--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I turn down invitations to do things for…" description: "\"I turn down invitations to do things for money. I have almost no interest in making money. Actually, I've acquired a fair amount of money that I will n..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02c/joyce-carol-oates-344_amount_i-turn-down-invitations-to-do-things-for_1756712.jpg" --- # I turn down invitations to do things for money. I have… ![“I turn down invitations to do things for money. I have almost no interest in making money. Actually, I've acquired a fair amount of money that I will never live to spend. So earning money, in a way, depresses me, because I feel it's just piling up.” quote by Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02c/joyce-carol-oates-344_amount_i-turn-down-invitations-to-do-things-for_1756712.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02c/joyce-carol-oates-344_amount_i-turn-down-invitations-to-do-things-for_1756712.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02c/joyce-carol-oates-344_amount_i-turn-down-invitations-to-do-things-for_1756712.jpg) > “I turn down invitations to do things for money. I have almost no interest in making money. Actually, I've acquired a fair amount of money that I will never live to spend. So earning money, in a way, depresses me, because I feel it's just piling up.” [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author expresses disinterest in earning money, feeling that accumulating wealth is burdensome and unfulfilling. **In simple terms:** She dislikes making money, seeing it as a burden. Key Takeaway Seek fulfillment beyond financial gain. Themes money fulfillment existential Mood contemplative melancholic Type philosophical personal When to use this quote - career choice - philanthropy - retirement planning - minimalist lifestyle Key Concepts materialism psychology of wealth life purpose Questions to Reflect On - What gives your life meaning? - How could wealth be used constructively? A Different Perspective Money can enable positive impact if used wisely. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amount](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amount/) [Depressing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depressing/) [Earning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earning/) [Earning money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earning-money/) [Fairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fairs/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Invitations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invitations/) [Making money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-money/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Money Making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money-making/) [Spend Earning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spend-earning-1653515/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [“This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-spending-of-the-best-part-of-one-s-life-earning-money-in-order/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [We have an idea that if something we're doing isn't actually earning money, or spending it, then it's completely worthless. 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My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-walton/reading-is-awesome-and-flexible-and-fits-around-chores-and-earning/) [Jo Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-walton/) > [At the age of 16 I started performing with a dance band in the evenings and began earning more money than my father, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-bruce/at-the-age-of-16-i-started-performing-with-a-dance-band-in-the/) [Jack Bruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-bruce/) ## More by Joyce Carol Oates > [“A woman who has lost her husband is invalid, thus an invalid. In”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/a-woman-who-has-lost-her-husband-is-invalid-thus-an-invalid-in/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Running! 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Any idiot can be happy in a happy place, but moral courage is required to be happy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-challenge-is-to-resist-circumstances-any-idiot-can-be-happy-in-a/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [The first sentence cant be written until the final sentence is written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-first-sentence-cant-be-written-until-the-final-sentence-is-written/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“Did you know, Marianne: how by breaking the code that day, you broke it forever? For us all?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/did-you-know-marianne-how-by-breaking-the-code-that-day-you-broke-it/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > ['The Accursed' is very much a novel about social injustice as the consequence of the terrible, tragic division of classes - the exploitation not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-accursed-is-very-much-a-novel-about-social-injustice-as-the/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Keep a light, hopeful heart. But expect the worst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/keep-a-light-hopeful-heart-but-expect-the-worst/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [And this is the forbidden truth, the unspeakable taboo - that evil is not always repellent but frequently attractive; that it has the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/and-this-is-the-forbidden-truth-the-unspeakable-taboo-that-evil-is/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I don't think that writer's block exists really. I think that when you're trying to do something prematurely, it just won't come. Certain subjects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-don-t-think-that-writer-s-block-exists-really-i-think-that-when-you/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [... such speculation is like staring into the hot white sun. you know the sun is there but you can't see a thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/such-speculation-is-like-staring-into-the-hot-white-sun-you-know-the/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) [Explore all 658 Joyce Carol Oates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) ## More Amount quotes > [Dating someone on the opposite end of the happy spectrum teaches you an incredible amount of patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pine/dating-someone-on-the-opposite-end-of-the-happy-spectrum-teaches-you/) [Chris Pine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pine/) > [When the amount of change externally exceeds the amount of change internally, the end is in sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/when-the-amount-of-change-externally-exceeds-the-amount-of-change/) [Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [It's a great story for us whenever an entrepreneur makes a crazy amount of money and we get to tell the world about it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lacy/it-s-a-great-story-for-us-whenever-an-entrepreneur-makes-a-crazy/) [Sarah Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lacy/) > [It's a challenge to work a character's arc into a format in which you only have a very limited amount of time to grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginnifer-goodwin/it-s-a-challenge-to-work-a-character-s-arc-into-a-format-in-which-you/) [Ginnifer Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginnifer-goodwin/) > [The amount of things you can do with a kettlebell is unsurpassed by any other training equipment - dumbbells, resistance machines, free weights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/the-amount-of-things-you-can-do-with-a-kettlebell-is-unsurpassed-by/) [Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/) > [The amount you give isn't important. 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