I actually promoted "one more year" syndrome in the Navy. I joked all the time that I could get through 20 years 1 year at a time, but they want you to reenlist for 4-6 years and that's a hard sell when you've been at sea for the last 4 months straight or just spent the last 60 days working 12-hour shifts for INSURV.
One additional way I have heard the term golden-handcuffs used is that high income earners tend to start buying houses and cars dependent upon their paychecks. This leads to the inability to retire or quit without giving up those things.
I heard golden-handcuffs more like the job pays too much to get a new job that will eventually pay better, this lifestyle inflation hamster wheel description is so much more depressing lol.
Imagine after years of drudging through low-paying, menial jobs you finally find a job you can do consistently without quitting and it actually pays you fairly enough to find a nice lifestyle. I'd become addicted to such a sense of fulfillment and direction myself.
@@manjitkapri1816 I wish i was in that position but I am not. I was speaking hypothetically. I'm in the recently-quit-my-last-menial-job and don't know what the hell to do position
As someone who studies therapy, there is also the cycle of work as an emotional crutch. If you throw yourself into work, you don’t have to think about how unhappy you are, how unfulfilled you are, how lonely you are, how detached from the world or yourself you feel. It’s not an “addiction”, but it can play the same numbing role as drugs or anything else we might use to avoid confronting the painful things in our lives. And, as a note, the confrontation is the most painful part, but it is also when you can start to get out of the painful space you are in.
Unfortunately, this is me... I get overwhelmed by my feelings and thoughts so I end up asking if I can come in on the weekends so I can put my mind to work...
The problem is I hate working with “normal” people. Lots of office politics, backstabbing, power hungry managers, and favoritism/nepotism. You have to be incredibly lucky to find a job that you actually “love” these days with the way people are.
Every job until the last one I've always found a few outcasts to bond with. It really improves the perceived quality of your work. My current job I have 0 contacts. I barely know who my team is. I don't know any people outside my team and it just plain sucks.
“These days” omg your right politics, backstabbing, power hungry bosses, and nepotism is a completely new human phenomenon and hasn’t existed for the entirety of recorded human existance
I made 75k, in 2000 to 2001 at a stressful, fast-paced engineering job for USAF! 2002 I left that Job and worked as a bar tender in st Thomas and IT WAS THE BEST MOMENT OF MY LIFE!!! Friends, family, surfing, and freedom was my life! Unfortunately, all that was short-lived when a company offered me a 135k job in Norfolk in 2013. It was hard to turn down. I'm doing good now, but it was NOTHING compared to St Thomas. nothing comes close!
@@factorfitness3713I ask myself that question everyday now. Now I feel like a idiot because there are rumors of layoffs in my company and now I have golden handcuffs and DEBT!
You loved st Thomas cus of the people, not the job. That job is dead now. You will NEVER find those people again if you stayed bartending. People are more antisocial and passive now. Its exceedingly difficult to make worthwhile connections anywhere in life
I actually received a performance bonus from my previous job a year after I quit. That's how it should be. You worked for that bonus so even if you are no long are employed you still earned that payout.
Whatever the opposite of work addiction is, I have that. Seriously, when I get a week off my day job, I have to drag my brain kicking and screaming to get anything done at all. I have a "downtime" addiction.
I'm addicted to my work. Just so happens that I found a job as a carpenter which fulfils me emotionally, financially and spiritually. Can't ask for much more out of a job
@@H2daIzzo69 depends on whether or not they are self-employed. And their skills. I know of carpenters that are very good who can make up to £60-70000 but most are probably sitting at the £35000 mark
Your worth as a human being is measured by your productivity. Productivity also serves as status. No wonder people have trouble relaxing, retiring, etc.
'Work to live, not live to work' is my motto. I work a very stressful, albeit lucrative job however my team is very good about taking time off when you're getting burned out and we try to enforce taking at least one full week off a quarter. Burnout is very real, and it's miserable. What comes with burnout is working over 8 hours a day. I did that for a few years and my god does your productivity level absolutely crater after ~7hours, hit hour 10 - 12 and you're worthless. I'm by far most productive and sharp the first 3-4 hours of the day.
Honestly, as far as I know almost all productivity studies suggest similarly. If I have a difficult problem to deal with and it's not done by 3pm, it's probably not happening until tomorrow.
