Why Do We Work For Money? Work To Learn- Not Just Earn

When I started my first job, I focused solely on making money. Money was an important factor at the time. So why do we work for money?

People work for money because they’re fearful of losing their current lifestyle. 

Besides paying the bills, they want to maintain or raise their standard of living.

If they lose their job and don’t have a stable income, their lifestyle declines. They’re not able to spend more or afford all of the luxuries that most people do not have.

In this post, I’ll dive deeper into the question of why people work to earn money. Along with that, I’ll go over why you should work to learn and acquire valuable skills.

Note: We may include products or services that will be helpful to our readers. This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please review the affiliate disclosure page.

1. Should We Work Only For Money?
2. Working For Money Will Not Make You Wealthy
3. People Choose To Raise Their Lifestyles Over Investing In Themselves
4. Work To Learn- Not Just Earn
5. Questions To Ask Yourself

Should we work only for money?

Working for money helps us buy the things we need or want. 

It satisfies us for a short period of time, but afterward, we fall short and go through a similar cycle over and over again.

Working for a paycheck provides temporary relief, but once we fall short or run out of that money, the fear grows.

Working at a job that pays well (but you don’t enjoy) doesn’t help either.

Most people find themselves here, but end up staying put in their positions. 

Why is that? They need the money to pay for expenses and afford their current lifestyle.

Why do we work for money?

Working for money will not make you wealthy

Being employed by someone means you earn the same amount of money in your paycheck.

For instance, you get the same paycheck for every pay period (i.e. biweekly, semi-weekly, monthly) at a fixed amount.

When you make a fixed amount of money on that paycheck, you limit your ability to make more income.

The only exception is if you move up and climb the corporate ladder; still, you will not be wealthy through endless promotions or pay raises.

“The rich don’t work for money, they make money work for them.”

Robert Kiyosaki (Author of Rich Dad Poor Dad)

Check out the latest price on Amazon

People choose to raise their lifestyle over investing in themselves

Here’s the thing when it comes to people making a living. 

When they make more money (i.e. such as a promotion or pay raise), they tend to increase their lifestyle.

For example, they get a bigger house, fancy cars, eat out more often, and maybe go on luxurious vacations.

Now that’s all fine and dandy- but that will not improve the quality of their lives. 

It may temporarily do so, but it won’t last forever.

Spend less than you make- Invest the rest in things you understand

It’s why I believe it’s better to keep your expenses low, and whatever money you have left over should be used to invest in things you understand.

You can go on and learn a new skill or trade, or invest that money where you know you can make a high return on it.

I believe that helps people become more valuable and potentially increases their wealth as well.

Work to learn- NOT just earn

Working at any job involves learning new skills, which can help build that valuable work experience.

Even if it’s working on your communication skills, that’s a win-win. There’s nothing wrong with building on your people skills.

Learning helps you grow as an individual, which makes you better equipped for future opportunities.

If you work at a job that does not provide opportunities to grow, you may want to consider leaving at some point.

Job hopping (bouncing from job to job) is not a bad idea, since it may help you acquire multiple skills.

One of those skills could be learning how to operate a business.

Can I live without a job?

My work experience over the years

Within the last nine years of being in the workforce, I’ve worked multiple jobs in different industries. 

Although the jobs were similar to one another, the one skill I kept improving on was my ability to communicate effectively.

It helped me work better around other people, which made me more comfortable talking to other individuals.

Even though I’ve done some job hopping in the past, the big benefit I had was learning how to work with other people in a professional work environment.

Final Words

Working for money drives fear for many people. They’re focused on raising or keeping their current lifestyle.

Instead of focusing on getting the money, that focus should be turned to learning and gaining valuable work experience.

That will help you get better opportunities later on, and possibly make you more wealthy as well.

To top it off, it’s best to work on learning and growing over time. 

Instead of getting those endless paychecks that you’re dependent on, do something that will help you learn a very valuable skill.

Your Turn: Do you work to learn or make money?

I would like to get your thoughts on this topic. 

Have you been wired to work in exchange for getting that guaranteed paycheck?

Is learning a new skill worth it to make you more valuable tomorrow?

Do you believe making your money work for you is more important than working for it?

What will you do today to get yourself on a better path for tomorrow?

Feel free to share your thoughts by leaving a comment below. I look forward to reading your responses, and I’ll gladly respond promptly.

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Eric is the owner and chief editor of notimekillers.com. 

He takes great pride in helping people manage their time and grow their businesses. 

Eric is a firm believer in financial and time freedom, as he believes in financial independence and taking ownership of your time. 

“Time is your most important asset. It can be your best friend or worst enemy. How you use your time can shape the future you desire to have.” 

In his leisure time, Eric loves to write and read whenever possible. He enjoys going for long walks outdoors while doing in-home workout videos every week. 

You can also connect with Eric via LinkedIn.