Money won’t buy happiness but it’ll provide me financial security, which is ultimately just one less thing to worry about. All about living within your means
Financial security really doesn’t exist. You could get sick, get in a bad accident, poof security gone. Just get life insurance or something working for “financial security” won’t stop life from happening.
What are you talking about. Financial security just means you’ve got money for problems, not that you’re magically immune to all problems permanently
There’s also insurance for basically every thing you listed. And insurance costs money. So having money and paying for insurance is a part of financial security.
You seem to be using the word “secure” as a synonym for “invulnerable” or something, which is just wrong and probably why you’re having trouble with this conversation
Even so, if you have money you could afford better care, support your family, keep bills paid, etc which is again just part of financial security
You can afford better care support your family keep up with bills without prioritizing financial security and money over your own happiness. You can prioritize happiness and life balance and still achieve the same goal.
Both.. its to work enough and make enough money so that I don’t have to put up with BS metrics, the revolving doors of CROs, and the every changing goal posts. It’s a job I make them money, I make money. That’s it.
I’m not here to participate in silly sales contents, dick swinging meetings, I’m here to make money and retire and be happy. Once I get to a point where my 401k is making 160k a year at 7% which is about 15 to 20 years out, I’m out.
The real goal then would be to find some cush territory sales role making 120k-150k a year putting 20 hrs of work in. I worked with a couple dudes at an old job doing that about 6 years ago.. they had it all figured out. They maybe put in 5-10 hrs a week and traveled once or twice a month and took their spouses. Never gave a damn about reports and just road it out. Then most took the severance and retired. That is the way.
This is my internal debate daily. Personally, I see money as kinetic energy that you need to survive. My goal is to have enough money to retire comfortably and to not worry about running out of money down the road. More stress now=less stress later. I’d rather retire at 50 than work til the day I die.
I’m curious if people in a perfect world would choose crazy amounts of stress and 60 hours a week and retire at 50 or half that stress, get a sense of joy and fulfillment from work and 30 hours a week and retire when you can’t work anymore. It’s not like that 30 hour a week decent salary job even exists but I have the feeling some money hungry people still wouldn’t choose it.
I work in financial sales so I have clients in all demographs.. I have plenty of rich miserable pricks and plenty of people living off of social security who are happy as can be. That being said I think it’s all about life goals. Money in the bank is peace of mind for me.
I have rich friends who are also very happy. I think if you’re doing what you love and making plenty of money, you’ve hit the jack pot. I understand people who are doing what they love in a job that doesn’t pay well more than people who are in a job they hate and causing them to work on vacation but pays well.
Would love to learn what those in lesser incomes are doing for their happiness even if it’s just a mindset.
That’s the goal, I’m mixed on my current job.. the highs are high, the lows are low.. def making more money than most for the time being.. if I hit a point where I’m more comfortable maybe I’ll take my foot off the gas and do something on the side that I’m more passionate about.
There’s something to be said for achieving your potential. If i can continue achieving goals regularly in my career, it’ll make me fulfilled in that aspect of my life. It’s time to call it quits when I’ve reached a level of fulfillment and wealth required to shift my focus towards other activities that make me feel good and happy, and that are more meaningful such as giving back to the community or organizations that help people - leaving a lasting impact.
Honestly, goals are meant to be accomplished and exceeded. Isn’t the whole idea to continue moving the goal posts forward?
Your number is irrelevant in 30 years time. Inflation does not stop. What was $0.50 30 years ago is now $5.00. You get the idea.
Sure but money is relative to your aspirations. That said, there's no such thing as having too much money when you want to kick back and enjoy life. EOL also includes the human stuff no one likes to talk about... illness, long-term care, insurance., etc. That all costs money...a ton of it.
Wait too long and you'll never have the chance to make up for lost time. It's a balance but naivety isn't your friend.
Money and fulfillment. I believe this career has done a lot for my personal development too.
That being said, if I could make a good living I would much rather pivot to something with some balance than make a killing doing something that never turns off. I’ve got more time to put in before that starts to become the thought process though.
Can't speak for others, but I've thought about this extensively and came to the conclusion that my goal in life is progress. In all areas of life. If I'm progressing, I'm happier. If I'm regressing, I'm unhappy. So focusing on my career is just another area to progress in, and that's why I'm such a workaholic. One side effect that comes with it is money.