One of my biggest life advantages is that I spent time in the job market before I finished college. My best job then was working helpdesk for $12.50 an hour. Now I make much, much more than that, but I have already learned how to be happy with less. I was willing to keep my old lifestyle and stash the remaining money in my retirement fund. Fast forward fifteen years, and my small townhouse is paid in full and I'm planning for an early exit from the rat race. Meanwhile, some of my coworkers still can't work up a down payment because they won't live in less than 3500 square feet and ten acres.
It's not that simple. not every field allows for the ability to immediately begin saving and most get out of school with lots of debt. Not to mention the increase in housing has made it impossible for 80-90% of the country to afford now unless you're making $120k+ to even own a small town home. You made good choices, but are ALSO very fortunate. Even having someone talk with you about how to save for retirement is unusual. I'm not trying to shame you for your success, just reminding people not to look down on others for not having the same success, you don't know their situation and it's dangerous to assume.
@@cokebottles6919 I'm not looking down on people who can't get enough income to escape. Those are the people who need our help the most. Each day we sell another sliver of our soul to the Corporate Devil. We do it to pay the bills. Many don't have a way to fix this. But the median household income for 2022 is $70,181. A third of the country has six figures to work with. A lot of people have a way to fix this, and they do not use it. I'm looking down on the people who make way more money than I, yet complain they can't pay off their student loans. And they are doing this after we drove to the lab together in their brand new luxury car they purchased for the same amount as their remaining student loans. Yes. That actually happened to me. My coworker did that. I've also had the chance to witness two coworkers making the same stock complaints everyone makes about how the system is rigged against them... while knowing that one made six figures and the other made $40k. One of them I expect to have problems and need help. One I expect to fix his own problems. Each day we sell another sliver of our soul to the Corporate Devil. We do it to pay the bills. If you CAN escape the trap but decide you value a luxury car more than your own soul, then I pity you.
People feel uneasy about the future because all it takes is one accident or health issue. Then everything you've spent a lifetime earning can be wiped out in a few months.
I think the issue of *_identity_* @6:48 is right on. Their careers define who they are and how they see themselves. Many people take great pride in their job titles, the brand-name organizations they work for, and their high status at work (e.g., "I have 200 people under me."). Employers know that and feed it and the even higher-ups are all caught up in it themselves. I've seen them strut around the halls as if they are the in-house rock stars a bit drunk on their own perceived power and prestige. So, if they quit or take an early retirement, who are they then? Where does their perceived value come from?
And that's what keeps fairly useless management around longer than they need to be. They are so afraid to lose the identity they sacrificed so much for that they don't quite their job and inhibit others from having opportunities. And it would be different if they actually continued to grow in their roles, but they don't. They just ride the paycheck and the clout out while screwing over people to protect it. I have seen it too much in my career. I am actively working on building some kind of post-career life now so I know when it will be time to get out of the next persons way.
Exactly, they are people with mental problems. They define themselves by how much power they have over others. A sane and healthy person would be quite uncomfortable about being in a position that could have a potentially negative impact on those many people (plus their families). We need to start seeing them for what they are, sick people rather than role models.
I work 50-60 hours every week haven't called in a single day in almost 3 years and never use all my PTO, literally will loose 5.5 days of PTO this year... why do I work so much, because life outside of work is boring and lonely. No family, I live alone, and all of my friends are at work. Work is the only place I feel valued, respected, and socialize... when I am not at work I just sit around doing nothing alone in my house. My work ethic has propelled my career, made me some pretty decent money, and I enjoy my job... it has just come at the cost of a life and I don't know how to break the cycle...
I was a workaholic for 10 years. I was able to save for a house, but spent money on a bunch of bs. I have no friends, never dated before, never went outside or did anything. Now at 27 I got a job that allows me to work 4 days a week. My quality of life has done a 180. I feel like I lost my youth and now I need to get it back.
@@Capitanvolume I feel I'm going down a similar path as u, in the social department. I'm 24, depressed & have social anxiety, jus getting ready to commit myself to focus & learn how to start a biz. Let's not allow our social skills to hold us back! Do u have any tips for a hatchling about to leave the nest?
I deeply love your channel, I’ve recently brought myself on the journey of perpetual learning & your delivery plus the obvious motive to just impart knowledge is a huge draw for me. Keep doing what you’re doing & God bless you.
