8 ms·
> Also, equally important, you get one life to live. You are young, you have energy. When you are old, you will have more responsibilities, less energy, and you
by badpun 3y ago
> Also, equally important, you get one life to live. You are young, you have energy. When you are old, you will have more responsibilities, less energy, and your genetics could cause you to start having more health issues. Do all the stuff that you want to do in life now, even if it costs money that you feel like you should be saving, and you will be 100% glad that you did it. It is much easier to settle down into a "boring" life later in life where you hold down a job and accumulate savings over time then it is to experience regret of never doing the things when you had the opportunity.
Interesting, I draw exactly opposite conclusion from "you have one life". For me, it's best to make as much money when you're young, have energy and can take the abuse. In your 40ties you should be either retired already or have a large chunk of money saved which will allow you to take a relatively chill job (maybe part time?) and coast to retirement.
The alternative - doing crazy things when you're young and only starting to get serious about your career when you're older - will mean you will have to work hard in your fourties and later, which sucks, as you won't have the energy, curiosity and naive optimism of a young person any more.
- whatamidoingyo 3y agoThe thing is, we're not guaranteed to wake up tomorrow. I think most people don't truly believe they're going to die. Or, at the very least, they think they're guaranteed and deserving of a long life. Death is just something that comes when you're 80+ years old, eh? I just got back last week from Thailand. Last year, I went to an island in the Caribbean. I'm 27. I've no idea if I'll make it to 40 years; I'm not going to wait to live my life. I can imagine being 40 and wishing I went to Thailand when I was 27 though. (I'm still working incredibly hard btw.)
- badpun 3y agoThat's what actuarial tables are for. Assuming you're a 27 year old male living in the US, your chances of making it till you're 40 year old are around 97%. This number is based on population averages, so, if e.g. you don't do heavy drugs, your chances are way higher (given that overdose is a leading cause of death in young people).
- ActorNightly 3y agoGranted that this is a generally "office job" focused form, most people will transition into senior positions in their later years which are way higher salary/actual hour worked, with lower stress and a lot more job security. Most people also will have runways in the form of house equity, dual income, e.t.c. You don't have to grind in your 40s at all. The bigger issue with your view is that in your case, your retirement will be essentially chilling, doing nothing. This is a big problem. It may seem appealing, but if you don't feel a purpose, even if you know you are doing nothing wrong, its going to accelerate your decline. Your younger self has a lot more neuroplasticity, which means you can do things like develop hobbies, try things, build relationships, quite a bit easier. This will carry on into your later years, where in retirement you will continue to do pursue those hobbies or relationships.
- badpun 3y agoI think we're in agreement. I wasn't arguing for becoming a no-life who is giving 100% of his twenties and thirties to his career. I was just arguing against quitting a career and "running away with a circus" (going on a multi-year travel spree around the world etc.), under the assumption that one can settle into a career in their fourties.