Rock Bottom Low Self-Esteem

My highest earning year was $92K and I couldn't spend it all. Granted, I'm not a big consumer, so my case is probably not normal. I was living in St. Louis and then Miami and I only have one child, so those are factors keeping costs low, but I'm not into flash cars, jewelry or clothing, so it was easy for me. But I have colleagues and clients who complain about getting by on $500K, so I guess it's all relative.

 

It ain't relative, what you're talking about is true rock bottom self esteem. If you can't "get by" on 500k you are purchasing shit to fill a hole that will never be filled. We are so sick and diseased and can't see it.

 

Yeah, 2 parents and 2 kids in a house larger than a frat house, private theater, the works. But they are constantly after more. Good people, but I wonder why they seem to need more and more luxury. I'm happier grilling in my backyard and drinking wine than they are on a deluxe vacation. It's interesting.

 

My point is that we already have self-esteem in ourselves. We wouldn't live long enough to realize what we want in life if we didn't. So, when one reaches a certain age, that person has to look at themselves in the mirror. The reflection is not one of their heroes or heroines. They see only themselves. They make mental notes as to what they want and need in their lives and what they need to acquire them. If those things are not available, we have to find alternatives and make do with that until the opportunity arrives. This is reality and not self-pity. We already know what must be done. We are all ruled by something to motivate us(we are always wanting something). We don't share it with anyone because it is ours and ours alone. One's experiences in life is not like the other person's experience in life. One maybe an optimist, the other a pessimist, and in between, one could be a realist. This all begins with the individual. And no none knows when or where they will be successful. But they move on because they know what to do to get there. But along the way, there will be setbacks, delays and other crises. An individual is pressured from within and without. One has to decide if they want to lead, follow, or step aside.

 

I'm kind of in the country and I won't even lie, I can get by pretty well on what I make here. If it wasn't for student loans I'd be giving Charles Tyrwhitt whatever money I had saved up lol. I need some new suits!

 

So much truth in this post.

If people can't "get by" making $500K a year, then they really need to evaluate their lives and their finances.

People fall into a trap - the more money they make the more things they buy and then they need to make more money to afford the things they buy, and a void is never filled because they keep wanting more stuff, newer, bigger, faster stuff...it's an endless cycle.

 

True. With the exception of housing, you can get by on a surprisingly small sum, when not purchasing luxury items. It sounds clichè, but that whole "collect experiences, not things" statement really rings true. When living like that, $100K/year feels like a small fortune. $500K? A virtual Fort Knox.

 

Shit depending on where you live housing isn't that much. I guess status is realer than we thought

 

Right. There's Manhattan, San Fran, LA, Downtown Chicago, Miami, DC...but most of the country is more or less affordable - still too expensive in my opinion, but not the ridiculously sky-high rents associated with those cities. And a shitload of possessions isn't necessary for a safe and productive life. If a person draws their self-esteem from that, then they really don't have self-esteem to begin with.

 

True. I live on a very nice estate in my area and I'm not of the 6 figure class.

 

I'm getting close to that and I sure as hell can't afford to live in an estate. Then again I got a ton of student loans and I'm thinking of taking some classes this summer. I think I might need to get to that 500k level before I can lol

 

I just want to finish school and get back to where I was. I'm not even concerned about six figures anymore.

 

I hear you. The hard thing for people like me is I've seen some financial reports when I was doing accounting and dude there are swaths of people making so much money it could choke a horse. I remember one of the big energy companies pays their cmo over 2 million a year. It so hard to not want that.

 

i think i get what you are saying...basically people would have a healthy amount of self motivation.

people as the forum is properly discussing put their foundation for happiness in money . then they look around and they are still fucked up in they head.

 

I hear you. I can imagine that feeling would be strong when considering how few of them actually work hard to earn that or deserve it. When I hear that, I remind myself of this: my colleagues just buried a former boss in Chicago last week who reached as high as $650K (not a bazillionaire, but a major earner nevertheless). Widely recognized as a legal and legislative genius, he made enough and had so few expenses that he could afford to allow a client to fall behind on his invoices for years. Yet this man died at 66, his body destroyed by debilitating alcoholism, divorced (not necessarily a bad thing), no child, in his office. I would argue that he would have been better off earning less with more social solidarity and connectedness to his surroundings and to others. Despite his genius, I consider most of his life an example of what to avoid. The pursuit of money can have some soul-destroying consequences. I just want enough. Enough to help my son, enough to live comfortably, just enough. I want to spend my energy learning, exercising and living.

 

look at the definition of self essteem....when you meditate on it you see that people like the ones you speak of arent satisfied with themselves for whatever reason.

money cant help u with that

 

I attended a meeting hosted by Greg with some other people about starting up with online dating. I'll be starting up on that shortly (only a few weeks from now) and I'll create a thread on here which relays my experiences on it.

This is the website of the speaker who was there:
http://www.alittlenudge.com/

 

Right. If you have a hole that needs filling, that could be a self-esteem problem right there. And being cocky and boastful doesn't cover that up, either.

 

Unfortunately just enough isn't a factor. Either you have more or less. Either you're a have or have not u less you donate your excess to charity. Unfortunately we've all developed the European hoarding mindset.

 

Yet surprisingly enough, the European mindset isn't as consumerist as the USA one.