5 ms·

Missing part: the sadness of having too much fuck you money - like if you don't have to work ever again. When you have more than you can spend, many things los

by 1996 6y ago

Missing part: the sadness of having too much fuck you money - like if you don't have to work ever again. When you have more than you can spend, many things lose meaning.

jsperson 6y ago
Only if you're selfish. I'd say Bill Gates has made an art out of enjoying too much money.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- boucher 6y ago
  Gates is a complicated fellow. It's worth pointing out that he's richer now than he has ever been.
et2o 6y ago
I’ll take your word for it. I can think of many fulfilling things I’d rather be doing if I didn’t have to work everyday.
- 1996 6y ago
  > I’d rather be doing if I didn’t have to work everyday. For a while, then it would lose meaning. I tried not working, it made me feel very empty inside. Human need goals. We aren't made to be idle for a long time. I'll try to explain that better: "Fuck you" is when you refuse or sever a social connection. Don't do it too often. Because when you don't need any social connection, you have successfully create your gilded cage. I've learned from my mistakes: Now I'm still retired but I work here and there, doing consulting or helping people, and learning biology. It feels much better.
  - toolz 6y ago
    There are many objectives that are interesting to pursue that don't have anything to do with working to sustain a lifestyle. I can sympathize for people who have traveled the beaten path for so long they're unsure how to create their own path once it's not laid out in front of them, but I think anyone in that position who laments their situation must lack any creativity or drive to learn how to create their own unique goals.
  - lukebuehler 6y ago
    Not sure why people downvote you. I’m not in your situation, but I often wonder if I’d have a lot of FU money if I would experience a lot of ennui. I think people really don’t understand how lonely it can be at the top. Even Musk keeps saying, “you don’t want to be me.”
    - krapp 6y ago
      No one wants to hear the rich complain about the burden of wealth, the loneliness of power and the ennui of endless opportunity. Even if it's true. Let them eat cake.
      - lukebuehler 6y ago
        I think this is outright foolish. So many spend all this time trying to make it, especially on this site. I’m no better, but I would like to know what it’s like on the other side before I make all the sacrifices to get there. Say all these people say climbing Mount Everest is truly the most life changing thing they’ve ever done. Suddenly I start thinking maybe I should climb it too. I would love to hear stories to the contrary before I make the commitment.
        krapp 6y ago
        The ersatz straitjacket of wealth, power and privilege never seems so restrictive that the wealthy who complain about it ever give it all up for the freedom to go slum with the proletariat. That should tell you all you need to know.
        1996 6y ago
        You can peddle your communist propaganda somewhere else comrade
        krapp 6y ago
        You can say whatever you like, I'm not wrong. Reading your comment history, you seem to wear your selfishness and contempt for the poor as a badge of honor. So clearly whatever negative effects your apparent wealth might have on you psychologically or socially, you would rather deal with that than life among the working class. And I don't blame you, the entire political and financial apparatus of capitalist society is designed to protect the status, wealth and privilege of people like yourself at the expense of everyone else grinding their lives away under the millstone. Obviously the best thing to be in a capitalist society is a capitalist, to whom capital and the benefits of capital are intended to flow, rather than one of the shmucks being fed to Moloch. But as far as feeling sympathy for the plight of the wealthy - I'm not a communist or even a socialist but I'm playing The Internationale on the world's smallest violin right now.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
- Tade0 6y ago
  And there's no limit to what can be done with enough money. Have, say, a billion or more to spend? Start your own damn space program.
  - 1996 6y ago
    > And there's no limit to what can be done with enough money. Actually, there are: coming from your imagination. So I'm learning biology. When I'm done I won't bother with a postdoc but just start a research lab (or buy one). It has helped me feel less empty, but the pandemic did hit me badly.
    - Tade0 6y ago
      I feel you. I was laid off in June and spent three months passively-aggressively not participating in the job market. I thought I would pick up all those side projects which I abandoned due to lack of time but nope - it just didn't happen.
      - disgruntledphd2 6y ago
        Weirdly enough, I often get the most done on side projects when I'm busiest. It's easier to do more stuff when you're already doing a lot. When you don't have to do anything, then it's hard to do any one thing (for me, at least).
majormajor 6y ago
Easy solution, right: give away all that money. (I'll take some...)
- 1996 6y ago
  Unfortunately, it is like in Harry Potter: you can only get some if you don't want some :) And yes, I have thought about giving it all. I would change nothing: I would make money again and find myself just as empty, with the same problem, except with less of my prime years to live and find a solution. BTW, you made your account in 2012. You have know about crypto for 9 years. If you had invested even a hundred dollars in 2012, or the next year you would not need to ask. HN has a lot of blame for the number of bright young hackers that were discouraged to invest in crypto.
munk-a 6y ago
I think, if you ever find you have "too much money" there are plenty of good ways to get rid of some - for instance, if you have active revenue streams from businesses why not consider redirecting the profits you're taking in to employee welfare or starting a charitable society. Also, getting grifted is always an option. Oh lastly - might I suggest lobbying for a simplified tax code that results in you having less money?