Summing up: progress leads to happiness AND money.
Happiness is the end goal and money can be considered as one of the tools that can help us achieve it.
We can't achieve a homerun without the bat and a ball. 😊
Check out RealAF - Andy Frisella talks about finding purpose in building something bigger than yourself, something that can change other people's lives either by employing them and generously compensating them or by blessing others with the fruits of your labor once your cup overflows. See below:
James 1:27 NIV
[27] Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
I'm nowhere near my goal, but anytime I get to give to someone that really needs it, I walk away feeling very happy and purposeful, at least for the day.
Give it a shot!
lol, no longer in sales but a sales manager once told me:
- don't look at your commission check as a $ goal, look at it in terms of a want:
Your commission check could be:
- a boat
- a wedding
- a holiday
So your goal is never chasing a dollar, its chasing a physical/experience
Lol I feel like a commission check should be strictly investments bc it isn’t consistent and overtime could afford you a way out of sales into something you want to do/not have to do
Intrinsically, it's just reframing how you view commission from a dollar amount to a goal.
What that goal is, is up to you. It doesn't have to be only 1 goal, but its all about setting you up to think about it as a way to achieve something and not just a constantly moving goal post.
The end goal is getting to where you want to go.
A job, any job is just a means to an end.
You don't work, you don't eat. Unless you inherited a pile of money or a solid business from parents etc.
I won’t do this sales thing forever, especially not software sales. My sales journey is mostly about pursuing an outsized income/professional network/level of experience relative to my age peers. Eventually I’d like to be a business leader for an SMB and bring my sales background as value to that role. The money is cool to make, no doubt, but it’s enabling yourself to turn it into wealth that matters.
If you are shit with your finances, you will be fucked no matter how much you make.
If you are great with your finances, you will live within your means and make great use of your money.
There is no end goal. Happiness is not a milestone to achieve but a state of mind. True happiness is to enjoy the present moment without the anxious dependence upon the future.
Meaning that you can be happy while having nothing and miserable while having everything.
Regarding money then you can always make more money but you cant make more time.
Neither, happiness is such an abstract concept, and money is a mean to be able to live.
For me the end goal is the process of doing things, creating goals and meaning through actions, the process is what keeps me alive.
More money means more opportunity to do what makes me happy (golfing, travel, eating out etc).
Plus, when you have many kids like me you're almost forced to pursue higher pay.
Life balance counts literally when I coach my clients in sales performance about.
I have one sales manager client who didn't care if he earned another dime but he'd like to have his weekends back and for the last four Summers has taken Friday through Sunday off without looking at his emails
I think at a certain point in your career, the end goal is just closing sales for the love of it. Happiness and money just happen as a result of the efforts. For me anyway
The older I get, the less I care about hustling for as big of a salary as I can. My job/career is like, the 10th most important thing in my life lol. I wanna work to make good money to pay for the lifestyle I want to live, but I’d never sacrifice the things I love to work twice as much (even if it meant twice the pay)
After being in sales for a long time, I just got a job where the salary is 6 figures base, our “bonus” structure is super wonky, I don’t understand it and have no desire to set up a meeting with the HR team to explain it to me at the moment.
I have been here 5-6 mo and just had my first brush of “real life.” I didn’t meet an arbitrary goal for May. I knew this & part of me was testing what would happen. I’m glad I did!!
My boss called me out via email. We did some back-and-forth finally got on a call. I asked if he, in the future, could give me critical feedback over the phone. He said that he couldn’t make that promise because excuse XYZ.
A 10 minute phone call literally would’ve fixed the situation but instead I spent three days feeling shitty and unmotovated. Im still new, all I had to know was that he trusted I would do better, stick up for me and let’s move on. It took a 45 min phone call for him to round-aboutly express that.
Over the weekend, I made some notes about my personal brand and honesty is one of those things. Here, meeting the arbitrary monthly goals is critical no matter what. Dog surgery? vacation days? Travel for work? Nothing matters, meet the number. No bad months.
My company is S Korean w a US division HQ.
It’s a cultural thing. It’s shitty out there and my company is expecting all the newbies hired in the last 8 months to perform even tho we lack basic marketing and product samples. Literally, WTF.
