81–90 of 214 posts
Go try something new. If it clicks, great. If it doesn't, I'm sure there is something else you'll find, too. Just get out of your comfort zone.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
how is it possible to save 2.5 mil from salary? I am from upper 5% in germany in terms of salary, and I can only manage to save ~10kEur/year, while maintaining decent lifestyle. An order of magnitude lower than you'd need to retire with such a sum after 20 years or so. How do you do that? Genuine question
salaries in the Bay Area are very high, and if you avoid the common pitfalls, you can save a lot. Personally I made about $200-220k average during my 10-year career and lived on 30-40k while saving the rest and investing mostly in equities (of course taxes take a big chunk). Now I spend $50k-ish but I pay for everything for me and my fiance. I plan on spending $75kish once we have a family of four eventually which is…
I felt like that until I got to around $2.5 million liquid net worth. Now I still like money, but each additional dollar is starting to show diminishing marginal utility. Though of course I'm still trying to grow my net worth, it's no longer the main focus of my life, especially now that I'm "retired" from my main career at least. I split my time between gaming, running, reading, socializing and working on my trading…
I think while you don't have "FU money" it's important for money to be the main focus of your life You may feel very differently when you are looking back on your life near the end of it.
I think what they're saying is that it's important to focus on money early on if it's achievable for you to reach this level of independent wealth in a reasonable time frame.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
how is it possible to save 2.5 mil from salary? I am from upper 5% in germany in terms of salary, and I can only manage to save ~10kEur/year, while maintaining decent lifestyle. An order of magnitude lower than you'd need to retire with such a sum after 20 years or so. How do you do that? Genuine question
salaries in the Bay Area are very high, and if you avoid the common pitfalls, you can save a lot. Personally I made about $200-220k average during my 10-year career and lived on 30-40k while saving the rest and investing mostly in equities (of course taxes take a big chunk). Now I spend $50k-ish but I pay for everything for me and my fiance. I plan on spending $75kish once we have a family of four eventually which is…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
how is it possible to save 2.5 mil from salary? I am from upper 5% in germany in terms of salary, and I can only manage to save ~10kEur/year, while maintaining decent lifestyle. An order of magnitude lower than you'd need to retire with such a sum after 20 years or so. How do you do that? Genuine question
Everyone talks about how US tech salaries are inflated values because they don't include the cost of healthcare, a lack of guaranteed PTO, etc. I like feel they're actually under-inflated (at least for comparing high paid workers in both places) because of equity. The company I work at has rallied many times over 100% since I joined a bit over a year ago. I could sell my equity and "semi-retire" 30+ years early, work…
In all fairness, if you're working for a public tech (and many other) companies, you probably have good health insurance that's at least subsidized and 3-4 weeks of PTO which may not be great by European standards but isn't nothing. (Though admittedly increasingly shared with sick time so if you're out a lot, it's less good.)
Some people do manage to “make it” in 2020 but it’s more dumb luck than anything. You can do everything right and fail miserably — this is the outcome for most people with your mindset who chase “get rich quick” schemes. Sounds like you’re having cyclical burnout from smashing your head against the wall because every market is crowded and you have no real way to set yourself apart — again, this is by design. Late stage capitalism and all.
But even if you do succeed, there’s a good chance you find yourself in your mid 30s with a lot of money but poor social skills and limited interests to draw upon. Women / men of this age tend to be attracted to people who are interesting rather than wealthy. If your only passion is how you make a living, that’s kinda dull. You’re 25 and probably have lots of friends now, but by 35 most of them will be married and doing their own thing and you may see them a couple times a year. If you’re boring and haven’t developed interests, you’re going to be lonely.
You can cultivate interests — just do things for the sake of doing them. Once lockdown is over, join a sports league or take dance classes. Do it just to meet people and you’ll eventually find something you like. Money comes and goes with economic cycles and I honestly don’t think the future is very bright economically for most people in the US. Find ways to cope with the existential dread now or you’re going to end up a lonely 35 year old with no friends and few prospects.
I felt like that until I got to around $2.5 million liquid net worth. Now I still like money, but each additional dollar is starting to show diminishing marginal utility. Though of course I'm still trying to grow my net worth, it's no longer the main focus of my life, especially now that I'm "retired" from my main career at least. I split my time between gaming, running, reading, socializing and working on my trading…
The amount of money one 'needs' depends on a lot of things, like cost of living in the area you happen to be in. While US$ 2.5M may not seem like a lot in the US, one can live like a king in may other areas.
One doesn't even need to live in one particular place: people cruise around the world, often spending less than US$ 40K per year in total expenses if you don't get too fancy:
* https://www.instagram.com/sailinguma/
* https://www.youtube.com/sailinguma
Your nest egg would allow for several decades at that burn rate.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think while you don't have "FU money" it's important for money to be the main focus of your life You may feel very differently when you are looking back on your life near the end of it.
I don't know how old GP is but their life sounds like it's pretty enjoyable and not what we generally picture when we think "a life whose main focus is money". I think what they're saying is that it's important to focus on money early on if it's achievable for you to reach this level of independent wealth in a reasonable time frame.
I’d also posit the OP intuitively understands this and is why they’re looking to “fix” it, why they think this is a problem because it feels like it should be one. And I personally agree, there’s no added meaning to life if you’re only looking to be better than those around you. One day I imagine you’ll realize there’s no winning or losing, there’s just life. It goes on.
I think mindfulness can address a lot of the concerns here.