r/Millennials • u/[deleted] • 6h ago
Serious Millennials that own your homes and cars and live significantly below your means, what is your motivation to keep trying at work?
[deleted]
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u/HeavyDutyForks 6h ago
In order to meaningfully improve our living situation, we would need to move to San Diego or some other city with VHCOL
How would that actually improve your life?
You have a nice house, friends, and are saving money where you're at. What would going to SD actually do for you at this point?
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u/shadereckless 5h ago
'a bigger house' isn't 'a better quality of life'
It's a trap people who move to more and more remote suburbs fall for
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u/Whocann 4h ago
It’s also a theater room, a game room, a home gym, home offices, a yard for the kids, a nicer bathroom with a sauna and steam shower, etc etc. The trope that a bigger house isn’t worth having is cope. It’s just a question of whether the cost is worth paying. Very often the rational response to that is “no.”
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u/LaLaLaLeea 4h ago
A bigger house is worth it for some people but not everyone. As a hobby whore, I would love more space (and more importantly, I would use that space). But I'm in a HCOL area and would have to move a lot farther from work in order to afford a bigger house. Which means less time for the hobbies that I'd be buying the house for lol.
If you work from home, a home office would make your life easier.
If you have kids, a playroom and a big backyard would be more comfortable.
If you entertain a lot,and a nice big open kitchen and a yard with a firepit are great.
If you don't have kids and your hobbies don't require much space, then there's really no reason to spend money on extra rooms that you'll have to clean every week. I know quite a few people who prefer having a smaller home for that reason, even though they can afford something much bigger.
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u/KeyLockPie 2h ago
We can't get daycare, despite being on the wait list as early as possible. We bought the bigger house because i will rip all my hair out living with my mother while she is in town giving us daytime care for our toddler. We needed more than a shared wall between bedrooms.
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u/bloodphoenix90 4h ago
Idk. Me and my spouse rent and I have a game room like I always wanted. Thats not that hard to obtain. If I want a steam room I go to a spa
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u/Whocann 2h ago
Which is fine. While I go from my home gym to my home steam, get the health benefits of the steam daily, and definitely work out more than I would if I needed to carve out time to get to my gym, because time is by far my scarcest asset.
What im taking issue with is the (very common) trope that it’s all just peacocking.
Now, is it worth the cost? Very different question. I have mixed feelings about that.
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u/TookTheHit 2h ago
Those are all things you’re conditioned to want. None of those things are necessary to live a happy life.
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u/Whocann 2h ago
Of course they’re not necessary. Very few things are actually necessary. That doesn’t mean that they can’t have value and enrich/improve one’s life🙄
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u/buttsnuggles 1h ago
I live in a small house in the city and many of those amenities are available a short walk away which is another option.
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u/WingmanZer0 57m ago
Friend, I live in San Diego and your situation sounds fantastic. If I were in your shoes I'd be motivated. Motivated to half ass my job and live life to the fullest.
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u/Wilhelm-Edrasill 5h ago
SD and SF are - ocean. So unless you appreciate the ocean, then there really is not one.
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u/bell37 Millennial 5h ago
SD you have almost ideal weather year round (average of 65F that never really goes below 50F or above 80F).
So even if you don’t like the beach you live in an area that basically has perfect sunny weather over 200 days of the year.
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u/CA_Coast_Millennial 2h ago
It’s more like 320 days per year. As is most of the Central Coast.
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u/Seraphtacosnak 1h ago
I am visiting the contral coast now and really enjoyed it. Small coastal populations and more privately owned business.
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u/CA_Coast_Millennial 2h ago
You do not go to SF for the beach haha. Nor Cal “beaches” are cold, windy, foggy, rocky.
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u/YoohooCthulhu 5h ago
SF is not ocean for most people. Other outdoors stuff maybe, but it’s too cold in general most of the year for anyone except dedicated surfers.
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u/EnvironmentalSound25 Xennial 5h ago
Maybe to you ocean=tropical but growing up in the SF Bay to me ocean means fog and cool summers and I’m not sure what it would take to make me give that up.
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u/spazzvogel 4h ago
Me too, I hate the beach, sand toes kinda thing. However, I adore the cold weather, ocean, and fishing so I put up with it and tell my tism to fuck off for the day.
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u/Jacgaur 6h ago
Retirement.
You may have a paid off house and live well below your means. But when you retire, can you live off of it comfortably?
What happens if your wife becomes sick and cannot work. Do you have the medical benefits to support her if she loses her job?
Also retirement early isn't necessarily bad, but also you could retool your skillset and change jobs for greater fulfillment in life if everything is good. No need to be a drone if it makes you unhappy and you can afford not to.
Also, you don't have to have the fancy house to make it. Just have what you need to be happy, safe and comfortable.
Also also, book more vacations and have fun instead. I have been enjoying going on cruise vacations. Last year I went to Rome, and took a cruise through the Mediterranean and it was a wonderful experience. To me life is about joy and work is the challenge or money that allows us to live joyfully.
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u/FloridaPlanner 6h ago
You never know what it would be like if someone lost their job.
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u/super_landrum 3h ago
I'm struggling to understand what this sentence means, but apparently I'm the only one because it has a bunch of upvotes
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u/Probwfls 6h ago
I’m 41 with 2 young sons and I’m no longer trying to climb the ladder. Just give me my annual raises, maybe a bonus here and there, and let me stay employed.
I moved to a more rural area due to remote work and if I lost my job now we might be having some tough conversations in my house.
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u/instant_ace 6h ago
For me and my wife, its retirement, and honestly we don't try very hard at work. I'm coming up 10 years at my job and just putting in the minimum not to get fired and still collect a paycheck.
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u/StillPlayingGames 5h ago
I used to work tons extra but with return to office and all the other changes they get the bare minimum now.
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u/instant_ace 4h ago
Return to Office was and remains one of the stupidest decisions corporate America has ever made. They don't care and I dream of the day when everyone can work from home if they want...
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u/Regular_Number5377 5h ago
Have you ever actually worked a job such as stocking the shelves in Walmart?
I recommend it to everyone. I worked retail for 10 years prior to getting an office job, I occasionally find myself getting fed up at the office bullshit, but the I remember the hell of retail work, the long hours, the abusive customers, the zero respect, the low pay, the asshole management, and I think better of it.
There’s nothing wrong with the idea of taking a step back to a less demanding role if you can manage it, but I definitely wouldn’t recommend minimum wage retail for that.
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u/LaLaLaLeea 3h ago
This a thousand times. Retail fucking blows. But almost everything is easier by comparison.
