I have always loved money and been interested in having as much as possible. Right now, I want to chase the money. I tell people this, and they all tell me im an idiot and a bad person. My goal is to save $100,000 my first five years of working. I see making money as a hobby of mine, and something I enjoy. The amount of money I will make is how I will value my worth. Am I a bad person and an idiot? Does anyone elseo do this?
For me it used to be OK as long as I did not have to compromise with my principles (some of which were quite self-centred as I was young which now seems more like being selfish) and like you earning lot of money was truly a priority (but never by hook or by crook). Now it does not seem to be a priority at all.
Sorry, repeat post
Yeah, it’s kind of an ego thing for me. It’s an insult to me to not earn as much as someone I think I am smarter than.
Intelligence is a piece of the puzzle, not the full package for which your compensated for.
Agreed. I should have re-worded that. I meant superior in general, not just more intelligent
Why would it be wrong? No. I would never bust my a$$ and make money for someone else if they weren’t putting money in my pocket.
The usual comments I get are that it is shallow, I will never be happy, one should do what they love, when you are older youll regret all those hours you worked, etc, money doesnt buy happiness
That’s interesting, but personally I’m too busy working hard and and being happy to worry about what some random person thinks I should be doing with my life. Then again, I’m fortunate to enjoy my job and get compensated for being good at it. But above and beyond all, I think I’m pretty self-aware - this is something that has come with age and experience. Regardless of how important or unimportant money is to me, I know what my definition of success is, I’m extremely efficient, I have great coaches and mentors. I don’t need opinions from random people; what I need is hustle, so I just hustle every day.
Nowadays, I don’t get bothered by the noise around me; I only care about signal. The more self-aware you are, the less you need to be distracted by what other people think.
no guilt. If I wanted to dedicate my life to others, I sure as heck wouldn’t be in finance
No, you are not a bad person or an “idiot.” However, it really boils down to an appearance thing.
If you have some money, and you hear others chirping about all they care about is money, it’s like, you can’t be bothered with that sh!t because most people that are making money just keep their f’ing mouths shut and stack that paper.
If someone of “means” is your key to making more money, the last thing you want to do is brag about how you will make all of this money, because that person is just going to think, listen kid, shut the f up and just do it. In other words, you’ll impress that guy by coming off as a hard charger in general, but don’t get ahead of yourself and start talking future game when your present reality may be far from that. You’ll find key people will just divorce themselves from people that talk in this manner.
“I don’t fight for legacy. I don’t fight for none of that, I fight for that check. I’m in the check cashing business.” - Floyd Mayweather
It’s not wrong but you should be aware that it’s very expensive to get rich unless you are born with it or get very lucky.
Not looking to get “rich”, just looking to be maybe top 3 percentile. Something like $250,000 a year in today’s dollars
^ If you are willing to go through the sacrifice, go for it if that’s what makes you happy.
It makes me happy now, I just am afraid to look back on life and say “wow I wish i would have worked a more fun job.”
Especially because I have no concrete rationale for wanting the money. Im incredibly cheap and just save save save. It’s not like I even have any purchase goals or anything. That’s what makes me question it further. That it seems like some sort of prideful compulsion, without any true reasoning founded in logic.
250k at the peak of your career kid?
Money is a means to an end. If there are things you want to accomplish or security you want to provide to your family and loved ones, by all means, go for the money that you need for that. Even go for more to have a buffer for stuff that comes up along the way or things you hadn’t expected.
If you love doing something that turns out to be well compensated, that’s great too, though not all of us are so lucky to love work that happens to be well paid or have access to the opportunity to do that work even if you like it. But in this case, it’s the work that is driving you, not the money: the money just comes as a consequence.
If you want money because you feel that having it proves you are a superior human being, or because you enjoy using it to manipulate people, or feel that no one will admire you if you aren’t the richest person in the room, I can’t prove to you that this means you are shallow, but I would suggest at you are better served by hitting some philosophy books or classic literature to figure out what aspects of a persons character make them worthy of remembrance and admiration. Money can help with this, but it’s not going to be enough on its own. Envy is different from admiration. The rich are almost always envied. But it requires something more to be admired.
^ Well said, Bchad.
It’s interesting, really – in my experience I find that those that are rich from birth are natural philosophers, while those without money early in life generally allow themselves to become philosophical only after a critical mass of wealth is achieved.
I know that the Maslow hierarchy is invoked for nearly everything, but it is certainly true in this case. The young, rich person does not understand what it is to have bill collectors looming for everything from their car to their education to their living arrangements, and so, unburdened by these things, is free to roam around the top of Maslow’s pyramid, joining the Peace Corps, spending several years in Europe “finding themselves,” or some such thing.
Meanwhile, the young, poor person subconsciously understands that in order to have this freedom, this autonomy if you will, they must first build a base of wealth such that the bill collectors are no longer a problem. Unfortunately, the quest is a continual uphill battle for most well into their 40’s or even 50’s, and it tends to turn even the most earnest philosopher-at-heart into a battle hardened individual, only focusing on the money – like a soldier on the frontlines who can only think of staying alive and has completely forgotten the comforts and rhythm of home that they are fighting for.
I think people in the OP’s position are, more often than not, really ultimately after the intellectual and physical freedom and comfort that money provides, but confuse the pursuit of this freedom with the accumulation of the means component.
Im not really looking to be “admired” per say, Im more looking to be the kind of guy al the girls want to be with and all the guys want to be. Its the same reason I regligiously hit the gym and work on my physique. It gives me a great, tangible goal to wake up every morning and pursue, I love seeing progress, it gives me confidence, and it makes people jealous. I view money as offering virtually all of those same benefits, and the pursuit of it to be very similar to the pursuit of an incredible body. If I didnt wake out to pursue a good body or pursue money, I really dont know what I would do. Those are my main hobbies