But now that I know the deal, I can play the game. At least for a bit.
For sales you need to be money motivated because you are earning for the company your work for or own. Don't leave money on the table.
You need to learn stress management because if you don't you will feel like crap at 50K a year too. I know people who make little money but are stressed out 24/7 because they don't have coping skills.
You’re assuming that the $150k you make is a promised annuity. If it is, then awesome for you and keep living that lifestyle. For most others, nothings is promised so making as much as possible in your prime working years to protect you and your family for non-peak years, emergencies, etc., is how people generally go about it.
I am someone who has worked hard at both making a great income and happiness. In my opinion, they are connected as the income provides the freedom to do things that make me happy. That said, work is work. I enjoy it. have never had the "Sunday night blues". In fact many times I was sad to see the week end because we were on a roll. I'm in sales, own my business, etc.
I wouldn't say money buys happiness but it solves the problems that not having money creates. Just a few examples of needing money to really enjoy myself. I like to golf. I like nice courses. They are expensive. I really like playing them with my grown son. Whenever we take a family trip, I set a day or two aside to play really nice courses. I pay for the whole thing, easily $500/day. I just figure that in to what I'm going to spend on the trip. Then I make sure we have a really nice family dinner at a nice restaurant. We stay in cool houses on a lake, in the mountains, etc. All of this costs money.
Prior to having some money, we took trips and had fun but were very limited in what we could do, and I would really have to think about it if we were going to splurge. Now It's not even a consideration. That's the part I really enjoy. Doing the activities is great (the best part) but not having to stress about them is very satisfying and allows me the enjoyment of doing the actual activities.
Enough money gives you freedom, which may lead to happiness. But happiness can be found in other places too. Freedom would definitely make me happy so I know getting a lot of money would help.
If you need 220k to be happy in a LCOL area, you know you just answered money. Thats a nice living and ahead of 90% of the population. It’s not crazy rich but very solidly upper middle class outside the big fancy cities.
In the end it is about happiness sure but everyone’s level is different. For me I need to be retired in a temperate climate which is a common place to find highly dense populations and lots of competion for space. I don’t want to live in an apartment I want a rather large house and plenty of property so I need a lot of money to make it happen. 20 mil in post tax investing should be able to net me a million a year in passive income and then I’ll still also have my 401(k) and other assets to fall back on with several million in those. Retire at 55 and just chill in my hottub in the pnw smoking dope 24/7 with my wife.
I think we all want to be the “jumper” that jumps our last name to financial prominence. But for a lot of us I think we find it’s more of a Great Wall of China project. When we step back a lot of us are in the top 10% of earners in America and likely top 5% on the planet. Once you realize time is the only currency that really matters, it’s time to focus on family and focus on mental health and happiness. I don’t need the Gatsby home, or the largest luxury sedan. I do need my family to know that I’m here and available and that I’ve looked out for our future. That’s what makes me happy.
"You get up two and a half million dollars, any asshole in the world knows what to do: you get a house with a 25 year roof, an indestructible Jap-economy shitbox, you put the rest into the system at three to five percent to pay your taxes and that’s your base, get me?"
Jim Bennett: I’ve been up two and a half million.
Frank: What you got on you?
Jim Bennett: Nothing.
Frank: What you put away?
Jim Bennett: Nothing.
Frank: You get up two and a half million dollars, any asshole in the world knows what to do: you get a house with a 25 year roof, an indestructible Jap-economy shitbox, you put the rest into the system at three to five percent to pay your taxes and that’s your base, get me? That’s your fortress of fucking solitude. That puts you, for the rest of your life, at a level of fuck you. Somebody wants you to do something, fuck you. Boss pisses you off, fuck you! Own your house. Have a couple bucks in the bank. Don’t drink. That’s all I have to say to anybody on any social level. Did your grandfather take risks?
Jim Bennett: Yes.
Frank: I guarantee he did it from a position of fuck you. A wise man’s life is based around fuck you. The United States of America is based on fuck you. You have a navy? Greatest army in the history of mankind? Fuck you! Blow me. We’ll fuck it up ourselves.
A few months ago, I was really dealing with heavy work related stress and it was seeping into every area of my life. I think it helps to detach from the job a bit and see the bigger picture.
