life contentment, chasing the money....

[counterofbeans]

thainy77 said:

Yipper said:

It's linked to responsibility and fireability.

When you're on 30k and someone is handing you work on a plate and you do 40hrs and nobody sacks you if something goes wrong, it's (on the whole) a lower-stress role. But cash is not great.

When you're on 300k and you have to bring in profit from a blank page and 100 staff are acting like babies and you do 80hrs and you may get sacked if you miss this quarter's target by 5%, then it's (on the whole) a higher stress role.

The 50k jobs tend to be in-between and offer a nice balance between reasonable money (for most people) and reasonable responsibility / status.

Ah yes, i forgot, every job at 30k requires no responsibility or accountability, may as well get monkeys in eh?

Can i ask what you do? are you on a six figure salary?

He doesn't do anything, he lives at home with his mum and never comes out of his bedroom.

[supercommuter]

I will stop chasing money when I am mortgage free.

Chose the corporate route and have been working my ass off since 18 after luckily getting my foot in the door.

I can afford to go on holiday for every day of our alloted annual leave (and we do), we have an average car, motorbikes etc

I just think until my house is paid off you can't sit comfortably...late twenty's at the moment.

Edited by supercommuter on Wednesday 17th January 15:46

[GetCarter]

Had a 9-5 job van driving at 17. Decided it wasn’t for me.

I gave it up and have been doing hobbies ever since, (over 40 years) in hope of renumeration.

Worked out for me, more by luck than judgement. I’ve only ever been interested in quality of life, not accumulation of wealth.

I never know how much I will earn, but sometimes it’s enough for sports cars. Sometimes not.

At least I’m in a position that I don’t want to retire, as I still love my hobbies, and people still pay me. Result!

Top tip from old git... don’t work for them, work for you.

[HustleRussell]

Oh look, a thread in which everybody says how comfortable and content they are while at the same time feeling the need to justify their feelings to their peers by telling them how much their house is worth and how new their cars are and how many holidays they have

[crankedup]

For me it’s been
Learning
Ambition
Fulfilment
Stress
Only a few more years to do
Oh good I can retire now
Regrets I have a few, all only work related.
Lucky fecker.

[vsonix]

Yipper said:

It's linked to responsibility and fireability.

When you're on 30k and someone is handing you work on a plate and you do 40hrs and nobody sacks you if something goes wrong, it's (on the whole) a lower-stress role. But cash is not great.

When you're on 300k and you have to bring in profit from a blank page and 100 staff are acting like babies and you do 80hrs and you may get sacked if you miss this quarter's target by 5%, then it's (on the whole) a higher stress role.

The 50k jobs tend to be in-between and offer a nice balance between reasonable money (for most people) and reasonable responsibility / status.

Well, maybe I've just been unlucky but even in some of my lowest-paid jobs I had quite a lot of responsibility for making projects happen, except I was working for small independent record labels or start-up businesses with a promise of a share in eventual profitability (not falling for that bks again) etc etc. Also don't think I've had the luxury of a job where you don't get sacked if (when) something goes wrong either. I'm not saying they don't exist, as I've long-term temped at city councils and so forth where 90% of staff have the IQ of a toad and seem to be unfireable - I've covered people (at a fraction of their wage) suspended on full pay for eight months because of sending an email with 'adult humour' pending investigation - as I said though most of the time I've done 9-5 style jobs has been during times of recession so pay freezes and people getting constructively dismissed because the company is trying to save money, I honestly think I have seen more bad times than good during my working life.

[MOBB]

supercommuter said:

I will stop chasing money when I am mortgage free.

Chose the corporate route and have been working my ass off since 18 after luckily getting my foot in the door.

I can afford to go on holiday for every day of our alloted annual leave (and we do), we have an average car, motorbikes etc

I just think until my house is paid off you can't sit comfortably...late twenty's at the moment.

Edited by supercommuter on Wednesday 17th January 15:46

+1

I'm 45, earning decent money, so does the wife. No kids.

Not enjoying work life generally, but putting up with it until the mortgage is gone - probably 5 years or so.

[theguvernor15]

To the poster who put they spend £10k a year on a holiday, out of curiosity, how many people are you paying for to go away & to where may i ask?!

Between the GF & i we had about 5-6 holidays & probably spent just over half that for both of us?!

[Zoon]

GetCarter said:

Had a 9-5 job van driving at 17. Decided it wasn’t for me.

I gave it up and have been doing hobbies ever since, (over 40 years) in hope of renumeration.

Worked out for me, more by luck than judgement. I’ve only ever been interested in quality of life, not accumulation of wealth.

I never know how much I will earn, but sometimes it’s enough for sports cars. Sometimes not.

At least I’m in a position that I don’t want to retire, as I still love my hobbies, and people still pay me. Result!

Top tip from old git... don’t work for them, work for you.

Out of interest are your hobbies based on interests alone, or did you study at university?

[GetCarter]

Zoon said:

GetCarter said:

Had a 9-5 job van driving at 17. Decided it wasn’t for me.

I gave it up and have been doing hobbies ever since, (over 40 years) in hope of renumeration.

Worked out for me, more by luck than judgement. I’ve only ever been interested in quality of life, not accumulation of wealth.

I never know how much I will earn, but sometimes it’s enough for sports cars. Sometimes not.

At least I’m in a position that I don’t want to retire, as I still love my hobbies, and people still pay me. Result!

Top tip from old git... don’t work for them, work for you.

Out of interest are your hobbies based on interests alone, or did you study at university?

I left school with no qualIifications, and became a van delivery driver. Deciding that was a bad call (for me). I went back to school, college, and then to Polytechnic and studied music... photography in my spare time.

