Philosophy is a social science and a social ideology, and the mentality of "money first" you mentioned is also a social ideology. Since it is "social science", it comes from "social life" and is the refinement, concentration and sublimation of our daily life. Since it comes from life, how can it be divorced from reality?
Philosophy originated in ancient Greece, so I won't elaborate on the history of philosophy here. I think you have heard the names of famous philosophers such as Socrates, Plato and Aristotle. Their thoughts and theories are still being studied, and their value is recognized by the world.
Academic philosophy is a rational reconstruction of some basic principles, such as values, thoughts and behaviors. Because it is too abstract, ordinary people inevitably find it complicated and difficult to understand. In fact, real life is complicated, and the language of philosophy is concise and accurate.
Poor practicality of philosophy? Philosophy can't teach you how to cook scrambled eggs with tomatoes, but anyone with basic knowledge of life will know that to learn scrambled eggs with tomatoes, you should read recipes instead of philosophy books. Isn't it as absurd to complain that philosophy can't teach you to cook as it is to complain that fashion magazines can't teach you to make money? Fashion magazines teach you how to spend money.
Philosophy is not a reference book such as cookbooks and dictionaries, but it does not mean that philosophy is "useless". Philosophical thinking brings spiritual comfort to people. Have you ever heard the saying that slavery in not fade away only changed from lifelong system to 8-hour system every day? Just work hard for money, but never think about the meaning of your life, so what's the difference between people and tools?
Have you ever seen people who study philosophy tell others that ta has developed "the meaning of the universe"? And tell the boss this while dancing? People who do that can't tell the occasion by themselves. What does it have to do with philosophical research?
Materialism is philosophy, idealism is philosophy, the law of survival in the workplace is philosophy, the way to get along with people is philosophy, love is philosophy, and philosophy is a reflection and summary of life.
You can have more money, but that doesn't necessarily mean you can have more happiness. Regarding the relationship between happiness and money, Epicurus told us that at first, the more money you have, the happier you will be. After that, the relationship between money and happiness gradually separated. Even if you have more money, your happiness level will still stay the same. True happiness depends very little on material things, which is nothing more than the basic conditions of food, clothing, housing and transportation. Beyond a certain limit, the increase of wealth can no longer bring happiness.
Material and spirit are incompatible products to a great extent. It's too difficult to be loyal to your ideals and have a lot of money. We must learn to choose and coordinate. Happiness depends more on spirit than material, and people who have tasted both kinds of happiness can prove it with their own experiences. We often abandon spiritual happiness in the pursuit of material things, and then use money to fill the spiritual emptiness after having material things. The spiritual and cultural enjoyment exchanged for material things has long been full of commercial cells. People just go round and round.
Many philosophers devote their lives to research, not to prove that they know more than others, but to judge and solve problems. Wisdom should make people happy.