How Money Can Actually Help You Build a Life of Purpose
While money isn’t the goal, it can help you create time freedom and focus on what matters most.
By now, if you’ve been reading this Substack, you know I’m not someone who believes money buys happiness. I’ve said it before: what really matters is connection. The Harvard Adult Development Study — one of the longest-running studies on human happiness — makes that clear. The things we tend to chase like money, career, and status don’t correlate with long-term happiness nearly as much as the quality of our relationships.
I’ve also often argued that purpose and money aren’t tied together. You can absolutely pursue your purpose whether you have a lot of money or not. I still believe that. But today I want to flip that idea around a little. While money might not buy happiness or be your purpose, it can help you pursue purpose if you’re thoughtful about how you use it. Especially if you’re fortunate enough to have some financial cushion, money can become a tool that helps you live a life with more meaning.
Money should never be the purpose itself. It’s a tool, not the goal. When we mistake money for purpose, we often end up burned out or wondering why we feel empty despite our financial success. Unless you truly love the process of building wealth for its own sake, making money the goal doesn’t tend to lead to fulfillment. But if we treat money as a tool, we can use it in ways that support our search for meaning.
So how exactly can money help us live more purposefully? I want to offer three specific ways. Each of them comes down to time.
Money Can’t Buy Time — But It Can Give You More Control
Here’s something I’ve said before: you can’t buy time. Time isn’t something you can trade, store up, or purchase at any price. No matter who you are or how much money you have, time keeps passing. What we can do is use money to give ourselves more freedom in how we spend the time we have. That’s where the real value lies. Money gives us choices, and with those choices we can build a life that aligns more closely with what matters to us.
1. The Art of Subtraction
Living a purposeful life often starts with removing the things that get in the way. If you have financial freedom, you can subtract activities that drain you. That might mean leaving a job that no longer aligns with your values or cutting back hours so you can focus on what lights you up. Money gives you the option to stop doing things that don’t serve you. Sometimes living with purpose isn’t about what you add but about what you choose to let go of.
2. Pay for Help to Reclaim Your Time
There will always be tasks that have to get done. Your house won’t clean itself. Your taxes won’t magically file themselves. But money can help you buy back some of your time by allowing you to hire others to take on these responsibilities. This isn’t about thinking you’re too good for certain chores. It’s about making choices that align your time with your values. If cleaning the house stresses you out and you can afford help, that decision might free up hours each week for something that excites you or helps you grow.
3. Use Money to Grow Your Skills and Passion
Money can give us access to tools, resources, or guidance that help us get better at what we love. For me, writing books gives my life purpose. It challenges me and helps me contribute to the world. Having a bit of financial flexibility means I can hire a book coach, buy a computer that makes the writing process smoother, or pay for editing software that helps me produce stronger work. Whatever your passion is — whether it’s art, teaching, gardening, or building a business that serves others — money can help you improve and grow.
A Final Thought
I don’t believe money is the key to happiness. I don’t think you need it to live a purposeful life. But money can help. It can create more freedom over how you spend your time. It can help you remove what no longer serves you, outsource what drains you, and invest in the tools or learning that support your purpose.
Money isn’t good or bad. It’s just a tool. The real challenge is learning to use it in a way that helps you build a life that matters.
Did you catch this week’s episode of Earn & Invest (Click to listen)?
The Purpose Code is Now Available!
