3 ms·

I read the piece through to the end, and while I don't really like the way he presented it -- there's no need to call anyone a loser -- there is an important me

I read the piece through to the end, and while I don't really like the way he presented it -- there's no need to call anyone a loser -- there is an important message to be shared. That is: care about the experience you give yourself. You clearly get this. Sometimes having fewer possessions results in the experience that we value more. Your views might share more with the author than it appears on the surface. Where the author and I differ is that I don't always believe "spending more" is the key. More appropriately, spend where it matters. As a corollary, don't spend where it matters as well.

bluekeybox 15y ago
> That is: care about the experience you give yourself. The key thing is, if you care about the experience you give yourself, it will be easier for you to give the same level of experience to others -- and they more likely than not will appreciate it.
liuhenry 15y ago
There was a great post on Quora that made a similar end argument, but presented much more logically and respectfully: http://www.quora.com/Life-Advice/What-life-lessons-are-counter-intuitive-or-go-against-common-sense-or-wisdom/answer/Yishan-Wong http://www.quora.com/Life-Advice/What-life-lessons-are-count... "1. Chasing more and more money is not a route to happiness. You shouldn't try specifically to acquire more money in the hopes that it will make you happy but rather, once you have money, think carefully about how you can use it to increase your happiness. 2. Using money to buy the wrong things (often: things which are popular, things which other people desire, things which require much manual upkeep or worry - see #3) does not result in happiness. 3. People often use money to buy things which they then spend time worrying about, rather than purchasing things which allow them to worry less." The main argument is that it's not a good idea to be frugal just for the sake of being frugal - both extremes of materialism and the opposite are an unhealthy relationship with money or possessions. Buying better things isn't because "you're worth it", but because in some areas it will genuinely make your life a better experience. It's about evaluating all the circumstances and making the best decision rather than applying one credo constantly and repeatedly.

bluekeybox 15y ago

> That is: care about the experience you give yourself. The key thing is, if you care about the experience you give yourself, it will be easier for you to give the same level of experience to others -- and they more likely than not will appreciate it.

liuhenry 15y ago

There was a great post on Quora that made a similar end argument, but presented much more logically and respectfully: http://www.quora.com/Life-Advice/What-life-lessons-are-counter-intuitive-or-go-against-common-sense-or-wisdom/answer/Yishan-Wong http://www.quora.com/Life-Advice/What-life-lessons-are-count... "1. Chasing more and more money is not a route to happiness. You shouldn't try specifically to acquire more money in the hopes that it will make you happy but rather, once you have money, think carefully about how you can use it to increase your happiness. 2. Using money to buy the wrong things (often: things which are popular, things which other people desire, things which require much manual upkeep or worry - see #3) does not result in happiness. 3. People often use money to buy things which they then spend time worrying about, rather than purchasing things which allow them to worry less." The main argument is that it's not a good idea to be frugal just for the sake of being frugal - both extremes of materialism and the opposite are an unhealthy relationship with money or possessions. Buying better things isn't because "you're worth it", but because in some areas it will genuinely make your life a better experience. It's about evaluating all the circumstances and making the best decision rather than applying one credo constantly and repeatedly.