3 ms·

Playing real life games like "who's first to get a BMW" sucks ass. Sure, you play it hard and you win, and then? You have a shitty car that will eventually bre

by mlatu 4y ago

Playing real life games like "who's first to get a BMW" sucks ass. Sure, you play it hard and you win, and then? You have a shitty car that will eventually break down. I cannot see the point in owning a car other than owning a means of transportation. Owning loads of wealth in general?: Yay claps you did well, now share with the rest of class you stingy pos. Accumulating stuff on your person in any way can make you become a jerk. Don't play games, live life. There are to many players already and the only true winning condition is to have everyone win.

JackMorgan 4y ago
A few of my friends seem to conspicuously avoid the trappings of material wealth, but constantly work to retire early on a modest budget. They'll play old games on old PCs, watch Netflix, hang out, volunteer, work (but not too hard), and eat cheap food. They've acquired (or are saving for) millions in investments. They would argue that they should put on their own mask before helping those next to them. I don't think of them as selfish, and I'm not sure it's fair to think that way. Maybe stingy, but buying freedom from the wage treadmill to be able to raise a family isn't selfish, they would argue it's an essential freedom many are denied. If everyone could win that would be amazing, but short of political change what would you suggest I tell them to do? Live frugally and give away all they have? Would actually make any difference at all? For every one of these friends I know of a hundred others who blow every extra dollar on stupid luxuries that are gone instantly. The savers wouldn't be able to raise the standard of living of even a tiny fraction of the spenders.
- mlatu 4y ago
  :shrugs: why should i tell you what to tell your friends? they are your friends, you know their triggers better than I do. tldr: i dislike the game-playing mentality and advocate more cooperation. i just see all the idiots running to the ticket booth and treading on the flower beds to not just watch "the game" but to "participate" in it, even though nobody but themself really cares about the outcome of their own personal little game. (so why get tickets if you dont watch the game? why not just do your thing for your own sake?). i especially despise the get-rich folk while people on the other side of the planet have to get by and live off of the trash sent there by "better off civilizations". of course every single one of us has only that much leverage in the global game of personal survival, but the idea that we have to win the survival game by our own doing, without the help of others, is global poison. It is easy to win any game when you were born into the winning team, midgame. you cannot play the get rich game only locally, it should come with a sticker on the box: "this game requires a herd of exploited (not included)"; and you wont be able to play for long if the exploited have equal rights and proximity to you
- sirmarksalot 4y ago
  There's a big difference in values between the financial independence retire early crowd, and the conspicuous consumption techbro crowd. FIRE is a trauma-informed strategy, and what your friends are doing is meeting what they see as their own needs for personal safety, and to be honest, they might be right. Make hay while the sun shines, etc. Even if both groups might be seen as hoarding wealth, the value sets, and therefore the behaviors are very different, and the stories they tell themselves are different. The conspicuous consumption self narrative is "I deserve to have nicer things than the people around me." They need the external validation of others, and they need to be seen as better than their peers. The difference is that I suspect a FIRE person is going to be more likely to give to charity, more likely to check on their neighbors to make sure they're okay, and more likely to figure out ways they can be useful in their community. I say that because that strategy frames wealth as a solution to a problem, and not a measure of one's worth.

by mlatu 4y ago

JackMorgan 4y ago

A few of my friends seem to conspicuously avoid the trappings of material wealth, but constantly work to retire early on a modest budget. They'll play old games on old PCs, watch Netflix, hang out, volunteer, work (but not too hard), and eat cheap food. They've acquired (or are saving for) millions in investments. They would argue that they should put on their own mask before helping those next to them. I don't think of them as selfish, and I'm not sure it's fair to think that way. Maybe stingy, but buying freedom from the wage treadmill to be able to raise a family isn't selfish, they would argue it's an essential freedom many are denied. If everyone could win that would be amazing, but short of political change what would you suggest I tell them to do? Live frugally and give away all they have? Would actually make any difference at all? For every one of these friends I know of a hundred others who blow every extra dollar on stupid luxuries that are gone instantly. The savers wouldn't be able to raise the standard of living of even a tiny fraction of the spenders.

mlatu 4y ago
:shrugs: why should i tell you what to tell your friends? they are your friends, you know their triggers better than I do. tldr: i dislike the game-playing mentality and advocate more cooperation. i just see all the idiots running to the ticket booth and treading on the flower beds to not just watch "the game" but to "participate" in it, even though nobody but themself really cares about the outcome of their own personal little game. (so why get tickets if you dont watch the game? why not just do your thing for your own sake?). i especially despise the get-rich folk while people on the other side of the planet have to get by and live off of the trash sent there by "better off civilizations". of course every single one of us has only that much leverage in the global game of personal survival, but the idea that we have to win the survival game by our own doing, without the help of others, is global poison. It is easy to win any game when you were born into the winning team, midgame. you cannot play the get rich game only locally, it should come with a sticker on the box: "this game requires a herd of exploited (not included)"; and you wont be able to play for long if the exploited have equal rights and proximity to you
sirmarksalot 4y ago
There's a big difference in values between the financial independence retire early crowd, and the conspicuous consumption techbro crowd. FIRE is a trauma-informed strategy, and what your friends are doing is meeting what they see as their own needs for personal safety, and to be honest, they might be right. Make hay while the sun shines, etc. Even if both groups might be seen as hoarding wealth, the value sets, and therefore the behaviors are very different, and the stories they tell themselves are different. The conspicuous consumption self narrative is "I deserve to have nicer things than the people around me." They need the external validation of others, and they need to be seen as better than their peers. The difference is that I suspect a FIRE person is going to be more likely to give to charity, more likely to check on their neighbors to make sure they're okay, and more likely to figure out ways they can be useful in their community. I say that because that strategy frames wealth as a solution to a problem, and not a measure of one's worth.