Can You Be Too Addicted to Earning Money? (2024)

This post is from our regular Wednesday contributor, Erin.

Have you ever been in a position where you were addicted to earning more money?

I’m not talking about gambling, or investing.

I’m talking about not being able to say “no” to opportunities that come your way, because you want more.

More to the point of sacrificing your well-being, relationships, or your sanity.

When you have an intense financial goal like paying off a bunch of debt, or saving enough to afford a down payment on a home, you might be tempted to say “yes” to everything.

After all, who doesn’t want more money?

It’s a very easy trap to fall in, and I’m talking from personal experience here.

This is something I realized only recently, which is why I wanted to share it with you. Truthfully, I do believe there’s a risk in becoming too addicted to earning money. Here’s why.

Coming from a Place of Limitation

I’ve explained it here before, but for anyone not familiar: I’m currently a full-time freelancer. A large part of my decision in making the switch to freelancing was the ability to essentially control my pay.

If I wanted to scale back on work, I could, and this would lead to making less, but having more free-time.

If I wanted to accelerate my financial goals, I could do that by taking on more work than normal.

This is a big reason why people start side hustling. What they can earn from their full-time job is often limited, and aside from working overtime, earning more on the side is an easy way to increase the amount you’re bringing in.

However, when I started freelancing, I had just moved, and had no job prospects or clients at all. That might have been a foolish move, but I had saved up quite a bit to ensure the transition went smoothly.

Ever since I’ve been getting clients, I haven’t been able to stop saying “yes”. Having so much work coming in is a great problem to have, but it’s hard to know how to handle it when you’re new.

How can I possibly turn down the opportunity to earn more?! That seemed insane to me.

So I kept taking on more work. Until my days were completely filled with work, and I no longer had any free-time.

Unless your financial situation is so dire you really need every last penny you can find, there’s no reason to do this to yourself.

Sometimes, Sacrifices Aren’t Worth It

Young Adult Money focuses on side hustling a lot because it’s great for anyone to have an alternate stream of income from their jobs. There’s no doubt they’re extremely useful.

But I’ve noticed a huge trend with side hustles, at least in our community.

People work themselves to the bone! When juggling a full-time job on top of a side business, you’re looking at working anywhere from 70-90 hours a week.

It’s great to be earning so much money, and to have so much work, but because we’re working so much, we forget to enjoy life.

There are other things in life that are more important than earning money.

Make time for family, hobbies, friends, and relaxation.

Know Your Limits

If you do have one financial goal you’re specifically working toward, which is why you’re taking on all this extra work, that’s great. Make sure you only plan on being in overdrive until your goal is met, otherwise you risk burning out.

Knowing your limits may take some time, especially if you’re new at hustling.

My best advice would be to try and determine exactly how many extra hours a week you want to be working on your side hustle.

I can tell you that having the freedom to work anywhere, at any time, can be both a blessing and a curse. It’s extremely easy to work through your entire day and not realize it.

That’s also why it’s easy to keep taking on work. Why not, it’s just one more project! Until it’s 10 new projects. Oops.

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask For Help

For those of you making a decent amount that have opportunities coming to you – don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Plenty of solopreneurs have teams helping them out behind-the-scenes. There’s nothing wrong with that – it’s what makes a business more efficient.

Freeing your time up by outsourcing tasks can be well worth the “financial sacrifice”. It’s easy to want to keep all of your earnings for yourself, but if you’re stretched thin, it’s worth considering. Again, that’s how businesses grow.

If you’re at work and stuck in a similar situation, try seeing if it’s possible to delegate tasks. I know it might seem counterproductive at first, especially if you have to train someone on a certain task, but the upfront investment is worth it.

Don’t Be Afraid to Say No

At the same time, you shouldn’t be afraid to say no. If you’re realizing that you’re working too much and want to scale back, you have every right to do that (unless you signed a contract stating otherwise!).

It could possibly take getting in over your head to come to the realization that you can no longer take on additional work.

Remember that, in most cases, you’re working with your clients, not for them. Speak up if you’re getting overwhelmed! They’re likely to be understanding.

Likewise, if your workload at your job is too much for you to handle on your own, talk with your manager and see if you can work something out.

It can be difficult to admit that you need extra time or extra help on something, but you’re better off doing that than doing a poor job because you didn’t have enough time to dedicate to it.

Money Shouldn’t Always Be the Main Motivation

Overall, wanting to increase your earning potential is never a bad thing, but it can be taken too far at times, especially when you take “the sky’s the limit” too literally.

Try to remember that money shouldn’t always be the only thing that motivates you. You should enjoy the work you’re doing for its own sake.

Additionally, never feel pressured into taking something on. If you have an iffy feeling about it, go with your gut!
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I feel silly that I didn’t realize the driving force behind me taking so much work on was twofold: I was scared of turning work down, and I also just enjoy seeing the numbers in the bank go up.

Now that I’m realizing I’ll be okay if I scale back a little, I feel more in control. It’s important not to let work completely take over your life!

Do you think people can become too addicted to earning more? Have you fallen into this trap? How did you get out?