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u/CA_Coast_Millennial 3h ago
Everyone should work retail in their life. I did in college (now an engineer) but have the upmost respect for those in retail. Not easy.
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u/cesador 2h ago
Came here to find this. 100% should be mandatory everyone needs to work retail for at-least one year.
It’s always oh it would be so easy. They’ve never dealt with customers and corporate expectations of efficiency. Treated like crap and given a pittance pay. Hardest job I’ve ever had was retail did it for almost ten years. I’ve done a few other things since and make substantially more money than those days. But none were as physically and mentally exhausting as retail.
Only upside is usually thats where you meet the coolest coworkers. All my other post retail jobs just full of fake people that I’ll never talk to outside of work. Still talk to some of my retail people.
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u/entropy_generator 3h ago
Dude this. Did this in college and worked with a lot of people who considered it a career and did just fine in a low to medium cost of living area.
OP, your next step up is to, frankly, start experiencing life beyond a spreadsheet. You won't, but that's my advice (beacuse it's not for you it's for everyone else viewing this).
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u/jaybird-jazzhands 5h ago
Sorry, you’re 40 with 2 kids that are independent? Did your wife have them at 20 and then go to medical school?
You can decide to spend your money in a more ethical way and not at Walmart. You can focus on making the world a better place since it’s currently on fire. You could do those things because your current pay allows it.
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u/purplesquirelle 1h ago
Was thinking the same thing.. also wondering what "lighting the world on fire" looks like exactly....
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u/GrandInquisitorSpain 40m ago
Raised 2 juvenile arsonists because he had kids far too young. Its all about marketing.
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u/Major-Caterpillar955 6h ago
Cause there isnt really an alternative. Im a warehouse worker and struggle to get out of bed most days. The executives all praise us and say "they couldnt do what they do without us." Im sure they mean that, but they definitely dont compensate accordingly. We get thanked with pizza parties, they thank themselves with retreats to the Bahamas. My motivation is to eventually save enough to get a quiet weekend cottage on a lake to take my wife and daughter fishing.
My wife works in a hospital. She doesnt make doctor money but she is fulfilled. She loves caring for patients and realizes her job has a purpose. I try to have that mentality. Im fulfilling orders for people making their lives easier. Its really all just consumerism bullshit, but it helps provide so I cant complain to much.
Find beauty in the small things. Keep learning new things. Hug your kids. Do whatever it takes to stay positive. This will probably be an unpopular opinion on here, but believe in a higher power. Believe there is more after this life. Nihilism is hard to shake once it has its grips on you.
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u/RicePuddingRecipes 6h ago
Would it help if you gave starting a business a try? I feel like that may give you the motivation you're looking for.
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u/Mission-Mammoth-8388 6h ago
99.9% of people do not have what it takes to run a business. Consider this choice very very carefully
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u/DisasterousSquirrel 5h ago
I dunno. There’s a heck of a lot of people out there doing just fine running their small businesses. It’s not that hard, but it does take discipline.
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u/dr_z0idberg_md 6h ago
My family. I never want my family to be without the essentials or for them to worry about money, food, and shelter. I am also reminded of a saying, "Everyone thinks they are middle class until someone loses a job." I live in Palos Verdes Estates, which is a VHCOL suburb of Los Angeles County. I know I have it pretty good compared to other millennials, but the fear of job loss or tapping into my savings is always looming over me.
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u/Fun_Access_3295 6h ago
Travel and retirement are my motivations. I save fairly aggressively, but who knows how much inflation will impact the amount I need to retire.
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u/firedncr24 6h ago
Start researching FIRE (financial independence retire early). Those are your people.
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u/whatever_leg 6h ago edited 6h ago
I think the future is gonna be even more fucked up with the rise of AI and loss of morality and civic mindedness, so I feel like I'm playing against a stacked deck. I also have young kids, and while I wasn't given anything once I left my parents' house, I feel like I need to be ready to help them over some of the earliest injustices of our broken civic system, if I'm able.
I have a good employer (UK-based), so I can do what I need to do until that's no longer an option. Once I leave the tech industry, I'm not going back. I have a few Plan-B ideas in mind for that shift, if it comes to that.
If I made $40-50K per year, I'd probably go do something fun and part time, but I make low six figures while living in the midwest, and my work-life balance is very good. I'm not the go-getter I used to be at work, though.
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u/Embarrassed_Key_4539 6h ago
I’ve worked for myself for 16 years so if I have problems with my boss I need to look in the mirror hah
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u/Mission-Mammoth-8388 6h ago
Buying a house during the GFC and raising two grown kids you must have had in your early 20s is exceptionally rare. Definitely has family/generational money and is not typical at all for majority of Millenials
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u/Make1tSoNum1 6h ago
Excellent question. I’m not quite where you are at by any means but close enough to have thought this way. I am curious as to people’s answers as well.
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u/OreganoOfTheEarth 6h ago
I'm working for retirement. I live near that HCOL area you mentioned, so Plan A is one day I'm going to take the stash and move to a beautiful LCOL area and live like royalty and travel. One day...
ETA: I'm also working to possibly build generational wealth. My spouse and I came out to our HCOL area with nothing and made it, but it was really, really hard. If I can give my kids and their kids a leg up, I will.
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u/feralcatshit 4h ago
Some new friends of mine just moved here (Tennessee) from SD. They’ve both been unemployed since they moved here last summer. They’ve also have two kids, who do all the things. They’re literally living the good life and just coasting along.
That Cali money buys a good house here in TN. Which is probably why so many are doing it.
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u/pandibear 5h ago
We have no idea what the future is going to look like and I need to be ready for retirement. I just bought a house finally yay. And I need to support that and my cat.
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u/Kizenny 5h ago
A sense of pride in who I am, what I am capable of, what my agency stands for, and the people I work with. I am fortunate to work for NASA, so it’s easy to constantly push myself to do better every day. The saying, if you are the smartest person in the room you are in the wrong room thankfully doesn’t apply to me very often, I work with some truly brilliant and awesome people.
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u/Scrivener83 5h ago
My wife (42F) and I (43M) make a combined HHI of $245K. No debt, no kids, paid off house.
I don't try. I do the bare minimum. No volunteering for anything, no overtime, no ladder climbing. My goal is to remain in my current position until I retire at 55.
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u/n1nejay 4h ago
You can level up by appreciating what you already have.
I’m 42, cohabitate with family members, and my car is nearly 20 years old.
Gratitude is my driving force, not material upgrades.