- 1996 6y ago
  This is so wrong - like the suggestion of giving it all away (even if I quickly considered that). Money is not the problem, even if it contributes to it. Money is just an enabler. Money reveal your deepest tendancies. Remove it and you are back to square one. In the past, when I was as naive, I gave some money to people: most people focus about tiny problems (the dishwasher broke!) that are easily solved with a few hundred or thousands. Then I saw first hand how money is just an amplifier of human beings, and how it can help some people with bad tendencies destroy themselves - starting by teaching them effort is not necessary. I don't give anything to anyone anymore. I learned before I did too much damage. I moved and broke contact.
  - munk-a 6y ago
    Hrm - I do definitely understand that sentiment, but it assumes that you, the current holder of the money, are more responsible than those other folks. Remember that while you might not choose to spend in the money in the way they are - you don't really have a position to judge since that is what they want most in life. It can be hard to see with issues like addiction and that's less a money question and more a mental health question - but other "frivolous" purchases can be part of what makes life worth living. I really dislike arbitrary cash handouts of the sort you pointed out above - it's why I'd encourage increasing employee take home if you have any employees. If that's not an option then there are a number of good and responsible charities. Lastly - this comment (and the one above) aren't directed at judging you and I don't know the specifics of your situation. But judging how other people use their money is something that's best entirely avoided. If you donate two thousand dollars to a friend who uses the money to drown her problems in alcohol then it's unlikely she would've worked through those issues in a healthy way if you just never gave her money - it's hard though and I can certainly sympathize with a desire to avoid sending anyone money. I also think you're getting a lot of downvotes because you are speaking from a very unsympathetic position, but it is an interesting discussion so I'd urge you not to get discouraged.
Judgmentality 6y ago
I can't imagine any amount of money being so great I couldn't spend it. I could buy islands, companies, maybe even build a city in the desert of Nevada and call it New Vegas. And even if that wasn't enough, I could just gamble it on everything. Why not throw $100 billion into nuclear fusion research? I'm confident I could spend the entire world GDP if I had it. I'm not saying I could do it well, but I sure as shit would have fun doing it.
- 1996 6y ago
  Islands is a common trope. Have you tried living on a tropical island? The weather is pleasant, the food is nice, but it gets boring after a while. There is little to do, and it's really hard to relate with the people who live there: none of them are into hacking or computers. As for gambling, I've never enjoyed that. > Why not throw $100 billion into nuclear fusion research? Because I don't care? See, you have things you want, things you care about. Then you get them. And eventually there is nothing you desire anymore. Feel free to not believe me if you prefer but that's the cold hard truth. Biology is the only thing a bit interesting to me. If I didn't have that, I think I would just slide into drugs and eventually OD. The sad story of Tony Hsieh acted as a stern reminder I had to keep my new path. > I'm confident I could spend the entire world GDP if I had it. I'm not saying I could do it well, but I sure as shit would have fun doing it. I don't know your goals, and I don't judge them, but if you are trying to get rich (as a lot of people on HN seem to desire) this mindset may be counter productive. I didn't have the mindset that spending was fun when growing up (asian parenting...) This may be why I didn't spend anything when bitcoin crossed the any of the various price points. There may be a selection effect: those who end up making over 6 digits of net worth are less likely to enjoy spending - and the more extra digits, the less likely. Someone on this thread was saying they enjoyed seeing 7 digits in their account this year - I guess they sold at minimum 200 coins. Given the current price path, it's likely to break 150kUSD this summer. So if they had waited a bit, they would have been in the low 8 digits. Those who sold when the $1 psychological price was passed got themselves a few meals, considering the same amount. Do you see where it goes? I'm not advocating hodling, because there is a point where you have enough money for anything you want - but I think it's not true for the kind of people who find spending fun, and by consequence were driven to sell early.
everdrive 6y ago
You're probably not going to find a lot of sypmathy for this point of view.
jf 6y ago
To those who are down-voting this comment, I submit this anecdote from my personal experience: https://twitter.com/jf/status/1364306091417296899 https://twitter.com/jf/status/1364306091417296899
hprotagonist 6y ago
>When you have more than you can spend, many things lose meaning. 'When He got to the tree, he looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry down. Today is my day to be a guest in your home."'
eeZah7Ux 6y ago
Complaining of the downsides of having too much money is pretty rich.
nextlevelwizard 6y ago
One of the dumbest comments I've read today.
toss1 6y ago
>> When you have more than you can spend, many things lose meaning. Saw that in significant numbers in the rich heirs/esses going while going to a top school I see it not as a failure caused buy the money, but by the lack of imagination. As the Bard wrote: "The fault is not in our stars, But in ourselves..." You now have the freedom to find a new challenge, whether starting your own space program, saving elephants or other species, solving education or poverty... Find something to be useful, dig in, and your passion will find you again.

