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This was a good post. I particularly like: > I will suggest that repeating all the things you believe about how life is supposed to work will not magically mak

This was a good post. I particularly like: > I will suggest that repeating all the things you believe about how life is supposed to work will not magically make them true and thereby fix your problems. I recently realized I would frame some of my wants/desires as “I just want $x.” There is no natural order of fairness and by shifting my internal phrasing to “I want $x,” it helped shift my mental model to what concrete actions I need to take instead of a complaint. And back to the main content of the post. Yes, most people are living on an edge they can’t see that could upturn their whole apple cart of world views and expectations. Growing up poor and now being well off, I have an expectation in the back of my head that this is all temporary and can be lost at anytime. It affects how you approach many, many things.

fastball 6y ago
If you're well off and living on a knife's edge, I don't think you're doing a very good job of managing your finances.
- Tade0 6y ago
  It's not about finances. I also grew up relatively poor (we had food, but couldn't afford e.g. school books) and am currently pretty well off (saving more than half of my salary while enjoying a decent quality of life). Such an upbringing leaves a mark. The other day I was thinking how it's been going too well for too long and I probably have, I don't know, ball cancer which is going to bring my situation to a more familiar level of misery. I've lived my life having a plan B, C and often also D for every situation. When you're not used to the good stuff, you become suspicious to the good stuff once it comes along.
  - fastball 6y ago
    Ok, but I feeling that you're on a knife edge is not the same as actually being on a knife edge, which is what GC claimed.
- sethammons 6y ago
  The existing reply captured it well. To add to that, this is not “an unexpected expense”sinking your finances. Imagine instead that you suddenly can’t do the job you do nor can you get equivalent pay. How long could a you float on say minimum wage? Maybe it gets worse and you have trouble getting any regular job. How long could you go with no pay? Many people would say, “can’t happen to me.” And that is what the article is about. That is the invisible knife edge. Get a divorce, get sick, and have student debts, and you could be just like the author and living in a tent and taking years to claw your way out of the situation. When that is a reality that you expect could happen, you think differently. And for most people, it could happen.

fastball 6y ago

If you're well off and living on a knife's edge, I don't think you're doing a very good job of managing your finances.

Tade0 6y ago
It's not about finances. I also grew up relatively poor (we had food, but couldn't afford e.g. school books) and am currently pretty well off (saving more than half of my salary while enjoying a decent quality of life). Such an upbringing leaves a mark. The other day I was thinking how it's been going too well for too long and I probably have, I don't know, ball cancer which is going to bring my situation to a more familiar level of misery. I've lived my life having a plan B, C and often also D for every situation. When you're not used to the good stuff, you become suspicious to the good stuff once it comes along.
- fastball 6y ago
  Ok, but I feeling that you're on a knife edge is not the same as actually being on a knife edge, which is what GC claimed.
sethammons 6y ago
The existing reply captured it well. To add to that, this is not “an unexpected expense”sinking your finances. Imagine instead that you suddenly can’t do the job you do nor can you get equivalent pay. How long could a you float on say minimum wage? Maybe it gets worse and you have trouble getting any regular job. How long could you go with no pay? Many people would say, “can’t happen to me.” And that is what the article is about. That is the invisible knife edge. Get a divorce, get sick, and have student debts, and you could be just like the author and living in a tent and taking years to claw your way out of the situation. When that is a reality that you expect could happen, you think differently. And for most people, it could happen.