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If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

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Re: If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

#171

Post by kongin »

justinator wrote: post #39
whytaka wrote: post #32

Because I'm not nearly as good at any hobbies as much as I'm good at my job and being good at something is what gives me day-to-day satisfaction. Having a high wage but not enough stored wealth to feel invincible against an increasingly uncertain future, I'm spending more time feeling good about work than finding and investing in a hobby that'll make me truly happy.

> Having a high wage but not enough stored wealth to feel invincible against an increasingly uncertain future Hate to be the one to tell you this, but there is no guarantee on what the future may bring, money can't fix everything, and true security is a lie. Live your life in the here and now, before you regret wasting it.

I have never had a time in my life where having less money would have produced a better outcome than having more.

Re: If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

#172

Post by Kirby64 »

samjett wrote: post #155
FractalHQ wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder what the EV RV industry is looking like..

Near nonexistent. Battery size requirements and battery charging rates make EV RVS either really expensive and really impractical for distance travel. You would need to put a huge battery (say, 300 KwH, which would cost $60,000 just for the battery), to get a reasonable range of 200-300 miles between charges, depending upon the efficiency of your RV. And then, even at a level 3 DCFC Charging station (providing 50 KW)…

You know how much new RVs cost right? 200-400k is not unusual for a 'big' RV.

Also, with a bigger battery comes higher limits on how fast you can charge. If you have a 300kWh battery you should be able to charge it at 300kW all day long.

That said, it doesn't really exist since there is no market for it at the moment. RV sales aren't exactly high, so the niche for EV RVs is even smaller. Plus there's no real infrastructure out for it now.

I suspect once EV Semis become more mainstream we'll see that trickle down to RV users. They can charge at the same place a semi would charge at.

Re: If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

#173

Post by mensetmanusman »

bobthechef wrote: post #89
brtkdotse wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did he ever have time to be with his family?

Right. The family is your moral priority, not your career. But people are selfish. They will sacrifice their families for their careers when the two are in conflict. Divorces ensue, estranged children that are poorly adjusted. Actually, all this mostly started with the industrial revolution. Before then, work usually took place in and around the home for most people. Both men and women worked. But with the industrial…

Great book, we read this at our Catholic men’s group :)

Re: If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

#174

Post by dasil003 »

kyleblarson wrote: post #153
justinator wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Having a high wage but not enough stored wealth to feel invincible against an increasingly uncertain future Hate to be the one to tell you this, but there is no guarantee on what the future may bring, money can't fix everything, and true security is a lie. Live your life in the here and now, before you regret wasting it.

People say money can't buy happiness, but it can buy a jet ski. Have you ever seen an unhappy person on a jet ski?

Only once, and it was very very depressing to witness.

Re: If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

#176

Post by phendrenad2 »

justinator wrote: post #39
whytaka wrote: post #32

Because I'm not nearly as good at any hobbies as much as I'm good at my job and being good at something is what gives me day-to-day satisfaction. Having a high wage but not enough stored wealth to feel invincible against an increasingly uncertain future, I'm spending more time feeling good about work than finding and investing in a hobby that'll make me truly happy.

> Having a high wage but not enough stored wealth to feel invincible against an increasingly uncertain future Hate to be the one to tell you this, but there is no guarantee on what the future may bring, money can't fix everything, and true security is a lie. Live your life in the here and now, before you regret wasting it.

Seems like you're replying to a different post? Why would someone who enjoys work regret "wasting" their life? They did what they enjoyed!!

Re: If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

#177

Post by mywittyname »

dvt wrote: post #128
cgh wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is if you own a house mortgage-free. Dividend income on let’s say $1.5 million would be around $60,000/year. That’s pretty comfortable if your expenses don’t include shelter. That’s why my advice to young people is always to do what you have to in order to establish working credentials, then move somewhere cheap, buy a house and work remotely as much as you can. You’ll get it paid off in no time and that level of…

> On the downside, you’ll probably be living somewhere small and uncool and that may not be enough incentive to leave the bright lights of the city. This seems like social life suicide. I'm in my 30s, single, and omitted dating much in my 20s (because -- surprise surprise -- I was working way too much). I can't really move to the middle of nowhere where the dating pool is non-existent.

Realistically though, 1.5MM brings in much more than $60k a year most of the time (an aggressive portfolio could return that much in a month, on occasion). So one could buy a place in a cool area with a cheap 30 year loan immediately before quitting. Live there for as long as you want, then sell it if you get the urge for a cheaper, less exciting lifestyle.

Even if one overspends a little extra in those initial years paying a mortgage on a nicer place, much of that will be recouped upon sale, since places in cool areas tend to appreciate quit quickly and mortgages are highly leveraged.

Re: If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

#178

Post by inglor_cz »

jlokier wrote: post #66
justinator wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Having a high wage but not enough stored wealth to feel invincible against an increasingly uncertain future Hate to be the one to tell you this, but there is no guarantee on what the future may bring, money can't fix everything, and true security is a lie. Live your life in the here and now, before you regret wasting it.

True security is a lie, but "relatively comfortably secure for the foreseeable future" is not. These days, it takes a lot of assets to be confident you won't be homeless in old age assuming no major surprises or threats from society and the environment changing. I would say most younger people don't earn enough or have enough assets to reach that level of basic confidence. After all, if you've rented all your life so…

"These days, it takes a lot of assets to be confident you won't be homeless in old age assuming no major surprises or threats from society and the environment changing."

Uh, that is quite a pessimistic take from someone debating on HN, which is a forum of IT-related professionals. Maybe your level of required confidence is too high.

Vast majority of old people in the developed world do not end up homeless and IT professionals are even better off than an average Western employee. So "assuming no major surprises or threats..." and assuming you are not at risk of becoming alcoholic or drug dependent, you do not really need to fear homelessness.

Re: If You’re So Successful, Why Are You Still Working 70 Hours a Week?

#180

Post by whytaka »

asdff wrote: post #142
whytaka wrote: post #32

Because I'm not nearly as good at any hobbies as much as I'm good at my job and being good at something is what gives me day-to-day satisfaction. Having a high wage but not enough stored wealth to feel invincible against an increasingly uncertain future, I'm spending more time feeling good about work than finding and investing in a hobby that'll make me truly happy.

Having a mentality like this seems like it will crush you when you do finally retire. No one is good at a hobby from the get go, the point is to be bad and develop a talent over time.

Everything I've gotten good at I made it my #1 focus. I will have no problems getting good at things once I retire.
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