An Analysis of the Ill Effects of Excess Money: An Economics Essay

This essay delves into the multifaceted negative impacts of having excess money, arguing that while money can provide material comforts, its abundance often leads to detrimental consequences. The essay begins with an illustrative introduction, setting the stage for a discussion on how excess wealth cultivates bad habits such as excessive drinking, gambling, and unhealthy eating, ultimately damaging a person's character and mental well-being. It further explores how affluence can foster arrogance, as exemplified by historical and contemporary figures, and can lead to laziness and a detachment from genuine social connections. The essay then presents a counter-argument, acknowledging the philanthropic potential of wealth but emphasizing that the majority misuse their riches. The essay concludes by suggesting the importance of cultivating generosity and mindfulness to mitigate the negative effects of excess money, advocating for a balanced approach to wealth management and a focus on values over materialism. The essay uses examples and studies to support its claims, providing a comprehensive overview of the topic.

RUNNING HEAD: EXCESS MONEY: A DOOR TO DESPAIR 0
EXCESS MONEY: A DOOR TO DESPAIR
Content

EXCESS MONEY: A DOOR TO DESPAIR 1
s
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Ill effects of having excess money...................................................................................................2
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................5
Bibliography....................................................................................................................................6

EXCESS MONEY: A DOOR TO DESPAIR 2
Introduction
Once upon a time, in a faraway land lived a poor but a happy and content man, he had
unusual power, whatever he prays, god grants him, one day he becomes greedy and prayed to
god for a lots of wealth, owing to his power, god granted him lots of wealth and he became
happy and more greedy and kept asking for wealth until one day he realized that he lost the most
important treasure that is a peaceful sleep because money had spoiled him and made him hubris
now he runs for a best sleeping pill from door of one doctor to another, a peaceful sleep which no
pill can guarantee. It is true that money brings happiness as it can buy temporary material things
but in a long run it is the prime cause of despair as it makes a man merely a puppet in hands of
materialistic world. In the following essay the ill effects of having excess money is discussed.
Ill effects of having excess money
An image of young man standing with his Bugatti and a beautiful mansion at the back
and a sumptuous swimming pool by his side is a perfect example for people of happiness as he
looks the richest and in reality, he is but what lays beneath the picture no one knows. Excess
money has made him the most miserable man; it had cultivated in him bad vices.
Money destroys the person character by cultivating in him bad habits.
It is the bitter truth that the money destroys the person’s character; it makes him more
susceptible to drinking habits, gambling and unhealthy eating habits. More money he has, the
more freedom he gets which open all the evil avenues for pleasure. A person gets habitual for
late night parties and unhealthy drinking habits. The money makes them think that they are the
heir of happiness, so in this pursuit, they get into drugs, alcohol which grants them temporary
peace of mind but in a long run damaging their mental wellbeing and health. A person becomes
avaricious thus spending weekends in casinos and getting excited at the sight of money getting
tripled but unaware of the fact that the sight is making the heart empty day by day. These bad
habits are the habits which are only visible at the surface but cause the more serious injury to the
soul which remained invisible.
It causes a complete change of attitude.

EXCESS MONEY: A DOOR TO DESPAIR 3
Money makes a person arrogant; a person starts believing that he owes everything just
because he can buy the most expensive things of the world like in the example of king Firaun, a
great Egyptian ruler, who was the richest of all time, his richness made him believe that he was
god and this hubris was the main cause of the kingdom’s downfall (Isbouts, 2019). It is just an
historical example; there are various stories of Riches to rags in modern day world. Nicolas cage,
the highest paid Hollywood actor, due to his excess bank account made him a spendthrift thereby
losing a good amount of fortune (Martin E. , makeit, 2019). Money makes a person lazy, the kids
of super-rich fathers are lazy, usually falls into the trap of bad company as they have a lot of free
time instead of using the time in gaining new learnings, they exploit in gaining wrong pleasures.
A small problem makes them ungrateful thus leading to the new generation of complainers
causing chaos in the society (Hui, 2018).
Money causes unhealthy social behavior
Excess money makes a person materialistic; the materialistic person attracts those people
who love money and fame, more people with the selfish motive get attracted towards such
people in this way a person gets trapped in this vicious circle of bad habits and negativity.
According to a study conducted, rich people are more likely to have failed relationships; the
reason behind this is lack of proper reasoning or wise judgment (Nbcnews, 2019). The people
become more brand conscious and they do most of their dealings for namesake.
Counter Argument- Money in excess is not a bad thing because the excess money causes
the development of nation, it helps in feeding the darker regions of the society. Philanthropists
like Bill gates and warren buffet have amassed great amount of wealth from their businesses but
their wealth was put to greater use for the world. The philanthropist organization such as Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation helps in eradicating poverty and various kinds of crises from the
world (Martin E. , The 20 most generous men, 2019). In a world where most people are playing
on a middle field, the excess wealth becomes really important for the societal development.
Although there are great personalities who have utilized their great wealth in doing great
work for the society but they are only few percentage of people who are at this height while the
rest are simply playing around with their wealth, utilizing them for wrong pleasures and are not
ready to part away with their wealth (Olen, 2017).

