Rich people, don't answer this question

I'm about to turn 30 and I have thought about this very idea lately.

I am comfortable financially. However, no matter what my raise/bonus is every year its satisfying for maybe a month or two and then its the pursuit of MORE. Same thing with savings- I hit my goal and then I become OC about adding $____ more to savings.

I've started to realize in my pursuit of more, more, more, I'm not taking the time to appreciate what I have. Its always, 'ok I got that, now whats next.'

I don't want to look back on my life and realize I never "stopped to smell the roses"- I was running a race that never ended and now I can't get those years back. Which is why one of the days I might just say to hell with it all and move down to Costa Rica to shape surfboards for the rest of my life.
 
My wife and I got married and moved out of Texas 9 years ago. Had a kid, decided to get back closer to home.

Anyway, I have a good job in corp. development and my wife is a teacher. We made a good living and played and did what we wanted. Took a new job and moved to another Southern state. Sold the house, paid off all bills with some $$ to spare. Now my wife is staying home with our three year old until he starts school. Money is pretty tight actually, but we have no debt other than the house, and we are living off my salary. Has that cut down on fun money? Absolutely.

But it is all worth right now. She willl go back to work probably part time at first, when he starts school. I feel blessed to be able to do this.

PS - Even if it means no Longhorn football games for a few more years, and cheap beer/wine.
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A guy once told me this story..he's a doctor and patient came in once complaining about how he didn't make enough money. The doctor asked what he made and he said close to 8million/yr. Thing is, he knew life would so much better if he made 10. It never ends.

No matter what I make I want to make more. Not because I want to live a lavish lifestyle (which I do). I am just crazy about saving money for some reason. Probably something wired wrong in my head. We don't really change our lifestyle when we get raises or anything, we just stick it all in savings. But I also like the security of knowing it's there.
 
See I disagree. Most people live beyond their means, ie the guy making 30k a year that leases a Beamer and shops at Barneys with only credit. Or, like when I was a waiter, I'd make 150 bucks and then go spend 100 at the bar.
 
Yeah seriously..you were saving 33% of your income -- that's way above average!

Here's the thing about working hard vs. family life etc. I've got it all figured out. Win the lotto = spend time with family. That's why I'm going to liquidate everything today and get a few scratch offs.

Wish me luck guys....If you don't notice when I'm not around for a while, that's why.
 
my definition of rich keeps changing...

i've decided that there is not enough income as an employee, and i do pretty good as an employee. i get to stay home, my wife is not employed, and we raise our two boys.

i remember thinking $30k would be awesome when i was making $20k. Then, $50k would be awesome when I made $35k. Then $80k when I made $50k... Then $100k when I made $80. And so on...

I have now come to the conclusion that my next 'goal' still won't be enough money to be financially rich. I need to be the check writer if I want to be financially rich.

On the flip side, I have a wife and two boys and we don't live check to check. compared to how i grew up, that's rich.

perspective changes... i stilll want to be pulling in $500k a year in 10 years, but I'm not pushing it hard. if it comes, cool. if not, that's cool, too.
 
For the original question I never really thought about wealth in the first place, I just wanted security. I think it depends a lot on your family of origin- if it was real shaky you tend to gravitate towards safety rather than making a big splash. For me a steady job with good pay but a hard ceiling is fine. I'd have been fine as a college professor or engineer. I like the stability.

I also finally figured out that buying things doesn't really increase self esteem, at least not for me, not long term. I get more satisfaction out of making things. My wife doesn't understand the 18 foot sailboat in the garage I've been building for the last two years, especially since I could get a decent used one for 5 - 10 grand that is statistically more likely to actually work. From my point of view, if I just bought one what's the point? Anybody can do that.
 
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