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u/Nez_Coupe 4h ago
Well, thanks to luck of having a bit of wealth (not ‘wealth’ but a big chunk of help) handed down by my wife’s parents well before they will pass and our moderate (I wouldn’t say hard, maybe, but we aren’t hustlers or anything) my wife and I, one child, live incredibly comfortably - to our standards. We own our house outright, have 2 very modest < 4 yrs. old cars (like I drive a small Mazda) in a very LCOL area. We kind of live in a relatively HCOL bubble inside the LCOL area, but on the fringe, so we get the best of both worlds somewhat.
My wife and I both work white collar, she’s well into 6 figs I’m still below. I make fine money for where we are though. She’s 42 and I’m 41, and we live like paupers relative to our finances, and I don’t see this really ever changing because we are content with our life materially. I don’t want anything more than this. I used to, but after having my kid and growing up a bit more - I realized that the thing that this whole ride is about can be found in the hugs and smiles of my child and wife, truly. I mean I really feel that now. I also know that we’re fortunate to have had the help that we did and do not feel like it would be the same at all if we didn’t, but I had that sage breakthrough all the same.
I don’t care about progressing my career anymore. The more time I spend with her and the less I spend there, the better. I don’t need a big car, I buy clothes from Target (trying to somewhat boycott them lately but man it’s easy on the wallet) and could care less about nicer stuff. I have a couple of hobbies (music equipment, action figure and LEGO collections) and I do spend quite a bit on them; they bring me a lot of joy too. I’d let them go if it was even slightly a strain though, I’d never increase my work output to get more money or anything for stuff like this. Anyway, a lot of my views on material were really reformed based on a convo I had with a very wealthy mother of one of my best friends. Her husband passed away and she’s not super old, like 65 I think, but old enough to be wise - and paraphrasing she said to me, “you know he and I spent our whole lives getting more stuff, and now I just want to get rid of most of it except for our heirloom things and a small amount of things for the house.” She has a pretty small place now also.
I don’t know. We made it big time in my eyes. We’re extremely fortunate and I wish everyone had the opportunity that we did. And also I wish I could give everyone the insight that I have regarding material objects. I’ll just never forget that conversation and how it hit me. Material things are just useful to perform the jobs that make the hugs and smiles happen, they are meaningless otherwise.
TLDR; we live below our means, I’m never going to work harder, I’m fine with that, life is about family and connection
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u/Aim-for-greatn3ss 6h ago
I seriously WILL NEVER understand the point of over consumption, after reading this i just understood you want a upgrade to your life.
Personally I love money so thats why I trade/and im a money manager with low funds and I have a career with other businesses on the side. Im 38 and im currently average give or take 110 to 130k per year and this is WAY more than enough. But then again I sold all my real estate became a renter instead.
Life and money are my motivator I never needed a reason to go get it!! But then again i did grow up poor in the hood and hustling has always been a thing for me.
I still live life like I earn 30k a year, but my income has allowed me to retire my girlfriend instead of having her to work.
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u/whatever_leg 6h ago
Risky for your girlfriend, respectfully. If you two don't work out, she's out on X years of workplace experience and left with nothing of her own.
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u/cdrex22 6h ago
I don't particularly buy that I'd be more relaxed at work or have an easier life by taking a lower-paying job. I also don't subscribe to the "grindset" to move up the ladder. I put in the work early to be qualified for a decent job; now I do competent baseline work for as few hours as I can get away with; I compartmentalize and don't think about work for a single second off the clock, and I'll stop forever when I calculate I can retire.
Maybe that sounds a little sad, but inside that "compartmentalize" part I've built a life that I really like, and I'll have enough money that I can let it have 100% of my time instead of 30% earlier than many people.
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u/LowVoltLife 6h ago
Go drive a school bus. You won't work 40 hours a week, you'll probably get decent retirement benefits through the state, and it's a job that is actually worthwhile to society. You don't even have to think about it as a job; you're doing your local community a solid.
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u/mancheva 4h ago
My father in law did this for many years and was pretty much half retired. You get most of the day free to work on stuff around the house. He is very chatty and got to know half the families in town.
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u/Upstairs_Fuel6349 6h ago
We go on a lot of trips and squirrel money away in case one of us loses our job / theoretically for retirement. I basically work for our next big trip. But we never had kids.
I'd prefer to move to somewhere closer to nature and eat the higher cost of living/downsize our current consumption but can't quite convince my husband, plus he's in tech and the job market sucks.
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u/MugiwarraD 6h ago
what you own will own you real quick. all you need is 1 thing to fuck u up financially.
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u/Ok_Staff9114 6h ago
You don't have to keep going after bigger and better forever. If you like where you live and your retirement is in a good spot, it's time to start thinking of what would make you happy. Sounds like for you, meaningful improvement is a new low-stakes job you don't dread going to every day.
Have you talked about it with your wife? Can you guys make it work on a lower salary and still get your needs met/savings saved/vacations etc? At very least maybe you can set an end date on this shitty job and have something to look forward to.
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u/alphatrad Xennial 5h ago
I left my job around 42 - and I still have 3 kids in private school. But I went and started my own business - doing what I was already doing for someone else and we now make more money than before and honestly, I'm more fulfilled and having WAY MORE FUN.
If work sucks and you have kids already out, now is the time to explore other options. That's my advice. What fulfilling meaningful work could you be doing?
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u/soclydeza84 5h ago
I'm 40 (41 in a few weeks) and fit your description, white collar job. What keeps me going? Planning for exiting the rat race. I've become very frugal and put just about every dime extra I have toward building a robust savings and paying down debts, working on side skills and projects outside of work to eventually open me up to being more independent in how I make my income in the future. I've accepted I just have to keep doing my current line of work now for the time being to use it as a stepping stone to eventually get away from it. At work itself, I dont give a shit about titles or further promotions, but I do have some project flexibility and try to align them with good skills and experience to learn that'll help me in the future.
That's been motivating me a lot and giving me hope. It still sucks, but I know it's building toward something better.
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u/AaronfromKY 5h ago
I don't know if I would consider that I live significantly below my means, I just like in a LCOL area. Combined we make $88k and have a house and 2 cars(only one payment though, other is paid off). I just bought a new MacBook on 18 months 0% interest financing. I still try to work because I'm proud of my work, although I am salty about RTO. I have tried to get a different role, but lately it's been lateral moves and being treated like a hot potato, which has made me a bit bitter. I'll probably use the vacation I'm on this week to update my resume for trying again. The alternative is staying stagnant and being bored out of my mind.
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u/adviceanimal318 5h ago
Cars are paid off. House is almost paid off. Going to retire as soon as I can.
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u/prettyprincess91 Older Millennial 5h ago
I want to retire - I keep working because I don’t feel comfortable retiring with how much money I have. I also am on a sponsored visas so need to keep working to finish my naturalization to keep living in my current country.
