Money undeniably is one of the most important things in the world. It is therefore unsurprising that the average adult spends a chunk of their lives thinking about it and sometimes too obsessed with money: how to make it, how to save it, how to invest it, how to manage it and how to spend it.
Money is simply a tool. What makes it so essential for your daily existence are the numerous things it can do for you.
Money offers you more freedom of choices, better quality of life and a feeling of security.
It pays to pay attention to your financials to avoid a life of deprivation, debts, and regrets. But excessively obsessing over your finances can make you miserable.
Money often costs too much.
–Ralph Waldo Emerson
How being too obsessed with money can slowly kill you:
Scrimping on your healthcare can harm you
One time-tested strategy to improve your finances is to spend less and save more. But extending excessive frugality to your wellbeing and healthcare could mess your life up.
If you find it difficult to visit a doctor when you’re down with an ailment because it’s expensive, then you need to rethink your approach to saving money. An often overlooked symptom or injury could turn out to be life-threatening if treated with scrimp-induced levity.
It can be tough for some people to spend their money, especially those that had gone without it for extended periods of time. And it’s totally OK to query every purchase to keep you from spending impulsively and on unnecessary stuff.
Just don’t allow your obsession with money prevent you from spending on your health when you ought to.
Being stingy on your feeding can hurt your health
Finding ingenious ways to save money on groceries can help your finances. But depending on coupons for every purchase might be hurting your health.
You will end up buying only processed food because you don’t have coupons for whole fresh food. While some processed food like canned beans, whole-cereal grain, and frozen fruit can be nutritious, consuming processed food with loads of sodium, added sugar and trans-fat could cause health problems.
Choosing to eat fast food because it’s cheap is another way you might be ruining your health. Fast food contains high levels of saturated fat which causes an increase in blood cholesterol and obesity – all risk factors for stroke and heart disease.
Are those few dollars in savings worth your life?
Skimping on insurance can ruin your finances
There are people who are so keen on improving their finances that they shun health insurance, with the hope that they won’t need it. But if you opt out of coverage when you can afford it, the Affordable Care Act stipulates you pay a fee when filing your tax returns.
Yet, some people will rather pay the fee because it’s cheaper than an insurance premium.
The reality, however, is that avoiding health insurance may not save you any money in the long run.
Well, accidents happen. And when you need healthcare, say in the case of an emergency, having insurance coverage will help you save more than paying out of pocket.
A visit to the emergency room could devastate your finances and ruin you if you are not covered by insurance.
The distress of dwelling on debt
According to a survey by the Fidelity Investments and the Stanford Center on Longevity, 47 percent of men and 69 percent of women reported higher stress levels after taking on debt.
They slept worse, put on weight and became less active due to being indebted.
These problems are worsened by dwelling on the debt and worrying about how to pay it off. Coming up with a clear repayment strategy often helps alleviate this fear.
One strategy that others do and could help you pay back faster is to adjust your tax withholding. This will increase the money you receive in each paycheck that you can channel towards your monthly debt repayment.
Working too hard and too long for money might shorten your life
Working long hours or working several jobs to make more money might put you at risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke. According to a study published in The Lancet medical journal, people who work 55 or more hours per week have a 13 percent greater chance of a heart attack and a 33 percent greater chance of a stroke.
Even if you are not working yourself to death trying to make as much money as possible, you’ll miss out on having a life.
You shouldn’t spend all your time at work with the hope that you’ll able to enjoy life at a later age with all the money you’ve piled up.
Know that there are some things you might not be able to do when you retire.
By overworking yourself now, you only increase your chances of being less active in your later years due to physical limitations.
Being a cheapskate can ruin your reputation
It’s a good thing to spend sensibly. But constantly pinching pennies and obsessing about saving money will make you come across as a miserly killjoy.
And no one likes a cheapskate.
Extreme frugality could squeeze out all the joy out of life
If you take your finances too serious and obsess about saving money, you won’t be able to enjoy the things life has to offer.
The reason we work is to take care of the essentials and some extras. While it’s good to save, do not deny yourself a little luxury every now and then. Check out this article on how extreme frugality can drain the joy from your life.
Buy a ticket to watch your favorite band play live, treat yourself to a nice holiday or engage in any activity that gives you joy.
Life is too short, and tomorrow is never guaranteed.
Some people suffer anxiety about spending money. There are books and articles that can help you build a healthy relationship with money. You can also get some therapy if you suffer from serious spending-related anxiety.
Extreme frugality or being obsessed with money is not normal and overthinking every expense is a miserable way to live.
