I chatted with an old friend today after a long time. And while we were talking about our jobs and how our companies fared, he told me that they had recently got a new CEO. And as a matter of conversation, he mentioned that the new CEO was going to be paid something along the lines of 30+ Million dollars in stocks (restricted units, not options!), in addition to 1.2 Million dollars in annual salary and 2.4 Million dollars in annual bonus, to take the job. The numbers were just mind boggling. And this new CEO guy is just 45 years old!!! As most conversations with old friends go, we were all over the place, and before we knew it we were debating about whether we would even want to be in the shoes of this guy.On the one hand, being just 45 and being offered so much money to take on a job seems like an incredible accomplishment. Especially for a guy who was just like us - with a Ph.D. degree and not a fancy schmancy M.B.A degree or someone who wasn't exactly born with a silver spoon in his mouth. How cool is a life with millions of dollars to throw around!!! On the other hand, how much life would this guy have had? He must have worked his butt off to get where he did right? Sure, luck and timing and being at the right place at the right time had something to do with it.... but unless he burnt a lot of midnight oil and stressed out enough to turn several hair gray, I doubt he could have got where he is today. When you are busy building such a high profile career, where is the time for the simpler things in life? To smell the roses, to attend your children's plays and recitals, to cook a meal with your spouse and enjoy it on the back porch? What good is several million dollars, if you don't have time to enjoy spending it? We consoled ourselves that our average Joe jobs that paid decent salaries while allowing us time with our families was good enough.
After I hung up the call though, I couldn't stop thinking about this. Are we really that different from this CEO guy, other than the fact that we don't make a multi-million dollar salary per year (that's a big glaring difference, but lets ignore that for a second, shall we?). Let me take my example. I am currently *very* pregnant but I still continue to go to work, so I can save all my PTO for the time after the baby comes. Even with all this saved vacation and the short term disability pay, I will have only about 9 weeks of time off with my new baby. And then I need to make a choice - either go on unpaid leave or return to work. And I am not very open to the idea of going on unpaid leave for long periods of time :(
Now, do we *need* the pay I will get by foregoing those few weeks of unpaid leave? Well, not really. The better half makes a decent salary, and we have some money in both short and long-term savings and we can survive fine without my paycheck for several weeks, months or maybe even years. So, why am I so reluctant to forego a few weeks of salary? Ultimately, are we all addicted to money so much, that we cannot stop chasing it? Do we all just trade in our time blindly in the pursuit of money? In some cases like that of the CEO guy its millions, and in other cases like me it is a few thousands but is it the same thing? Do we all intentionally (or out of habit) just chase financial security at the cost of quality family time?
I don't think I am cut out to be a stay at home mom. I admire those that have made the brave decision to give up their careers to raise families. But a large majority of my friends and the people I know are like me - they have reluctantly got back to work after having babies. They spend the days from morning to late night switching roles - an ideal employee to an ideal mom to an ideal spouse. Trying to advance the career and bring in a bigger paycheck, while at the same time trying to be a good mother and wife and provide a good nurturing family. Balancing, juggling, being super women....
What is it that fuels this insane desire to chase money? Is there ever an end to it? Do any of you ever wonder, or is it just my pregnancy hormones talking? :)
*Image Credit: Photograph by David M* [via Flickr Creative Commons]
PS:This article was featured as an Editor's Picks in the Carnival of Personal Finance #165 over at No Debt Plan. Head on over there for some really good reading...