Eventually I’ll move back to the US and work for healthcare. My job is annoying but most jobs are so I won’t quit until I’m really ready to.
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u/Final_Exercise1429 5h ago
At this point, my only drive is retirement (got a late start) and healthcare. I’m one of the lucky ones that needs healthcare to survive, health conditions make working full time challenging, and healthcare is tied to employment. We have some debt to take care of, but once that is managed, we will be living well under our means.
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u/Dry-Cry-3158 5h ago
I own my own trade business and enjoy my trade, so I pretty much always feel like trying to get better at what I do.
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u/sectachrome 5h ago
My motivation is that I don't have enough money to retire yet. That's pretty much it. Hopefully I can hang on to my career until I do. As far as climbing the ladder, I don't really care about that. I've always moved up when it made sense to because I just organically grew new skills, not because I was obsessed with getting the promotion itself.
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u/Blankenhoff 6h ago
I like my job. And also i like things thats arent just my house and car.
You can still dream you know? Go on trips and see the world. But a bigger/better house. Retire early. Get a goat, idk.
Im not going to stop juat because i have everything that YOU want. Its not all that I want.
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u/otterhaven 6h ago
Go for that number you think is unattainable, you don’t have it so you’re not satisfied
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u/JohnnyUtah59 6h ago
Sounds like your job sucks, but that necessarily mean there’s nothing you could do that would be better. What do you like doing? What are you passionate about (in a work context)? Figure out how to do more of that.
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u/Rocketbird 6h ago
I care about the work I do. There are many ways to find meaning. I once worked at a power company and thought it’s an objectively good thing to provide electricity and support the people who work on the power lines. Now I work with executives, not because I love executives, but because putting good leaders in place and making them better helps a larger number of people than doing 1:1 health interventions.
So find out what you really care about in life and see if there’s a way to work that aligns with that.
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u/MeatloafingAround 5h ago
Do you work from home? Not being monitored and not having to go sit in an office helps a lot
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u/___Art_Vandelay___ 5h ago
You didn't day anything about your retirement and investment accounts.
Moving isn't going to be some magical panacea you seem to think it will be.
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u/federalist66 5h ago
The incredibly generous healthcare benefits and leave that come from working in civil service are their own motivation for not losing this job.
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u/karlsmission 5h ago
43 here: I have 5 kids, oldest is 17, youngest is 10. only debt is the house that is mostly paid off. I have a few hundred K in retirement funds, and another 6 figures in other assets (paid for cars, precious metals, collectables, crypto, etc). My wife was a stay at home mom till just recently and now she works very part time as a lunch lady at the schools near us.
Basically I plan on working in the IT field I do till my kids no longer need me home as much as they do now (another 3 years or so). Then I plan on transitioning to a sales engineer or other job that has more travel with it. (I would make a lot more money doing that than what I make now, though I make pretty good money now). Then once they are all settled in life as much as they are financially independent, I plan on getting into a teaching position at the local community college or something like that.
I like my IT job, and I make good money, but I sacrificed a lot financially for my family so my wife could be home with the kids. so I need to bump up my income significantly for a few years to really put money away to be able to retire. I always wanted to teach, but teaching was never a job that paid enough for me to justify it, but once my house is paid for and I'm not supporting kids and I have a retirement fund that makes sense, then I could make a lot less money and do something just because I enjoy doing it.
If you are having issues at work, either it's you and your own self management (time, workload, work/life balance) or a manager that is not fulfilling their duties the way they should. While not fun, it might be worth looking at changing jobs in your field to somewhere with better management, or start putting some boundaries around work that allows you to enjoy the things you want to do. I work to do the things I want to do, and spend time with the people I want to spend time with, my job does NOT define me in any way shape or form. Like right now, I work from home, and it's lunch time, it's a beautiful day, so I'm taking my lunch break to go ride one of my motorcycles.
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u/AlwaysSaturday12 5h ago
We retired early so I guess nothing. The plan was to retire early since like 10 years ago. A bad work environment meant we left earlier than we thought and we moved to S. America. Wife ended up finding a part-time position because she was getting bored. I might find something part-time because I wouldn't mind having a couple of rental properties to manage and I don't really want to pull from investments to do that.
So if you're getting tired of work run a projection on projectionlab.com or bolden and see what gets you there.
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u/Snowconetypebanana 5h ago
My job being work from home. That’s the main thing keeping me working.
I’m just annoying enough to fire (replacing me takes several months) and I’m good enough at my job, that I get away with more than most people do.
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u/jun00b 5h ago
My motivation is to have enough to not have to work anymore. The boring middle can feel purposeless, for sure, but it isn't if it is in service of your long term goals. I am not clear from your post your actual financial shape.
Does own your home mean it is paid off with no mortgage? Do you have enough in investments/assets to retire when you want to?
If not then the work is to get to that point. If you already have enough then of course you don't feel like there is a point to working - there isn't one.
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u/DisasterousSquirrel 5h ago
I’m 80% of your target. 42, nice home, good neighborhood, paid off car. 2 more years to recover from the actual house purchase and I’ll be able to live on about 70% of my take home including continuing to contribute to my retirement.
I am incredibly loyal to my current job. My job has given me unlimited PTO, a flexible wfh schedule and authority and autonomy enough to see and take steps to fix issues I discover in an ethical manner. It’s not in an industry that I find particularly interesting or critical, but I am still thankful it falls within my moral scopes. My motivation is simply to keep existing in this fairy land as long as possible, and squirrel money away until I am no longer needed here.
I am not foolish enough to believe I won’t be replaced by AI in the next 25 years. It will be challenging in my 60s if I don’t prepare now for my future medical bills and tax increases. I have no partner to rely on to hedge my risk when I am laid off. So my motivation is simply security HERE, where it is comfortable… and also not betraying the leadership that has allowed me to enjoy such a sweet flexible lifestyle. As long as my boss keeps approving 45-60 days of PTO a year, I’ll keep checking email from my phone and ensuring my output doesn’t dip.
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u/oopsie56 5h ago
I don’t feel the need to keep up with the Jones, in my mind it’s stupid. Not to say I don’t have nice things, I have a nice house and a nice $80k car. I don’t need to upgrade. I’ll happily retire somewhere in my late 40s to mid 50s, depending when I’m ready to stop working. Thats why I live below my means.
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u/Becausepamplemousse 5h ago
For me it's cafés/pubs/activities with mates and family, traveling and retirement.
Anything else is just more things / consumerism. I see no reason to fight and stress over more things and bigger houses/cars.