People underestimate the structure and purpose a job offers most people, even if your doing a shitty job it provides a structure , routine and a social circle cause most people at least like 1 person at their job, their likely adding real value of some kind no matter how small even your a fry cook. People I’ve known unemployed for extended periods aren’t out here living their best life, they are living with their parents smoking weed and doing small hobby stuff like video games and fishing, when I talk to them their not often happy about it and feel lost.
I have no job and am happy. I made enough money to live on without needing to work. I live simply but not with my parents. I have a social circle through hobbies and work on mutual aid projects for purpose.
I got a second job recently to save for a house (and also as a hedge against a possible recession induced layoff), and any time I told someone they would say something like "good for you!" when what I really wanted them to say was "my condolences" . How fucked up is our society's relationship with work that we believe that trading more of our time and freedom in for work is something to be admired? It would be one thing if I were a firefighter saving lives or something, but I'm just an office drone! The world isn't a better place for me working more, nobody is clamouring for me to fill in more spreadsheets, I'm not happier, about it, I'm not using the money to live out some wild and crazy dream. It's like they're cheering me on for being a masochist. "Look at him, stapling his balls to chair and dragging it around with him everywhere he goes, that shows real strength of character!" Don't romantacise this shit! Things are never going to get better if we keep letting them get worse and then normalising it!
Whenever someone tells me they have a second job, my first reaction is "Oh god, why? Do you really need it?" Or "Are you saving for something?" The side hustle culture is a horrible and disgusting disease and I wish it would die so people would realize they're being gaslit into believing needing a second job is normal when it is not.
That culture is created from the obsession of "creating more jobs" for people. The goal should be to create more quality jobs than mindless soul crushing zombie jobs just for the sake of employment statistics.
They are probably just being polite. Some people get second jobs because they love to hustle and not knowing if that is you, they don’t want to come off as pitying or condescending if you are proud of working that hard.
I had a 2nd job for a year, to also save for a house. After that year I had a deposit and quit the 2nd job once I purchased my first home. Was it worth it? Definitly. Did that house up and sold it for a profit. Now in a better house. Was given a good piece of advice - "A home can buy stuff, but stuff can't buy a home"
Saved for about a decade straight after I left high school, was the most miserly SOB throughout my USMC enlistment and civilian life. Saved/invested a massive egg, and as soon as I go to buy my dream house, the market crashes, house prices soar, and inflation goes sky high - just barely managed to get a home that popped up in the town over before my lease ended. I should be on easy street right now, but even though I have a house and became self employed, I can't shake the feeling that if I don't work I'll never be secure.
Couldn't be more true...... Just 11 months ago.... I was desperate to find a job in a field I want .... Then I got it.... You would think I would be happy.... Then I desperately wanted to get promoted from associate engineer to engineer.... Then I got that too in just 9 months.... Now I desperately want to get promoted to senior engineer.
I don't mind a workaholic, their lifestyle habits, and sense of purpose through their career. What drives me bonkers is that they think I should want the same for myself. I am not career oriented, my bills are paid and I'm ok with that. Good luck to everyone on the path that suits them.
It's what was happening where I used to work. When that factory opened, it used to be 8 hours for everyone with some Saturdays at work. With time two or three elements begun to overwork daily. 9 hours. 10 hours. With time people refusing to work as much as the "golden workers" were left home, replaced with people desperate enough to work 10 hours per day and all Saturdays (here's when I came in, 2011, just out of school, in full economic crisis). 3 years in, the "golden workers" begun to do 11 hours a day because "why not if you love your job". Except I hated that place with every inch of my body. 2 years later, contract did not get renewed as "I wasn't working up to management expectations". The standard was now 11 hours a day and if you didn't like it, you're out. The day they kicked me out has probably been one of the best days of my life. Wanna be a workaholic? Fine. But don't force everyone else to be one. We don't all want to waste our life to make our bosses richer.
@@Dexter01992 Wow, an early lesson! Thank goodness you didn't waste decades figuring it out. Sometimes, being dismissed really is the best fortune. I hope you're living well. It goes by so fast ;)
@@Dexter01992 My impression is that one of the roles of the labor unions, back when they still existed, was to prevent this type of expectation creep. I used to hear about some off those union rules when I was a kid, and think they were silly and absurdly restrictive . Seeing what has happened to workers, including white collar workers, since unions disappeared has made me realize why they had those rules though.