by 1996 6y ago

Missing part: the sadness of having too much fuck you money - like if you don't have to work ever again. When you have more than you can spend, many things lose meaning.

jsperson 6y ago

Only if you're selfish. I'd say Bill Gates has made an art out of enjoying too much money.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
boucher 6y ago
Gates is a complicated fellow. It's worth pointing out that he's richer now than he has ever been.

et2o 6y ago

I’ll take your word for it. I can think of many fulfilling things I’d rather be doing if I didn’t have to work everyday.

1996 6y ago
> I’d rather be doing if I didn’t have to work everyday. For a while, then it would lose meaning. I tried not working, it made me feel very empty inside. Human need goals. We aren't made to be idle for a long time. I'll try to explain that better: "Fuck you" is when you refuse or sever a social connection. Don't do it too often. Because when you don't need any social connection, you have successfully create your gilded cage. I've learned from my mistakes: Now I'm still retired but I work here and there, doing consulting or helping people, and learning biology. It feels much better.
- toolz 6y ago
  There are many objectives that are interesting to pursue that don't have anything to do with working to sustain a lifestyle. I can sympathize for people who have traveled the beaten path for so long they're unsure how to create their own path once it's not laid out in front of them, but I think anyone in that position who laments their situation must lack any creativity or drive to learn how to create their own unique goals.
- lukebuehler 6y ago
  Not sure why people downvote you. I’m not in your situation, but I often wonder if I’d have a lot of FU money if I would experience a lot of ennui. I think people really don’t understand how lonely it can be at the top. Even Musk keeps saying, “you don’t want to be me.”
  - krapp 6y ago
    No one wants to hear the rich complain about the burden of wealth, the loneliness of power and the ennui of endless opportunity. Even if it's true. Let them eat cake.
    - lukebuehler 6y ago
      I think this is outright foolish. So many spend all this time trying to make it, especially on this site. I’m no better, but I would like to know what it’s like on the other side before I make all the sacrifices to get there. Say all these people say climbing Mount Everest is truly the most life changing thing they’ve ever done. Suddenly I start thinking maybe I should climb it too. I would love to hear stories to the contrary before I make the commitment.
      - krapp 6y ago
        The ersatz straitjacket of wealth, power and privilege never seems so restrictive that the wealthy who complain about it ever give it all up for the freedom to go slum with the proletariat. That should tell you all you need to know.
        1996 6y ago
        You can peddle your communist propaganda somewhere else comrade
        krapp 6y ago
        You can say whatever you like, I'm not wrong. Reading your comment history, you seem to wear your selfishness and contempt for the poor as a badge of honor. So clearly whatever negative effects your apparent wealth might have on you psychologically or socially, you would rather deal with that than life among the working class. And I don't blame you, the entire political and financial apparatus of capitalist society is designed to protect the status, wealth and privilege of people like yourself at the expense of everyone else grinding their lives away under the millstone. Obviously the best thing to be in a capitalist society is a capitalist, to whom capital and the benefits of capital are intended to flow, rather than one of the shmucks being fed to Moloch. But as far as feeling sympathy for the plight of the wealthy - I'm not a communist or even a socialist but I'm playing The Internationale on the world's smallest violin right now.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
Tade0 6y ago
And there's no limit to what can be done with enough money. Have, say, a billion or more to spend? Start your own damn space program.
- 1996 6y ago
