[pg]

The next thing you need to understand about money is this: all of the things you picture buying, they are only worthwhile to you because you cannot afford them (or have to work really hard to acquire them).

That was one of the biggest surprises for me. I never realized the degree to which not being able to afford certain things was what was making me want them. That childhood excitement of saving up your money to buy some coveted thing is completely gone. And without it you find you covet the thing far less. When you realize you can bring it home from the store whenever you want, you're often surprised to find yourself thinking "let them keep it there for now."

Curiously, this affects people in different ways. When the excitement of e.g. buying a fancy car is diminished by 10x, some people respond by buying 10 fancy cars, and others just lose interest. I turned out to be in the latter group, and judging from what I've seen in SV, a lot of HN readers probably also would be.

It's slightly sad, in the way that losing one's appetite or sexual desire might be. On the other hand, you're arguably less of a slave to people marketing luxuries, and the other things you long for might be more worth longing for.

[liber8]

It’s interesting that people refuse to believe this, even though they’ve almost certainly experienced it on a smaller scale.

For example, when you’re a poor student, you undoubtedly covet the nice gear in whatever field you’re into. If you’re into photography, you want that new camera or lens. If you’re into computer games, you want the newest rig. If you’re into cooking, you want some Le Creuset cast iron or some copper pots. But interestingly, once you start making even semi-decent money (say, $75,000) you could easily afford these things. And yet, most people no longer covet them when they reach that level. They may make a few initial purchases, but they soon realize that, because they can buy a $2,000 lens or a $500 french oven without much thought or planning, the shine is gone. Instead, they shift their sights to the $200,000 Porsche or the $2,000,000 home.

There’s no reason this doesn’t apply at $20,000,000 just as it does at $75,000. There’s always bigger, better, and more to covet.

[HeyLaughingBoy]

My experience is a bit different. After working as a software engineer and suddenly (yes, it was sudden) realizing that I could afford most of the things I had ever wanted, I just didn't want them any more.

I don't find that I want more expensive things, instead I just lost interest in most material objects. Being able to lend/give (I never expected the loan would be repaid) a friend of a friend $3,000 to avoid foreclosure gave me infinitely more satisfaction than anything I could have spent that money on.

Even now, years later, it still amazes me that I simply don't want stuff I don't need. Well, for the most part, anyway :-)

[nickconfer]

All good points. I can remember being broke as a college student downloading music I didn't even want, and today I only buy music and rarely at that. Once you can afford something, I think many of us take a step back and then ask, "do I really want/need this?". I find I have this exercise not just because it is less exciting to have something you can easily own, but also because owning things has a physical cost. Time to research and buy, maintain, and store.

I'm not rich by any means, but as I've made more and more money, just like you, I've found giving to be infinitely more satisfying than spending on myself.

Truthfully, part of it is just the shocked expression someone can have when doing something that makes them feel special. Another part of it is the "do good" feeling, and the appreciation I have that I'm lucky enough to have the ability to do these things. Hard work means a lot, but I don't kid myself, I could have grown up in a position where my chance of success from child to adult was much lower.

[autotravis]

You just described me exactly. I could see how I might have been enticed to just buy bigger and better things as my income increased, but somehow I went the same direction you did. And I feel I could not be happier.

I would much rather live simply and have my few things (laptop, camera, smartphone) and be able to help others with my excess funds.

[antihero]

I've never wanted stuff, just tools, but not necessarily super functional ones. For instance, I'd love to be able to buy and run a music venue and get loads of awesome bands to play and things. Or tape a £20 to the pavement, or get a hot tub and hold amazing parties. Or just ridiculous things, like hiring a load of escorts and having a Tekken tournament. Then there's using the money to invest in people and things that could become awesome, like the local music scene or impoverished charities (like rape crisis centres and anything related to the homeless). Or, fuck it, setting up your own charity to help people sort their lives out.

Just buying material goods and status symbols is never going to make you happy. Doing cool shit on the down-low is a much better goal IMHO.

[speeder]

In 2011 my income was 30k USD.

This is a truckload of money in Brazil, it is harder to get more money than that, I was a "Solutions Architect" and R&D head of a medium mobile solutions company.

To me, I was bloody rich, I mean, I never had this kind of money before, my whole extended family were envious and made lots of really mean jokes (and people made lots of "jokes" asking things, obviously expecting that maybe you will buy it for them).

I noticed then that many things I wanted, I decided to buy them later, for example I still don't own a single game console, because I thought: "Aaah, I will only buy PS3, and I will do it when Final Fantasy Versus get released".

The most expensive thing I bought, were my glasses, because since I need them every day, it made sense to expend some more money seeking quality (I hired a good custom lensmaker and all).

In fact, I did not knew what to do with my money, so I ended throwing good part of it at bitcoins (and losing it doing crazy leveraged trading).

It was a time that I worked because I liked the job (by the way: when I sent the resume, I asked for 18k, I got 30k because THEY offered it, it was not me that asked!)

[jhartmann]

My wife is from Brazil and people here in the US really don't realize what is a small amount of money in US terms is really a great wage in other parts of the world. Congrats on making what is a good wage, here is to hoping that opportunities in your country keep increasing.

You should consider putting money in small businesses and real estate, I know quite a few people who started out making really low US wages that built up a huge amount of money over 10 or so years of sending money back to Brazil to invest. The people I know who have done this invested in really simple businesses like sapateiros, esteticistas (shoemakers, beauticians), etc. Even though it is not a fun as bitcoin, probably worth you looking into.