Agreed. Workslaves who try to enforce their slave morality onto others annoy me more than anything, especially the ones who are elitist in upper middle class or white collar positions.
Some it's not even that rent eats income like acid and it's hard to survive on groceries being their prices as there is barely even cheap bread now a days
I want to hear more about the 2nd type of workaholic the one from 6:46 - 8:09. It's so well said in the video and so scarily similar to my life. It feels like if you are not the first type of workaholic (someone who is addicted to their job because they truly love it) it is very easy to become the 2nd type (someone who has worked too hard for their achievements to let them go in order to mend other aspects of their life). It becomes so easy to dismiss friendships, relationships, family, mental health and all else when your most important and only asset is your career, it's worth too much to risk losing, and the competitive nature of such presitigious positions puts a lot of pressure on you.
I wouldn't quit because I like what I'm doing. I'd give it up in a heartbeat to work in F1 though. Another reason why I wouldn't quit working though is I need structure in my life and my job gives me that. I would only give up work if I could structure my life around something else I enjoy.
I live in a camper van and eat food that I prepare on my stove. I don't like to spend a lot of money eating out. I don't work a normal job anymore, but I can buy and sell enough free stuff that I find to pay for my hobbies. I sometimes wish I had some more homely luxuries like AC, but at the end of the day, without a rent or mortgage payment, you can do whatever you want whenever you want and wake up any time you feel like it. Nobody can tell you what to do (as long as you don't hurt anyone) - and this is how I like to live my life now. If I so desire, I can decide to drive out to LA and hang on the beach for a few weeks or get an extra roll in a film. If I decide I want to drive up to Montana and park at a lake and fish for a month, I can do that too (and so can you). If you decide you want to take a job for awhile, and your supervisor is a prick, you tell him to go get fucked. The possibilities are endless if you decide to "cut loose". Is it a drastic change? Sure, but we live in a drastic world now. At the end of the day, I decided not to kill myself making some corporate douchebag fat off of my labor.
I’m grateful to have one of those jobs where I really enjoy it and get paid pretty well for it. It’s still a challenge to keep spending in check because it’s so easy to pay for convenience when I’m not working so I can focus on the two things I care about: my family and my work. I’m not sure I am even interested in retiring.
My takeaway from this phenomenon is do whatever you can to preserve balance in your life, mental, physical, financial. Do not let your identity get tied down to anything, lest you become a slave to it.
Every decision has to be framed in terms of a choice: IF not A, then B. . If I'm not working, what will I do with the time when I would have been working? Will it be more enjoyable? Will I have the same amount of daily interaction with people I like and who are like-minded? Will I go fishing? Screw around on Social Media? Volunteer for a charity? Travel the world? . I think a lot of times it boils down to work forms much of our identity. What's the 2nd or 3rd question you ask someone new you're meeting? Usually, "What do you do for a living?" That's before we ask about the family, friends, hobbies, etc. . Also, working is something we do more than any other activity other than possibly sleeping. 8 hours/day * 5 days a week * 48 weeks per year (assuming you get vacation and holidays) = 1,920 hours annually. That's about 22% of your entire year or 1 minute out of every 5. It takes a LOT of hobbies and social time to fill that all in with something. Most of us don't have time to think "what would I do if I had 80 extra 24 hour periods of life to fill?"
People continue working (likely part time) after they can retire for a sense of purpose, structure, and desire to live a fulfilling life. Not for everyone of course. But there are definitely reasons
This is a great vid for those that don't already know about this type of work prison. I work in an industry/level/position that includes a lot of the things in this video. Kids out of college get sucked in by higher salaries, signing bonuses and RSUs. But the companies are in the highest COL areas in the country so that $150k total comp means they're renting an apartment, financing a vehicle (probably a Tesla because of course) and buying or worse yet financing other high $$ toys because that's what their peers/mentors do. And it only expands from there, very few pay cash for anything, so you see people making $300k+ a year with a $1.5M house, RV, 3 cars, a motorcycle and a watch collection all on monthly payments. And that $300k is probably half or less base pay as the vid mentions. The rest is stock vesting over time and a yearly or quarterly bonus so it trickles in and in some cases costs capital gains to access. I'm proudly the one living in the small 'affordable' house with no debts other than a reasonable mortgage but I'm the exception rather than the norm. I do like my job but once my kids are off to college I'm out. ;)
@@Bobrystoteles it seems like americans in general have poor money management skills. I have a part time job at a gas station and once in a while I'll see people decked out in jewelry who can't even afford a damn snickers bar or who are using food stamps to buy their items.
