Author Topic: 'Stache envy - need a face punch?  (Read 15487 times)

Seppia

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Re: 'Stache envy - need a face punch?
« Reply #50 on: December 01, 2015, 07:34:55 AM »
Well, I see it as others have said as well.
I was born and raised in Italy, son of educated, upper middle class parents who gave me all the opportunities in life.
I had access to a top level college (not top 1% in the world but surely top 15-20%), could learn 4 languages, always had food and good health.
I make an insanely high amount of money compared to other fellow humans (http://www.globalrichlist.com says I make more money than 99.5% of the world's population and my net worth is higher than 92% of the world's population), I have a loving family and a beautiful wife.

Not willing to go all philosophical here but I have difficulties in seeing how I could envy anybody without feeling like a dick.

So yeah, big face punch to you :)

Davids

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Re: 'Stache envy - need a face punch?
« Reply #51 on: December 01, 2015, 08:59:17 AM »
It used to bother me but it was through discovering MMM that does not bother me anymore. I have managed to build up a net worth that based on various sites is in the 96th percentile in USA based on my age range. When I see someone my age or younger driving a fancy car or wearing expensive clothes my thought is actually that most likely they are riding in debt rather than any envy. I am more happy in my 10 year old Toyota and older clothes.

Livingthedream55

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Re: 'Stache envy - need a face punch?
« Reply #52 on: December 02, 2015, 11:47:32 AM »
I won't receive any windfalls since I grew up in a lower class family of fresh off the boat immigrants.

I don't get bummed about it.

 "Comparison is the thief of joy"

+1   Not only will nothing flow down from parents; I am actually paying for part of the support of my 84 year old mother with dementia at the same time I'm cash flowing two kids college educations (at community and state colleges) and saving for retirement.

Bearded Man

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Re: 'Stache envy - need a face punch?
« Reply #53 on: December 02, 2015, 12:32:29 PM »
Yep. Almost all of my friends have had everything handed to them. Well into their 30's and 50's in a few cases. One of my friends is on his 8th year of pursuing an MBA that his parents are paying for...along with his student loans from his failed bachelors, rent, medical bills, etc.

It's family socialism. If you fail, don't worry, someone else will pay your way for you.

I have no doubt that he will inherit a lot of money from his parents, considering he is an only child and they are doing well financially.

andy85

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Re: 'Stache envy - need a face punch?
« Reply #54 on: December 02, 2015, 12:43:49 PM »
I have more what I would call age envy...i.e. jelly of kids in their early 20s finding MMM making me think all kinds of what-ifs...jelly of people 15ish years older than me that have successfully achieved FIRE making me think how badly i want to fast forward time.

My big problem right now, and i suspect a lot of people experience this, is that i have a plan in place. I've crunched a hundred numbers 1000 different ways and have eleventy billion tabs on my spreadsheet...it's ridiculous. The math is done. Now we wait. I'm coming to the realization that my next step on this journey is actually pursing things that interest me so that i can retire to something instead of from something. All that is left to do is stick to the plan and find happiness.


cats

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Re: 'Stache envy - need a face punch?
« Reply #55 on: December 02, 2015, 12:52:55 PM »
My parents are wonderful people and I get along well with them about 90% of the time.  That said, pretty much any monetary assistance they've given me over the years has come with some kind of string (either explicit or implied, or maybe just perceived on my part) attached.  If I feel jealous of people who get help or inheritances from parents/relatives, I remind myself that they are probably paying some sort of emotional price!

I do also feel some of the age envy others have mentioned.  Like, wow, what if I had had my shit more together at 18 or 22 than I did?  I could be so much better off now!  Then I remember that I had my shit more together than quite a few people and that relative to the general population I'm doing quite well...it's really only within the MMM type subset that I'm merely "average".

StetsTerhune

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Re: 'Stache envy - need a face punch?
« Reply #56 on: December 03, 2015, 12:15:06 PM »
I personally try to hold two completely opposing beliefs all the time. 1. That I am capable of anything if I work at it and my destiny is completely in my hands (because that's the most useful way to view myself). 2. That everyone is doing the best they can with the hand they were dealt and deserves my respect (because that's the most useful way to view the world).

This is a very positive way of looking at things. 

I agree everyone deserves your respect until they prove to not deserve it, but not everyone does the best they can with the hand they were dealt.  In fact, many people piss things away and are completely wasteful with their lives even when they were given every advantage.

This may be getting too arcane to be useful in real life, but isn't disposition-to-piss-things-away just another card in the hand they were dealt? I don't know how it feels to be anyone but me, but I certainly don't feel like I gritted my teeth and worked super hard to become a responsible person. I feel like I was born this way. Stands to reason that there's a lazy, irresponsible lout out there who can't become responsible any more than I could be an Olympic gymnast.

None of this is to say that I'm going to be friends with that person. But I'm not going to judge them either.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!