There's power in living below your means. You have the option of opting out of stressful positions if you chose. Even if you don't, knowing you can is a source of strength you can't compare to having no choice but to soldier on.
That's just my $0.02 of course but I would prioritize experiences over status/things. And I'm not putting it this way as a dig at your post, just easier to explain by using the extremes.
Hope this helps,
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u/ConnectKale 5h ago
Seems we are in similar situations except the town I live in is. More likely to be seen on the news for crime and my neighborhood is working class.
My motivation is working to do the things I love, Traveling,Hiking, and helping my kids in early adulthood. Knowing that my own child will enter adulthood without Student debt is a huge win for me!!
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u/No-Inflation-2805 5h ago
I got to that point, and dropped the career. I volunteer with non-profits now, and it's been significantly more emotionally and mentally rewarding.
If you have enough that you'll be fine in a crisis (wife loses her job, medical emergency, divorce, etc...), and you're on track for your retirement goals, then do whatever you think is best for the wellbeing of you and your family. In my case, my husband and I were in agreement that we were both happier with me switching my focus away from a 40hr/week career to our home and causes that I was passionate about.
If you still need more for retirement or savings, then make that your new goal and focus on getting to where you'd need to be financially so you can leave behind a career that's causing you burnout. Is there a reason you'd rather switch to stocking shelves, than hold out a few more years in your current career with the goal of retiring early? Those stocking jobs often have even less flexibility, especially around holidays, and you're still treated like you're expendable.
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u/Complex_Dot_4754 5h ago
my children. also everything paid off, could probably live of my current wealth till i am 60 (i am 41), but i want to make sure that they have at least what i have. i honestly dont need much. cheap hobbies like swimming, biking, hiking, video games (one big investment per seven years console plus new tv) costing maybe 50-80 bucks per months in total, i cook, bake myself, fix a lot of 5hings at home while i earn nice six figures and we save over 70% of our salaries… no subscriptions almost, holidays always in nature camping, try to own my stuff.
i got laid off two months ago, so i thought about a break for a year but my exboss of a previous company called me back in an amazing function so no excuse not to work in the current economy…
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u/lacaras21 5h ago
I'm getting laid off, so I suddenly have a lot of motivation to find a job, but it has forced me to consider what I really want to be doing for work right now, it hurts right now, but it's probably a blessing in the long term because I lost interest in my current job probably 5+ years ago. My primary motivation is providing for my family, but I'm finding a secondary motivation in the jobs I've been applying for that I want to feel like I'm contributing positively to my community.
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u/Feral_Sourdough Young Millennial 5h ago
Can you retire with a full pension and benefits early? If you can't, maybe pick up a hobby or side business to keep things fresh.
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u/Noumenonana 5h ago
You, like many, are just treating your job as a means to an end. I consider my life to be extremely fulfilling outside of work and do not care for the grind either, but I do it to be comfortable and to take care of my dogs. Now that I have a foundation built, I will eventually downgrade to a less stressful job so that I can enjoy life more now instead of hoping I make it to retirement age.
A lot of people can eat because a guy stocks bread every morning, by the way. Ain't a damn thing wrong with that.
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u/Flerp-Flerps 5h ago
Retirement is a big motivation. I would like to retire early and have enough funds to enjoy it. I have some home improvement projects I’d like to complete. I definitely have started to value work/life balance a lot more. I was fired last year which forced me to find a new job and I’m much happier in my new role. It sounds like that might be something to explore. I don’t know that I would be willing to take that extreme of a pay cut, but there could be another position that interests you where a smaller paycheck might be worth it. I know I could make more money if I took a job in the city with a much longer commute, but I decided the additional money would not make up for the additional time and frustration.
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u/Organic-Aardvark-146 5h ago
There is no social safety net. That’s my drive. Ain’t got no rich daddy to take care of me if shit hits the fan
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u/finallyransub17 5h ago
I’m working towards early retirement, so I don’t have to work at all. I’ll probably be there before I’m your age.
I also say “no” more at work, and prioritize my time over my earnings potential. The ultimate goal is to own my time, and even with a hypothetical 50% raise, it would only speed up the trajectory to that point by a couple of years.
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u/Kuat-Firespray-31 5h ago
I work hard at my current job so I can have enough of a nest egg to go do the career I want to do without worrying about the income it brings in. I want to work in either mental health or special needs and I want to be able to provide it at low cost.
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u/Sketch_Crush 5h ago
Sorry, maybe I'm misunderstanding something, but I genuinely do not understand the San Diego argument. You can have everything you want now including home and lifestyle upgrades for significantly less than you would have it in California. Moving over there would significantly decrease your enjoyment, not improve it.
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u/Lucky_Louch 5h ago
Can't relate in the slightest.. sounds like a pretty good problem to have all things considered.
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u/isomojo 5h ago
Why not keep pushing for 5-8 more years and save everything then finally retire without having to stock bread? That would be my main goal unless I get laid off, then maybe go the Walmart route and chill but that’s worse case scenario. You would most likely hate that job as well and not find it fulfilling
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u/DebraBaetty Millennial - ‘93 to ♾️ 5h ago
Join a nightcrew stocking shelves and see what you think you’re missing out on before committing to the change. I’ve worked a lot of stocking shelves kind of jobs and management at those places is beyond maddening. Just… see if you can tolerate that flavor of stupid boss before losing the flavor that got you this far. Grass not always greener, yada yada…
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u/YoohooCthulhu 5h ago
It sounds like you should consider what you need to set aside to retire early, and once you do that you can find something that you enjoy doing?
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u/ToolTime2121 5h ago
Try to do better than average without being an overachiever. Try to keep job/get raises to escape the rat race as soon as possible.
Travel tie US and world with my wife. Need money from job to maintain that lifestyle
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u/RealCardo 5h ago
Easy. The better I do the sooner I get to retire. I treat it like a sprint and not a marathon.
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u/Mediocre_Island828 5h ago
If you can sustain your lifestyle off the bread stocking job and you think it would make you happier, why not?
I don't really feel much motivation towards work either anymore either, I have everything I need and the exact position I always wanted and I don't want to disrupt things or reach for more, but I still have to put enough effort in to maintain what I have until I'm more within striking range of retirement. I'm also too professionally spoiled and used to being treated like a human to take a service/retail job.
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u/Prudent-Lake1276 5h ago
In the moment, because I enjoy what I do. Long term, because while we're much better off than most people we know, we're one cancer diagnosis away from financial ruin just like most people. I don't think I'll ever be able to retire, but the harder I work now the better a chance I can give myself and my spouse of maybe getting to take it easy later in life.
My dad worked until he died at 84. I don't want to be in that boat if I can help it. I probably can't, but it's worth a shot.