@Bobrystoteles life will change you, though. I was that one with the 68K mercedes SUV, coach and Louis shopping until I got married. My husband's business slowed way down and then his truck he used to haul broke down... needless to say my priorities changed. I paid off my SUV and we financed him a new truck and now I no longer shop 😅. It's difficult as hell to change your habits
@@kiaharper7172 That's the thing, our societal values have been hijacked by banks and marketers. They're very good at telling you that you'll be happy when you get that new rolex or LV purse, on the credit card of course. And if you make a little bit more, just buy the next tier up of stuff, on the card of course. And there is always another tier. For me the easy way to step outside that is to foster north star values that aren't tied to money or possessions. Family, health, maximum outdoor time in the mountains for me but could be anything really.
Don't confuse income (actions) with discipline (values). They are independent. The future belongs to the thrifty & disciplined who delay gratification. Many of them do not have high incomes but will retire early in comfort. Like you.
As an engineering student in their 6th and (hopefully) final year of their degree; I don't really see it becoming my life, thankfully. And a lot of it has to do with the journey leaving me very jaded. Also, I got very used to being told "no" when there was something I wanted as a kid, and it's left me with fairly simple tastes for the most part.
It will 100% become your life. Whether you like it or not. First getting out of school into an engineering job will most likely not be a cake walk. Once you get into some field you will need to learn everything about it. Sure schooling taught you some things, but there's still a lot more to go once you enter the job phase. Good luck out there.
I'm kinda stuck in a golden handcuffs situation, between income and benefits. I make right about $100k, but also get paid medical that's like an ultra platinum level plan. I've had cancer, and came through with nearly no debt. I've had musculoskeletal injuries that cost me next to nothing out of pocket, and even had a completely free vasectomy. Unfortunately, my body does not want to keep doing this, and I can't get a less physically demanding job that pays even close to this combo.
My grandfather was a nuclear physicist and professor, and he loved his job, and he declared that the day he retires is the day he dies. My dad follows the same thought process in chemical engineering. I've found the same line of work for myself in electrochemistry and molecular physics. I love my field, and though I'm saying this at a much younger age, I do see myself doing this for the rest of my life. I fully intend on taking care of all aspects of my life, because that's really important in the culture I come from, but I'm grateful that I found something where work became a labor of love.
It’s actually possible to burn out doing work that you love, so be careful. And if you go to work for a company, that enthusiasm can be used against you, particularly whenever there is a change in management. New managers usually charge in with the idea that everyone was slacking off before their arrival, and will want to “push you to the next level” even if you were already exhausting yourself and performing miracles daily.
@@aliannarodriguez1581 I've burnt out before, but I've had ways of dealing with that, both in therapy and in just regular life (something called the 42% rule, check it out if you like). And I am glad to say that I'm in a setting right now where I haven't had to deal with such management, but you're right. Constant vigilance. Thanks for that!
If hes a businessman, then its not work like most people. He just talks to people and walks around making executive decisions rather than laborious ones. To him its not working anymore, to him its a video game.
Many people think not working is the dream but it’s just a different form of hell. Life of mundane laziness becomes quite boring really fast. And it harms your mental well-being as well because work provides purpose and stamina
@Michael Andre nio I'm enjoying working under a platform that brings good return in my life and I've been making my weekly returns without stress all in crypto currency
There is ALWAYS a way to make money in this market! While the market has not been set to easy mode recently, there are still ft to flip, solid coins to stake, IDOs to ape into, trades to make, yields to farm. Never stop hustling for those gains!
I'm sure not anyone who is just starting out will be able to navigate the crypto space? I don't have the heart to see the bulk of my portfolio go from green to red.
@@ashleypeterson4168 I'd say invest in good projects and DYOR if you don't understand, Dollar cost average instead of going all in at once, so as to give you a good value for your money. Also i'd recommend seeking a fiduciary Financial Advisor who will guide, and show you the ropes as you are just starting out. I mean the likes of ''Mr Austin Nolan Thomas'' just like i did
@@lorenzochristensen9863 That's great, your investment advisor must be really good, I have seen testimonies of people using the help of investment advisors in making them more financially stable. Do you mind sharing more info on this person?