EXCESS MONEY: A DOOR TO DESPAIR 4
There can be myriad number of ways curing the problems associated with excess money
but the solution which can eradicate this problem from root can be, keeping in mind the
philosophy of giving, as giving makes a person humble and connects him to the divinity. So, a
person should cultivate the habit of being generous. Once bitten by the bug of philanthropy, a
person becomes grounded as he starts sharing the pain of sufferers. According to the guide to
escaping materialism and finding happiness by Zen Habits, one should do it by watching less
television, as television induces the habit of squandering as one can’t resist the temptation of
attractive products and up-scale lifestyle portrayed and Maintenance of gratitude journal is must
as by writing the simplest blessings it helps the person acknowledging blessings in life, if a
person wants to control his desires for squandering money than one should do it by taking a 30
day commitment of not buying a product as it will help in controlling one’s desires (lorenzen,
2019). One wants to seriously live a self-controlled lifestyle then one should do it by waking up
at 5am as early morning hours has its own magical powers (sharma, 2018). The importance of
keeping a gratitude journal can be concluded from a story of emigrant in America, who seeing
American’s definition of success as wealth felt depressed and started practicing gratitude which
made immensely positive (Kogan, 2019).
The application of these practical tips in real life will make this world a better place, as
people will be more in self -controlled of their desires, they will be more self-fulfilled and
content, the social relations will be based more on values than money-centered, if children are
brought up with these values, they will be able to understand the value of money from the
beginning, at a later stage, they will build a better society, a society which will be a happy one.
There will be less of depression among people as most of the stress is caused by bad
management of money (Martin). As money is the cause of increasing rate of criminal activities in
the country, the application of these tips will help in curbing such activities.
Conclusion
Money is important for life as said by many learned people as it helps in meeting out the
basic needs of life and improving the standard of life of a person but the excess money could
lead an individual to doom, it can drown a person in evil. As large amount of wealth makes an
individual feel that he is entitled to everything in life and makes him arrogant. Like a poor man
in a story who lost his sleep-in accumulating wealth. It is on an individual to decide whether he

EXCESS MONEY: A DOOR TO DESPAIR 5
wants to make his life a heaven by using money responsibly or a living hell by squandering it
into evil things. To make a life living heaven, a person should cultivate the habit of using money
mindfully.

EXCESS MONEY: A DOOR TO DESPAIR 6
Bibliography
Hui, Y. M. (2018). Spoilt and ungrateful kids. Retrieved from thestar:
https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2019/04/06/is-your-wealth-creating-
spoilt-and-ungrateful-kids/
Isbouts, J.-P. (2019). The Egyptian pharoha challenged Moses . Retrieved from
nationalgeographic:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/people-in-the-bible/pharaoh-king-punished-
god/
Kogan, N. (2019). Gratitude. Retrieved from happier: https://www.happier.com/blog/how-
gratitude-can-change-your-life/
lorenzen, r. (2019). Conversation with Robin Sharma. Retrieved from huffpost:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/my-conversation-with-robi_b_5759658
Martin, E. (n.d.). Americans are more stressed. Retrieved from cnbc:
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/26/money-is-more-stressful-than-work-or-
relationships.html
Martin, E. (2019). makeit. Retrieved from cnbc: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/19/how-
nicholas-cage-once-blew-his-entire-150-million-fortune.html
Martin, E. (2019). The 20 most generous men. Retrieved from independent:
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/the-20-most-generous-people-in-the-world-
a6757046.html
Nbcnews. (2019). Better. Retrieved from nbcnews: https://www.nbcnews.com/better/pop-
culture/why-wealthy-people-may-be-less-successful-love-ncna837306
Olen, H. (2017). Why Don't America's Rich Give More to Charity. Retrieved from theatlantic:
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/12/why-dont-rich-give-more-
charity/548537/
sharma, r. (2018). The 5AM Club. New York: Jaico.

EXCESS MONEY: A DOOR TO DESPAIR 7