Lots of people generally push as hard as they can for a higher paycheck. Many of these people are already making good money, like $150k. Yet, they still push to reach $200k, $250k, $300k, etc. Working 50-60+ hour weeks to get there.

Reality is that they will never be able to spend this money unless they're absolutely retarded. Why do they push? Why not chill with the $150k/year salary and work less and just manage expenses intelligently?

Even for those that want to retire early; do they not realize how chitty early retirement is on the mind? There is a such thing as too much free time.

It seems like it's never enough. Even billionaires are trying to get more. Whether you're rich or poor, people almost always want more money.

Greed, old chap, is a cancer.

So are people just stupid?

I mean at $150k you could buy a Rolex, Audi, nice home in the suburbs.. if you moved to $300k you could probably get a nicer brand of watch, car, bit bigger house.. but your day to day life ultimately is unchanged.

There is a big difference in life between $150k and $300k

It’s because once you reach a certain level, you are more or less committed to full time work, if not more than full time.

If you have to be at work for 8 hours a day 5 days a week (or more) that is effectively a sunk cost and you might as well maximise the financial return.

It can take quite a long time to get to the point where you can start thinking about trading back hours in your day for less money

OR

That you reach a level of proficiency such that you can deliver outcomes in fewer hours each day

I like running my business and I got kids to feed brah that's why

I could work 5 hour days and make about 650 or I could work 8.5 hour days and make 1k I will take the 1k thanks

It's called income inflation. Even with dual incomes where one is making $150K, day-to-day life will significantly improve with higher salaries. It's not until you reach 350-500K (depending on area) where life doesn't improve relative to additional income.

Ahh that makes a lot of sense, regarding maximization of financial return. I guess these people would be working in office though, right.. because WFH not many people really put in the 8 hrs/day.How would day to day life improve with higher salaries? Explain what is the difference in day to day life making $150k vs $300k?

i spend 3k/month on whoremaxxing. Could easiky triple that and would if I could afford to

I work from home (or the beach if no meetings)

In $USD, the difference between $150k and $300k would be (depending on your wealth level and COI)

The difference between still worrying about paying bills and mortgage on the day-to-day vs building wealth for your family and future generations

Nothing that here, a starter house works out to around USD$800k

Inb4 miscer’s lineage will end with them

It all depends on what people value and their lifestyle choices. Some might opt to spend double on housing to live in the city as opposed to the suburbs. Some may want to hire a nanny to help with the kids, or maybe even hire a private chef. Some may want to put their kids in top-tier daycare and private schools. Some may want to travel 3-4 times a year. None of that is achievable for anyone making $150K.

i work about 10 hours a week in a full time job

i save 2/3s of my salary and do not spend the rest , mortgage paid off so literally just food and bills day to day.

i cannot think of things to spend my money on can retire anytime i want to...

On the more noble side of things, I could see trying to make as much money as possible so that you can financially take care of your family info future generations so they don't have to wage slave, but I still don't think money past a certain point is going to make much of a difference to your family's lives.

Location: United Kingdom

Despite the issues with the NHS the chances of you being financially crippled by a medical issue is fairly low

As someone who works in a decently paid corporate job surrounded by these people all gunning for senior leadership roles and working around the clock to get there, they fall into a few buckets:

- The true enjoyers (probably 5-10% of the total). There are people out there who actually enjoy not just work, but the industry they work in, and have no problem making this their indentity. If you look at Entreprenuers you will find that the majority are like this, but in corporate america the number is much smaller. Note: Alot of people might think they are in this group but that's mostly cope. Honestly my favorite portion of the group and really the only ones who should be taking senior leadership/executive type roles. Though they often have a huge disconnect between themselves and their employees, not realizing why no one else cares as much

- Providers - Common in more HCOL cities, especially when things like private school become more of a necessity. Their spouse (usually wives) are stay at home and take care of the kids, and typically do everything to support their working partner. They are the ones that work, and that is the agreed trade off. In reality they are probably driven to work because they are good at it and actually like being away from the home. Most of them work for themselves but convince themselves it's 'to provide for the family'. At least to some degree their intentions are noble.

- Status Seeking Strivers - Most annoying of the group. Places like Northern Virginia are full of these. Likely went to an elite school, hyper focused on perception and 'prestige' of their job title and firm name (grand irony is no one gives a chit), also very likely to consoom because they have to show others that they are superior. Unlike men typically being 'providers', women are going to fall into this group. They typically are nuerotic, on multiple forms of medications, probably even in therapy because that's what their peer group says to do and they dont dare go against the crowd. Unlike the next group though, they usually are wearing trendy clothes, fit, attractive, willing to job hop, etc. This is the group that needed to get A's in school to receive any positive affirmations, and now that they can't receive those they have to rely on their job for their only real form of self confidence.

