One nice thing about money is that you can count it. You can determine its value by how much you have. Ten dollars. Twenty. A hundred. A thousand.

But there are other things of greater value than money that are harder to count, which are often disregarded or undervalued at our peril.

Take time, for instance. Sometimes money steals your time, like when you purchase a new television because it’s on sale and you save a few hundred dollars, not realizing that it’s about to cost you quality time with your spouse and children.

We also can value money more than our integrity. Sure, it’s dishonest to take that tax deduction, but a fat refund check would come in handy. Sure, it feels great to have this year’s model in the driveway or to let your friends see all those new outfits, but is that worth working two jobs to pay off your mountain of credit card debt?

A life of happiness and contentment comes from understanding that most real treasure lies in things other than money and status: time, family, integrity, freedom. You may not be able to count their value in increments of tens and twenties, but when you sell them away to increase your bottom line, your life may have no value at all.