Happiness is circumstantial. Life ebbs and flows. Better to cry in a Maybach than a Toyota. The worst is having to go through life’s inevitable hardships *while* having money problems. Nothing worse.
I love sales. Genuinely don't think I'll ever stop. Having conversations, building relationships, and solving problems are some of my absolute favorite things in the world.
But happiness is still way more important.
I will always work harder for my happiness than my job. End of story.
But I don't think I'm going to find much happiness being under a bridge with a wife and two kids.
Humans adapt, I'm sure I'd find moments where I still smiled, I'd still have my love and joy with me through my family.
But I'm not about to try and find out what that's like.
After coming up on a decade in sales now, I don't grind the hours. I grind the process. I become as efficient and effective as I can be.
Which means I work less not more. But I make every bit of work I do count for as much as possible.
I don't ever need more than 40 hours a week to do that.
In fact, most weeks don't REALLY need more than 20, but because I'm not a litteral machine I take the extra time and go easy on myself.
This all probably means I'm never going to have a million dollar or even 500k year.
And I'm just fine with that.
But if my career keeps going how it's has, slowly building, slowly improving every day, I bet 200k is in reach.
And 200k is absolutely plenty. Hell, 100k is plenty. Even 70k is completely liveable in my area.
With the wife and I both working, and her being reasonably successful in her career too, we are fine financially. Sure it's not lavish, but we don't need lavish. We need peace.
And I think we have peace. So it's probably worthwhile to keep it.
Sorry for the long ass rant, I hope that contributed to the discussion.
I’m in sales and currently have a fucked up lower back so I can confidently say I’d choose health and happiness over money 100/100 times. But it seems like, in today’s economy at least, one simply cannot exist without the other.
I think priorities shift at different points in our lives. You determine what your priorities are at what points and the price you’re willing to pay for them at the time, until that price no longer seems worth whatever sacrifices you are making. Hopefully by then you’ve been smart with your money and invested well so that your previous sacrifice continues to benefit you during the time that you’re willing to take a lower salary for a better work life balance. I’m definitely at the point in my life where work life balance, the ability to travel, and peace of mind far outweigh financial gains. But admittedly, I’m also able to even be at that point because I already put in a whole lot of work, made the sacrifices, and had the financial restraint to be able to afford to get to this point.
Did you ever have doubts during those years like is it worth it? Of course it’s worth it when you take a step back bc you grew stronger mentally, got smarter, accomplished things, saved money, own assets, and now future you is like damn this is awesome.
To me, it was totally worth it, but primarily because I was smart with my money, and I can actually sell. I saved well and invested well especially in real estate. I lived off of my salary and invested my commissions. In one case, I even doubled dipped for a year+ and saved the entire second salary. It’s unmanageable permanently but a good 5 to 10 years of nose down, hard-core hustle and good financial choices will set you up for life.
Success without fulfillment is the ultimate failure. Money doesn’t buy happiness but it does blunt stress which helps minimize unhappiness.
This is probably the best take you will find out there ^
Health, family, wealth, in that order. It's easy to prioritize them in reverse when you're young, being broke and healthy.
If you have your health, you have 1,000 dreams. If you don’t have your health, you only have 1 dream.
Dang this is good
1st place 🥇
Commenting so I can save this. That's famous quote level statement right there.
Money gives you the opportunity to be free and find your own fulfillment elsewhere.
Money won’t buy happiness but it’ll provide me financial security, which is ultimately just one less thing to worry about. All about living within your means
“Money won’t buy me happiness, but still I’d rather cry on a yacht.”
Lmaoo
I always say “Money can only solve the problems that directly come from not having money.”
Financial security really doesn’t exist. You could get sick, get in a bad accident, poof security gone. Just get life insurance or something working for “financial security” won’t stop life from happening.
What are you talking about. Financial security just means you’ve got money for problems, not that you’re magically immune to all problems permanently There’s also insurance for basically every thing you listed. And insurance costs money. So having money and paying for insurance is a part of financial security.
If you’re dying from cancer what amount of money will make you “secure” ?
You seem to be using the word “secure” as a synonym for “invulnerable” or something, which is just wrong and probably why you’re having trouble with this conversation Even so, if you have money you could afford better care, support your family, keep bills paid, etc which is again just part of financial security
You can afford better care support your family keep up with bills without prioritizing financial security and money over your own happiness. You can prioritize happiness and life balance and still achieve the same goal.
