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It makes more sense if you buy into the concept of hedonic adaptation [0], which I do. The gist is that your happiness is not influenced as much as you think by
by rthomas6 11y ago
It makes more sense if you buy into the concept of hedonic adaptation [0], which I do. The gist is that your happiness is not influenced as much as you think by your standard of living, but rather by changes in that standard. Absent of changes, your happiness will return to around its baseline level, and this is true for both positive and negative changes. So if that is actually true, it's possible to have a significantly lower cost of living and the same level of happiness. Thinking long term, why wouldn't someone want that? In terms of life satisfaction, you lose almost nothing in exchange for a long period of increased freedom.
[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill
- radiorental 11y agoI could not agree more. However, I will make the distinction between perceived happiness and experience. Put very simply: over a 10 year period I could invest in a BMW or flights back to Europe to visit family. I will spare no expense giving our parents time with their grandchildren before it's too late. I'm more than happy to drive my POS '04 Mazda 6. When I read 'to live frugally so as to retire at 50' I see a lot of lost experiences that can enrich both now and later. Find the right job and enjoy life now.
- astrange 11y agoIt's "retire at 30", not 50. http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/09/15/a-brief-history-of-the-stash-how-we-saved-from-zero-to-retirement-in-ten-years/ http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/09/15/a-brief-history-of...