I've been unemployed, it was hell on earth. It's hard to imagine retirement being much different. I'm the type of person who needs the mental stimulation and human interaction of a job for my mental health. After 3 or 4 days off I'm ready to chew off my own leg rather than spend any more time on the sofa doing nothing.
that happens to peoole who are uncomfortable or unsatisfied with their own selves... when you get to know and accept your own you do not need anyone around you...
With $1 million in savings I can maintain my current lifestyle with a realized 4% average yearly inflation rate for only 25 years. That's sort of scary to thing about. However, if I invested said $1 million in an index fund that returns an average of ~7%, I can maintain it indefinitely until the economy completely collapses and even potentially grow my lifestyle expense by about ~30% each year before I start losing money. Might need to do some fancy dollar cost averaging to even it out, but still... Truly the greatest ponzi scheme of our time. $1 million USD will be chump change in 25 years.
This one addiction I'm most certainly not getting into or picking up anytime soon. I don't get any kind of validation from my job description and my inner circle won't despise me for not having a job. On the contrary, they would be very jealous and envious.
I'm pretty sure both my regular job and side gig [National guard] think I'm addicted to work because of how much OT I take/responsibility. [My job requires very little effort for both tbh]
This is not an addiction to a job. It's a system of not knowing what to do with oneself because our education system doesnt teach the discipline required to learn new skills, while fiat currency is constantly stealing your wealth, and therefore your time. So you always feel trapped in whatever you are currently doing, and it's hard to start something new, so you stay doing what you're currently doing even tho you're miserable. It's a system that creates misery in the world at all levels of income.
how about you give us the other 20 principles and understand that his philosophy was about detaching yourself from all things possible in this world. Maybe it worked for him, but not for everyone.
@@Not_Always the other 20 are important but that principle seemed to be what I felt was best at the time. You are right, not every principle is applicable for everyone. We all have our own destiny and how we wish to go about life as individuals is of our own choosing. The other principles that I remember are: - Do not act on a partial feeling. - Do not regret what you have done. - In all things have no preferences. - you can discard your body but you must preserve your honor. - In strategy you must take a close view of thing that a distant and a distant view of close things. At the moment that's all I can remember. I needed to reread his material.
Oi, oi. I watch your material because it's fun, interesting, it educates me, AND I love your sense of humor. I watch you instead of videos of kittens and puppies because I HAVE grown-up kittens and puppies. And I don't do the Kardashians, so, TAG! You are IT! And I'm grateful for your presence. It gets lonely in the office.
I was thinking how this applies to me: As a science teacher i could get a job as a lab tech on a nearby mine for 3 times more income (I live in remote Western Australia), but I do not because i already know it is not something i would enjoy. As a teacher I am addicted to the adrenaline of the class, in holidays I often get to the point I struggle to sleep because I am not getting the mental activity I need. As a father I am addicted to work because I need to earn an income for my family. My wife has a job, but it is significantly less than what i earn. I have spent a year not working before, living off welfare... and it was terrible, not because of the low income, but because it just felt terrible. So yeah, i am addicted to my work, and if i won the lottery tomorrow, I might reduce my hours, but I would still continue working
Dude to be honest all my teachers through high school were either mediocre minds or idealists who got trapped. Teaching kids the same material each year doesn’t seem that stimulating. It’s like playing poker with dogs. It impresses them, but I hesitate if you find it thrilling.
Yeah but you're a teacher... that's an essential job to our society, especially a science teacher. Most people's jobs are just bullshit, not really contributing to society, or rather detrimental to it. One science teacher is so much more valuable than 100 bankers, real estate investors, sports players, celebrities etc yet these are the type of shady non essential positions that are rewarded financially while people with important jobs like teachers, health care workers and sanitation workers etc get shit on by this twisted greed driven capitalistic society.
@@chihirostargazer6573 i know of a lot of teachers who teach because there is nothing else they can do. They want to get out but can not (or do not try). i am not one of them.
@@aluisious i teach science and physics, while some lessons are the same, i often mix it up due to different students and new developments in the area. I actually find it thrilling, the students recognise it too.
