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Is getting rich worth it?

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51–60 of 145 posts

Re: Is getting rich worth it?

#51

I'm not rich, but when i was a teenager and still living with my parents i went from being without heating for a month in the winter because we couldnt afford the bills to now where i earn more than enough to live. I've experienced what the author is talking about. I remember having to make sure we only spent a certain amount on food and clothes and now i dont even need to consider such a thing. Day to day life is be…

> but dont allow yourself to get used to the finer things you love, because then you wont love them any more and you'll expect them and they wont be special any more. I agree with most of your comment, but the last one causes me to ask: If simple repetition is enough to lose love for these "finer" things, then why waste effort on them anymore? Why not spend effort on things that will hold your love more permanently?…

Well i'm not saying there aren't things like that, but for instance, nice restaurants, quad biking and weekends away with the gf are things i enjoy immensely but dont do very often because if i did i think i wouldnt enjoy them as much, the very fact its a treat and not a normal occurrence is a large reason i enjoy them.

That isnt to say you shouldnt work towards finding longer term things that are less fickle and bring more overall life enjoyment that sticks, but the examples i gave are temporary by nature and my point was that not doing them often makes them special and i personally want to keep that.

I dont know why i would give these things up just because i'd not love them any more if i did them every week. They provide long term happiness because they're rare and i can look forward to them and remember them.

Re: Is getting rich worth it?

#52
post #4

> Most people now want something out of you This is a common mistake, esp among the newly wealthy who are young: The last thing you want is for anyone to know that you are wealthy. There are many ways to make sure people stay ignorant of your wealth. For the people (and dates) that don't know your wealth, then you sure as hell don't educate them by words or bling. For people that know you had an exit, they never saw…

Do what sivers did - create a trust to pay you a livable income, and lock up the rest. That way, all the vultures and insects can't go for your "wealth" - because it isn't really yours, it's just this legal vehicle that pays you until you die.

Re: Is getting rich worth it?

#53

I'm not rich, but when i was a teenager and still living with my parents i went from being without heating for a month in the winter because we couldnt afford the bills to now where i earn more than enough to live. I've experienced what the author is talking about. I remember having to make sure we only spent a certain amount on food and clothes and now i dont even need to consider such a thing. Day to day life is be…

Also there are countries that have regulated economy or highly monopolized markets. In that case even if you have the money you can't use it, cause there's no stuff on the store shelves.

Re: Is getting rich worth it?

#56
post #4

> Most people now want something out of you This is a common mistake, esp among the newly wealthy who are young: The last thing you want is for anyone to know that you are wealthy. There are many ways to make sure people stay ignorant of your wealth. For the people (and dates) that don't know your wealth, then you sure as hell don't educate them by words or bling. For people that know you had an exit, they never saw…

Just to reenforce that.

I knew a family where one member made wise investments and eventually became wealthy (but didn't announce it). These were older people, close to retirement. But once the sibling sought to give some of his wealth to siblings as a nice gesture, the other siblings wanted to gang tackle him for more. Now that he was wealthy, how could he be so cheap as to only give them X? They demanded X+Y, or threatened to make his life miserable (they'd come by drunk, repeat expletives, threaten force, say nasty things, etc.) They only turned 'nice' once he relented and gave them what they thought was appropriate.

Anyhow. A man now sees his brothers and sisters in a different light. He probably wishes he'd never become wealthy, in some ways.

Re: Is getting rich worth it?

#59
Proletarians suffer from the four kinds of alienation Marx referred to in the Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844 (1) alienation from products (2) alienation from the act of production (3) alienation from ones own life (4) alienation from fellow laborers. The forms of alienations the bourgeoisie have to go through are not nearly as acute as the alienation of the proletariat.

Perhaps the most important aspect of being as rich as a bourgeoisie is that you have a secure existence. You don't have to worry about finding a job, paying for health care, paying child support, paying rent on time so that you don't have to join the masses of homeless people living in the cold, or any of the other things ordinary people have to worry about. Having a secure existence is a major stress reliever and it makes your life better no question.

Re: Is getting rich worth it?

#60

> First, one of the only real things being rich gives you is that you don't have to worry about money as much anymore. I disagree with this. One thing being rich gives you is the ability to make things happen. Being a benefactor of a cause or artistic organization or an investor in a startup means that you can help set into motion meaningful projects that you believe in that would not otherwise have been possible. I'…

Money isn't useful for it's own sake. Money is a proxy for power, which is why people complain about how it changes their lives.
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