No matter how much we make, it never feels enough. What can we do?

September 15, 2026 — 3:00pm

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I’m exhausted. I feel like I’ve been pushing hard for years. I’ve worked hard to get to a good place in my career, so I’m earning well. I’ve got two kids and my partner also earns well. But it just seems like a never-ending grind: the “rat race” as some may call it. You get a little ahead, but then expenses increase. No matter how much we make, it never feels like enough. How do we get ahead?

There are two aspects to this: the practical and the mindset. Let’s start with the practical.

Earned income versus investments

Most of us are taught that the key to financial success is: earn more money. So, you go to school, get a job, get a better job, work hard for a promotion: you focus all your financial energies on trying to earn more, believing that when you earn more you’ll finally be able to relax.

But that relief is never long-lived. Before long, you’re back in the same familiar feeling of chasing more money. Your life expands and so, your financial capacity needs to expand too.

Some will tell you to spend less, and others will tell you to earn more. It’s not one or the other – it’s a bit of both, and neither in extreme. You can become obsessed with frugality, but at some point you’ll start wondering if you’re living or just surviving. You can........

© The Sydney Morning Herald