QLagoon - Health, wealth and happiness

More Work = More Wealth?

More work may, or may not, mean more wealth at the end of it. How so? By the time you have factored in the costs of going to work.

1. Travel costs – always peak rates on trains and traffic jams in cars
2. Clothes costs – suits etc…. (men and woman)
3. Service costs (childcare, gardening, cleaning) because you aren’t available to do it
4. Failure to manage money efficiently – no time. Your Credit Card rates are high, your Deposit Accounts rates low
5. Instant gratification pick-me-ups – ranging from Watches through to Holidays to Cars etc
6. Failure to exploit the assets efficiently – no time. Exploiting the house price boom

And the reality is that this is all paid out of taxed income! – Points 5 and 6 can involve significant amounts; add to this two other significant facts;

• The diminishing returns of work pay due to higher rate tax bands
• The unnerving tendency for pension assets (possibly one of your major ones) and annuity rates to fluctuate with time independent of your activities

So, do not confuse cash coming in, with the accumulation of wealth as we all have a habit of expanding our casual spending to match our income. It is entirely possible that a married couple having retired early 10 years ago, (taking their annuities early when the rates were better), thereby reducing their outgoings and giving them time to manage their assets, might indeed be relatively wealthier than their peers who stayed on at T’mill. And they have had command over their own time. Enough to make you sick isn’t it!

So more work doesn’t necessarily result in more wealth. This of course ignores the fact that many people work for other reasons than money finding satisfaction, fulfilment and a sense of purpose. Many don’t!

Now let’s examine Premise number 2. Namely, that more wealth = good