  > And there's no limit to what can be done with enough money. Actually, there are: coming from your imagination. So I'm learning biology. When I'm done I won't bother with a postdoc but just start a research lab (or buy one). It has helped me feel less empty, but the pandemic did hit me badly.
  - Tade0 6y ago
    I feel you. I was laid off in June and spent three months passively-aggressively not participating in the job market. I thought I would pick up all those side projects which I abandoned due to lack of time but nope - it just didn't happen.
    - disgruntledphd2 6y ago
      Weirdly enough, I often get the most done on side projects when I'm busiest. It's easier to do more stuff when you're already doing a lot. When you don't have to do anything, then it's hard to do any one thing (for me, at least).

majormajor 6y ago

Easy solution, right: give away all that money. (I'll take some...)

1996 6y ago
Unfortunately, it is like in Harry Potter: you can only get some if you don't want some :) And yes, I have thought about giving it all. I would change nothing: I would make money again and find myself just as empty, with the same problem, except with less of my prime years to live and find a solution. BTW, you made your account in 2012. You have know about crypto for 9 years. If you had invested even a hundred dollars in 2012, or the next year you would not need to ask. HN has a lot of blame for the number of bright young hackers that were discouraged to invest in crypto.

munk-a 6y ago

I think, if you ever find you have "too much money" there are plenty of good ways to get rid of some - for instance, if you have active revenue streams from businesses why not consider redirecting the profits you're taking in to employee welfare or starting a charitable society. Also, getting grifted is always an option. Oh lastly - might I suggest lobbying for a simplified tax code that results in you having less money?

1996 6y ago
This is so wrong - like the suggestion of giving it all away (even if I quickly considered that). Money is not the problem, even if it contributes to it. Money is just an enabler. Money reveal your deepest tendancies. Remove it and you are back to square one. In the past, when I was as naive, I gave some money to people: most people focus about tiny problems (the dishwasher broke!) that are easily solved with a few hundred or thousands. Then I saw first hand how money is just an amplifier of human beings, and how it can help some people with bad tendencies destroy themselves - starting by teaching them effort is not necessary. I don't give anything to anyone anymore. I learned before I did too much damage. I moved and broke contact.
- munk-a 6y ago
  Hrm - I do definitely understand that sentiment, but it assumes that you, the current holder of the money, are more responsible than those other folks. Remember that while you might not choose to spend in the money in the way they are - you don't really have a position to judge since that is what they want most in life. It can be hard to see with issues like addiction and that's less a money question and more a mental health question - but other "frivolous" purchases can be part of what makes life worth living. I really dislike arbitrary cash handouts of the sort you pointed out above - it's why I'd encourage increasing employee take home if you have any employees. If that's not an option then there are a number of good and responsible charities. Lastly - this comment (and the one above) aren't directed at judging you and I don't know the specifics of your situation. But judging how other people use their money is something that's best entirely avoided. If you donate two thousand dollars to a friend who uses the money to drown her problems in alcohol then it's unlikely she would've worked through those issues in a healthy way if you just never gave her money - it's hard though and I can certainly sympathize with a desire to avoid sending anyone money. I also think you're getting a lot of downvotes because you are speaking from a very unsympathetic position, but it is an interesting discussion so I'd urge you not to get discouraged.

