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> Having a high wage but not enough stored wealth to feel invincible against an increasingly uncertain future Hate to be the one to tell you this, but there is
by justinator 5y ago
> Having a high wage but not enough stored wealth to feel invincible against an increasingly uncertain future
Hate to be the one to tell you this, but there is no guarantee on what the future may bring, money can't fix everything, and true security is a lie. Live your life in the here and now, before you regret wasting it.
- ballenf 5y agoI read the comment to be working hard is what brings satisfaction. Some people really enjoy hard work and aren't doing it just as a means to afford leisure.
- Nbox9 5y agoI read the comment to say that a hobby might make him “truly happy” but because of the uncertainty of the future he’s working hard and getting some level of satisfaction from that. He’s maximizing for security not for happiness.
- imtringued 5y agoWhen everyone is doing that you have a recession. http://www.pkarchive.org/theory/baby.html http://www.pkarchive.org/theory/baby.html
- Nbox9 5y agoI don’t understand the relevance of that link with your point, although I mostly agree with your point I’m hoping you can provide more information on how your evidence is relevant. The link is mostly about what happens when there is too little currency. Someone deciding to work 40 hours a week instead of 70 would, if anything, reduce the amount of currency in circulation because more wealthy people tend to have larger savings and a person working 70 hours a week is probably making more money than if they were working 40.
- Teknoman117 5y agoExactly. If society were to fall apart, the number in your bank account will matter very little, if it even exists anymore...
- munk-a 5y agoThat is highly unlikely - thankfully there is a much more reasonable way to read how important it is to live for today. Nobody intends to be hit by a bus but some people are - make sure you're getting what you want out of life before you get hit by a bus.
- Teknoman117 5y agoDefinitely. Planning and saving for the future also has to be weighed against the risk of (you) not making it to that future.
- jltsiren 5y agoUnlikely but not highly unlikely. If you expect to live for another 50 years, there is a nontrivial chance that you will face a crisis that happens once every 500 or 1000 years on the average. Dying prematurely is one kind of risk, outliving your society is another.
- Applejinx 5y agoIndeed. Money is a bit of a lie in its own right. Me, I go for functionality. The catch there is, if I've acquired plenty of functionality for something I consider desirable but then I don't DO that thing, does it still exist?
- jlokier 5y agoTrue security is a lie, but "relatively comfortably secure for the foreseeable future" is not. These days, it takes a lot of assets to be confident you won't be homeless in old age assuming no major surprises or threats from society and the environment changing. I would say most younger people don't earn enough or have enough assets to reach that level of basic confidence. After all, if you've rented all your life so far due to inability to buy a place to live, you probably know, in the back of your mind, that when you retire, you can't see any way to pay the rent unless something changes between now and then. No need for any catastrophic surprises. That's foreseeable.
- ActorNightly 5y agoThats looking it through the last generations lens where stability = a geographical location to live with a house on it. Ironically, as climate change effects become more and more prominent, going with a RV route is looking more like the best possible option for the future, cause you can just pick up and leave when bad weather comes.
- iso1210 5y agoIf you have freedom of movement over a large area, if you don't have breakdown of law and order, if people don't start lynching others when they come into their area.
- whytaka 5y agoI appreciate the angle but I think it's oversimplified. I work almost just as much as I used to before but my life gets easier and better the more money I make. It's incredible to me the difference money makes. Compound interest is real and determining when it's enough is about determining the rate of growth in absolute terms relative to the cost of living you'd be happy with.
- mulderc 5y agook
- notme77 5y agoThat’s because you’re already above where money would constrain you. The vast majority of people are not. I suspect you know this.
- mulderc 5y agoI assume the person posting that is already there by the sounds of it.
- imwillofficial 5y agoYou have reached a solid threshold where your basic needs are met and you have various luxuries that make life comfortable. From here on out you’ll have diminishing returns on the money/life improvement axis.
- whytaka 5y agoI used to be rather poor so the difference is more pronounced. I've enjoyed a high salary for some time now but I'm still reeling from the change. Being Canadian, I have access to public health, but if I get sick with even minor things, it'll take up my whole day. Now, if I get sick, I'll just pay the ~$200 fee to see a private doctor for 15 minutes, get what I need and get out. Dental is not covered by public health, so there were at times I delayed treatment because I couldn't afford it. I used to live in Vancouver where people will tell you they have good public transport but it's a lie. It's really only if you live along the skytrain corridors because the busses are always late and it's always raining. So if you don't have a car, you're wet, cold, late, and miserable. Now I just pay for Uber. Better yet, I just live downtown and I can walk wherever. Going to the grocery store when I was poor was also difficult. Thinking about what I can afford means spending time comparing prices or even stores, and compromising on the meals I wanted to make. Now I just throw everything I want into the cart and I don't even look at the price tag. Being poor sucks and there are countless more examples.
- kyleblarson 5y agoPeople say money can't buy happiness, but it can buy a jet ski. Have you ever seen an unhappy person on a jet ski?
- MrRiddle 5y agoLet’s not deal in absolutes. Money can’t absolutely fix everything, but in case I need money I would rather have it then don’t.
- kongin 5y agoI have never had a time in my life where having less money would have produced a better outcome than having more.
- sombremesa 5y agoNever gotten mugged, then?
- kongin 5y agoI've never met a mugger who got less violent when you didn't have money to give them.
- phendrenad2 5y agoSeems like you're replying to a different post? Why would someone who enjoys work regret "wasting" their life? They did what they enjoyed!!
- stronglikedan 5y agoOP seems like they like their job. If you're doing what you like, whatever that may be, then you're not wasting anything.