Don't envy people who have a lot more money than you, but are a slave to it

[oc16]

We all know that person who is well off financially and/or they make almost twice as much as you do, yet it is almost ALWAYS never enough. All they do is talk about money, obsess/brag about their bonuses, etc. It is easy to maybe envy them and say "Gee, I wish I could make what they make" or "Gee, I am more educated than this person and they make 30K more a year than me?!"

Or how about a couple who are millionaires, yet they are cheap and always looking for deals on stuff or a way to save $5.00!

They are a slave to money. Remember greed has no bounds and no matter how much you accumulate, it will NEVER be enough.

I invest in certain stocks and I would say to myself "Gee, I only have 2 shares of XYZ company". If I can get just get it to where I have 5 shares, I will be content. Am I content once I get to 5 shares? NOPE! Well, how about 10 shares? Yess.....10 shares. 10 shares and I will be content. Am I content after I get my 10 shares? You know the answer.....

I like this quote from the Book of Matthew:

19: Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:20: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth and doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

 

[RickTheToad]

You should always strive for better dude. Whether it be more $$, investments, etc. The point of life it to live it and get out of the rat race. One cannot get out of the rat race without $$. Much better to work for good or because one wants too then to be a slave to one's job. We still have slavery, just it's not human ownership, it's corporate ownership. Unless you want to live in a third world county, you need $$$. If you want to live in the Amazon, more power to you.

Nothing wrong with being cheap or frugal. If I want to buy Chobani yogurt, and there's a coupon to save 2.00 on three of them and I put it on a 10% cash back credit card, does that mean I'm cheap? Maybe to some, but to me, I am trying to get the best value for my money.

 

[oc16]

You should always strive for better dude. Whether it be more $$, investments, etc. The point of life it to live it and get out of the rat race. One cannot get out of the rat race without $$. Much better to work for good or because one wants too then to be a slave to one's job. We still have slavery, just it's not human ownership, it's corporate ownership. Unless you want to live in a third world county, you need $$$. If you want to live in the Amazon, more power to you.

Nothing wrong with being cheap or frugal. If I want to buy Chobani yogurt, and there's a coupon to save 2.00 on three of them and I put it on a 10% cash back credit card, does that mean I'm cheap? Maybe to some, but to me, I am trying to get the best value for my money.

No, I wouldn't say that's cheap.

Cheap is when your decisions negatively affect other people. For example, giving a waitress who worked hard only 15% tip when you are well of financially or tipping on the pre tax amount when you are well off financially. People who screw over others just to save a buck here and there are cheap and disgusting.

 

[corrector]

Yes, comrade, you speak well.

 

[Lookatu]

The internet has increased the "keeping up with the Jone's" mentality as showing off has been easier to do since. This has also conditioned everyone to live outside of their means in the pursuit to "keep up" or to "show off" no matter if they are making $25k or $500k+.

So many people concentrate on financial wealth but often neglect mental and physical health. I see so many people that are poor in these areas.

I also see more and more couples willing to forego having kids for their own personal greed and selfishness. As they say, without family you are poor.

As for just pure financials, there's been studies done where they concluded that anything over $75k doesn't provide any additional happiness or is negligible. I'm sure this amount varies depending on location. This study was done in 2010 so you'll need to adjust a bit for inflation.

Do We Need $75,000 a Year to Be Happy?

A new study by Princeton University researchers puts a figure on happiness: $75,000 a year

content.time.com

The term "success" should be very personal goal for what each person sets for themselves and not be clouded by what the masses or the media pushes on us.

 

[Kotaix]

I don't know if it's really about money, I think it's more about appearances and ego. People who brag are almost always trying to cover something up. I don't envy them, I find them pathetic.

Back in the early 90s there was a big economic downturn in south america due to recession in japan and the dot com bubble, and there were a lot of cases reported in the grocery stores of abandoned full carts. It turned out that "rich" people who had lost all their money were going to the store, filling up a couple of carts with expensive items and parading around the store so that they could be seen to have money, but after a few hours they would then abandon the carts and go home because they couldn't actually afford to buy what was in the cart.

Same thing when cell phones first came out and were super expensive. Cops would bust people for talking on their phones while driving, only to realize that the cell phone was just a block of wood and the person they busted was just pretending to have a conversation.

95% of people who appear to be "rich" are just pretending and are up to their eyeballs in debt. They spend their money on truly worthless overpriced things like V12 AMG Mercedes convertibles, Range Rovers, and Prada handbags

 

[mrgoodstuff]

I don't know if it's really about money, I think it's more about appearances and ego. People who brag are almost always trying to cover something up. I don't envy them, I find them pathetic.

Back in the early 90s there was a big economic downturn in south america due to recession in japan and the dot com bubble, and there were a lot of cases reported in the grocery stores of abandoned full carts. It turned out that "rich" people who had lost all their money were going to the store, filling up a couple of carts with expensive items and parading around the store so that they could be seen to have money, but after a few hours they would then abandon the carts and go home because they couldn't actually afford to buy what was in the cart.

Same thing when cell phones first came out and were super expensive. Cops would bust people for talking on their phones while driving, only to realize that the cell phone was just a block of wood and the person they busted was just pretending to have a conversation.

95% of people who appear to be "rich" are just pretending and are up to their eyeballs in debt. They spend their money on truly worthless overpriced things like V12 AMG Mercedes convertibles, Range Rovers, and Prada handbags

Darn near paycheck to paycheck as a corporate slave

 

[Serenity]

95% of people who appear to be "rich" are just pretending and are up to their eyeballs in debt.

Yup, this is it. Looking rich is a poor indication of actual wealth. Behind the scenes many of these people barely get by after having to pay down a lot of loans. Having a lot of debt is how people actually become slaves to money.