Arm chair psychologist for a second, but this sounds like issues with self control and commitment. Plently of outdoorsy people exist and do interesting things without throwing everything a way with reckless spending.
Young, Dumb, and Broke: Why Outdoorsy Types Suck at Money
81–90 of 138 posts
Re: Young, Dumb, and Broke: Why Outdoorsy Types Suck at Money
#82After years of living for the moment and YOLOing, author felt bad because she was in her 30s and didnt have wealth, then her parents gave her a large lump sum of money and she was able to apply things she learned from financial management books. The end.
> was able to apply things she learned from financial management books
some people learn this early (the author's friend who grew up poor), and some people learn this late (the author), and some people never get a chance to learn this lesson, ever (not mentioned, the resort bums who reach 40 years old full of sports injuries, zero savings with no future and no more ability to ski).
in any case, the author seems self-aware enough to know that there will be comments on the internet like yours. she expresses remorse for having gone through this path on crutches. at least she has a story to share. someone who "retired" early from a corporate finance job with a couple of million in investments (whose life the author was only a few decisions away from), goes out and finally lives his dream never having lost anything is about as uninteresting as a trust fund kid exploring the world.
Re: Young, Dumb, and Broke: Why Outdoorsy Types Suck at Money
#83I'm not a particularly outdoorsy person, but being a frugal person, I have noticed that a lot of outdoors activities really do "require" an investment. Equipment can be expensive, as can ski passes or trips. Once you hang out in those circles (as the article states), you don't want to have cheap gear. It's as with anything, I suppose, but with gear, there's always more and better things, which never interested me. I…
It’s true that a lot of things take an investment but I don’t think you should be so prescriptive about some things like when you say: “Cycling shouldn't be about the gear itself. It should be about, well, getting out there and cycling.” People can of course enjoy a hobby or activity and get something out of it that’s not the thing you think they should be getting out of it and that’s awesome. It’s okay if the fun is…
True, but if you regularly spend $1200 on a bike you don’t need maybe you shouldn’t complain about not having money?
Re: Young, Dumb, and Broke: Why Outdoorsy Types Suck at Money
#84In a 2014 study, he found that 58 percent of affluent people are first-generation wealth, not trust-fund babies. I've heard that idea before, that the notion of inherited unearned wealth as explaining the bulk of the wealthy population is actually misleading. Same thing was said in that old book The Millionaire Mind I think.
I think people is the wrong metric for this statistic. A large number of just-barely-affluent nouveau riche could drown out a handful of old money robber barons that own the world. The much more interesting statistic would slice it by dollar: What percentage of dollars are owned by first-generation wealthy versus old money?
It's more interesting for some purposes, but if you're looking for achievable goals and who you should emulate, the old money types are outliers.
Re: Young, Dumb, and Broke: Why Outdoorsy Types Suck at Money
#85After years of living for the moment and YOLOing, author felt bad because she was in her 30s and didnt have wealth, then her parents gave her a large lump sum of money and she was able to apply things she learned from financial management books. The end.
The older the company I mix with, the more I realize how common it is for parents to give their kids a huge leg up financially. I am one of the only people in my friend group to not have been given the equivalent of a large home down payment by the time they were thirty.
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Re: Young, Dumb, and Broke: Why Outdoorsy Types Suck at Money
#86[deleted]
Re: Young, Dumb, and Broke: Why Outdoorsy Types Suck at Money
#87Earlier quoted context omitted.
As a reasonably frugal person, it is very annoying that outdoorsy people set the standard for spending, and they make me look stingy. I’m not stingy. I’m sane. They’re the ones going bankrupt ;) 20 years later: They’re married with kids and I’m single. Perhaps I really looked stingy ;) Moral of the story: People in average are de facto pushed to consume all their margin.
I know the feeling. I often prefer not to eat anywhere the costs are more than $10 and usually go for places around $5. I wish to retire in a few years and they in a few decades.
I feel like there are diminishing returns past $15 for a meal. I love pad Thai and normally that runs about $12 which I will gladly pay :)
Re: Young, Dumb, and Broke: Why Outdoorsy Types Suck at Money
#88After years of living for the moment and YOLOing, author felt bad because she was in her 30s and didnt have wealth, then her parents gave her a large lump sum of money and she was able to apply things she learned from financial management books. The end.
Yeah I was waiting for the point in this article where it became about "outdoorsy types" and not the author but it never happened. I'd be embarrassed too, mismanaging money and relying on my parents support at 34 years old. I guess the author was just so embarrassed that she published this article about it. Great job with the antagonizing, clickbait title though. I'm guessing "My Tone-deaf Autobiography about How Irr…
Why are people critical of being supported by your parents in your 30's? Because that's not "normal" or "proper" or unfair on those who don't have that support? Or for a real reason that's bad according to some fundamental moral standard? We're all supported by our parents to some extent. Why is it so wrong for late-support outliers to exist? That sounds like being a teenager when everyone is trying to make it look like they're independent but really their mum still does their washing and cooks their dinner because it's shameful to be supported by your parents.
In my country, due to high house prices, adult professionals often buy their first house with money from their parents because they can't otherwise afford it. It's call "The bank of mum and dad". Is that irresponsible? Is it OK only after it's become common but was wrong for the first few people who did it?
Re: Young, Dumb, and Broke: Why Outdoorsy Types Suck at Money
#89Earlier quoted context omitted.
I can’t wait until I can move into a “retired millionaire’s” house at below market rent when I run into tough times. What an inspiring article.
Read between the lines there. She describes him the way people describe their significant others and not the way people generally describe mentors and/or business partners. People don't generally know their landlords well enough to get an understanding of the details of their business and landlords don't tend to rent stuff out at highly discounted rates without very specific business reasons or emotional attachment.
Yep. Economics work differently for women because of the asymmetry in the market for sex. Nothing wrong with that, but it's a bit of a taboo.
Re: Young, Dumb, and Broke: Why Outdoorsy Types Suck at Money
#90I'm a firm believer that everyone should have a skill they can use to support themselves. It doesn't really matter what that is as long as you can't be replaced easily by unskilled labour. So take the author. She wants to be a ski bum while she's young. I respect that, actually. So the question such people should be asking is: what skill could I gain that is compatible with that? Example: being a qualified paramedic/…
>> So the question such people should be asking is: what skill could I gain that is compatible with that? Having seen people go through this thought process, SOO many get it wrong. If you want to ski all the time, you shouldn't be an EMT because money season for those gigs in ski town is the winter. You should find a seasonal job where money season is opposite of ski season. Carpentry/home building is a natural fit,…
> Carpentry/home building is a natural fit, money season is summer not winter
I understand your point (and it's a good one) but it lends itself to a different lifestyle, one that such a ski bum might not be interested in.
That is, if you're going to live year-round in Boulder, for example, and are looking to establish roots then it makes sense. When you're young, that's not necessarily what you're looking for. There's a freedom of sorts of being able to fit everything you own into your car so you can go rock-climbing in the summer, skiing in the winter and so on.
If you have a trade, you typically have tools, and a work vehicle and benefit from having a reputation, a network, contacts and repeat customers. It's not better or worse, just more rooted.
But there are jobs you can get working in the off-season to support yourself of course. Yachting springs to mind. While the Caribbean season overlaps with the North American winter, the Mediterranean season and Asian seasons don't.