I'm just studying right now, and not working yet, but I would rather never retire completely(although vacations are a must have). More money you have, more stuff you can buy and more financially secure you are. After all, modern marriage doesn't worth it(unless you're orthodox jewish, muslim, amish or mormon), so I don't have to worry about spending too much time at work.
_"Money can solve a lot of problems"_ ... While being the source of almost all of it. People don't work because 'that's just what you do in life'. They do it because just living revolves around spending money, so you have to find a source to offset the costs and hopefully get some extra. Life's basic necessities have evolved to always require monthly, quarterly or yearly funding, so it's always a requirement to either have a large enough buffer or a source of steady income to offset this. Having a job is therefore a requirement just to live. As such, people don't live their lives anymore: they just subsist. What would a world based on personal skill and resource allocation look like, where all of life's basic necessities are covered?
I’m in category 3. I love having millions of dollars and intentionally low expenses. One-more-year syndrome can really get you though. That hits close to home.
8:45 it's terrible that a retirement contribution match is often one of these handcuffs. Most employers that even offer a 401k hold it back for 12 months.
@@NickVetter they save taxes in other ways. Also, it's more expensive for companies to hire replacements (if you choose to leave under a year or within a year) than it is to delay tax deductions.
@@otrebla8944 I'm not saying it doesn't cost them like any other benefit and personally I wouldn't want to work for a company that makes you wait a year.
Over here the law requires staff to be signed up to the corporate pension scheme in 90 days. You have to specifically opt out if you don’t want to join.
Yeah there's those who feel insecure of their money and not working, but coming from a family of workers, we also like to build things and work on projects and get them to be financially stable. I've also met others open small hobby business like craft or ice cream shops. even some volunteer, sponser or do mission work.
Your lifestyle expands to consume all available income. I’ve seen it too often. I tell folks who change for an increased pay to put the difference away in savings or to pay off the mortgage. Then they have something of meaning.
I believe a lot of direct deposit jobs can arrange to split the deposit between multiple accounts, allowing these people to just send the extra money directly into savings so they don’t have to be tempted by *Big Number* in their checking account.
Glad to see the highly skilled narrow technical role represented. Even keeping up with everything you're also one bad project from finding yourself retired too.
5:26 I cannot agree more. I saw many of my friends of uni inflating their lifestyles - "one penny in, on penny out". This is just nuts. People live through their spending, as if they were going to die, should they fail to demonstrate their social status. You don't go skiing? you're a bum. You don't go on vacations 2 full weeks? bum You don't buy new clothes every month? bum You don't change your car every 5 years? bum sorry, guys, I prefer to prepare my future AND to give money to charities.
"Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease! Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven." - Proverbs 23:4-5
Simple: I want a fancier kitchen :/ On a more serious note, people often get a sense of self worth from being high performers, especially in tech. And you can only become a high earner, high performer in tech if you've sacrificed pretty much everything else in your 20s. So work becomes all you're good at or where you have value. So once you made enough, slow down, make friends, go to the gym, pick up a hobby you ACTUALLY like (not like pottery or woodwork or other bs) and focus on the family.
I’m a reluctant workaholic. I have a high stress and high paying career. I work lots of mandatory OT and say yes to taking other peoples OT. But also I don’t have expensive tastes and save/invest a bunch of it. I’m hoping it pays off big years down the line.
If I had enough money to stop working, I wouldn't stop working. I would change what I did for work. I would love to do wood/stone sculptures for public parks and just earn beer money for the privilege, knowing everything else was paid off.
To be fair even if I do have enough money for a comfortable existence and retirement I did still choose to work. Maybe not full time but just enough to keep me active. I have seen people who gone to waste within just a year of retirement. Having something to do that demands some discipline will at least keep me from rusting.
This explains those numerous stories of movie actors who were never home with their families, like Bing Crosby. This also explains why some actors suddenly give up successful careers to spend more time with their families, like Lucas Black (CSI New Orleans).
There's a 4th, and I've seen it a lot for low income people. I work with dozens of them. It's confusing, but they believe work is an obligation, their way to contribute to society. It's beyond reason. These people will show up, and hurt, and even die but they'll do it begrudgingly and without fail. They'll do it harder than anyone even asked or wants. Very weird group.
Oh man, this is a great video! This is exactly what I didn't what to have happen. I became financially retired at 54 and investment income is multiple times my expenses. I still run my aluminum manufacturing company for fun and the income could go to 0 and I wouldn't be affected. 0 debt period and sitting by my pool at my home in Florida writing this. Live below your means now....or you'll never retire. I know so many people with the golden handcuffs....don't be one of them!
