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I really like how the article phrases money as options. It’s really like a heart and mind question, and that I think is the biggest chasm to cross. At the end

I really like how the article phrases money as options. It’s really like a heart and mind question, and that I think is the biggest chasm to cross. At the end are we happier if we follow our hearts?

catchmeifyoucan 6y ago
also shameless plug - I wrote a prose on a similar topic about numbers: https://www.heyraviteja.com/post/i-hate-numbers/ https://www.heyraviteja.com/post/i-hate-numbers/
pr0j3ctaway 6y ago
>At the end are we happier if we follow our hearts? Yes. Absolutely. I wholeheartedly agree with the author's conclusion. Money is not the only thing which provides options; time does too. As you age, you tend to have fewer and fewer options. People usually think that freeing up time at the expense of a cushy salary is an enormous opportunity cost. But it is much rarer for us to think of freeing up money at the expense of time as a huge opportunity cost, even among people who make enough that they don't need to work 2000+ hours every year. I wonder why. After all, how often do we say things like "time is money" to each other?
- 082349872349872 6y ago
  Continuing the viewpoint of time as options, an epistle from near the BC/AD boundary: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23668877 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23668877 Plant a tree. Have a child. Animate a short?
- baxtr 6y ago
  "Time is money" is far from the truth. You can get money back, but time can't be replenished. For me at least, time is much more valuable than money. But then again, most middle-aged people have a family that needs to be feed etc. You simply don't have that many options. Best thing that can happen thus is that your passion becomes profitable.
  - chii 6y ago
    > For me at least, time is much more valuable than money yes, but 'for you' being the operative word. Your time is worthless to me. Your time, if you used it to do something _I_ wanted done, would be worth something to me. Therefore, it is true for people to say time is money.
  - tpxl 6y ago
    Time is money, but money isn't time.
- Tade0 6y ago
  Because we rarely have the option to free up time. Most of us work some form of a full-time 9-5 job, with a specific amount of days off available because that's how employers prefer it. Knowing that the rest of your pre-retirement years will be spent in such a configuration you'd want to spend additional time initially on getting better, advancing your career etc., because if you can't do anything about the amount of your free time, at least you can influence its quality by earning more. I for one would be happy to work part-time, but the lowest engagement I ever managed to negotiate was 90%. Best I've seen was 80%. 50% is only ever available for short-term gigs.
- dominotw 6y ago
  > even among people who make enough that they don't need to work 2000+ hours every year. I think i do make enough money but there is no way to know for sure. There are way too many uncertainties to know for sure. 1. might not have a job soon a) age-ed out of tech job b) offshoring/wfh trend c) automation d) cognitive decline. 2. unknown future health expenses 3. unknown expenditures for kids
Joeboy 6y ago
I would love to quit my job and follow my heart, but I also think that would mean I couldn't pay my rent, which would probably not make me happier.
- polytely 6y ago
  Yeah I'm in the same situation, my dream is to become an independent game developer, but that is super risky and I only have a small buffer. Currently, avoiding homelessness > following dreams. God, I wish basic income was a thing.
  - fennecfoxen 6y ago
    > Currently, avoiding homelessness > following dreams. oh I know that one, it goes like: "By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken." — Genesis 3:19 > God, I wish basic income was a thing. I rather don't, and this is why. It's got some merits as an alternative to current bureaucracy, but I fear that all too often it would mean a capable self-sufficient software developer abandoning his responsibilities, and taking others' money, to subsidize a lifestyle in which he may develop indie computer games. If these pet projects are good investments — good risk-adjusted investments, producing measurable returns and not merely misty-eyed wish fulfillment — then risk of the project should be borne by those who wish for the project. For while it is decent and good for us to carry the burdens of those who cannot carry their own, it is likewise righteous and just that you, who are fully capable of supporting yourself, should support yourself, rather than burdening others with your support.
    - yazboo 6y ago
      > it is likewise righteous and just that you, who are fully capable of supporting yourself, should support yourself, rather than burdening others with your support Righteous and just according to who? I would much rather live in a society that takes money from its wealthiest members (myself included) to make a basic allotment for living expenses so people can do as they wish.

