The Dreadful Question of What to Do with Excess Money?

Think about this: you’re completely debt-free. You’ve paid off the car loan, cut up the credit cards, the student loans are gone, and your Credit Karma profile says you have $0 in debt. Your income is steady, and your bills are a very small fraction of your total income—I’m talking 20-30%. Now what?

I think this brings a daunting feeling for some people—like, now what do I do with all this excess money? I know I’m not supposed to spend it all on shopping, luxury, or convenience. It can feel intimidating because you know you don’t want to squander all this money away.

I think many people feel comfortable living in a pool of debt because, at least, it gives them something to do with their money every month. You’re giving it to creditors and banks in minimum payments. Having the money would be too much of a burden, so you just dole it out to 5 or 10 companies every month in payments. And there ya go, you did something with your money for the month. Deep breath, exhale, thank God that’s over. This is a sad scenario most people go through every month because no one told them what they could be doing with their money instead of giving it to large companies, creditors, and banks.

Even I deal with this, like, “What are we doing, Isaac?” as I invest 50-80% of my monthly income. Is this really moving the needle toward the life we ultimately desire? I think I have these thoughts because there’s nothing tangible like a house, or a car, or some material item that I’m gaining through investing my money in the S&P 500 every month. It just looks like the money comes into my account, I go to the ATM, grab cash for the month, make sure to keep enough in the operating account to pay the little bills I have for the month—phone, insurance, etc.—then I shift a large chunk over into the Roth IRA, 401(k), and the brokerage account. And we’re done. We did our “Give, Save, Spend” for the month—really just save and spend because I “give” a large chunk typically at the end of the year or sometimes here and there throughout the year. But we’re done. Now what? The account increases by a little, but I see no tangible gain.

Well, it comes down to the bigger picture for me, not this month, or next month, or next year. I know for myself, I’m saving to buy a house cash in the next several years. It’s weird—I think we go through this mental battle because we were taught that money buys us stuff, but when we spend money—like, investing in the S&P 500 in my case—there’s no “stuff” or physical item we can say, “I obtained/paid down this by spending that money.” It’s more of a waiting process, and the waiting is what I think irritates us the most. The idea of “money burning a hole in your pocket” is real.

I’m no expert, but I think this entire scenario is something to observe in each and every person’s life. Then, once you’ve observed it, it’s time to get comfortable with actually “having money” just sitting there, doing nothing but growing year after year. It pains people to have money, oddly enough. Most people feel they must be doing something with money, as if letting your money stack and stack and stack is sinful. But I’m here to tell you—it’s okay to do nothing but sit and watch your money multiply over 5, 10, or 20+ years.

Once this idea becomes deep-rooted in your psychology, you can truly, from there, just relax, have fun, live your life, and be okay with the thought process that:

1. I don’t “need” an upgrade – No matter what the media and marketers tell you.
2. It’s okay for my money to boringly do nothing but sit in 2 or 3 mutual funds/index funds that follow the S&P 500.
3. I don’t need to always have something tangible to show for after “spending money.” And yes, investing your money in the S&P 500 is considered spending, in my opinion.
4. It’s okay to live a simple life – You’re not required to sprint with your money, doling dollars out here, there, and everywhere to wind being broke again at the end of the month. Trying to figure out how to make it to the 1^st of the month yet again.
5. It’s totally okay to pile up a lot of money and then take a break from working a 9 to 5, instead of having debt payments, minimum payments, or excess ridiculous bills.
6. Money can buy stuff, yes, but it can also buy CHOICE, AUTONOMY, THE ABILITY TO NEGOTIATE YOUR LIFE, and freedom from having to clock in every day. Let’s call it the choice to clock in.

So, what I’m trying to tell you is the excess money you have and save over many, many years—it’s not in your possession soley to buy stuff, or to be the source of payment for the debts most people voluntarily sign up for. Instead, use that money to buy your time back. Let it pile up to buy a house in the next 10 years with a note, or a car, or travel, or your child's freedom in a 529 plan so they don’t have to be a slave to the lender. Or do one of the things I most enjoy: NOTHING with the damn money. Let it sit there and pile up and let yourself be enveloped by the feeling of freedom that comes with actually having a few damn dollars sitting in a few different accounts—not because the world is coming to an end, and you need to hold onto everything because we’re going into a deep, deep depression soon. That’s all hocus-pocus, in my opinion—just another way the media and marketing try to get you to detach from your dollars. “Buy it all while you can, because it’s all going to the sh**ter quick!”

Moral of the story: Be okay with making money every month, having almost no bills, having zero debt, and having money sitting all around you. And be okay with doing nothing with it. Don’t praise the dollar or put it on a pedestal; that is sinful nature—be okay with having it and doing nothing with it. We’re not buying a house for 10 years. We don’t need a car upgrade—replace the oil pan gasket for $800 and move on with your life. We don’t need this and that. We’re not in need of an upgrade.

And actually, we might quit our jobs and live on savings for 6 months just to see how that feels. I mean, we have the money—why not?

You see what I’m getting at now? The dreadful question of “What’s to do with excess money?” is to do nothing with the money—let it be what allows you to say "No!" or "Yes!" or "Let’s do this or that!" or “Let’s make a shift and try something new in life.”

I’m here to tell you what you're not obligated to do with your excess money:

• Sign up for more payments.
• Sign up for more debt.
• Buy more BS.
• Upgrade this or that.

It’s okay to have money and do nothing with it for a period of your life until you have a better decision than buying some new stuff. Money is great at buying your freedom, choice, autonomy, and negotiating strength to get out of that soul-sucking job you most likely despise.

Proverbs 13:22 – A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.
So, that means it’s okay to have some to leave behind.

I’m telling you—the idea of not doing much with my money was a very hard perspective to take on, but I’m growing just as you are. Let’s not hoard, let’s always be generous, cheerful givers, let’s spend, and let’s not forget: money can buy you choice.

Proverbs 21:20 (NIV) – The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down.

Philippians 4:11-13 (NIV) – I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Contentment is crucial for our financial success—and, furthermore, our freedom in this world. Freedom from being a slave to the lenders, and freedom from being an indentured servant to the modern-day job. I’m not saying we should lay around and do nothing all year long, but could there possibly be something else we could do with our time after we pile up enough money in a fully funded emergency fund, a survival account, 401(k), and Roth IRA?

I mean, how would it feel to do work you actually enjoy every day and not be in a position where you “have to earn a paycheck”? To not feel like your worth is tied to the amount of hours you punch into a clock or the paycheck you get every two weeks? It’s quite absurd, in my opinion, to always be working just for a damn dollar. To me, it kind of sucks to know that I always need to be doing work that earns the green bill.

Think about the peace that comes with having the option to choose what you do with your time. That’s the real beauty of financial freedom. And that starts with getting comfortable with having money, letting it grow, and understanding that you don’t have to spend it immediately, or work endlessly to keep the cycle going. The goal is not to be busy just for the sake of being busy, but to live with intention—intentional work, intentional rest, and intentional choice, intentional saving, intentional giving, intentional spending, an overall intentional life lived.