5 ms·

You're right about all of the self help books, however, I could live like a king on $4k a month. Its a matter of perspective and dedication.

by chai_t 13y ago

pistle 13y ago
You obviously have never seen how a king lives. At $4k, you will live like the median American. Maybe that looks good if you're from $1/day but, it's not nearly royal ever.
- eli_gottlieb 13y ago
  The median American simply does not earn $48k/year with one salary.
  - monkeynotes 13y ago
    Median income in the US is about $52k http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/us/politics/us-median-income-rises-but-is-still-6-below-its-2007-peak.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/us/politics/us-median-inco...
    - ASpring 13y ago
      From link: "median annual household income rose to $52,100 in June" Previous poster explicitly stated "one salary."
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
- canvia 13y ago
  If you take into consideration your quality of life, it's probably better than a lot of medieval (and even more recent) royals. A car replaces a horse drawn carriage which required a driver, stable staff, etc. You can get meals delivered from restaurants for minimal cost. You have access to a massive variety of foods from around the world. Fresh fruit, veg, and meat is easily affordable. You have a machine to wash your dirty dishes. You have a machine to wash your clothing. You have access to nearly every piece of human knowledge on demand for almost no cost. You can communicate with anyone, anywhere in the world, at any time, for virtually no cost. You have access to more sources of entertainment than you could consume in a lifetime, at a very low cost. In your pocket you carry a super computer with a multi-core processor, high resolution display, solid state storage measured in gigabytes, with voice and touch interface, that can access all these things over a wireless high speed internet connection. Every person living in a developed country is living a lifestyle that would have required many servants in any other era. People are just spoiled, greedy, entitled shits. They have no appreciation for how good their lives are. They have no comprehension of the complexity of the underlying systems that make their lives so incredibly easy. And yet they always want MORE.
  - roel_v 13y ago
    FYI, 'living like a king' doesn't mean 'live like a 14th century royalty'. It's a saying that means 'live a pleasurable life without worries about practical matters like money, and generally be much better off than those around you who you can pay to do things for you'.
    - ebrenes 13y ago
      Exactly, and at $4,000/month you would have to be conscious about your money spending habits, else that income will quickly disappear. Sure, you can stretch that amount to provide you ample comforts but you'll be making specific decisions to cut back on certain things or perks to provide a high enough standard of living in other areas. When I think of "living like a king" I don't particularly imagine "14th century royalty", but I do imagine being able to buy the latest laptop with ample memory and an SSD, for example, without having to think twice about the expense.
roel_v 13y ago
Sure, and if you can find some gigs that pay $500/hour, you're golden. I'm perfectly happy living on $4000 / month myself, and probably a bit less too. My point was that only at that baseline you can really 'choose how much and when to work'. (also, $4000 / month pre tax and expenses is less than $2000 / month pretty much anywhere in the developed world.)

You're right about all of the self help books, however, I could live like a king on $4k a month. Its a matter of perspective and dedication.

by chai_t 13y ago

You're right about all of the self help books, however, I could live like a king on $4k a month. Its a matter of perspective and dedication.

pistle 13y ago

You obviously have never seen how a king lives. At $4k, you will live like the median American. Maybe that looks good if you're from $1/day but, it's not nearly royal ever.

eli_gottlieb 13y ago
The median American simply does not earn $48k/year with one salary.
- monkeynotes 13y ago
  Median income in the US is about $52k http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/us/politics/us-median-income-rises-but-is-still-6-below-its-2007-peak.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/us/politics/us-median-inco...
  - ASpring 13y ago
    From link: "median annual household income rose to $52,100 in June" Previous poster explicitly stated "one salary."
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
canvia 13y ago
If you take into consideration your quality of life, it's probably better than a lot of medieval (and even more recent) royals. A car replaces a horse drawn carriage which required a driver, stable staff, etc. You can get meals delivered from restaurants for minimal cost. You have access to a massive variety of foods from around the world. Fresh fruit, veg, and meat is easily affordable. You have a machine to wash your dirty dishes. You have a machine to wash your clothing. You have access to nearly every piece of human knowledge on demand for almost no cost. You can communicate with anyone, anywhere in the world, at any time, for virtually no cost. You have access to more sources of entertainment than you could consume in a lifetime, at a very low cost. In your pocket you carry a super computer with a multi-core processor, high resolution display, solid state storage measured in gigabytes, with voice and touch interface, that can access all these things over a wireless high speed internet connection. Every person living in a developed country is living a lifestyle that would have required many servants in any other era. People are just spoiled, greedy, entitled shits. They have no appreciation for how good their lives are. They have no comprehension of the complexity of the underlying systems that make their lives so incredibly easy. And yet they always want MORE.
- roel_v 13y ago
  FYI, 'living like a king' doesn't mean 'live like a 14th century royalty'. It's a saying that means 'live a pleasurable life without worries about practical matters like money, and generally be much better off than those around you who you can pay to do things for you'.
  - ebrenes 13y ago
    Exactly, and at $4,000/month you would have to be conscious about your money spending habits, else that income will quickly disappear. Sure, you can stretch that amount to provide you ample comforts but you'll be making specific decisions to cut back on certain things or perks to provide a high enough standard of living in other areas. When I think of "living like a king" I don't particularly imagine "14th century royalty", but I do imagine being able to buy the latest laptop with ample memory and an SSD, for example, without having to think twice about the expense.

roel_v 13y ago

Sure, and if you can find some gigs that pay $500/hour, you're golden. I'm perfectly happy living on $4000 / month myself, and probably a bit less too. My point was that only at that baseline you can really 'choose how much and when to work'. (also, $4000 / month pre tax and expenses is less than $2000 / month pretty much anywhere in the developed world.)