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A Few Laws of Getting Rich

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Re: A Few Laws of Getting Rich

#41

Post by cipheredStones »

paulpauper wrote: post #35
traviswingo wrote: post #31

> When the benefits of money are so obvious but the downsides are so subtle, the downsides you didn’t anticipate can be more jarring than the benefits you expected. This is a really important aspect of seeking wealth that many people don’t understand. The jump from poverty to no longer missing bills is much more significant than the jump from middle class to upper class. It’s the reason why so many studies exist show…

It’s the reason why so many studies exist showing that past $75,000 per year (not inflation adjusted, so try $120k or so) I believe this was debunked https://www.verywellmind.com/happiness-doesn-t-top-out-at-us...

I'd caution against saying one study was "debunked" because another one disagrees with it. Later does not necessarily mean better.

However, in this particular case, the author of the $75k study (Daniel Kahneman, one of the founders of the field of behavioral economics) did an "adversarial collaboration" with the author of the later paper, and found that emotional well-being did continue to rise with income - except for the least happy 20% of people. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2208661120

Re: A Few Laws of Getting Rich

#42

Post by m3kw9 »

People that is trying to be “rich” will fantasize and will always look at all the positives of having “lots” of money but cannot imagine it’s unavoidable downsides if you don’t prepare your mind for it.

Re: A Few Laws of Getting Rich

#43

Post by ghaff »

cipheredStones wrote: post #41
paulpauper wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s the reason why so many studies exist showing that past $75,000 per year (not inflation adjusted, so try $120k or so) I believe this was debunked https://www.verywellmind.com/happiness-doesn-t-top-out-at-us...

I'd caution against saying one study was "debunked" because another one disagrees with it. Later does not necessarily mean better. However, in this particular case, the author of the $75k study (Daniel Kahneman, one of the founders of the field of behavioral economics) did an "adversarial collaboration" with the author of the later paper, and found that emotional well-being did continue to rise with income - except f…

That sort of makes intuitive sense. Some percentage of people have relationship problems that more money doesn't necessarily help past some point--or even worsens--personal and family health issues that money can only do so much to solve, etc. But especially in HCOL areas, it seems logical that something over $75K inflation-adjusted makes various life decisions and other things easier which would reasonably correlate to happiness at some level. But which is presumably a decreasing utility function at some point for most people.

Re: A Few Laws of Getting Rich

#44

Post by galaxyLogic »

samuria wrote: post #17
galaxyLogic wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most billionaires still work I think. I personally believe that true contentment in life is if you can do something meaningful to help others. The human connection is such a basic thing in life. We want love, not just sex. You might think that getting lots of money would make other people like you more but I think that is the opposite. Billionaires really aren't that "likable" are they?

They are very much liked by people who are interested in their wealth. Which I think is the wrong reason to "like" someone for.

Right but I think they know it themselves, so they cannot be sure whether people really like them for other things besides money. The point I was trying to make was that people want to get rich really because they want to be truly liked and appreciated by others.

Whether we suck up to a billionaire or try to perhaps con them somehow WE know that we don't "like" them very much.

But really I don't know any billionaires, I've only seen them on TV, so I may be wrong.

Re: A Few Laws of Getting Rich

#45

Post by syndicatedjelly »

breadwinner wrote: post #32
saurik wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are many goals you can set and achieve that require effort but don't relate to needing to work to make money. Maybe I'm somehow crazy on a forum of tech "entrepreneurs"... but, I like to do stuff like learn to sing and play the guitar, speak new languages, get better at drawing and painting, or plunge ever deeper into the worlds of math and physics... all of which seems eminently compatible with this "power pro…

Those are surrogate activities, and according to the article, they are less satisfying than the pursuit of real goals (see last paragraph). The point is that when you have to work for a living, and you are successful at that, that is much more satisfying than being successful at a hobby. That sounds about right to me!

> 9. No one is going to remember you in 100 years. So you might as well focus on what’s going to make you happy now, instead of what money might buy you in the future. There is a Scottish proverb: Be happy while you are living, for you are a long time dead.

That sounds like the exact opposite of what you're saying.

Re: A Few Laws of Getting Rich

#46

Post by syndicatedjelly »

greatpostman wrote: post #2

I made a significant amount of money at once. It ended up destroying a few long term friendships. In hindsight, maybe that was my fault. But human nature is a funny thing, and rapid changes in social status will reap havoc on social equilibriums built over decades

How might you do things different, if you were to have a second chance at that experience?

Re: A Few Laws of Getting Rich

#48

Post by m463 »

galaxyLogic wrote: post #10
teucris wrote: post #5

Ugh. All these articles conflate the idea of “getting rich” with the kind of wealth that most people don’t know what to do with, eg billions of dollars. What about just reaching the point where you never need to work again? Can we talk about how that’s a reasonable goal for people to push for rather than accumulating the net worth of a small country?

Most billionaires still work I think. I personally believe that true contentment in life is if you can do something meaningful to help others. The human connection is such a basic thing in life. We want love, not just sex. You might think that getting lots of money would make other people like you more but I think that is the opposite. Billionaires really aren't that "likable" are they?

money can sure poison relationships.

For example, as I get older, I hear more and more first-person stories about families falling apart because of probate shenanigans.

Re: A Few Laws of Getting Rich

#49

Post by danaris »

breadwinner wrote: post #25
teucris wrote: post #5

Ugh. All these articles conflate the idea of “getting rich” with the kind of wealth that most people don’t know what to do with, eg billions of dollars. What about just reaching the point where you never need to work again? Can we talk about how that’s a reasonable goal for people to push for rather than accumulating the net worth of a small country?

> reaching the point where you never need to work again? You don't want to reach that point. You want to stay below that point, because what brings satisfaction and happiness in life is something called the "power process". The Unabomber explained it well [1]. The Unabomber unfortunately used bad methods to spread his ideas, but the ideas themselves were good. [1] https://medium.com/chris-messina/surrogate-activities…

"Never need to work again" != "Never work again"

There are dozens of reasons to want to have enough money that, no matter what happens, you know you won't end up homeless and destitute.

And unfortunately, in America today, that's a lot of money, due to our for-profit healthcare system making medical emergencies sometimes cost millions of dollars.

If I were handed enough money tomorrow that it would guarantee I and my family would never have to work another day in our lives, I don't think any of us would choose not to work. Instead, we'd be free to choose work that we want to do, rather than worrying about what will pay well enough to keep us fed and housed.

Re: A Few Laws of Getting Rich

#50

Post by soupfordummies »

galaxyLogic wrote: post #10
teucris wrote: post #5

Ugh. All these articles conflate the idea of “getting rich” with the kind of wealth that most people don’t know what to do with, eg billions of dollars. What about just reaching the point where you never need to work again? Can we talk about how that’s a reasonable goal for people to push for rather than accumulating the net worth of a small country?

Most billionaires still work I think. I personally believe that true contentment in life is if you can do something meaningful to help others. The human connection is such a basic thing in life. We want love, not just sex. You might think that getting lots of money would make other people like you more but I think that is the opposite. Billionaires really aren't that "likable" are they?

They may work but they don't HAVE to
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