »

I think people are misunderstanding the OP. They are not saying that they don't need money, rather that they are not motivated by it and don't feel the need to chase after it and accumulate more.

Personally, time is more important to me. I work 30 hours a week and I get enough to cover the bills and have enough left over. I simply wouldn't entertain working 40 hours for 10 times the pay.

My car is 17 years old. I bought it 5 years ago for a grand. It goes to the same places as those brand new chelsea tractors that people hire to show off in. Why do people pay 300 a month for these cars that sit on the drive for 10 hours overnight, then sit in the carpark at work for another 8 hours?

I live in a new-build shared ownership house that has a combined rent / mortgage of less than half of what the fully owned houses across the road have. I may not 'own' the house but so what? I have security of tenure just the same and the lease is long enough to outlast my children, never mind me.

We don't holiday due to animal ownership but we could if we wanted to. However, we do spend a lot on the children and ourselves, rather than the bank and the finance houses.

I have no debt (bar the small mortgage) and sleep very soundly at night. Why do I need more money?

I wouldn't say the OP is not motivated by money but more like NOT motivated by life

If you know what you want out of life then everything else will make sense. Simply put if I want X then what do I do to get there that strikes the right balance, so not to cause ill health either mentally or physically.

xapprenticex

OP, i wont go forum-psychologist on you as its been done already.

What I will say is seeing that you dont have kids etc, save up, quit your job and go traveling. Find yourself, come back, and action what you discovered. You may even find a new appreciation for what you have now or you may end up living like a hippie, who knows.

I do know what you mean though, we live in an artificially created system where we are raised to work our lives away for a group of families that own everything, then return the money to them over the weekend in exchange for their goods.

Then when you retire you are too old/ill to enjoy life anymore (always exceptions). Consider self employment maybe?

shortcrust

Who isn't incentivised by work and money? Loads of people!

Most of my friends and I are comfortable but not well off, have no interest in having the latest anything, and take a great deal of pleasure in small (and cheap) things! Summer 2017 for me is mostly about my £25 gas bbq bargain from gumtree, having people over for homemade cocktails and getting really into gardening for the first time. I'm quite happy with my 56 plate VW parked outside. If someone gave me a brand new car I'd sell it and take a break from work. Most of us have one career ambition and that's to spend less time on our careers!

It's taken me years to realise that this isn't the preparation period for my real life. This is it! Now! The sun is shining. So I agree with xapprenticex. Quit your job. I've done it twice when life's seemed all about work. Two of the best decisions I've ever made. I'm now self employed with less money but loads more time.

(I feel I may have overused bold in this post. Hey ho!)

WobblyDog

I don't like my job much anymore. On the other hand, I work hard at it and I'm highly incentivised by the money it allows me to put into my pension, so that I can retire from it as soon as possible.

fishybusiness

I used to be like you OP, well similar in that money didn't matter too much.

Fell in to a great job at 16, stayed for 20 years, well paid, well trained, lots of kudos for the position I held etc etc.

I was bored, bored bored. I took my salary for granted, it was just there each month, I lived, I spent it, I bought things I liked and thought I wanted.

Then I moved on, decided their must be more to life....and there was. With the interest I found in a different life, money was tighter, it got very tight over the years.

Only then did it become important, and I became motivated by money. I was really poorly for about 5 years, lived on benefits and money was all I thought about, that and HB claim suspensions whenever they felt it appropriate.

I'm well at the moment and working, and yes very motivated by money, because if I am not, I'll end up on my backside again.

Try living on the other side of the fence for a while, you'll find your attitudes change forever.

andygb

sangie595 wrote: »

Sorry. I love my job. And I enjoy the things I can do with the money that I earn, including helping others. If you think life is that bad, you need to get some perspective. And if you don't need money then leave your job to someone who wants it - but don't sign on and spend our money. You want out of the rat race, go the whole hog. That's the real test of how unimportant money is to you.

If the OP has been working for a few years, and it sounds as though they have, then they are not spending your money, they are spending what they have contributed, unlike single mothers who have never had a job in their lives, or ne'er do wells who deal drugs and steal for a living.
However, the OP has to understand, that going from having a job and earning £30K a year, no matter how boring that job may be, is better than being unemployed, I know that because I was unemployed for two years, and it was the worst time of my life.
The OP sounds as if they need to get a hobby, go out and meet people, and most importantly get a good life/work balance.

theoretica

For me, owning property, and money in general, is not about love of owning it. Mainly it is about freedom and reducing the restrictions on me. I want to own my own home and pay off the mortgage so I don't need to pay rent and need less money every month. I want enough money that if work becomes a major chore (though it is mostly interesting at present, and many of my colleagues are great) I can cut right back or change job.

I guess for me money is not an incentive in the short term, but I have long term aims which need it.

TELLIT01

I now happily retired but, when I was working, money was never my primary motivator. Assuming I was earning enough to live on, which thankfully I was throughout my working life, I would take a lower salary and do a job I enjoyed over a higher salary and a job I didn't enjoy.
I was actually head-hunted years ago for a job in London and turned it down before even knowing the detail when told it was in London. The rectruiter couldn't understand how I could turn it down without knowing what the pay was.

bagpussbear

I think many of us feel there must be more to life than the 9-5 grind.

I think if you have no ties or commitments, then you should go travelling. Bring new experiences and people into your life. Get some joy in and maybe you will find things that inspire you more. At the very least, it will give you a break.

Maybe you are one of those people who would do better living 'off the grid'. Maybe you would do better being self-employed so you have more control on when you work.

But please do something, you post comes across as a little hateful if I may say. Your view of what 'everyone' does is a little distorted. Do most people shop for latest fashions on a Saturday? They do if you want to believe that. Stop concentrating on what other people are supposedly doing, or wanting, and concentrate on yourself :-)

shortcrust

bagpussbear wrote: »

I think many of us feel there must be more to life than the 9-5 grind.

I think if you have no ties or commitments, then you should go travelling. Bring new experiences and people into your life. Get some joy in and maybe you will find things that inspire you more. At the very least, it will give you a break.

Maybe you are one of those people who would do better living 'off the grid'. Maybe you would do better being self-employed so you have more control on when you work.

But please do something, you post comes across as a little hateful if I may say. Your view of what 'everyone' does is a little distorted. Do most people shop for latest fashions on a Saturday? They do if you want to believe that. Stop concentrating on what other people are supposedly doing, or wanting, and concentrate on yourself :-)

I think the two bolded bits are connected...