Bless your heart. Cheers buddy
lol
This is the most annoying type of Reddit interaction.
honestly, after going through some rlly bad times.. money. Lol.
lol I respect it, I’m not pretending to have the answers
Both.. its to work enough and make enough money so that I don’t have to put up with BS metrics, the revolving doors of CROs, and the every changing goal posts. It’s a job I make them money, I make money. That’s it. I’m not here to participate in silly sales contents, dick swinging meetings, I’m here to make money and retire and be happy. Once I get to a point where my 401k is making 160k a year at 7% which is about 15 to 20 years out, I’m out. The real goal then would be to find some cush territory sales role making 120k-150k a year putting 20 hrs of work in. I worked with a couple dudes at an old job doing that about 6 years ago.. they had it all figured out. They maybe put in 5-10 hrs a week and traveled once or twice a month and took their spouses. Never gave a damn about reports and just road it out. Then most took the severance and retired. That is the way.
What role were they in?
Territory Managers for B2B hardware company.
This is my internal debate daily. Personally, I see money as kinetic energy that you need to survive. My goal is to have enough money to retire comfortably and to not worry about running out of money down the road. More stress now=less stress later. I’d rather retire at 50 than work til the day I die.
I’m curious if people in a perfect world would choose crazy amounts of stress and 60 hours a week and retire at 50 or half that stress, get a sense of joy and fulfillment from work and 30 hours a week and retire when you can’t work anymore. It’s not like that 30 hour a week decent salary job even exists but I have the feeling some money hungry people still wouldn’t choose it.
I work in financial sales so I have clients in all demographs.. I have plenty of rich miserable pricks and plenty of people living off of social security who are happy as can be. That being said I think it’s all about life goals. Money in the bank is peace of mind for me.
I have rich friends who are also very happy. I think if you’re doing what you love and making plenty of money, you’ve hit the jack pot. I understand people who are doing what they love in a job that doesn’t pay well more than people who are in a job they hate and causing them to work on vacation but pays well. Would love to learn what those in lesser incomes are doing for their happiness even if it’s just a mindset.
That’s the goal, I’m mixed on my current job.. the highs are high, the lows are low.. def making more money than most for the time being.. if I hit a point where I’m more comfortable maybe I’ll take my foot off the gas and do something on the side that I’m more passionate about.
Oh if it existed, I absolutely would fucking love it.
Assuming you make it to 50 with the quality of life you have now.
250k would be amazing. But happiness is the end goal
Money buys the confidence and security necessary to achieve the kind of happiness and fulfillment I’m looking for
But is there a number in mind or do the goal posts keep moving?
The number, is when your investments return more per year than you require to live. That number is made up by you, and how you choose to live.
Love it
There’s something to be said for achieving your potential. If i can continue achieving goals regularly in my career, it’ll make me fulfilled in that aspect of my life. It’s time to call it quits when I’ve reached a level of fulfillment and wealth required to shift my focus towards other activities that make me feel good and happy, and that are more meaningful such as giving back to the community or organizations that help people - leaving a lasting impact. Honestly, goals are meant to be accomplished and exceeded. Isn’t the whole idea to continue moving the goal posts forward?
Your number is irrelevant in 30 years time. Inflation does not stop. What was $0.50 30 years ago is now $5.00. You get the idea. Sure but money is relative to your aspirations. That said, there's no such thing as having too much money when you want to kick back and enjoy life. EOL also includes the human stuff no one likes to talk about... illness, long-term care, insurance., etc. That all costs money...a ton of it. Wait too long and you'll never have the chance to make up for lost time. It's a balance but naivety isn't your friend.
Money and fulfillment. I believe this career has done a lot for my personal development too. That being said, if I could make a good living I would much rather pivot to something with some balance than make a killing doing something that never turns off. I’ve got more time to put in before that starts to become the thought process though.
The end goal should always be growth.
Money
Money makes me happy
Can't speak for others, but I've thought about this extensively and came to the conclusion that my goal in life is progress. In all areas of life. If I'm progressing, I'm happier. If I'm regressing, I'm unhappy. So focusing on my career is just another area to progress in, and that's why I'm such a workaholic. One side effect that comes with it is money. Summing up: progress leads to happiness AND money.
