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While i don't necessarily agree with the overall dystopian tone of this article (almost a version of - richest person in the room is also the saddest one), I ha

by vcool07 10y ago

While i don't necessarily agree with the overall dystopian tone of this article (almost a version of - richest person in the room is also the saddest one), I have to agree on some of the points. Below is my take on this : 1. Having more money does present you with complications. You can't just keep it in a Savings account and ignore it. You just can't , especially for long periods of time. This adds a significant amount of stress, much more than you would've imagined ! 2. You start making investments (good and bad). With bad, you learn a lesson and move on. With good, you again go back to the first point. 3. Worst problem is when you invest in expensive/market-risk assets (Ex:a house). After your purchase, if the market goes bad/you don't want to maintain it etc., it becomes a burden like no other. There are many a sleepless nights to be had in anticipation of the outcome. 4. I've a friend who goes to a 9-5 job, stays in a rented house, has a small piece of land he has bought as an investment for his old days, and spends most of his free time watching movies (basically doing what he likes). He doesn't have a fancy car (he actually doesn't have any car), or a fancy house, but he seems quite happy with what he has. That's the crux of the article I presume ?

gutnor 10y ago
1. You definitively can leave all your money on a saving account. The worst that happens to it in the first world is inflation eating it away which really isn't going to make a practical difference on a few millions. That's like the cost of a cleaner to clean your house. 2-3. That's self-made problems. You don't need to make that kind of investment unless you want your job to become "investor". In any case a lot of the more traditional investment like real estate have countless middlemen to take the stress out of it. 4. That is something you can definitively do with a lot of money too. I know people that retired just after Uni or later in life and did just that. This is an attitude problem. It is very common here on HN or in the tech community in general, even the one with 9-5 jobs. The obsession to make every minute of your time productive, self-convincing yourself that's what you really want to do or that you must do it in order to stay relevant is destroying a lot of people. Unlike the lawyer, doctor, ... the tech community is its own enemy. The other communities tries to get the member to cope with the pressure, the tech one openly encourage it: "So your brain surgeon is not volunteering as a knee surgeon nurse over the weekend to extend his skill and does not run mental health practice in the evening as a hobby business ? What a loser."
- croon 10y ago
  Fully agreed. Also, 1-3 can easily be solved with a Vanguard/ETF/S&P500/etc. While technically not risk free, it practically is in the long run. Having money doesn't inherently create any problems for you. Having no money however definitely limits your options of living. Having these problems (mentioned in the article) is completely unrelated to money.

by vcool07 10y ago

gutnor 10y ago

1. You definitively can leave all your money on a saving account. The worst that happens to it in the first world is inflation eating it away which really isn't going to make a practical difference on a few millions. That's like the cost of a cleaner to clean your house. 2-3. That's self-made problems. You don't need to make that kind of investment unless you want your job to become "investor". In any case a lot of the more traditional investment like real estate have countless middlemen to take the stress out of it. 4. That is something you can definitively do with a lot of money too. I know people that retired just after Uni or later in life and did just that. This is an attitude problem. It is very common here on HN or in the tech community in general, even the one with 9-5 jobs. The obsession to make every minute of your time productive, self-convincing yourself that's what you really want to do or that you must do it in order to stay relevant is destroying a lot of people. Unlike the lawyer, doctor, ... the tech community is its own enemy. The other communities tries to get the member to cope with the pressure, the tech one openly encourage it: "So your brain surgeon is not volunteering as a knee surgeon nurse over the weekend to extend his skill and does not run mental health practice in the evening as a hobby business ? What a loser."

croon 10y ago
Fully agreed. Also, 1-3 can easily be solved with a Vanguard/ETF/S&P500/etc. While technically not risk free, it practically is in the long run. Having money doesn't inherently create any problems for you. Having no money however definitely limits your options of living. Having these problems (mentioned in the article) is completely unrelated to money.