Money or Happiness

You might benefit by identifying what brings you satisfaction.

And possibly by giving up the idea that "work" should give you any satisfaction at all.

But you can use work to fund the pursuits that bring you satisfaction - and that's damn satisfying.
 
Money can buy happiness, but not satisfaction. What makes you happy doesn't bring satisfaction necessarily as well
 
You might benefit by identifying what brings you satisfaction.

And possibly by giving up the idea that "work" should give you any satisfaction at all.

But you can use work to fund the pursuits that bring you satisfaction - and that's damn satisfying.

Great answer👆🏼

I came from nothing- zilch. The fact that I have been very successful does give me a lot of options- I appreciate that though I still do live conservatively- its what happens when you have known poverty.

Don’t discount the fact; Money gives you options….and not having money limits your choices.

I am blessed to have both money and happiness. I enjoy my work ( self employed my whole life) so much its difficult to retire.

As long as I have flexibility to do what I want is the key for me. I know guys in law and finance that make a shit ton of money…but they don’t have the time to spend it. Sadly, all that money they made has dropped by 1/5th since 2020 Due to inflation…just having a pile of money with no strategy is a bit silly.
 
Funny this thread just came back to life... I've really enjoyed my career path for nearly 25 years, but where I work, and the industry really as a whole has changed, a lot. I've worked 100 hours of OT this year already, running on 1.5 hours of sleep in 2 days, which seems to becoming the new norm, with plans to get worse. I use to have money and happiness, now I only have one. My mind is starting to really wonder to what else is out there. Sorry for the rant, but money isn't everything for sure.
 
Listen to Dave Ramsey. Get yourself debit free… best thing I ever did for my family…once you get rid of your debit life gets substantially better!
 
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Take off as many days as possible and go enjoy yourself, I mean take off so much they eventually fire you if you want out, but milk the money out of it!
 
Listen to Dave Ramsey. Get yourself debit free… best thing I ever did for my family…once you get rid of your debit life gets substantially better!
This right here. I try telling friends this but they don’t want to hear it.

Just the other day I had a friend showing off his brand new snow machine and telling me how I need to upgrade my 2021 to a newer, faster model.

I told him that my favorite thing about mine is….that it’s actually mine. Then I went on a tirade about how borrowing money for stuff like boats and snow machines is stupid. I think I made him feel bad.

Honestly though, any time I go out to my shop and see my JetBlue and snow machine, snow blowers etc. it give me comfort knowing that I actually own them and don’t have debt.
 
I have been in the same industry going on 25 years. The second I took a management role, it instantly changed. My company has unbelievable benefits but can't tell you how much I absolutely loathe my job now.
I have 12-13 years left, so I grit my teeth.
 
A bit of a segue...but there is an excellent article in the WSJ on Morris Chang who at 55 started the most important company in the world today.

He said, I see these young folks today with a poor work ethic saying they want a 'Work life balance. When I started there was work...or you didn't have a life"

I can sympathize with this comment. I think the newer generations are blessed that they can even make that work life balance comment and have the choices that they have.
 
Just get on medication and focus on work. Being happy and pursuing your interests is over rated.

Kinda funny, kinda true.

No matter how you cut it, it’s not going to be easy. If you eventually want to not work, then you’re gonna have to work. But, those knees and hips just aren’t made to last, so probably better hunt while they do.

All this is to say, you can have your cake and eat it too, but you aren’t gonna be sleeping much.


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I have been with the same company for 18 years and make a very good salary. A salary that I could not replicate if I decided to leave the company. I drive a desk for 50 hours a week.
The problem I've been having for the past couple years is I just can't get myself "motivated" to get going at work. I'm not enjoying working with the coworkers, not enjoying the industry anymore, and not really enjoying who I am at work.
If i was single or childless this debate might be easier, but my wife and i have 2 kids under 4 years old. At this point we could cover college tuition for the both of them. If i worked this job for another 20 years we could essentially set them up for life.
The feeling comes and goes but I'm constantly day dreaming about quitting this to pursue a more meaningful career, that would result in a significantly lower income, that i imagine would be more fulfilling but that's not guaranteed either.
In my mind i can justify staying for the money and my families financial future at the expense of my happiness (my happiness at work, outside of that I love life, but work is a big part of life). But I can also justify leaving knowing that my family will still be comfortable and I could potentially be a better father and husband.
I realize this is a good predicament to be in. Never gotten anyone's thoughts on this

I'm currently in those same situation in life. It's a catch-22 from every angle I look at it. We do not have children and that puts more pressure on my decision. Once you have children, your hands are more tied and your life becomes secondary and theirs becomes primary. I feel your pain my friend. I can say this, money is not everything nor should it be everybody's goal in life.

nelsNcompany
 
Don't answer this out loud but did your dad set you up with money but not spend a lot of time with you? If so your family tree might need some correction in that regard and not need money so much. But if you're not rich I would stick with the job. If you already are then maybe think ahead. Also this is completely sexist but do you have boys? After about 10 there's less you can do with girls.
 
Rather than thinking about setting your kids up for life, how about thinking about retiring early? How fast can you get out of the golden handcuffs if you cut some luxuries out of your life and start saving/investing aggressively?

I went a bit extreme on this front. But.. Sold the house and have been traveling the US with my family in a fifth wheel for over a year. Wouldn’t trade it for the world.
 
Rather than thinking about setting your kids up for life, how about thinking about retiring early? How fast can you get out of the golden handcuffs if you cut some luxuries out of your life and start saving/investing aggressively?

I went a bit extreme on this front. But.. Sold the house and have been traveling the US with my family in a fifth wheel for over a year. Wouldn’t trade it for the world.
We did the same thing, full time RV’d it (fifth wheel) for 2 1/2 years, I truly enjoyed it! I also wouldn’t change it for the world either, it brought us closer as a family and made so many memories that my kids can look back at when they’re older and go, that was really cool! It’s a simple life, that’s for sure! Living in a fifth wheel, you truly find out what you need to live vs having to have, I really enjoy the minimalist lifestyle.

To me you can’t put a price on happiness.
 
Rather than thinking about setting your kids up for life, how about thinking about retiring early? How fast can you get out of the golden handcuffs if you cut some luxuries out of your life and start saving/investing aggressively?

I went a bit extreme on this front. But.. Sold the house and have been traveling the US with my family in a fifth wheel for over a year. Wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Dude, I love the bold decision to take a different path against what traditional society deems is happiness! Good work making memories!
 
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