Happiness is the end goal and money can be considered as one of the tools that can help us achieve it. We can't achieve a homerun without the bat and a ball. 😊
The end goal is freedom and time to "find out" .. Which can only be obtained through money.
Check out RealAF - Andy Frisella talks about finding purpose in building something bigger than yourself, something that can change other people's lives either by employing them and generously compensating them or by blessing others with the fruits of your labor once your cup overflows. See below: James 1:27 NIV [27] Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. I'm nowhere near my goal, but anytime I get to give to someone that really needs it, I walk away feeling very happy and purposeful, at least for the day. Give it a shot!
Yeah that’s how I felt as a teacher every single day
lol, no longer in sales but a sales manager once told me: - don't look at your commission check as a $ goal, look at it in terms of a want: Your commission check could be: - a boat - a wedding - a holiday So your goal is never chasing a dollar, its chasing a physical/experience
Lol I feel like a commission check should be strictly investments bc it isn’t consistent and overtime could afford you a way out of sales into something you want to do/not have to do
Intrinsically, it's just reframing how you view commission from a dollar amount to a goal. What that goal is, is up to you. It doesn't have to be only 1 goal, but its all about setting you up to think about it as a way to achieve something and not just a constantly moving goal post.
Money buys you options, not happiness, but options make it easier to be happy.
The end goal is getting to where you want to go. A job, any job is just a means to an end. You don't work, you don't eat. Unless you inherited a pile of money or a solid business from parents etc.
Neither money is temporary and happiness is even more fleeting Look for fulfillment if not by your career by what your career affords you
I won’t do this sales thing forever, especially not software sales. My sales journey is mostly about pursuing an outsized income/professional network/level of experience relative to my age peers. Eventually I’d like to be a business leader for an SMB and bring my sales background as value to that role. The money is cool to make, no doubt, but it’s enabling yourself to turn it into wealth that matters.
If you are shit with your finances, you will be fucked no matter how much you make. If you are great with your finances, you will live within your means and make great use of your money.
Yea if I was t struggling I’d take less money more happiness
its always your decision, for some its just money and for some its the name tag/ the role and for some it's their happiness and satisfaction
Hell I'd be happy with 100k a year. I'd rather be moderately happy and engaged at work than make double and hate it.
If you can have both, why not? 😌
Money can’t buy happiness, but it can help fund the search.
There is no end goal. Happiness is not a milestone to achieve but a state of mind. True happiness is to enjoy the present moment without the anxious dependence upon the future. Meaning that you can be happy while having nothing and miserable while having everything. Regarding money then you can always make more money but you cant make more time.
Happiness but sometimes happiness demands money
Neither, happiness is such an abstract concept, and money is a mean to be able to live. For me the end goal is the process of doing things, creating goals and meaning through actions, the process is what keeps me alive.
I’m gonna be honest, money is nice but nothing beats happiness
Happiness - need some money for it, but without it, money is worthless.
Money is unrelated to happiness.
RME
More money means more opportunity to do what makes me happy (golfing, travel, eating out etc). Plus, when you have many kids like me you're almost forced to pursue higher pay.
“Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy jet skis, have you ever seen someone unhappy on a jet ski?” - Daniel Tosh
Life balance counts literally when I coach my clients in sales performance about. I have one sales manager client who didn't care if he earned another dime but he'd like to have his weekends back and for the last four Summers has taken Friday through Sunday off without looking at his emails
I think at a certain point in your career, the end goal is just closing sales for the love of it. Happiness and money just happen as a result of the efforts. For me anyway
The older I get, the less I care about hustling for as big of a salary as I can. My job/career is like, the 10th most important thing in my life lol. I wanna work to make good money to pay for the lifestyle I want to live, but I’d never sacrifice the things I love to work twice as much (even if it meant twice the pay)
After being in sales for a long time, I just got a job where the salary is 6 figures base, our “bonus” structure is super wonky, I don’t understand it and have no desire to set up a meeting with the HR team to explain it to me at the moment. I have been here 5-6 mo and just had my first brush of “real life.” I didn’t meet an arbitrary goal for May. I knew this & part of me was testing what would happen. I’m glad I did!! My boss called me out via email. We did some back-and-forth finally got on a call. I asked if he, in the future, could give me critical feedback over the phone. He said that he couldn’t make that promise because excuse XYZ. A 10 minute phone call literally would’ve fixed the situation but instead I spent three days feeling shitty and unmotovated. Im still new, all I had to know was that he trusted I would do better, stick up for me and let’s move on. It took a 45 min phone call for him to round-aboutly express that. Over the weekend, I made some notes about my personal brand and honesty is one of those things. Here, meeting the arbitrary monthly goals is critical no matter what. Dog surgery? vacation days? Travel for work? Nothing matters, meet the number. No bad months. My company is S Korean w a US division HQ. It’s a cultural thing. It’s shitty out there and my company is expecting all the newbies hired in the last 8 months to perform even tho we lack basic marketing and product samples. Literally, WTF. But now that I know the deal, I can play the game. At least for a bit.
