Even a RM14,000 Salary Isn’t Enough?
Read in BM When I was a teenager, I remember watching a TV show about a famous singer. They were earning millions and living in a multi-million dollar mansion, but they were still complaining about needing to make more money because what they had wasn't enough.
I turned to my dad and said, "Wow, they earn millions and it's still not enough?!"
My dad just chuckled and said, "It will never be enough. When you make one million, you want two. When you get two, you want three. Once you hit 10 million, you'll want 20. It never stops."
I went quiet after that unexpected reply. My teenage brain was just trying to process it.
Now that I’m an adult, I see that exact same pattern everywhere.
No matter how much we earn, it will never feel like enough. Why? Because we refuse to live below our wants.
Take a look at the breakdown of someone making RM14,000 a month. It’s highly unlikely they are living in a basic single-story intermediate terrace house. Their home probably has an aircon in every single room (and the house definitely has more than three bedrooms). They likely own two cars, and they definitely aren't driving a Myvi or a Bezza. They probably have multiple credit cards. When it comes to food, they definitely aren't cooking at home every single day. Just looking at that lifestyle, you can already see exactly where all the money flows.
At the end of the day, nobody has the right to judge or dictate how someone else spends their hard-earned money. If they want six aircons, a Hilux, a Vellfire, and a three-story bungalow, that is entirely their right.
The issue only happens when people publicly share their high salaries, make a statement that it's "not enough," and then display their monthly commitments online. When you do that, you are indirectly inviting the public to judge you.
To an average earner, claiming that RM14,000 isn't enough sounds completely absurd. Average earners drive a single Axia, ride a motorcycle, live in a cluster house with ceiling fans, and send their kids to a public school just 5 minutes away. They cook twice a day and pack meals to work. They look at a RM14,000 income and think, "Wow, if I had that much, I could easily buy a bungalow, a Vellfire, a Hilux, five aircons, and send my kids to private school!"
But guess what? The result would be exactly the same—that RM14,000 which should have been enough would suddenly become not enough. This is because humans naturally tend to spend up to whatever amount they earn.
And that is just how the human cycle goes...