How important is money when you're an adult?

ivygradgrad wrote:

X-Runner wrote:

Are you saying you wish you inherited money?

Property, actually; however, money to BUY property would have been nice. Rentals provide lifetime income.

Interesting.

I guess I wish I inherited height or musical talent.

But I'm not annoyed that I didn't.

I don't care that I didn't and won't inherit any financial assets.

I do want to provide more for my children than my parents could for me.

They shouldn't expect an inheritance and they should be grown and responsible by the time I pass anyway.

I saw a recent article how Sting and people like Warren Buffet do not want to pass on a large inheritance and want their kids to make it on their own (mostly).

X-Runner wrote:

I saw a recent article how Sting and people like Warren Buffet do not want to pass on a large inheritance and want their kids to make it on their own (mostly).

http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20140623/FREE/140629972/sting-and-other-wealthy-celebrities-dont-want-money-to-ruin-their

I know everyone loves Warren Buffett but a part of me still sees the guy as a stingy as*hole when it comes to how he goes about things.

Great post.

Yep. Doesn't matter how much you make if you spend it all. The guy making $200,000 yr that spends $210,000 is a broke @ss just like the guy that makes $50,000 but spends $60,000.

why not bro? wrote:

I know everyone loves Warren Buffett but a part of me still sees the guy as a stingy as*hole when it comes to how he goes about things.

http://www.marieclaire.com/world-reports/news/warren-buffett-granddaughter-nicole-buffett

I'm wary of Warren Buffet myself.

His entire existence in life is just to make money.

He doesn't even care to spend it, just make it.

He has done some good things and rescued some mis-managed companies, but only when he gets a good return.

That includes the efforts he made in helping with the 2008 rescue.

I noted that he wants his offspring to make it on their own as a good thing to an extent. But I am not quick to say he is likable.

I've been supported by my wealthy girlfriend for the past 12 years, so money isn't important to me at all. Never had a "career" and never made more than $26k in any one year in my entire life (I'm 58). Living in Central America for nine years has helped. I'm going to make another vodka and tonic.

The thing with buffet and guys that say their kids will "make it on their own" is that it is completely impossible for that to happen.

They can say it, they can hope for it, they can even make a real effort to make it happen, BUT in the end their kids will be taken care of, even if they have to live like millionaires instead of billionaires.

$60k is a lot of money when you are 20 years old and single. You can live with roommates, buy crappy clothes from Express, and believe that you are a baller because you drink Greygoose, eat $20 AYCE KBBQ, and read GQ. Life is good. Your girlfriend (who is still in school) thinks you are baller, and you drive a Civic.

Then you turn 25. You get into a serious relationship and your priorities change. Now you want to live in your own apartment instead of dealing living with a bunch of smelly dudes. Now you want to drive a nice yuppy car like a used 3-series BMW or some entry-level Acura/Lexas. Now you want to get rid of your IKEA furniture and buy stuff that is a step above college-dorm quality. You invest in a couple nice things, like good leather shoes and maybe a jacket or a suit.

Then you turn 30. You want to do interesting things and have an interesting life. You pick up expensive hobbies like photography, traveling, etc and you become a foodie. Spending $100 dollars on dinner is not out of the question, and you'll need to pay for your date sometimes (not every time, because you aren't a tool, but you need to pay sometimes). You get a nice apartment downtown, go to mixers, and you start to dress nicely to impress ladies. You need to redo your wardrobe because suddenly, H&M won't cut it anymore. Instead, you start shopping at JCrew/Banana/etc. and occasionally splurge at Sak's or some boutique Japanese hipster store.

Then you get married. Now you need to worry about buying a house. You're going to need at least $100-200k in liquid funds for a down-payment. To save money, you move in together and begin to cut back on things like eating out.

Then you have a kid. Now you are screwed because you need to worry about and support a 3rd head. You trade in your car for a minivan. Do you want to pay for babysitters? Tutors? Game systems? Nice clothes? Or do you want to be a deadbeat parent and only give them crappy food and a roof to sleep under?

Time keeps passing. Suddenly, $200k is barely enough to pay the bills when you are 50 years old, living in a nice area, have decent taste, and have a family of 4 or more to support. Do you want to pay for your kids to go to college? That's expensive. Do you want to retire? That's expensive. Do you want to support your wife so she doesn't have to work and also take care of kids? That's expensive. Do you want to maintain your hobbies that you picked up in your yuppy days? That's expensive. Do you want to have a social life and go on vacations? That's expensive.

