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I agree with you. I've seen other people write about this before and it seems that the people talking about it are people who happen to make a lot more money th

I agree with you. I've seen other people write about this before and it seems that the people talking about it are people who happen to make a lot more money than the average person. Good for them, but that doesn't mean that people who make less money just have the wrong mindset or some kind of moral failing. I apparently have gone from an extreme "scarcity mindset," when I was in my 20s with questionable job security, to a moderate "scarcity mindset" now that I'm in my late 30s with a higher income, better job security, and 10x more in savings. It's still moderate because I'm a government employee with a relatively low ceiling on what I can make; not much room for growth.

steveBK123 3y ago
There's nothing wrong with either mindset, most people are incapable of doing both at once. You can have "scarcity mindset" and be rich. Of course someone with scarcity mindset grows savings over time because they have scarcity mindset! They are good at saving your money! But this part: > It's still moderate because I'm a government employee with a relatively low ceiling on what I can make; not much room for growth. Pretty firmly puts you in one bucket. You might have more money, but you are asserting that in your 30s your growth is limited. Someone with a growth mindset would not settle into that job & accept that life path. They'd be job hopping, running a side gig for extra income, squirreling away every last dime into investments so that they can immediately flip into private business at early retirement, etc. Getty is an example of a really rich guy with scarcity mindset. My parents & in-laws were scarcity mindset.. which is how they retired at 59! People think it's a slur, it is not!
- warner25 3y ago
  I see where you're coming from regarding "[settling] into that job & [accepting] that life path" as a government employee. I thought about that after I wrote it myself. The alternative, however, strikes me as taking imprudent risks, if one is supporting a family, and having a work-life balance that one's family wouldn't appreciate (mine already thinks that I work too much). You're right on the mark: my savings rate, and government pension, should result in early retirement. I think I'm interested in having more time, not more money. I'm really content with consuming relatively little. Maybe it's the "scarcity" and "growth" parts of the terminology that I take issue with, but I'm not sure what better descriptive terms would be. Edited to add: The more verbose descriptions that you wrote in your other comment make sense... "I'm going to make as much money as possible" vs "I'm going to spend as little money as possible"
  - steveBK123 3y ago
    It could be more like risk vs conservative / growth vs savings / etc. Personal anecdotes - in college I wanted more spending money, so I ran a little eBay business related to my hobby. One of my roommates got big into MMORPG goods mining & selling. Our other roommates got into things like getting their baked goods for free by showing up to bakeries at closing time. Later, at some point in our careers my wife & I found our industry to be stagnating and tried some side businesses. They didn't pan out after a couple years, so then we both switched industries/subindustries. We both change jobs every 4-5 years. I've had 5 jobs by 40, my wife 6. But on the other hand we come from families where our moms didn't work and our dads worked the same jobs for 30 years. For me, just like compounding interest makes a big difference in returns in terms of saving more earlier.. so does growth. If you settle into a stable safe job with 2-3% inflation raises, vs making sure you are always getting an average 5-10% raises, you would be shocked what it means to your compensation at the end of a 20 year period.

steveBK123 3y ago

There's nothing wrong with either mindset, most people are incapable of doing both at once. You can have "scarcity mindset" and be rich. Of course someone with scarcity mindset grows savings over time because they have scarcity mindset! They are good at saving your money! But this part: > It's still moderate because I'm a government employee with a relatively low ceiling on what I can make; not much room for growth. Pretty firmly puts you in one bucket. You might have more money, but you are asserting that in your 30s your growth is limited. Someone with a growth mindset would not settle into that job & accept that life path. They'd be job hopping, running a side gig for extra income, squirreling away every last dime into investments so that they can immediately flip into private business at early retirement, etc. Getty is an example of a really rich guy with scarcity mindset. My parents & in-laws were scarcity mindset.. which is how they retired at 59! People think it's a slur, it is not!

warner25 3y ago
I see where you're coming from regarding "[settling] into that job & [accepting] that life path" as a government employee. I thought about that after I wrote it myself. The alternative, however, strikes me as taking imprudent risks, if one is supporting a family, and having a work-life balance that one's family wouldn't appreciate (mine already thinks that I work too much). You're right on the mark: my savings rate, and government pension, should result in early retirement. I think I'm interested in having more time, not more money. I'm really content with consuming relatively little. Maybe it's the "scarcity" and "growth" parts of the terminology that I take issue with, but I'm not sure what better descriptive terms would be. Edited to add: The more verbose descriptions that you wrote in your other comment make sense... "I'm going to make as much money as possible" vs "I'm going to spend as little money as possible"
- steveBK123 3y ago
  It could be more like risk vs conservative / growth vs savings / etc. Personal anecdotes - in college I wanted more spending money, so I ran a little eBay business related to my hobby. One of my roommates got big into MMORPG goods mining & selling. Our other roommates got into things like getting their baked goods for free by showing up to bakeries at closing time. Later, at some point in our careers my wife & I found our industry to be stagnating and tried some side businesses. They didn't pan out after a couple years, so then we both switched industries/subindustries. We both change jobs every 4-5 years. I've had 5 jobs by 40, my wife 6. But on the other hand we come from families where our moms didn't work and our dads worked the same jobs for 30 years. For me, just like compounding interest makes a big difference in returns in terms of saving more earlier.. so does growth. If you settle into a stable safe job with 2-3% inflation raises, vs making sure you are always getting an average 5-10% raises, you would be shocked what it means to your compensation at the end of a 20 year period.