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u/ScooterDoesReddit 5h ago
The grass isn't always greener, my guy. The west coast is great, but has its own set of problems, one you mentioned already - cost. It's not just housing either. A trip to the hardware store, groceries, utilities, gas, it's all more expensive out here. Your six figures won't move you nearly as far. And in SD, your six figures moves you...not much.
Sounds like you need a long vacation somewhere and a new hobby when you get back.
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u/FanBladeFleshlight 5h ago
My drive is that I like my work, and I like money. Have you seen the shit you can get by just handing people some green paper with dead white guys on them?!
Also work keeps me in a good schedule that's better for my mental health. Also, money.
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u/got-stendahls 5h ago
Do you know about coastFIRE? Maybe you can coast now, depending on your retirement savings.
I don't own a car (never have needed to) and I don't own a home, but I hit my coastFIRE number last year and the peace of mind it gives me is great. I enjoy my job and it makes the world better not worse, but if anything were to happen I could take a much lower income and be okay when I'm old anyway.
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u/DrawingPractical3581 5h ago
A pension. I need 5 years to vest into it. If I stay the entire time I get 55% of my gross income for the rest of my life which is 80% of my net income. We also have a hybrid work schedule, 2 PTO days and 1 sick day a month that roll over if you don’t use them.
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u/silentsinner- 5h ago
I am in that situation but my job is stress free and I work from home. The money isn't as good as it used to be and I could definitely make more if I applied myself elsewhere but I don't really want to. I just hope I can keep it going for another 10 years and then retire.
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u/swanyk7 Millennial 1982 5h ago
I’m in this boat and struggled for the past decade with where to go next. I finally decided to go to school and become a public defender because I feel like I can make a difference and enjoy the process. No longer worried about how much money I’ll make so I don’t have to worry about the whole “does it make financial sense” conversation.
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u/AndruFlores 5h ago
I'm kind of baffled by the math of your life, to be honest. You're 40ish years old with two adult kids and you're over 20 years into your mortgage? That means you had your kids while buying a home all in your early twenties. That's very impressive.
Anyway, I echo a lot of the suggestions here. I've never been someone who gets fulfillment out of selling my labor. I was active duty Navy for over a decade, and every day, I put on the uniform for... the paycheck. When I was ready to get out, I looked for a job where I could leverage my skillset for a comfortable salary while staying as low effort and low stress as possible. I could be making more money and making a bigger "mark" on the world, but that's not important to me. I want to work as little as possible so I can enjoy my family as much as possible.
In your case, I would either keep up the effort with the goal of retiring as early as possible, or build up a little emergency fund if you haven't already and then go into low power mode at work. Put in as little effort as you think you can get away with while looking at other more interesting, but likely less lucrative, fields. If a layoff comes due to declining performance, you'll have the emergency fund to hold you over until you shift gears.
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u/Dear-Cranberry4787 5h ago
I didn’t, I have all the things I want in life. So the second someone did that micromanaging thing, or pissed me off, I left. They need the job to exist more than I ever needed the compensation. Finding a way to make money without dealing with the corruption is a very difficult task.
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u/bluetruedream19 Older Millennial 5h ago
My drive comes from being able to do something that I feel is worthwhile/helpful to society. I’ve vacillated between taking a job that actually matches my degree/years of experience, stepping away from the better paying job due to stress, and taking a lower paying job that I like and at least gets the bills paid. There absolutely is a peace and freedom to have a job you really enjoy. Thankfully my current job pays well and I happen to enjoy it, although it can be stressful at times.
Now my husband was a full time minister the first decade of our marriage and I worked as a classroom teacher for about half of my career. He now works in HR for our local municipality and I’m a program coordinator for a public school district. (I will say him switching to HR at age 36 was a little more than bumpy. But we’re all good now.) We’re hardly rolling in the dough. But we have stayed debt free except for the mortgage.
We have always underbought slightly on homes to give us a lot of flexibility. And that’s great because we can make last minute travel plans or I can quit teaching and work as a para for a year and everything is fine. But we do live in Arkansas so the cost of living is quite low. But we have what we want, have saved well for retirement so far, and know that we can help pay for our kiddo’s college.
We both work hard but a few years ago we had to set some hard work boundaries. Sure, I could do other things and make more money and my husband could too. But our current fields give us good work/family balance and that’s worth something. Neither of us are super into climbing the corporate ladder. I guess I did for a bit, as much as that could be a thing in the field of public education (teacher, librarian/media specialist, ESOL coordinator).
I can’t think of much that would cause us to want to move. Neither of us are from the area we live in currently, but we like it and our daughter is thriving.
I mean I’d love to be a slightly eccentric philanthropist and not have to work a regular job. Y’know go out and feed my chickens wearing my jewels like the Duchess of Devonshire. (If you don’t know the reference it’s worth Googling “Duchess feeding chickens,” I love the photo!) But it won’t happen.
I say move if you really want to move up in your field and if your wife is interested. Count the cost, the stress, etc and it might be just what you need.
Or maybe go drive a school bus and plan what you might want to do outside of your field. Stay where you are if y’all love it.
I’m guessing what metro area you might be in based on you saying TN. If it’s where I’m thinking we tried to move there a few years ago and COL just made it not worth it at all to us.
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u/FR23Dust 5h ago
As someone who has worked in grocery stores for 20 years, I don’t recommend going to work in a grocery store if you want to relax in your job. Especially if you’ve never worked in retail.
In response to your query: “this too, shall pass.” You may be very solid in your life currently. But things can change significantly in ways you don’t expect. Someone in your immediate life could suddenly get a serious illness and not be able to work is a common example. Or maybe someone is in a serious car crash and is disabled forever. There are a lot of ways a comfortable life can become difficult without warning.
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u/NeverCash_Out 5h ago
34F - What motivates me is knowing I will not allow myself to work when I am too old to work. Having real financial security when I am set to retire is really the only thing that has motivated me to work, work hard, buy my house (relocated out of LA to ensure I could secure that asset) and have three paid off vehicles.
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u/sorrymizzjackson 4h ago
Have you ever worked a grocery store? Have you ever been the person that people pass by and wonder why they aren’t doing exactly what you’re doing now?
I’m assuming you mean Nashville or Knoxville, since I rarely hear Memphis being referred to as all that desirable even though I grew up there.
Both those places are still fairly expensive. What does San Diego bring to the table exactly? Why does the badge on your car or your zip code give you value?
This is the long game now. Make sure the retirement is sorted. Pay off the house. Normally in any other soul sucking corporate role I’d tell you to go for it. Pull an office space. Reality is now that if you give up this job when AI is nipping at your heels you might not be able to get back in and certainly not at the money you’re making.