catchmeifyoucan 6y ago

also shameless plug - I wrote a prose on a similar topic about numbers: https://www.heyraviteja.com/post/i-hate-numbers/ https://www.heyraviteja.com/post/i-hate-numbers/

pr0j3ctaway 6y ago

>At the end are we happier if we follow our hearts? Yes. Absolutely. I wholeheartedly agree with the author's conclusion. Money is not the only thing which provides options; time does too. As you age, you tend to have fewer and fewer options. People usually think that freeing up time at the expense of a cushy salary is an enormous opportunity cost. But it is much rarer for us to think of freeing up money at the expense of time as a huge opportunity cost, even among people who make enough that they don't need to work 2000+ hours every year. I wonder why. After all, how often do we say things like "time is money" to each other?

082349872349872 6y ago
Continuing the viewpoint of time as options, an epistle from near the BC/AD boundary: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23668877 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23668877 Plant a tree. Have a child. Animate a short?
baxtr 6y ago
"Time is money" is far from the truth. You can get money back, but time can't be replenished. For me at least, time is much more valuable than money. But then again, most middle-aged people have a family that needs to be feed etc. You simply don't have that many options. Best thing that can happen thus is that your passion becomes profitable.
- chii 6y ago
  > For me at least, time is much more valuable than money yes, but 'for you' being the operative word. Your time is worthless to me. Your time, if you used it to do something _I_ wanted done, would be worth something to me. Therefore, it is true for people to say time is money.
- tpxl 6y ago
  Time is money, but money isn't time.
Tade0 6y ago
Because we rarely have the option to free up time. Most of us work some form of a full-time 9-5 job, with a specific amount of days off available because that's how employers prefer it. Knowing that the rest of your pre-retirement years will be spent in such a configuration you'd want to spend additional time initially on getting better, advancing your career etc., because if you can't do anything about the amount of your free time, at least you can influence its quality by earning more. I for one would be happy to work part-time, but the lowest engagement I ever managed to negotiate was 90%. Best I've seen was 80%. 50% is only ever available for short-term gigs.
dominotw 6y ago
> even among people who make enough that they don't need to work 2000+ hours every year. I think i do make enough money but there is no way to know for sure. There are way too many uncertainties to know for sure. 1. might not have a job soon a) age-ed out of tech job b) offshoring/wfh trend c) automation d) cognitive decline. 2. unknown future health expenses 3. unknown expenditures for kids

Joeboy 6y ago

I would love to quit my job and follow my heart, but I also think that would mean I couldn't pay my rent, which would probably not make me happier.

polytely 6y ago
Yeah I'm in the same situation, my dream is to become an independent game developer, but that is super risky and I only have a small buffer. Currently, avoiding homelessness > following dreams. God, I wish basic income was a thing.
- fennecfoxen 6y ago
  > Currently, avoiding homelessness > following dreams. oh I know that one, it goes like: "By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken." — Genesis 3:19 > God, I wish basic income was a thing. I rather don't, and this is why. It's got some merits as an alternative to current bureaucracy, but I fear that all too often it would mean a capable self-sufficient software developer abandoning his responsibilities, and taking others' money, to subsidize a lifestyle in which he may develop indie computer games. If these pet projects are good investments — good risk-adjusted investments, producing measurable returns and not merely misty-eyed wish fulfillment — then risk of the project should be borne by those who wish for the project. For while it is decent and good for us to carry the burdens of those who cannot carry their own, it is likewise righteous and just that you, who are fully capable of supporting yourself, should support yourself, rather than burdening others with your support.
  - yazboo 6y ago
    > it is likewise righteous and just that you, who are fully capable of supporting yourself, should support yourself, rather than burdening others with your support Righteous and just according to who? I would much rather live in a society that takes money from its wealthiest members (myself included) to make a basic allotment for living expenses so people can do as they wish.