You will never feel successful, happy, or satisfied when you compare yourself to others. You should never let your sense of self worth be determining by how it compares to anybody else.

People have different values on how they live their life and define success.

They may be completely happy to sacrifice long term financial stability for short term perception of wealth and status. That doesn't mean they're wrong or unhappy. Just different priorities than yours.

Knowing that you have completely different priorities and values, there should be no reason to be comparing yourself to that type of person.

im just saying how completely toxic social media is. comparing ourselves and seeking validation is causing a mental health crisis in this country. i fear for the children growing up in this clusterfuck of a society right now. Even well adjusted individuals are being tested every day they start up their feeds and see that oh biffany is soooo happy eating a fancy meal in bali, look how skinny she is! what a fancy lifestyle, etc etc. FUCK YOU BIFFANY.

I knew back in the old asian avenue days that this sort of horseshit was bad news (though i did create a macro program to get free hats/shirts/bags by reloading my own webpage hits)

I would add that different people, and especially at different times and stages in their lives will change, and ones definition of "success" will vary.

For the friend mentioned in PeanutButter's post, yes, on the outside, the perception is successful, but as you can tell from the replies of others in this thread (i.e. westopher et al) the opinion of success varies. I would have been fooled say if I read this 5 or 10 years ago, but today, it's just living within or beyond their means and given the salary they are making, what is there for tomorrow?

Everyone always mention to live within your means so I'm curious as to what that entails? What I hear ranges so much.

1) Saving $500 - $1,000 a month

2) Saving 10% - 15% of salary and you're golden, spend the rest on fun.

3) Saving $6,000 TFSA + 18% of salary into RRSP, save/buy a house then spend the rest on fun.

4) Saving 40 - 80% of income to FIRE at 40 / 45 / 50, live within your means and you can retire early!!

I think mentally, the 4th category brings more peace of mind than spending more today on fun. That's because watching your income grow from investments & dividends means that you can have more fun later in life.

4 is tempting, but who knows if you live long enough to enjoy it.

You can be hit by a bus tomorrow and never enjoy your money in the bank. You could get a terminal disease and expire at age 40. You can get arthritis, back problems, dementia and can't do anything active after you finally retire in your 60s.

Of course none if this might happen, but if you spend your 20s, 30s, and 40s chasing/obsessing over money and not stopping to smell the roses, you will regret it. Not only because you didn't enjoy yourself but because you won't have a personality in your 50s.

Like everything in life. Balance. Don't spend more than you earn. Save for 3 months expenses or more if you can. Enjoy your youth and good health because you only get one go at it.

Yep, lots of people start to succumb to hereditary health conditions or cancer in their 40s. I'm personally in decent health and kept away from drugs and excessive alcohol consumption. My body is in a different place in my 40s than it was in my 20s and early 30s.

The people who preach the virtues of FIRE at age 40 are anomalies that only exist on Reddit. The majority muddle their way through life, like PeanutButter's buddy.

This.

I do dumb and dangerous shit regularly. Like riding my bike in Downtown Toronto and getting doored and ending up in the hospital with a broken shoulder. Or going to HPDE days and possibly dying because I'm a shitty driver or someone else does something stupid. Or getting on to a plane and it explodes mid air (my flight back to Vancouver next week is a MAX 8 so wish me luck.)

If #4 is what matters to you the most, then all the power to you. But the irony in your perspective is you're holding on to a car (S2000) that has appreciated but you haven't sold it so there is zero dollar value just sitting there. So...will we see your S2000 in the Craigslist Good Buys or Fails thread? :lawl:

Based on my calculations, I should be able to retire when I'm 52 but I'm not always practicing #4 in your list. Hmm...

How much $/month would you have to dedicate to fun to be fully satisfied? So everything towards eating out, entertainment and hobbies.

ive always "tried" to spend a cheque, save a cheque.

this doesnt always happen but its close and i sort of balance out.

There’s no real way to quantify it. If I make more money, I’ll be doing more fun things.
I go catboarding once a year. If I was making more, I’d do it 3x, or I’d do heli.
I tend to get frustrated when I don’t spend enough, because it’s like, what the fuck am I sacrificing my time for? I need to be doing something I enjoy with my money, because if I don’t, I’d rather just work way less for less money.

Ugghhh, get a life man. Seriously thought you were just a dumb kid at first but you're sounding more and more like a troll now.

No one's going to give you an absolute dollar figure for how much "fun" should cost. Life happens, taste is subjective and the value of money is not static that can be tracked on a spreadsheet.

It's Friday before the last Summer long weekend of the year. Log off and go outside. If I come back on Tuesday morning to 3 more pages of your BS I'm going to throw a fucking fit.

....Yes and I'm going to take my own advice in about T - 3 hours

I thought about selling it and upgrading but realized too many good memories with it. So I ain't ever going to sell and realize it lol.

He just doesn’t know man.
He thinks that when you get older you figure shit out, like I thought when I was young, but it never happens. You just gotta do what feels right at the time.

:lawl:


Yeah, that's why I ask. It's nice to hear from different perspectives. It's a hard balance between the two!

oy dont be mean to the boy-o. If i had you fucking uncles around i was growing up, id be a much better man.

Haha I'm just grumpy because I keep checking the weather on my phone and it looks like my golf game is going to be rained-out due to Sunday/Monday. Oh Well at least Saturday is supposed to be nice.

Growing up, I was never surrounded by anyone who spent much on fun and entertainment. I think that was the norm for everyone growing up with immigrant families. Even nowadays, some friends who I grew up are shocked that I'll spend $40 on a round of twilight golf every week lol.

There seems to always be some conflict when people decide on things to do because the "fun" is not good value or too expensive. So it's cool to hear all you guys enjoying yourselves and not worrying too much.

I'm swinging at Savage Creek Saturday, maybe you'll hear me trolling away. Also hitting another course in 3 hours too lol.

So you DO know how to enjoy yourself! Don't overthink it, if you don't enjoy doing something anymore just stop. If it brings joy with others maybe keep going with it

I'm dumb and a troll, not boring

We bought 5 years ago, but the next property will likely be double the value of our current place, so gonna need to take a ton of equity out to make enough of a down payment for the next place. Monthly payments are going to be a lot bigger with increase interest rates BrokeBack

I never really put too much weight in the argument that you could die tomorrow. Statistically speaking, you won't die tomorrow.

According to Business Insider (1st google search I found)
Business Insider Link

91% of men make it to age 60
97% of women make it to age 60

Odds are, you'll make it to age 60.


I guess that's why I invest in TSLA. I'm pricing in the next 10 years, not the next one or two years.

I've tried to understand this assertion for a long time.

My dad thinks it's okay not to enjoy the journey if it gets you to the goal at the end. He said he worked really hard when he was younger and was able to retire early. He hated it and was stressed all the time, but I asked him if he had any regrets and he said no. Working hard is what made him able to retire early and provide for his family.

If my dad stopped working hard because he didn't like it, he wouldn't be at the financial level he is at today, which allows him to do whatever he wants and spoil his grandchildren.

That’s what you get for golfing on a long weekend. At least it saved you from a 7 hour fucking round lol

If you get a concussion, Alzheimer's, dementia, or die from an accident, there will be no memories. Life can be cruel. Just know that memories are to be created and cherished but not to be held on to.