Does anyone else just work to live, and have no real desire to 'succeed' beyond living comfortably?
- Thread starter ScarySquirrel
- Start date
Let me add a little more detail, I spent 3 years in IT "sales" and was very fortunate to have 3 years of overachieving which obviously meant big commission pay checks. During this time I was studying and completing various technical certs as I was planning a move to "pre-sales/system engineer" role.
Sales was nice for the money but I burned out, working all hours of the day just wasn't for me, toppled with the stress of forecasting to sales management.... Anyone who has done this line of work will know what I mean.
It just proved to me money doesn't ultimately give you happiness, yes it makes things easier (bills, do what you want etc) but its not everything. I was again fortunate the overall pay dive to be a System Engineer wasn't too bad....
Associate
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A common misconception of those that are "happy with their lot" is that anyone on a decent wage is working non-stop and has no life.
This simply isn't true. Many well paid people are working average hours some less than average! I would suggest a lot of people that claim to work many hours may be talking out of their behind also. I'm sure all workplaces have the type that seem to spend more time talking about how much they have got to do than actually doing it.
Me personally, I have a lot of drive to do well. I'm no longer particularly interested in the field I work in (Software Dev) I am however driven to be successful. I haven't however upped my lifestyle to "match" my income. I'm basically working fairly hard now so I wont really have to work at all in 10 years time.
This simply isn't true. Many well paid people are working average hours some less than average! I would suggest a lot of people that claim to work many hours may be talking out of their behind also. I'm sure all workplaces have the type that seem to spend more time talking about how much they have got to do than actually doing it.
Me personally, I have a lot of drive to do well. I'm no longer particularly interested in the field I work in (Software Dev) I am however driven to be successful. I haven't however upped my lifestyle to "match" my income. I'm basically working fairly hard now so I wont really have to work at all in 10 years time.
Wow. I'm also a systems engineer and I earn about half that.
But I live very comfortably off it, and have no particular interest in earning more. Which is probably why I don't.
Yes. I try to be minimalist and basically only buy things that are legit "tools", but good quality ones. I need a roof over my head, transportation, clothes, maintenance equipment, etc. But what can a lexus do that a toyota cant? Does it offer more utility or durability? No, then I will buy the toyota.
I hate spending money, hate clutter and not bothered about status symbols.
I hate spending money, hate clutter and not bothered about status symbols.
I is true that the more you earn the more you spend and it never really feels like enough.
I earn £65-70k a year, my wife £90-100k, so we are mega rich kind of. Except once you pay taxes, social security, mortgage, bills, car repair, child care (easy 1500 a Month gone), general baby costs, nannies, furniture, gas, etc, you suddenly have much less. Not at all a complaint, we will be mortgage free in a few years which will help but then we will liekly get a second child.. We work long hours to achieve this, but for my wife she loves her Job.
I'm no happier than when I was earning half that and my wife a tenth. The payoff will come in the future, early retirement, luxuries, bigger house.
I earn £65-70k a year, my wife £90-100k, so we are mega rich kind of. Except once you pay taxes, social security, mortgage, bills, car repair, child care (easy 1500 a Month gone), general baby costs, nannies, furniture, gas, etc, you suddenly have much less. Not at all a complaint, we will be mortgage free in a few years which will help but then we will liekly get a second child.. We work long hours to achieve this, but for my wife she loves her Job.
I'm no happier than when I was earning half that and my wife a tenth. The payoff will come in the future, early retirement, luxuries, bigger house.
Yeah, my attitude is to earn enough to pay the bills and be comfortable, i'm not a money-is-everything type, but not knocking those who are, everyone has their thing.
Soldato
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I live on my own - I get lonely at times but I have friends and I've had more to work out than I can cope with sometimes. I'm on about £19k a year and I've never struggled for money - been Ibiza, Australia, French Alps etc, had new bathroom, garage, solar panels etc. I just work things out so they are a low as possible on a monthly basis - I have a mortgage until I die. But i'll be dead anyway so what do I care lol. If I have someone to leave it too that will change.
I pay off loans with a credit card for example and then balance transfer it for 0% for 2 years then i'll change it back. I got told by all the banks I've dealt with there was no reason they wouldn't go above recommended things and give me what I want because I am very god at my finances. I keep things simple.
I don't like my work - it has frustrated me for years. However there is a chance to be made redundant or train as a HGV driver. I know that in 6 months time I will not be in my current job and I can't wait! But oddly enough some of the frustrations have been relieved this week and oddly enough I have senior people bypassing my manager to speak to me.... lol
I want to be happy in life - both making somebody happy and feeling happy with them.
Life and happiness is not rocket science.
I pay off loans with a credit card for example and then balance transfer it for 0% for 2 years then i'll change it back. I got told by all the banks I've dealt with there was no reason they wouldn't go above recommended things and give me what I want because I am very god at my finances. I keep things simple.
I don't like my work - it has frustrated me for years. However there is a chance to be made redundant or train as a HGV driver. I know that in 6 months time I will not be in my current job and I can't wait! But oddly enough some of the frustrations have been relieved this week and oddly enough I have senior people bypassing my manager to speak to me.... lol
I want to be happy in life - both making somebody happy and feeling happy with them.
Life and happiness is not rocket science.
I think I'd be much happier enjoying the next 40-50 years and shooting myself in 60 than working like a slave for the next 40-50 years then spending the remainder of my life rich and old.
It works out differently for different people though so you can find yourself in a good position of very little work for a very high financial reward.
