Why Aren’t Rich People Happy With the Money They Have?

Post by tejohnso » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 1:13 PM UTC

keithwhor wrote: post #134

10122018 wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I appreciate your comment. I know that having more than $100K in the bank would be a better safety net. Hell, having $5K would feel fantastic right about now. My point is merely that many people feel happy and comfortable with so much less than $10M, and it's absurd to believe otherwise. Most interlocutors here seem to have latched on to my pretty arbitrary figure of $100K and forgotten or ignored that original point…

$10M is a pretty standard “set for life” goal based on a 3% annualized rate of return. It’s obscenely difficult to get there, but an entirely reasonable and well-defined goal for people who are willing to compete (and, with high likelihood, fail) in the market to get there. It’s up to you to decide if you’d like to pursue that path. There are plenty of paths to stability without setting that goal; you’ll just find yo…

Post by fallingfrog » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 1:16 PM UTC

Post by ddorian43 » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 1:21 PM UTC

murukesh_s wrote: post #197

eertami wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>your social status get raised and you would need 100k a year to live comfortably Haha come on. You know that is not true. I live a pretty good life where I get to move country every few months (in Europe), have expensive hobbies, ski 100+ days a year and after currency conversion make closer to 50k. For what it's worth, I only work 2 days/week, if I "needed" 100k USD I could go to a full time position but I don't se…

It also depends on the culture and country. I am in a country where there is no social security, and therefore I have to support both my parents, my spouse and my kids with my income. The society expects me to pay for my kids tuition fees, their future marriage expenses, my family medical expenses, other loans I have taken etc. Also part of the 100k goes towards a retirement fund (investments in bank savings, real es…

Post by cies » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 1:27 PM UTC

charlesdm wrote: post #128

TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Money is an insanely toxic mental, political, and social poison, for exactly these kinds of reasons. It's also a social reward function that privileges egotism and narcissism over empathy; exploitation, scamming, and rent-seeking over creativity, curiosity and invention; and short-term gain over long-term damage. Like the hardest of hard addictive drugs, it's an almost irresistible modifier of behaviour and attitude.

There's plenty of creativity in tax avoidance and financial engineering. Now, I'm not saying that is the kind of creativity you want to promote, but it certainly is there. There are many people who have fun doing this kind of work.

Post by anoncake » Mon, Dec 10, 2018, 1:29 PM UTC

golergka wrote: post #146

mmsimanga wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Look I agree with you. Everyman should make their their own decisions and do what is right for them. However advertising has had a massive impact on how we see the world. You only need read about how de Beers the world's largest diamond producer changed our perception of diamonds [1]. There all manner of adverts designed to make you feel incomplete. I don't have links now but there have been a few stories here on HN…

Yes, people try to manipulate you all the time. My point is - it's fair game. It's exactly the game that all of us are playing all the time, it's pretty fun, it's challenging, and I see no point in painting someone as immoral just because they're winning at it.