Emerson isn't warning against profligacy—he's suggesting that the pursuit of wealth exacts a price far beyond financial reckoning. The real cost emerges in what we sacrifice along the way: integrity compromised in boardroom meetings, friendships abandoned for another promotion, the quiet hours spent with books and loved ones surrendered to climbing ladders. A middle-aged banker who finally reaches the corner office, only to realize he's estranged from his children and exhausted by his own ambition, has paid far more than his salary ever suggested. The genius of Emerson's observation lies in its insistence that we account for the full bill.