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There is a lot of, for lack of a better word, fraud in the financial stories posted on the internet, and if you call it out on the financial forums, you get acc

by astura 8y ago

There is a lot of, for lack of a better word, fraud in the financial stories posted on the internet, and if you call it out on the financial forums, you get accused of just being jealous. Like people who got wealthy from getting a job through family connections, borrowing tens of thousands of dollars from family members to start a business, large inheritance, parents pay for college, stuff like that, then pretend they lifted themselves up by their bootstraps and anyone can do the same. There was an article a bit ago like "how I paid off $150,000 in student loans in a year" where the woman said that her aunt or something gave her a high paying job, her grandma gave her a condo, and she lived rent free with her parents while renting out the condo, then used the money she wasn't spending on rent to buy a second condo. Anyone can do it! I really don't understand why that is the way it is, but whatever.

roenxi 8y ago
Stating the obvious - the average person must produce about as much as they consume over their lifetime or 'the system' will by definition collapse. I'm on board with what you say, but frugality is a pretty basic virtue and there are a lot of people who set themselves up for failure - there are people earning more than ~$80,000 who have good excuses for struggling financially, but they are rare. The fact that some people luck out in life and don't acknowledge it doesn't detract from the basic good sense of consistently investing in the future, and being realistic about whether your purchases are buying you more happiness than they lose you time through working. The core of the FIRE philosophy is to try and do all the production in one big up-front batch, and then benefit from any opportunities that come along. It is obviously easier for the upper middle class and harder for the lower working class. There isn't anything wrong with that though, as long as everyone acknowledges that saving isn't equally easy for everyone and it depends on their ability to contribute to the economy.

by astura 8y ago

roenxi 8y ago

Stating the obvious - the average person must produce about as much as they consume over their lifetime or 'the system' will by definition collapse. I'm on board with what you say, but frugality is a pretty basic virtue and there are a lot of people who set themselves up for failure - there are people earning more than ~$80,000 who have good excuses for struggling financially, but they are rare. The fact that some people luck out in life and don't acknowledge it doesn't detract from the basic good sense of consistently investing in the future, and being realistic about whether your purchases are buying you more happiness than they lose you time through working. The core of the FIRE philosophy is to try and do all the production in one big up-front batch, and then benefit from any opportunities that come along. It is obviously easier for the upper middle class and harder for the lower working class. There isn't anything wrong with that though, as long as everyone acknowledges that saving isn't equally easy for everyone and it depends on their ability to contribute to the economy.