Can Money Buy Time?
Sunday, December 29, 2024.
The tantalizing connection between money and time raises profound questions about how we define a life well-lived.
Wealth often appears to promise more time—more years, more opportunities, more memories—but is this truly the case?
Beyond the numbers, we are left to grapple with deeper truths about health, happiness, and the very nature of human existence.
Research suggests that wealth can extend life expectancy, but this longevity is neither infinite nor universally meaningful.
Instead, it reveals a complicated interplay between material resources, social systems, and individual purpose.
However, to explore this most fully, we must look at the evidence and consider not just how money can buy time but why this even matters.
The Wealth-Health Connection: A Statistical Reality
The stark disparities in lifespan based on wealth are well-documented.
A recent study in JAMA Internal Medicine found that the wealthiest 10% of Americans live, on average, 14 years longer than the least wealthy 10% once they reach their late 50s (Himmelstein et al., 2024). Wealth provides access to critical resources such as:
Healthier Diets: High-income households are more likely to afford nutrient-dense foods and avoid the cheap, processed alternatives often linked to chronic illnesses.
Safer Environments: Wealthier neighborhoods boast lower crime rates, cleaner air, and better access to green spaces—all of which positively impact mental and physical health.
Superior Health Care: From preventative checkups to cutting-edge treatments, affluence allows for proactive and comprehensive care.
These advantages create a form of "health equity" for the wealthy, while economic insecurity exacerbates stress, poor diet, and limited healthcare access, further compounding health risks (Woolf et al., 2017).
The Diminishing Returns of Wealth
Despite its many benefits, wealth’s impact on longevity diminishes with each additional dollar.
The Opportunity Insights Group (Chetty et al., 2016) found that increasing household income from $14,000 to $20,000 adds roughly 10 months to life expectancy.
However, moving from $225,000 to $1.95 million also adds the same 10 months.
This plateau effect challenges the assumption that wealth is endlessly transformative. It suggests that the power of money lies not in accumulation but in its strategic use.
Strategic Spending for Longevity
Gerontologists like Loeckenhoff (2019) argue that how we spend money matters more than how much we have.
Purchases that promote physical health, cognitive engagement, and social connection provide the greatest returns.
Examples include:
Investing in Hobbies and Special Interests: Activities like ballroom dancing or yoga enhance physical fitness while fostering social bonds.
Home Adaptations: Buying home gym equipment or ergonomic workstations removes barriers to regular exercise.
Health Technology: Devices like the Apple Watch or Oura Ring track health metrics, nudging users toward better habits and potentially detecting medical issues early (Coughlin, 2024).
Such expenditures align with the broader principles of well-being but also demand personal accountability. Money may buy the tools, but it is discipline and intention that reliably extract the benefits.
The Stress-Reduction Dividend
Wealth’s most profound contribution to longevity might not be its ability to buy goods but to alleviate stress.
Chronic stress is a silent killer, linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and immune dysfunction (McEwen & Seeman, 1999).
Financial security provides the mental bandwidth to prioritize health and relationships.
However, this raises critical ethical questions: If wealth reduces stress and improves health outcomes, how do we address the inequities of a system that denies these benefits to the majority?
Here, the concept of structural inequality comes into play. Wealth doesn't just benefit ordinary folks; it shapes entire communities through better schools, parks, and healthcare infrastructure (Schwandt, 2022). This collective advantage reveals the interdependence of personal and societal well-being.
Time Beyond Chronology: The Meaning of More Years
Even as wealth lengthens life, it cannot inherently provide meaning.
Philosopher Viktor Frankl (1959) reminds us in Man's Search for Meaning that purpose, not comfort, sustains us through life’s challenges. A longer life devoid of purpose may amplify existential dissatisfaction rather than alleviate it.
Here lies the crux of the longevity paradox: What is the value of an extended lifespan if it is not spent in meaningful pursuit?
Researchers like Loeckenhoff (2019) advocate for "passion investments"—allocating time and resources to activities that enrich the soul, whether through artistic creation, spiritual exploration, or deep interpersonal connections.
Aging as a Collective and Individual Journey
The pursuit of longevity also reflects a broader cultural narrative about aging.
In affluent societies, aging is often framed as a problem to be solved rather than a process to be embraced. This obsession with "anti-aging" technologies—from supplements to cosmetic procedures—diverts attention from the spiritual and relational dimensions of growing older.
Studies suggest that aging adults who engage in new learning experiences—such as digital photography or quilting—show significant improvements in brain function (Park et al., 2015).
These findings underscore the importance of curiosity and adaptability in later life, traits that no amount of wealth can replace.
Rethinking Wealth and Time
Ultimately, the relationship between money and time challenges us to consider not just what we are living for but also who we are becoming in the process.
Wealth offers the potential for a longer life, but its true value lies in how it enables us to live well.
The questions we must ask ourselves are timeless:
Are we using our resources to deepen relationships and foster abiding human joy?
Are we building a society where longevity is a shared opportunity rather than an exclusive privilege?
Are we cultivating the wisdom to live richly, regardless of our material means?
The philosopher Seneca once wrote, "It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste much of it." Whether wealthy or not, the ultimate investment lies in reclaiming our time—not for its length but for its depth.
Be Well, Stay Kind, and Godspeed.
REFERENCES:
Chetty, R., Stepner, M., Abraham, S., Lin, S., Scuderi, B., Turner, N., ... & Cutler, D. (2016). The association between income and life expectancy in the United States, 2001-2014. JAMA Internal Medicine, 315(16), 1750-1766. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2016.4226
Coughlin, J. (2024). Health technology and the aging individual: A new paradigm. MIT AgeLab Report.
Frankl, V. E. (1959). Man's search for meaning. Beacon Press.
Himmelstein, K., Woolf, S. H., & Schwandt, H. (2024). Wealth disparities in U.S. life expectancy: A longitudinal study. JAMA Internal Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternalmed.2024.4221
Loeckenhoff, C. E. (2019). Time, money, and aging: Insights from behavioral gerontology. Cornell Gerontology Annual Review.
McEwen, B. S., & Seeman, T. (1999). Allostatic load and its health consequences: How stress impacts the body. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 896(1), 30-47.
Park, D. C., Lodi-Smith, J., Drew, L., Haber, S., Hebrank, A., Bischof, G. N., & Aamodt, W. (2015). The impact of sustained engagement on cognitive function in older adults: The Synapse Project. Psychological Science, 25(1), 103-112. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797613499592
Schwandt, H. (2022). Structural inequalities and their impact on community health. Northwestern Economics Journal.
Woolf, S. H., & Braveman, P. (2017). Where health disparities begin: The role of social and economic determinants—and why current policies may make matters worse. Health Affairs, 36(1), 34-42. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2017.1100