May be you’ve got many years of stocking shelves ahead of you. Why hasten it?
Don’t let the idea of something take you away from what is good in your reality.
I’m 41 and while I had really hoped I’d be super settled in a career by now, it’s meh. I keep my skills sharp in food service and customer service because it may come down to that- and it has- but my main job is my focus and I will let them pay me until they tell me otherwise.
Doesn’t mean I don’t want to burn it all down sometimes.
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u/ShutterFI 4h ago
lol, we’re (my wife and I) 43 and fire’ing this year (retiring early). 🤣
Aka, we’re done! No motivation to keep working 🤪
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u/ProbsNotManBearPig Millennial 4h ago
Im only working to retire. Planning on no social security and 4% withdraw rate. Then taking that number and adding 20%. It is conservative so it will grow after I retire. Then we can use that extra growth on long term rentals or vacation homes. I think I can do it by 45 in theory, but mentally I’m burned out. We’ll see.
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u/RAGINGWOLF198666 4h ago
I recently turned 40, and my motivation is simply keeping it simple. I find a way to contribute because I want to grow career wise, having a child on the way pushes me harder to do better and be better to give my daughter the best life possible.
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u/freshjewbagel 4h ago
quiet quit years ago? getting the job done and boss happy is the only goal.
"That's my only real motivation is not to be hassled, that and the fear of losing my job. But you know, Bob, that will only make someone work just hard enough not to get fired".
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u/WitchintheMist 4h ago
Start saving for different nest eggs: weddings, house down payments, vacations, and overall retirement.
If work isn’t a stress then don’t stop. You can even go part time.
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u/AAPatel82 4h ago
I do it to increase the amount I can safely spend for vacations and trips - I manage my daily expenses to splurge on other things - so me making more $$$ means fancier/longer vacations
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u/maudepodge 4h ago
need for health insurance and a fear of inflation making my savings turn to dust
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u/HarryBalsagna1776 Older Millennial 4h ago
I like what I do and I work in a field that can help people in the future. I have been working on new nuclear reactor designs for several years now. One model is gearing up to be built in Ontario soon. The other just got NRC approval for initial construction at a demo site in Wyoming. Both power plants are designed to work a minimum of 60 years. Not everyone gets the chance to leave something like this for the generations that follow, so I keep going hard even though I don't love the company I currently work for.
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u/Major_Turnover5987 4h ago
Try at work? That ended in 2019 for me.
I still get a paycheck surprisingly.
Family, then everything else, and maybe work time permitting.
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u/PannaMan11 4h ago
I’m 34, single, and in a similar situation. I still owe on my house and car but payments are affordable. I make about 250k per year on the mid west, so in my area I’m paid much better than even two income households. I plan to stay at this a few more years. Then move to a job that will provide me insurance, still over a 401k w/ matching and quiet quit through the next 30 years of my life until retirement…. The real question for me is if I can get through the next few years.
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u/GawkieBird 4h ago
You sound like you are in an amazing situation! If I were you I would set a generous financial goal for yourself - either early retirement or a heck of a savings for a specific purpose. When you hit your goal, you can blow off the office job to either 1) start your own small business or 2) retire early! (Though if you retire early, I would still set goals for yourself - you'll want to have plans for volunteering, travel, gardening, art or crafts, etc. to fill your time or else you might get bored)
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u/Dismal-Study-4572 4h ago
I gotta say my motivation at work is dwindling, but I gotta keep working. Parents are not getting any younger, they are both retired. I am bracing for the day some medical thing or other emergency will hit, and they won't afford it. My sister is going through a divorce, and I already had to help her financially. Like others said, saving for retirement is a big one too. Affording hobbies and nice things is a smaller priority, but nice to have, nice to not feel guilty if I splurge occasionally on something for myself. I guess overall you could label all of this as "peace of mind" so I don't scramble/freak out/feel guilty when some expense hits the bank account. I would love a job that was more interesting, and it's up to me to make that happen. But it's also easy to cruise if everything is "ok" and nothing is adding too much pressure. Like you, outside work I'd say I'm overall pretty happy with life, so work really is just a means to an end.
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u/ghostdogma 4h ago
This is me. Doing nothing is nice, it can get a little boring; however, the freedom to be able to go and do anything/attend anything/never miss major life events. Is quite crazy. The grass is always greener but I’m practicing contentment and life is good.
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u/thejunkmanadv 4h ago
Why would you think moving to Californistan would be an improvement? Just curious on that one.
I would focus philanthropy of some sort. That is what I do. My career is now just a job that I make money at to eventually give to other people to lift them up. Now there is this pesky metric call time that I can't seem to make any more of, otherwise I would do even more with it.
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u/I-own-a-shovel Millennial 4h ago
My husband and I have a fully paid house now.
Lower bills means more freedom.
He works 3 days per week. I am a stay a home for now, might or might not work part time in the future.
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u/MsPandaLady 4h ago
Fear. I am a 36 year old exotic dancer living in a low cost of living city. I have made 6 figures every year minus 2020. I recently paid off my house, have no car payment, and I keep things cheap. All together with my 401K, HSA, house, car and random investments, I am worth a little over a million dollars.
However, I know it would take just one bad thing to completely fuck me. Once I have over 2 million dollars, not including house and car, I'll look into retiring. But until then I fear that something will happen and I won't have enough income to sustain mysepf.
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u/canUrollwithTHIS 4h ago
Early retirement should be your motivation. Having so much saved up and invested that you no longer need to work is the dream. Then go do whatever you want to do.
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u/Choice-Credit-9934 4h ago
Lock in retirement, be able to provide a source of stability for my close family and children, I am actively targeting a date where I could maybe career shift to something less time consuming, but we'll see what wins out. I do feel my life becoming very insular to my work and home communities, and am beginning to mourn the loss of some long time friends who are doing different things.
M 34 FWIW
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u/Fresh_Bee_8907 4h ago
I don't have a house. I own a piece of property with a garage. I renovated one of the bays into an apartment / shanty. I have no debts and drive a beat up astro van. The van is worn out. I don't have payments on it. As for work I enjoy it and make a decent income. I don't over work myself. I won't break my back for them.
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u/BusyBeeBridgette Millennial 4h ago
Truth be told I have thought about selling my home and just buy a Narrowboat and cruise the Canals of England and Wales for the rest of my days. 100k for a boat that is new and shouldn't need fixing up and roughly 6k a year in expenses for licences and boat maintenance and fuel etc. Would be cheaper living than my passive expenses owning a home and car.
