[elago]

My life's fine and more importantly I sleep great at night and am proud to tell anyone what I do for work.

I've completely plateaued on the happiness vs money graph and you couldn't pay me enough at this point to take a job in the finance or defense industry.

[sadamznintern]

Sadly I think I"m far from plateued on the happiness vs. money graph right now even while I work on consumer products used my millions around the world. I really don't make enough to live the elite lifestyle these people do at $145k tc.

[elago]

At the risk of being judgemental without knowing you:

1) Are there really that many things you can't do in the world with that salary?

2) Are you choosing a fair group of people to compare yourself with? Yes, you may be at the ABSOLUTE BOTTOM of the top 5%, if you only look at the top 5%. Do you have any non software engineer peers?

[sadamznintern]

>Are there really that many things you can't do in the world with that salary?

I can't save $1.5 million as fast as I want to with this salary (I know people who can live it up and still save $100k a year at Google and trading companies - I'll be lucky to hit $25k max).

>Do you have any non software engineer peers?

Yes. They're all in medical school. The rest I don't really have contact with anymore.

[therealdrag0]

Sounds like you're in a bubble. My gf grew up in Silicon Valley and went to a prestigious engineering school, and all the people she knows are doctors, lawyers, or engineers. But that's a bubble and an unnecessary rat race. She's often worrying that she's not accomplishing enough in life.

I on the other hand, grew up in a tiny rural town, went to the cheapest state school possible, and now make a healthy 6 figure salary at a no-name company. I don't feel the need to compare myself to anyone; but if I do it's with gratitude. I grew up with people who are now farmers and bakers and baristas and minor fiction authors.

You can choose to compare yourself with people above you, or see how far and healthy you are in the grand scheme of things. Of course that's up to you. If you want to dream big, go for it! Just don't come off as whiny, it's annoying to the rest of the 90% that is be low you on the totem pole.

[sadamznintern]

>Sounds like you're in a bubble.

To be honest, I don't think I did. I just want to be a part of the other bubble really, really, really bad.

[icedchai]

What do you need 1.5 million for? Early retirement?

[sadamznintern]

Yes.

[elago]

You ever hear of "early retirement extreme" (don't be scared by the cheesy misleading name, it's probably the lowest quality part of the blog/book). I discovered it in my mid 20's and wish I did earlier.

I could go on and on about it, and I won't even drop numbers because you won't believe them. The author is a physics PhD and discusses topics very logically and steps back critically analyzes many common cultural behaviors and preconceived notions (what IS retirement, for example) that can help you think about what you really want and the best way to get there.

Judge for yourself but I think his life is a lot more interesting than rich tech kids buying exclusive turnkey vacation packages w/guaranteed great instagram backdrops. Example, walking the docks and joining a sailboat racing team, training for 100 mile bike races, etc.

There's really too much to write here to describe the full philosophy lifestyle, but I encourage you to at least check it out with an open mind. I guarantee you it's not "frugal living", the guy probably has nicer stuff than most people when it comes to clothes, bikes, tools, etc.

Honestly reading your posts in this thread I can tell we're so wildly different when it comes to values that I don't really know if this will resonate with you or not, but again I at least encourage you to check it out, just to see other options for whats out there.

I will go ahead and spoil the "end" of the guy's personal journey, since I think you might be especially interested: Despite having investments that generate over 100% of living expenses, and not having to do anything for anyone, getting to do whatever you want all day, the ends up taking a job as "quant trader/researcher" for the opportunity to solve challenging problems.

http://earlyretirementextreme.com/so-long-and-thanks-for-all...

[icedchai]

How old are you? You can save that up in 15 to 20 years on a decent salary, nothing insane, if you invest properly

[JeremyBanks]

Judging by the rampant drug abuse in the valley, they aren't all finding the happiness peak either.

[sadamznintern]

I dunno, is drug abuse rampant at FB/Google/top startups? I have doubts. People there seem pretty happy (and sidenote, very photogenic) on their instagrams.

[taybin]

They don't post the bad photos onto instagram. You really need to figure this out or you're going to be chasing other people's dreams. All your comments just talk about how you want to make more money, when you're already making a lot of money.

[zootam]

its clear they are seeking external validation and status.

money is only a part of that validation.