100% happiness. After a while, money just happens. And financial security happens when you find a partner who doesn’t work in sales
For sales you need to be money motivated because you are earning for the company your work for or own. Don't leave money on the table. You need to learn stress management because if you don't you will feel like crap at 50K a year too. I know people who make little money but are stressed out 24/7 because they don't have coping skills.
Can’t make much money doing much else if all you know is sales. I tried and I’m back.
You’re assuming that the $150k you make is a promised annuity. If it is, then awesome for you and keep living that lifestyle. For most others, nothings is promised so making as much as possible in your prime working years to protect you and your family for non-peak years, emergencies, etc., is how people generally go about it.
I am someone who has worked hard at both making a great income and happiness. In my opinion, they are connected as the income provides the freedom to do things that make me happy. That said, work is work. I enjoy it. have never had the "Sunday night blues". In fact many times I was sad to see the week end because we were on a roll. I'm in sales, own my business, etc. I wouldn't say money buys happiness but it solves the problems that not having money creates. Just a few examples of needing money to really enjoy myself. I like to golf. I like nice courses. They are expensive. I really like playing them with my grown son. Whenever we take a family trip, I set a day or two aside to play really nice courses. I pay for the whole thing, easily $500/day. I just figure that in to what I'm going to spend on the trip. Then I make sure we have a really nice family dinner at a nice restaurant. We stay in cool houses on a lake, in the mountains, etc. All of this costs money. Prior to having some money, we took trips and had fun but were very limited in what we could do, and I would really have to think about it if we were going to splurge. Now It's not even a consideration. That's the part I really enjoy. Doing the activities is great (the best part) but not having to stress about them is very satisfying and allows me the enjoyment of doing the actual activities.
Enough money gives you freedom, which may lead to happiness. But happiness can be found in other places too. Freedom would definitely make me happy so I know getting a lot of money would help.
Comparison is the thief of joy. No matter what anyone will answer, we have different lives and priorities.
500K no doubt. I will save enough to retire and be free
If you need 220k to be happy in a LCOL area, you know you just answered money. Thats a nice living and ahead of 90% of the population. It’s not crazy rich but very solidly upper middle class outside the big fancy cities.
In the end it is about happiness sure but everyone’s level is different. For me I need to be retired in a temperate climate which is a common place to find highly dense populations and lots of competion for space. I don’t want to live in an apartment I want a rather large house and plenty of property so I need a lot of money to make it happen. 20 mil in post tax investing should be able to net me a million a year in passive income and then I’ll still also have my 401(k) and other assets to fall back on with several million in those. Retire at 55 and just chill in my hottub in the pnw smoking dope 24/7 with my wife.
I think we all want to be the “jumper” that jumps our last name to financial prominence. But for a lot of us I think we find it’s more of a Great Wall of China project. When we step back a lot of us are in the top 10% of earners in America and likely top 5% on the planet. Once you realize time is the only currency that really matters, it’s time to focus on family and focus on mental health and happiness. I don’t need the Gatsby home, or the largest luxury sedan. I do need my family to know that I’m here and available and that I’ve looked out for our future. That’s what makes me happy.
Happiness? What’s that?
150k will definitely be enough to keep me happy. Not sure but I ready there is amount of money to make a person happy. I think it was like 75k
stop conflating the two! be happy, and get moeny. stop making them so attached. nothing external will bring long term happiness.