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I feel like this now and I'm only 20 
. The whole idea of slogging through the 9-5 and being worked to the bone for that £500 pay rise makes my eyes water. To be honest though it could just be that i'm lazy and the fact that I'm living at home without much experience of the real world probably plays a big part in that too. I'm on about £22k with overtime and it's a job that has a lot of downtime, fairly flexible shifts (can easily swap most of the time if I need to) and I like 90% of the people I work with.
I feel like my Dad has it made. £32k a year, works week on week off, is at home 9-5 (Generally works 5am - 9am and 5pm - 8pm) for pretty much November - April with a couple of hours during the afternoon between April and October. The only qualification you need is a Class 1 HGV licence too. The only real issue is that a vacancy rarely comes up.
. The whole idea of slogging through the 9-5 and being worked to the bone for that £500 pay rise makes my eyes water. To be honest though it could just be that i'm lazy and the fact that I'm living at home without much experience of the real world probably plays a big part in that too. I'm on about £22k with overtime and it's a job that has a lot of downtime, fairly flexible shifts (can easily swap most of the time if I need to) and I like 90% of the people I work with.I feel like my Dad has it made. £32k a year, works week on week off, is at home 9-5 (Generally works 5am - 9am and 5pm - 8pm) for pretty much November - April with a couple of hours during the afternoon between April and October. The only qualification you need is a Class 1 HGV licence too. The only real issue is that a vacancy rarely comes up.
I'll say though the best thing about having a lot of money is that everything becomes semi-disposable, even houses. You are not worried about losing or breaking stuff or trying to get a great deal, and you dont have to waste time analyzing, comparing and penny pinching, you just buy the best one.
The down side is since things are basically disposable, you dont place as much value on it and dont get the same enjoyment that someone who dreamed about it and saved up for it.
The down side is since things are basically disposable, you dont place as much value on it and dont get the same enjoyment that someone who dreamed about it and saved up for it.
Must be great to be Mark Zuckerberg.
Then I saw this "Welcome to a $11,750,000 spec house in Hollywood" with a view to a kill.
Soldato
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It is not really a race though, for most it is the most sensible thing to do and whilst you are paying off a debt, you are paying towards something you will finally own outright that will very rarely depreciate in value by more than you are putting in.
You could rent quite happily, if you wanted to, for 40 years but at the end of it, what have you got left? Nothing but having lived in properties that you chose to live in and the comforts that they provided you. The next rent check is still due and will always be due. You have nothing to fall back on is something goes wrong.
My missus and I have experienced the highs and lows of incomes and redundancies, but we have always preferred to pay a mortgage as house prices generally always go up.
Our house which we bought 2 years ago nearly to the day, has increased in value by over 25%. That is our bonus and an investment you cannot match investing on anything else.
Yes, house prices in a chosen area are all relative, but within ten years or so we will be debt free within our forties and be sitting on a lump of bricks worth something close to half a million quid and mortgage has always cost less than the rental equivalent.
When our child has grown up and we are not tied to our area we will be free to move somewhere quieter and cheaper in the country and live our days out pretty much for free.
Now you can view buying as something stupid, but you cannot argue with the inevitable outcome of not buying. You will regret it one day.
I just find the whole ethos of it being to hard to get on the property ladder pretty daft. Work hard, save hard and reap the benefits when you are older. It is what my parents did when they were young. They found it hard, were up to their eyeballs in mortgage payments and moved into their first place in London and lived on the floor for two years with boxes as tables.
Now they are incredibly comfortable due to taking that first risk (and working hard). If I am honest their lives now make me a little jealous.
Because it is done in Europe does not make it the best thing to do.
Anyway I'm drunk so sorry for waffling.
It is not really a race though, for most it is the most sensible thing to do and whilst you are paying off a debt, you are paying towards something you will finally own outright that will very rarely depreciate in value by more than you are putting in.
You could rent quite happily, if you wanted to, for 40 years but at the end of it, what have you got left? Nothing but having lived in properties that you chose to live in and the comforts that they provided you. The next rent check is still due and will always be due. You have nothing to fall back on is something goes wrong.
My missus and I have experienced the highs and lows of incomes and redundancies, but we have always preferred to pay a mortgage as house prices generally always go up.
Our house which we bought 2 years ago nearly to the day, has increased in value by over 25%. That is our bonus and an investment you cannot match investing on anything else.
Yes, house prices in a chosen area are all relative, but within ten years or so we will be debt free within our forties and be sitting on a lump of bricks worth something close to half a million quid and mortgage has always cost less than the rental equivalent.
When our child has grown up and we are not tied to our area we will be free to move somewhere quieter and cheaper in the country and live our days out pretty much for free.
Now you can view buying as something stupid, but you cannot argue with the inevitable outcome of not buying. You will regret it one day.
I just find the whole ethos of it being to hard to get on the property ladder pretty daft. Work hard, save hard and reap the benefits when you are older. It is what my parents did when they were young. They found it hard, were up to their eyeballs in mortgage payments and moved into their first place in London and lived on the floor for two years with boxes as tables.
Now they are incredibly comfortable due to taking that first risk (and working hard). If I am honest their lives now make me a little jealous.
Because it is done in Europe does not make it the best thing to do.
Anyway I'm drunk so sorry for waffling.
I think buying property is a rich mans game. If you are earning, say, an average wage and have no silver spoon to back you up, it's pretty damn hard to save a deposit by yourself for something that even comes close to the standard of living you can get from renting (in terms of convenience). Of course, if you are buying with a partner or a friend then the problem is halved as you can more or less double your mortgage borrowings (assuming you are on the same wage). Then factor in that house prices are rising higher than the average person can save...
Saving for years to buy something poop in the sticks... hmm. Great if you've got the money, though.