You didn't make it on your own, but I feel you. The first 18 years often decide the rest of your life
Egyptians tried, they got robbed. You can take your credit tho Yet that was another story, when there was no limited liability concept, hundreds of years ago, debts would be left ,for your family. ( book ,,Homo Sapiens'' ) Hmnnn, ain't gonna buy happiness, but being broke, ain't gonna buy anything. G.Cardone
I can totally relate to the stress of figuring ways to protect even a moderate wealth, which ime goes way beyond worrying about bank collapse . Depending on one's situation this might get worse with more wealth. Coming from a complicated and rather poor upbringing, I also remember the stress of looking for money and worrying on the day I might face a very bleak dead end. The latter is much worse imo, at least with some wealth you can spread it around so major issues shouldn't leave you completely broke. Starting up it was all the not so many eggs in a dodgy single basket, much more uncomfortable. Besides I was already doing fine financially when Junior number 1 came up, seeing all the extra responsibilities and worries children bring, trying to raise kids worrying about basic necessities or education must take a big toll on well being. I have a hard time believing a low income is better for well being than a high income, although the financial numbers advanced in happiness studies make sense. If one knows their kids can get decent education and healthcare, has enough to pay for the basics and some extra while not overly worried about his financial future, there is little reason he feels worse off emotionally than wealthier folks.
Hey! Let's get some perspective on this issue. Firstly, one word: Dysfunctionality Secondly, the phrase: Shit stinks at all levels Will 20 mil make you happy? Well if your relationships and family are broken beyond repair then 20 mil could only make things worse. Your mother was humpin her tennis coach and your father abused your sister when she was young. 20 mil aint gonna wipe the slate clean folks. If your view on life is blurred, then forget trading, you're a basket case.
What I said was "Being able to move whenever/wherever you want, not having financial worries, not having to trade the best hours of your life every day for money, are all luxuries that most people will never know." You choose to live in the most expensive places, you choose to give yourself 400 USD of pocket money, you choose to save a lot instead of spending. It sounds to me like you do whatever you want. That kind of freedom is only available to those with a lot of wealth. Just because you aren't a big spender doesn't mean that being wealthy isn't important to you, in fact it likely means the opposite - since you value savings higher than all the things you could buy with it. Give away all your savings and live paycheque to paycheque then get back to us about how your happiness hasn't changed at all compared to before. If that's even possible.. since you probably make money from money if you are on this forum.
Wrong, that kind of freedom is only available to those who work hard and make tons of sacrifices and even then not everyone is guaranteed such freedom. I had zero wealth of my own and paid myself through college and grad school all on my own. Yes I am privileged and blessed but not because I got a financial head start because I did not. And I don't choose to live in the city I live in because I like it so much. I am here because this is where I pay no capital gains taxes at all and where my visa status allows me to live, a status I also earned and which was not bestowed upon me by anyone else. Those choices all came with sacrifices. That is what most people don't want to realize. They for whatever reason must stay in their ghetto and rather moan how tough life is. Truth is that unless one lives in North Korea one can with hard work at the very least move out of a shit hole to a better place even if that means the next town. You continue to spout your narritive that anyone claimed life being poor is a happy life. Yes it can be happy and it can be utterly shitty, it depends what one makes out of life with or without wealth. I believe a certain minimum standard of living makes one happier than living below such standard all else being equal, I never argued otherwise. But there are over a hundred million Americans who live above such minimum living standard and they are not happy. That is my entire point. Money does not buy happiness
Hehe, I know... Just a funny movie scene, happiness just like wealth, it's a state of mind... External factors can determine a bit, but mostly comes from within
Never said you didn't work hard, never said you didn't earn your wealth. There is nothing wrong with being wealthy. But it sounds like you have something to prove about how you got there? I think you should just admit that being wealthy is very important to you. If it wasn't then why did you work so hard and sacrifice to achieve it? Why waste the time if you were already happy without it? Also realize that ultimately it is the wealth that gives you the freedom, not the hard work and sacrifices. You said it yourself, hard work doesn't guarantee it. Tons of people work super hard but they are not effective. You need to work hard and smart and also not get unlucky. Have you considered that maybe because they need to spend all their time just to get above that minimum standard and they have no time left to enjoy it? When I was working a regular job I was above the standard but I would get home exhausted every day and spend most of my little free time watching TV because I was too tired to do anything else.
A monotonous routine followed by what you stated scares me. My approach is aligned in the middle... I want financial security and freedom, but the pursuit can’t outweigh the purpose. By purpose- I want the financial security and freedom to do what I want and love. Would 20M be the number where I can focus on my purpose rather than the pursuit? I don’t know... which is scary too because 20M is a lot of money. I can certainly do a lot of the things I want to do, but I’m in my early 20s. Surely 20M can’t suffice for survival and fun... maybe it can. I don’t know. Weird to think about, but necessary.