This, I can't believe all these "money doesn't bring you happiness after a certain level" tropes keep ignoring saving and investing angle, just lazy. Or accumulating wealth for your kids.
On accumulating wealth for your kids: while there are definitely huge benefits to be had there for stability, freedom to pursue passions, and so on, I sort of doubt it actually leads to positive outcomes on average beyond a certain point. Giving them a financial safety net seems inarguably good, but giving them so much that they have no need to work could easily do more harm than good.
My personal pet peeve is how every retirement calculator bakes in an assumption like “you’ll NEED 75% of your current income as living expenses when you retire.”
Like your salary won’t change over your career. Like you’re just an impulse buyer. Like there’s anything but a distant correlation between these numbers.
I think there’s a conspiracy or a (USA) cultural aversion to not working.
Sadly I can see a lot of workers never truly getting pay raises as they go around jobs, not careers. The progression feels obvious if you have something highly technical, but many don't get to that point.
>I think there’s a conspiracy or a (USA) cultural aversion to not working.
maybe. "American Dream" hasn't died in many's minds.
It's generally good for people to have activities. That said, if money were totally off the table, I'd probably have retired at least somewhat earlier.