As you can see, money is important. Saying you want a job that "makes you happy" instead of earning big bucks is loser talk. That's another way of saying you give up and want to compromise to make yourself feel better. You can get paid well doing ANYTHING, you just need to be good at it. Stop making excuses and do something

I agree with this dude. Pretty much nailed it. I'm 30 and used to buy into all the not needing money bullshit. I did do some cool things, like living in europe and traveling a lot. I also went out to drink and eat a LOT and never saved anything. Real carpe diem stuff. I smugly looked at those friends who were busting their asses working 60 and 80 hour weeks in finance or medicine or advertising and I was glad I wasn't them. Now they've moved up to making real money and I'm still at a medium level job with not many prospects.

Now, I want to get engaged and start a "grown up' life. I make 85K a year, but to be honest I still feel as broke as I was in college (granted I live in NYC). I want to make more for all the reasons above. Money alone won't make you happy, but lack of it will definitely make you unhappy.

Money can mean either living in a safe neighborhood, or an unsafe one with issues. Fact is, lower income areas correlate much higher to higher crime & worse schools. Want a 10 day vacation for a cruise or ski trip with friends? With low money, tell them you can't. What if your car breaks down, & you only have $1K in the bank?

The main thing is if you want a certain career, make sure it's feasible- & then make sure you give it your best shot to attain.

realistically...... wrote:

It's important to have a roof over your head and plenty of food and clothing. Being in debt is a problem. Earning less than someone else is not.

Bingo. Add a good program for insuring income thru retirement balanced with a broad baseline retirement savings program and you have a platform to build a life of balance.

32 year old ex-lawyer here. I can personally confirm all the comments here that money alone will not make you happy but being in the right field for you is key. No amount of money will make you feel better when you don't enjoy what you're doing. That said, I agree with the poster who said "f the YOLO shit and get a good job", and here's why:

When I was deciding to switch careers I came across a fascinating study. It takes on the "does money make you happy" question. Yes, it does, up to a point. Money has a tremendous diminishing marginal return. 20k difference in salary will make a HUGE difference in happiness between the guy making 40k and the guy making 60k. Not so between the guys making 500k and 520k. This study found the "break point" was 80-100k per year. This was just enough for food, rent and a kid (this would be adjusted for city and houshold size, but you get it). The KEY POINT is that once you go north of 150k, these people tend to be LESS HAPPY because jobs that pay this much demand the most scarce resource of all: your time.

I read a quote once that said "Money. Time. Energy. At any point in your life you can only have 2". When you're young you have time and energy but no money. Middle aged you have money and energy but no time. Old age you have money and time, no energy. While cheesy, this quote says a lot and as a college student, I think it's your job to figure out how you can have all 3.

For the love of God stay away from law and any field which will require you to incur so much debt that you will have to pay it off for 20+ years(and worst of all, you won't even be able to enjoy your "salary" because after debt, your net cash will be so low)

realistically...... wrote:

Being in debt is a problem. Earning less than someone else is not.

This is the best reply.

I'm 31 with a wife and 1-year old. Money is definitely important, but not the most important thing in life. As long as you can maintain a comfortable lifestyle, you'll be happy.

realistically...... wrote:

Being in debt is a problem. Earning less than someone else is not.

This is the best reply.

I'm 31 with a wife and 1-year old. Money is definitely important, but not the most important thing in life. As long as you can maintain a comfortable lifestyle, you'll be happy.

I have a wife and 2 children, I pay 2,000 a month on mortgage and maintenance, I live in NY and only make 70,000 and have a comfortable lifestyle. If you learn how to invest and budget you'll be fine regardless of how much you make.

I make a good living and have for about 20 years. I have a home that is paid for and a lot of savings. No loans. Still, the only anxiety in my life is financial concerns. If I'm laid off, which could easily happen in my industry without warning, I'm dipping into my savings. It's something I think about every day.

I have a few friends who have come into bg money in different ways over the years. They could stop working tomorrow and not have a financial worry ther est of their life. Their attitude is different than most, low stress and care free. If I had their money I would be freaking giddy every day, but I always have this nagging feeling that I could still face financial hardship in the worst cases cenario. Money rocks.

I am 38 and make 33,000 a year.Of course, my old lady is a lawyer and makes 176,000 a year. So, yeah, I'm happy and not embarrassed.

Submariner wrote:

I was just reading the thread about how adults making less than $60K should be embarrassed by their careers. It got me thinking about my own choices.

I'm in college right now, and I'm having a hard time justifying busting my ass for the next 3 to 7 years in order to have a few thousand more dollars per year when I'm middle-aged. Is it that important to have more money? More than having free time to be able to enjoy yourself when you're in your twenties? It would be great if some 40 and 50 somethings could weigh in on this. It's actually been on my mind for some time, but I've never asked anyone.

OP here. Thanks for the long reply. I don't think you know depressing this sounds to me...

Was that your intention, or do I really have this to look forward to? God.

Those who say money doesn't buy happiness haven't shopped in the right place....right?!