- Rat Race Lifers - Saddest of the group. They just get sucked into the machine, lose all other forms of identity, and think the only way to again value themselves is to climb. They get grinded by the system. Either due to lack of skill or personal belief, they have no agency at all. First or second job they take out of college is the one they are with 15 years later. The idea of challenging their way of life or the perspective of their corporate overlords to the degree of doing something else just doesn't enter their train of thought at all. They usually are completely uninteresting, overweight, average looking, but will work hard and late into the evening because noseburg says so. They get catty with office politics because it's the only real source of entertainment they have. Go to a happy hour with providers and they will talk about their family, go with 'true enjoyers' and they will talk about industry strategy, but go out with rat racers and strivers and it's just lame gossip.


The common denominator for a lot of these people is the compelte erosion of any identity outside of work, so work becomes the only way to value themselves. When you only have one metric to value yourself by then you will do everything in your power to maximize it. Most of them are lemmings otherwise, and live the typical american lifestyle of debt, too much house, save just 15% for retirement at 60, etc. Joke about FIREcels all you want, but they actually see the Matrix for what it is and dare to change convintional wisdom to unplug.

In reality pretty early into middle management you will receive a salary that gives a good like (100k+). Double that if your spouse earns any money at all or a similar income. Unless you live on a coast VHCOL hellscape, you can use that money to access any lifestyle you really want AND save a chit ton. Only when you go for upper management does your home life become solely focused on work, and for what - an extra 100k a year? That is worth forgoing time at home, time being healthy, your sanity, sleep, pursuing interesting activities, etc. and in return you get... a nicer kitchen and a nicer label on your car?

So to answer your question OP I get why they do it, but at the same time I dont.

this

people that spend big and try to flex with it are absolute retards lmfao

cum at me Misc CEO's

That's a big secret people don't realize, at least in America. if you make 100k compared to someone making 500k, you can access most of the same lifestyle. You can eat similar foods, enjoy similar transportation, live in safe neighborhoods, have a spacious home, pursue similar hobbies and interests, etc. You really think someones life is that much better than yours because their bedroom may have 2 additional spare bedrooms? lmao

Now you can reveal your low IQ and point to $5,000 bottle of wine, $400k cars, and $25k designer goods as proving me wrong. When in reality those products are barely measurably different from mainstream alternatives - they exist SOLELY to be high margin and for the rich to flaunt how much money they can throw away.

The assets that are truly valuable and that money can help with, but not absolutely buy:

-health & time. Bezo could wake up tomorrow, find out he has pancreatic cancer, and his tour would be over by spring. Same for any of us. Life is too precious to be spent hustling if that act solely makes you miserable.

In terms of time, that is the most valuable asset of all. So if you are wanting to make money then what is it for? IMO the ultimate asset to flaunt is financial independence and freedom. This is certainly easier the more you make, but again people consoooom and just end up at square one. If you want to bust your ass with an end goal in mind I get it. But if you do so just to pass on the money for your kids to piss away then LOL at thinking your sickness is noble

Would you need a nanny or top tier day care if you weren't working ridiculous hours to make the extra money that gets absorbed by incidental expenses that come with the extra pay?

A private chef is just ****ing lol unless you're actually using them to make nutritious meals as opposed to chit that just tastes good but is horrible for your health.

Frequent travel lol. Glad I'm not in a relationship with a child that has ADD.That explains a lot. Hard to believe how many people have zero knowledge about anything outside of their immediate little bubble. I mean I don't play tennis for instance but it wouldn't be hard for me to strike up a convo with someone who does.

^^^in on misc cope thread lmao

Working longer hours and making lots of money both reduces the list of things your wife can nag you about and reduces the amount of time she has to nag you about it.

Win-win.

Some folks have very expensive lifestyles - big home in HCOL, private schools, tennis/golf clubs, private coaches for kids, nanny, nice vacations etc. - it adds up fast.

Others are aiming to FIRE. I'm in that camp, but thinking about Coast FIRE instead.

The only point to early retirement is to fill your time with something more fulfilling. If a lower paying job can fill that, then it's ideal.

that kind of lifestyle.. private chef, private school, strikes me more as business owner rather than wagieVery logical and reasonable posts. The fact that most of what rich people can access is doable on much less is exactly why I never strived for a higher paycheck.

That may be the case, but a less extreme example would be eating out 3 nights a week at a nice restaurant. That can easily run a few hundred dollars per week and quickly adds up.

If you're going to be single for life, I guess 150K is plenty. I have kids and intend to give them what my dad gave me, zero debt after college. 150K ain't going to give me that.

College is a massive scam now. Look at the inflation on college tuition.

People spend a lot more than you think, I guess. You buy a starter place, then an investment place, then a starter home (family), then the familial home. Kids / college tuition (funds, trusts), vacations, private schooling. It adds up.

Was told by a colleague that the cost of raising a kid well in NYC is $2.1m these days (from birth to college)Maybe for boring folks without hobbies? I mean, early retirement doesn't have to mean staring at the wall all day.

yeah, well you can't become a doctor or a lawyer or a cpa or an i-banker or an engineer without college, so I'm going to pay the toll for my kids

it doesn't have to be expensive if you go to a school in state.. problem is people go out of state (I'm guilty of that too)