[jrs235]

The one thing I wish for more money is to be able to afford to work on the things I choose and want to work on without worrying about losing my house and paying my modest bills. Does this desire diminish?

EDIT: I want to be able to afford to volunteer more of my time without taking time away from my family too.

[davemel37]

Classic Scarcity Principle. What I find interesting when I see one of those rich guys driving a 20 year old car I think to myself, "Wow, that guy is awesome. He is rich but he just doesn't care about money." After this post I realize, he is probably just like most of us, but once he had the money, he no longer desired most of the things out there we just have no need for.

[jrs235]

Like Warren Buffet's house.

[rdl]

It seems like this would be domain specific. You have a more than respectable library (although that presumably cost more in effort/taste than in money). I have a huge collection of digital media, firearms, specific types of tools, etc. If I had >$1b, I can't imagine ever getting excited about spending money on clothes, and I'd rather have invested early into TSLA than owning 10 Ferraris, but I'd also be buying Freedom Group from Cerberus right now.

[ahoyhere]

Agreed. While we're clearly not as rich as you or the top commenter on Quora, we're definitely in the "not really limited in purchasing" category of wealth. Sure, we can't just up and buy a second home, but we are definitely of the "just buy that nice mid-range car you want, in cash" category.

There is a third way to deal with the loss of excitement of buying -- not just buying 10x, or buying nothing, but engaging in the thrill of the hunt. Instead of expensive off-the-shelf commodities, rarer things. They don't have to be expensive.

Ex: I spent 6 months off and on looking for the right medicine cabinet for the bathroom in our "new" 265-year-old house. The new cabinets I saw at all the home stores looked cheaply made, or too cold, or too glam. I ended up finding a barber's cabinet with an extending mirror-door… super cool, not really unique but certainly not something you'll find in anyone else's house, from probably around 1910, just like the other piece of furniture we put in the bathroom (a dental cabinet made of solid quarter-sawn tiger oak).

It wasn't that expensive as far as medicine cabinets go ($300 — you could easily spend that at Home Depot on some poorly joined piece of crap from Indonesia). But it was an extremely satisfying way to spend not a lot of money. It's just perfect for the room, for the house, and it really did take a lot of looking and digging and strategizing to get it. It makes me happy every time I look at it.

That's the joy of collecting. You don't have to spend a lot to get the joy, either. I love old cameras ($20-50/ea) and West German art vases ($10-100/ea) and paintings by a certain pair of California impressionists ($80-300/ea). It's fun to be always on the lookout. And as far as thrills go, it's a lot cheaper than 5-star restaurants, and the result (ownership) and the experience (the hunt!) lasts a lot longer. There aren't a lot of meals that you can enjoy every time you sit in a certain room, but that's how often I enjoy a small painting I won in an eBay auction.

Teach yourself to enjoy the hunt and enjoy deal-making and you can get a lot more out of your money at any income level middle-class or above.

EDIT: It also gives you room to overspend for things that are "unreasonable." For example, I want some cabinets made for my living room. I don't like the off-the-shelf options. So instead I am taking woodworking classes and hiring one of the teachers to help me plan and build the cabinets at $60/hr. This will end up costing 2-3x what a cabinet would cost at Crate & Barrel, and take a lot longer than if I simply hired a professional (esp. considering my time), but I will get exactly what I want and have the pride of having made it (with help). The whole experience & result will be a lot longer, more joyful and challenging than outright buying what I can afford. Still, spending $2000 to $3000 on a built-in wall unit isn't even remotely in the same category as collecting cars.

[alter8]

I'm surprised there isn't any answer to this, after seeing the heavy (and undeserved) criticism to Dustin Curtis for his post, The Best: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4755470

[ahoyhere]

Probably because I don't describe what I buy as "the very best," which implies some kind of universal judgment. And I think some people reading his essay think he sounds self-congratulatory. I don't think that anyone reading my comment would take it as anything other than an entirely personal pursuit.

Ex: back when Dustin was shopping for pans, he tweeted something like "What's the best cookware?" and I responded that he had to answer what "best" meant for him, because there are many "best" pans — some are the easiest to clean (non-stick), some are the most beautiful (copper), some are the most durable (Le Creuset), some are the most versatile (copper pans can't be used with tomato sauce, you know), some are the best at creating even heat dispersal (cast iron). No pan is the best in all categories. IMO there is no such thing as "best". The world is too complex. And even then some people would say that a wok is easier to "clean" than non-stick because you never use soap; some people don't think copper is the most beautiful (although I do), etc., etc. Like I said… complex.

I've got no illusions that I have "the best" of anything. I may say something is "Perfect for the room" (as I did about my new medicine cabinet), but that's deceptive because there are many things that are "perfect" for the room. They create different effects. I swapped sofas because one was sagging and I was shopping for possibilities without something particular in mind and found several totally different sofas that would have been awesome. I picked only one of them. It's perfect for the room. So would have the other one I liked best.

Looking for "the best" sounds like it could eat up your entire life. I'm positive there are better medicine cabinets out there, even for my purposes. But I didn't find one, and it won't keep me up at night. I had a blast and I love the one I found (and negotiated for).

For me, it's about fun and enjoying what I have.