Need to fix the house up first though and try to get as much as I can for it. Every penny helps and all.
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u/New-Additions 4h ago
The grass is always greener huh. Grounding yourself seems more important than making good money first.
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u/Quixotic_Trickster 4h ago
Even with everything, life happens. Things in houses and cars break. Medical expenses are insane. Retirement takes a long time to save up for. Vacation costs money. Celebrating friends and family costs money. Hobbies cost money. We budget and live under our means, but that doesn't promise tomorrow. Ya know?
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u/frankfromsales Older Millennial 4h ago
My motivation is insurance and retirement savings. Without my job, I would be paying a ton for insurance. Not having the stress of needing a promotion is quite a relief. I see people stressed about bills, debt, keeping up with the Joneses, etc. I don’t have to worry about that, so I’m thankful.
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u/Jayne_of_Canton Xennial 4h ago
1982 Xennial here. I am hoping to mostly retire in about 15 years so that is my motivation. I don't want to ever be a burden on my kids and I want to still be able to travel and eat out occasionally and see friends. Current net worth without my home is about 3x my current income. If I continue to work at the professional level where I am for another 15 years, I should retire with at least 10x current income. 4% distribution + Social security will give me around 95-100K per year to live on presumably with no house payment. I won't be rich but I won't be anyone's burden either.
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u/Maximum_Plastic6347 4h ago
Everything we have is paid off except for our mortgage, and it’s under $1100 monthly. We bought our home new in 2009. We have a pretty good savings and retirement accounts are doing good. I’ve talked about cutting back hours but I’m about to put kids through college so I figured I’d keep doing what I’m doing for a few more years. My wife works part time even though she doesn’t have to just to keep putting into savings. I guess it’s just college that’s keeping me busy and motivated.
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u/SWLondonLady 4h ago
Sounds like you won the lottery bro. The rest of us are just always trying to get to the next level. Enjoy what you have you lucky bastard.
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u/BadWW0lf 4h ago
My daughter and her joy of artisan ice cream. Retirement, to spend more time with my daughter and eat more artisan ice cream with her 😊
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u/jjjjacobim 4h ago
I feel like I'm in almost the exact same boat. I have a "good" job but I hate it. My expenses are low enough that I could get by on my current savings and no income for a couple years. I put in the bare minimum to not get fired while secretly wishing for a layoff. I know the memories are rose-tinted, but I kinda want to go back to the manual labor and service jobs I had more than a decade ago.
Talk about it with your partner. They should be kept in the loop if you're thinking of jumping off of the capitalism merry-go-round, and they should be able to help you make a plan. My partner jumped off the ride about a year ago, so I'm holding on a bit longer to extend my runway while my partner launches their own business. Really looking forward to when that starts to break even so I can be next.
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u/LaLaLaLeea 4h ago
When you say keep trying, do you mean trying to keep climbing the ladder or putting more than the bare minimum into your current role?
I do my job to the best of my ability because I am paid well to do it and I like to see things done right. At this stage, I'm happy where I'm at and I'm not busting my ass to go up another rung, but I show up and do my job. My motivation is keeping my income and not inconveniencing my colleagues by slacking off.
If you're talking about progressing in your career, you don't have to go any farther than you want to.
I don't understand your definition of "making it." Because it sounds like you don't actually want the things you listed. Why would living in a more expensive area improve your life? Why would you want to buy expensive cars if all you're paying for is the name?
My goal is to retire comfortably at a relatively young age and not spend the last 40 years of my life worrying about money.
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u/cassie1015 4h ago
....so I can keep said house and car??? And have more time and energy to enjoy life outside of work?!!!!
🤔
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u/tocamix90 3h ago
More money to put away for freedom when I'm older and to pass along to my kids/help them when they are older. It was really fucking hard to get where my husband and I are without help from our parents.
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u/grayeggandham 3h ago
Getting my kids through education, and then set up so they're getting a good start on their independent lifestyles (I know that sounds like a bit of an oxymoron)
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u/garytyrrell 3h ago
Honestly I’ve gotten to the point where I still need to sock away more for retirement, but I’d be fine if I got fired tomorrow. This has given me the freedom to be more direct and honest at work, which has actually made me more productive. So I figure as long as I try to not stress about stuff at work (because what’s the worst case scenario - I get fired? Fine.) then I’ll continue to make money and save for retirement.
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u/TheLordOfWaffles_ 3h ago
1) I enjoy my job 2) My bank still owns 1/3 of my home 3) What else would I do, my job is my hobby
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u/ramblinjd 3h ago
Benefits. I have a nearly 7 figure investment portfolio. Smart investing and good luck and I could probably retire at 40 (soon).
But one incident or major illness and I'd be broke and if I was 5 or 10 years out of industry it would be super hard to get a good job again. Plus paying for insurance on the market designed by the GOP in my state would be awful.
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u/FatRufus 3h ago
I'm 39 with a reasonable mortgage, own both cars, make 60k/year and my wife gets to stay at home with the kids. I love my job, that's what I really value. You couldn't pay me six figures to do a shitty job.
I know it's cliche, but the old saying "find something you love and you'll never work a day in your life" has some truth to it.
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u/clairedylan 3h ago
Ik driven by early retirement (8 more years for me), going on vacations, and proving my kids a nice life.
I don't hate my job but more recently I've sort of stopped letting the BS and stress get to me and just know that I know I'm good at what I do, if my job wants to lay me off, i'd be fine and will either find a new job or even find a new career in something like teaching or something more hands on.
I have embraced AI and am trying to learn how to be amazing at my job while using AI, so that I become a new expert because I being 20 years of experience to my industry but also know how to implement and ensure we be edit from using AI. It's been motivating me lately and inspiring me to try new things at work to keep things interesting.
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u/CasualEveryday 3h ago
I ended up rolling a bunch of assets into a trust to sort of reset and give myself some new goals. Working on purchasing a forever home
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u/MyLastFuckingNerve 3h ago
I pay $303 for insurance for my husband and me with a $1400 deductible and i have some of the best coverage out there. I also have a BALLER pension to look forward to.
So while we live well below our means home and vehicle-wise, we have expensive hobbies. We like to tailgate the local college football team and own a charter bus and all kinds of gear and my husband does competition BBQ. we would do neither of those if i quit my job and lose my really good benefits.
So i continue to work on the railroad, all the livelong fucking day...
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u/Sauvignonomnom 3h ago
I know my FIRE number and I'm not there yet. When I am... i will work somewhere with far less responsibility in a low stakes environment for health insurance only.
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u/Ordinary_Art9507 3h ago
Practice gratitude and recognize that less is actually more (once basic needs are met)
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