[scottLobster]

Yeah, but they're taking a major risk that there will be a continuous audience willing to spend money on their placebo products. When money becomes tight they'll have to pivot hard to avoid going under, or go back to a "real" job but with little experience to command a higher salary.

It's the difference between investing and day trading. Day traders may get lucky and post massive, envy-inducing gains, but boring long term investors keep building during the downturns that wipe out the day traders, and so win in the long run.

Besides, being forced to live frugally doesn't sound that great to me. You aren't free, you're just constrained by money instead of people. Guess for some people it's worth it, but to me they're just two sides of the same coin. There are many meaningful experiences in life that cannot be had below a certain level of prosperity.