I was lucky to meet people on my course... and it was that, rather than any sort of degree or qualification, and turning up on time that got me my breaks in the music biz.

More difficult these days!

[Frenchda]

OP - You appear to have cracked it.

[skinnyman]

Some people enjoy the pursuit of making more money, often more than the actual money itself.

I've tried to be a 'normal' person in the past, just have a 9-5, then when I get home do more normal things, go for a walk, gym, watch TV etc, but I get bored. I always find myself pulled back to something that revolves around making money. It becomes a hobby more than a chore.

[TameRacingDriver]

OP, I could literally have wrote what you have word for word, even down to the walking to work and how long it takes you!

I agree with you by the way. People like to keep telling me I should have ambition, should do this, should do that. Well frankly, they can fk off. I am quite happy with the way things are. Never going to be rich, never going to be remembered for anything, probably the very definition of 'mediocre' but you know what, I am quite happy to be average. I'm just not driven to do anything more, never have been, and probably never will.

All I will say is, I don't have kids, don't want them, and if I were to have them, I doubt I could be happy with our salary, but then I wouldn't be happy full stop seeing as I don't want them. If you want to be content at your current level, its something you need to think about.

Nothing wrong with being comfortable the way you are, and don't let anyone try and tell you otherwise.

[BrabusMog]

Whoever said £30k is a no-stress salary

I was more stressed on £30k than I am now. I was managing quite high up and not far down at that stage, and managing up when you've got a team of low paid people expected to deliver great results is very stressful! The closer to the top, the lower the stress, in my opinion.

Edited by BrabusMog on Wednesday 17th January 17:42

[TheAngryDog]

TameRacingDriver said:

OP, I could literally have wrote what you have word for word, even down to the walking to work and how long it takes you!

I agree with you by the way. People like to keep telling me I should have ambition, should do this, should do that. Well frankly, they can fk off. I am quite happy with the way things are. Never going to be rich, never going to be remembered for anything, probably the very definition of 'mediocre' but you know what, I am quite happy to be average. I'm just not driven to do anything more, never have been, and probably never will.

All I will say is, I don't have kids, don't want them, and if I were to have them, I doubt I could be happy with our salary, but then I wouldn't be happy full stop seeing as I don't want them. If you want to be content at your current level, its something you need to think about.

Nothing wrong with being comfortable the way you are, and don't let anyone try and tell you otherwise.

I don't have kids either. Don't get me wrong, I would be quite happy to do more to get more, but if getting more means I actually get less, then what is the point? Pointless getting a job in London for £10k more than I am on now as any gain in wage would be spend on travel. I would need to be paid a lot more to work in London than I am now, and considering that the jobs I would be skilled enough in aren't going to pay that then it would be even more pointless.

[rambo19]

I gave up worrying about money years ago.
I have enough to do what I want to do, drive a old mondeo, have a old smartphone, don't care what telly/coffee machine/car/holidays other people have.

[FocusRS3]

Interesting thread .

Less stress is the way forward

[vsonix]

GetCarter said:

Zoon said:

GetCarter said:

Had a 9-5 job van driving at 17. Decided it wasn’t for me.

I gave it up and have been doing hobbies ever since, (over 40 years) in hope of renumeration.

Worked out for me, more by luck than judgement. I’ve only ever been interested in quality of life, not accumulation of wealth.

I never know how much I will earn, but sometimes it’s enough for sports cars. Sometimes not.

At least I’m in a position that I don’t want to retire, as I still love my hobbies, and people still pay me. Result!

Top tip from old git... don’t work for them, work for you.

Out of interest are your hobbies based on interests alone, or did you study at university?

I left school with no qualIifications, and became a van delivery driver. Deciding that was a bad call (for me). I went back to school, college, and then to Polytechnic and studied music... photography in my spare time.

I was lucky to meet people on my course... and it was that, rather than any sort of degree or qualification, and turning up on time that got me my breaks in the music biz.

More difficult these days!

Being in the right place helps. When I was in London I was constantly networking. Every time you go on a night out you can potentially open doors by meeting new people. In smaller city where I live now it's just the same faces in the same places.

[TameRacingDriver]

TheAngryDog said:

I don't have kids either. Don't get me wrong, I would be quite happy to do more to get more, but if getting more means I actually get less, then what is the point? Pointless getting a job in London for £10k more than I am on now as any gain in wage would be spend on travel. I would need to be paid a lot more to work in London than I am now, and considering that the jobs I would be skilled enough in aren't going to pay that then it would be even more pointless.

A mate of mine lives in a town outside of London and works in London. He sounds utterly, utterly miserable with the commuting, but when I suggest he finds somewhere closer to home, he just harps on about the money he’d be losing. He does seem to like wasting money on extravagances so perhaps he could get by with less and still be happier.

If there’s one thing about life that can probably bring contentment, its learning not to give a toss constantly comparing yourself with others, or worrying about status at work, which more often than not just brings you down. It sounds like you’ve got the right ideas. Very liberating to not feel like you’re in some kind of competition.

[FocusRS3]

TameRacingDriver said:

A mate of mine lives in a town outside of London and works in London. He sounds utterly, utterly miserable with the commuting, but when I suggest he finds somewhere closer to home, he just harps on about the money he’d be losing. He does seem to like wasting money on extravagances so perhaps he could get by with less and still be happier.

If there’s one thing about life that can probably bring contentment, its learning not to give a toss constantly comparing yourself with others, or worrying about status at work, which more often than not just brings you down. It sounds like you’ve got the right ideas. Very liberating to not feel like you’re in some kind of competition.

Lots tend to spend cash on luxuries just to make them feel better about working in a job they hate