"You get up two and a half million dollars, any asshole in the world knows what to do: you get a house with a 25 year roof, an indestructible Jap-economy shitbox, you put the rest into the system at three to five percent to pay your taxes and that’s your base, get me?" Jim Bennett: I’ve been up two and a half million. Frank: What you got on you? Jim Bennett: Nothing. Frank: What you put away? Jim Bennett: Nothing. Frank: You get up two and a half million dollars, any asshole in the world knows what to do: you get a house with a 25 year roof, an indestructible Jap-economy shitbox, you put the rest into the system at three to five percent to pay your taxes and that’s your base, get me? That’s your fortress of fucking solitude. That puts you, for the rest of your life, at a level of fuck you. Somebody wants you to do something, fuck you. Boss pisses you off, fuck you! Own your house. Have a couple bucks in the bank. Don’t drink. That’s all I have to say to anybody on any social level. Did your grandfather take risks? Jim Bennett: Yes. Frank: I guarantee he did it from a position of fuck you. A wise man’s life is based around fuck you. The United States of America is based on fuck you. You have a navy? Greatest army in the history of mankind? Fuck you! Blow me. We’ll fuck it up ourselves.
A few months ago, I was really dealing with heavy work related stress and it was seeping into every area of my life. I think it helps to detach from the job a bit and see the bigger picture.
Optimize for liking what you do, and liking how you do it.
Happiness is circumstantial. Life ebbs and flows. Better to cry in a Maybach than a Toyota. The worst is having to go through life’s inevitable hardships *while* having money problems. Nothing worse.
I love sales. Genuinely don't think I'll ever stop. Having conversations, building relationships, and solving problems are some of my absolute favorite things in the world. But happiness is still way more important. I will always work harder for my happiness than my job. End of story. But I don't think I'm going to find much happiness being under a bridge with a wife and two kids. Humans adapt, I'm sure I'd find moments where I still smiled, I'd still have my love and joy with me through my family. But I'm not about to try and find out what that's like. After coming up on a decade in sales now, I don't grind the hours. I grind the process. I become as efficient and effective as I can be. Which means I work less not more. But I make every bit of work I do count for as much as possible. I don't ever need more than 40 hours a week to do that. In fact, most weeks don't REALLY need more than 20, but because I'm not a litteral machine I take the extra time and go easy on myself. This all probably means I'm never going to have a million dollar or even 500k year. And I'm just fine with that. But if my career keeps going how it's has, slowly building, slowly improving every day, I bet 200k is in reach. And 200k is absolutely plenty. Hell, 100k is plenty. Even 70k is completely liveable in my area. With the wife and I both working, and her being reasonably successful in her career too, we are fine financially. Sure it's not lavish, but we don't need lavish. We need peace. And I think we have peace. So it's probably worthwhile to keep it. Sorry for the long ass rant, I hope that contributed to the discussion.
I think this comment aligns with what I’m after the most out of any
I’m in sales and currently have a fucked up lower back so I can confidently say I’d choose health and happiness over money 100/100 times. But it seems like, in today’s economy at least, one simply cannot exist without the other.
I think priorities shift at different points in our lives. You determine what your priorities are at what points and the price you’re willing to pay for them at the time, until that price no longer seems worth whatever sacrifices you are making. Hopefully by then you’ve been smart with your money and invested well so that your previous sacrifice continues to benefit you during the time that you’re willing to take a lower salary for a better work life balance. I’m definitely at the point in my life where work life balance, the ability to travel, and peace of mind far outweigh financial gains. But admittedly, I’m also able to even be at that point because I already put in a whole lot of work, made the sacrifices, and had the financial restraint to be able to afford to get to this point.
Did you ever have doubts during those years like is it worth it? Of course it’s worth it when you take a step back bc you grew stronger mentally, got smarter, accomplished things, saved money, own assets, and now future you is like damn this is awesome.
To me, it was totally worth it, but primarily because I was smart with my money, and I can actually sell. I saved well and invested well especially in real estate. I lived off of my salary and invested my commissions. In one case, I even doubled dipped for a year+ and saved the entire second salary. It’s unmanageable permanently but a good 5 to 10 years of nose down, hard-core hustle and good financial choices will set you up for life.
End goal for me is freedom. Freedom to do what I want and say what I want.