Judgmentality 6y ago

I can't imagine any amount of money being so great I couldn't spend it. I could buy islands, companies, maybe even build a city in the desert of Nevada and call it New Vegas. And even if that wasn't enough, I could just gamble it on everything. Why not throw $100 billion into nuclear fusion research? I'm confident I could spend the entire world GDP if I had it. I'm not saying I could do it well, but I sure as shit would have fun doing it.

1996 6y ago
Islands is a common trope. Have you tried living on a tropical island? The weather is pleasant, the food is nice, but it gets boring after a while. There is little to do, and it's really hard to relate with the people who live there: none of them are into hacking or computers. As for gambling, I've never enjoyed that. > Why not throw $100 billion into nuclear fusion research? Because I don't care? See, you have things you want, things you care about. Then you get them. And eventually there is nothing you desire anymore. Feel free to not believe me if you prefer but that's the cold hard truth. Biology is the only thing a bit interesting to me. If I didn't have that, I think I would just slide into drugs and eventually OD. The sad story of Tony Hsieh acted as a stern reminder I had to keep my new path. > I'm confident I could spend the entire world GDP if I had it. I'm not saying I could do it well, but I sure as shit would have fun doing it. I don't know your goals, and I don't judge them, but if you are trying to get rich (as a lot of people on HN seem to desire) this mindset may be counter productive. I didn't have the mindset that spending was fun when growing up (asian parenting...) This may be why I didn't spend anything when bitcoin crossed the any of the various price points. There may be a selection effect: those who end up making over 6 digits of net worth are less likely to enjoy spending - and the more extra digits, the less likely. Someone on this thread was saying they enjoyed seeing 7 digits in their account this year - I guess they sold at minimum 200 coins. Given the current price path, it's likely to break 150kUSD this summer. So if they had waited a bit, they would have been in the low 8 digits. Those who sold when the $1 psychological price was passed got themselves a few meals, considering the same amount. Do you see where it goes? I'm not advocating hodling, because there is a point where you have enough money for anything you want - but I think it's not true for the kind of people who find spending fun, and by consequence were driven to sell early.

everdrive 6y ago

You're probably not going to find a lot of sypmathy for this point of view.

jf 6y ago

To those who are down-voting this comment, I submit this anecdote from my personal experience: https://twitter.com/jf/status/1364306091417296899 https://twitter.com/jf/status/1364306091417296899

hprotagonist 6y ago

>When you have more than you can spend, many things lose meaning. 'When He got to the tree, he looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry down. Today is my day to be a guest in your home."'

eeZah7Ux 6y ago

Complaining of the downsides of having too much money is pretty rich.

nextlevelwizard 6y ago

One of the dumbest comments I've read today.

toss1 6y ago

>> When you have more than you can spend, many things lose meaning. Saw that in significant numbers in the rich heirs/esses going while going to a top school I see it not as a failure caused buy the money, but by the lack of imagination. As the Bard wrote: "The fault is not in our stars, But in ourselves..." You now have the freedom to find a new challenge, whether starting your own space program, saving elephants or other species, solving education or poverty... Find something to be useful, dig in, and your passion will find you again.