What drives people to want more money?
Today we are going to explore some of the motivations people have to want more money. We often assume that our reasons are shared by other people. You'll be surprised…
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Join for $9 →I get the question all the time from people when I travel. I meet a lot of people and they always how you do it, how you travel all year? You must be a millionaire or something, how much do you make? Do you make millions? I don't make millions, right? I don't. I wish I did.
But, you know, I don't make millions. And they're like, but how do you travel? I'm like, well, you have the wrong expectations in terms of how much money you realistically need to do stuff.
So I just wanted to reiterate this fact here and to rerun some numbers with you guys. Because here's the thing. I've met a lot of people throughout the years and people have different motivations for wanting more money. OK. And again, let me repeat this. Money is nothing by itself. OK.
It's just a means to an end. Right. There’s something you want to do with this money. It's not like you want to count the money and be buried with your stuff. Some people do. But usually you want to spend it on something, something you like. If it's cars or whatever. But you want it for something. Some people want it for status or for revenge because people doubted them or something.
But money doesn't buy you happiness, but it buys you things. And if you get it right, it buys you freedom. It buys you peace of mind as well. There are situations where you have a lot of money, but you're chained to your desk.
So money itself is not necessarily the goal. I've met a lot of people and I always try to figure out their motivations for wanting money. And there is one that actually I never considered. And I just discovered it by talking to someone. So here are some of the most common answers that I get.
I hate my boss. That idiot, I want him out of my life. I want to quit my job and stuff. Right. So, you know, people like this, they hate their job. So when they quit their job, then you have another division. So you have people who want to travel. They're like, Dude, I want to travel. I want to go around the world. But you just assume that everybody wants to travel.
That's not the case, right? Some people just want to stay home because they like cycling. They like playing guitar or whatever or hiking or whatever. Right. So they would just want to do that. Right. And they want to spend time with their kids and their family and stuff. Or, you know, travel within the country. So that's another level. Some people are like, well, you know what?
My parents and stuff. They're in another state. I would like to be able to visit them whenever I want. So that's one kind of travel, but it's not the international travel going to like islands and all that stuff, you know? So sometimes you just assume that everybody has the same motivation.
What drives people to want more money?
So you have other people who like to work. For example. I know people who like to work part time and have a little bit more time or, you know, some people would like to have a little bit of extra money to take care of their of their hobbies. Right. They’re not super ambitious and they say that “if I can make another two hundred bucks. It pays for my art and my scuba diving lessons” or something. Right. So that's all they want.
But there is another category of people. And I found out about it recently. I was talking to this guy and he said “I do like my job but in the past, I had major money problems. I don't want to end up in that situation ever again. OK. I need to have a safety net that I have just in case something bad happens.
And so I don't go back to that dark place”. So this person really doesn't want to quit their job. They just had a really bad experience with not having anything. And they're like, “dude, I just want a safety net and. And it's my insurance”
So it's funny how people's motivations are very different.
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About the Author
Martin Ebongue is the founder of martinebongue.com, an online business and lifestyle design blog focused on helping aspiring entrepreneurs build location-independent businesses. Since 2014, he has been creating and scaling online ventures across multiple niches, from digital products and affiliate marketing to SaaS and content platforms, while traveling the world. He shares the real-world strategies, tools, and systems that work, with a particular focus on AI-powered automation for solopreneurs. Follow him on YouTube, X (Twitter), and Instagram.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What actually drives people to want more money?
Status, security, and optionality, in that order for most people. Pure income chasing is rare. Most founders pursue revenue as a proxy for one of the three. Naming which proxy is operating helps you stop chasing the wrong number and start spending earned dollars on the actual underlying need.
How does the desire for more money change as entrepreneurs scale?
Below 100,000 in annual income, money buys baseline security and decisions feel urgent. Between 100,000 and 500,000, money buys time and decisions become strategic. Above 500,000, money buys optionality and decisions become philosophical. Founders who do not track which stage they are in tend to make the wrong trade-offs at every level.
Is wanting more money a healthy entrepreneur motivation?
Yes, when it is paired with a specific use. I want 50,000 more per year to fund a sabbatical is healthier than I want more money in general. Specific targets force discipline and reveal when enough is enough. Vague money goals usually produce burnout because there is no defined finish line.
How do you use the desire for more money without getting trapped by it?
Set the income floor and ceiling at the start of each year. Below the floor, pursue revenue aggressively. At the ceiling, redirect energy into compounding assets like products, audiences, and skills. Treating money as a binary on/off above a threshold prevents the lifestyle creep that traps most successful founders.
Further reading
- Martin's Substack: long-form essays on building a business that runs without you on Martin's Substack.
- Freedom by Choice Podcast: background interviews and freedom-business case studies on the Freedom by Choice Podcast.
- Entrepreneur.com: real-world solopreneur stories at Entrepreneur.com.
- Stripe Atlas Guide: founder fundamentals in the Stripe Atlas Guide.
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