As long as you live where food doesn't cost 100 a week Id say you are right but many places food is at least 100 a week that adds up and don't forget rent traps how they raise up because they don't cap them
Thank god I dont live check to check. I saved and invested my money early mostly to escape my controlling father so having money young was the middle finger of the time.
In my career, I specialized in hi tech start up and expanding operations and in high demand. After owning my own company in a different field for fifteen years, I can’t command the same 6 figure income.
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I actually promoted "one more year" syndrome in the Navy.
I joked all the time that I could get through 20 years 1 year at a time, but they want you to reenlist for 4-6 years and that's a hard sell when you've been at sea for the last 4 months straight or just spent the last 60 days working 12-hour shifts for INSURV.
The goal is to set up your entire family for generations! It starts with goals, living below your means, saving and investing and making it happen!
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I have all the symptoms of a workaholic but I am proud to say I am 3 months sober (unemployed)
Am 3 weeks in
workahol is a hell of a drug, godspeed
Congratulations
Fun comment 😄
Hope I can use it one day
You’re an inspiration, gives me hope that one day I can put my energy back into things that really matter (posting online)
One additional way I have heard the term golden-handcuffs used is that high income earners tend to start buying houses and cars dependent upon their paychecks. This leads to the inability to retire or quit without giving up those things.
That is exactly correct! A lot of doctors and dentists I know have this problem.
Lifestyle inflation
If I get golden handcuffs it wont be a car it will be travel or my kid that would be why. Kids not born yet though.
I heard golden-handcuffs more like the job pays too much to get a new job that will eventually pay better, this lifestyle inflation hamster wheel description is so much more depressing lol.
Imagine after years of drudging through low-paying, menial jobs you finally find a job you can do consistently without quitting and it actually pays you fairly enough to find a nice lifestyle. I'd become addicted to such a sense of fulfillment and direction myself.
Exactly. That’s exactly where I am as well.
I was there, until I got seriously ill 😢
@@manjitkapri1816 I wish i was in that position but I am not. I was speaking hypothetically. I'm in the recently-quit-my-last-menial-job and don't know what the hell to do position
Lowkey work is nice to balance out your life
This is exactly me😭🤣
As someone who studies therapy, there is also the cycle of work as an emotional crutch. If you throw yourself into work, you don’t have to think about how unhappy you are, how unfulfilled you are, how lonely you are, how detached from the world or yourself you feel. It’s not an “addiction”, but it can play the same numbing role as drugs or anything else we might use to avoid confronting the painful things in our lives.
And, as a note, the confrontation is the most painful part, but it is also when you can start to get out of the painful space you are in.
Unfortunately, this is me... I get overwhelmed by my feelings and thoughts so I end up asking if I can come in on the weekends so I can put my mind to work...
This
That's a really good analysis
The problem is I hate working with “normal” people. Lots of office politics, backstabbing, power hungry managers, and favoritism/nepotism. You have to be incredibly lucky to find a job that you actually “love” these days with the way people are.
thanks you Jokerpilled for this very relevant comment 👍
Every job until the last one I've always found a few outcasts to bond with. It really improves the perceived quality of your work.
My current job I have 0 contacts. I barely know who my team is. I don't know any people outside my team and it just plain sucks.
@@SyntheticFuture you’re a lucky man 👌
“These days” omg your right politics, backstabbing, power hungry bosses, and nepotism is a completely new human phenomenon and hasn’t existed for the entirety of recorded human existance
"I can't adapt to societal standards, so I'll just blame every other person instead"
Decent pay (not necessarily the top), decent manager and small team of people with similar work ethics is the dream at any job.
For sure
I made 75k, in 2000 to 2001 at a stressful, fast-paced engineering job for USAF!
2002 I left that Job and worked as a bar tender in st Thomas and IT WAS THE BEST MOMENT OF MY LIFE!!!
Friends, family, surfing, and freedom was my life!
Unfortunately, all that was short-lived when a company offered me a 135k job in Norfolk in 2013. It was hard to turn down.
I'm doing good now, but it was NOTHING compared to St Thomas. nothing comes close!
If nothing compares to St. Thomas, why are you in Norfolk?
@klarname4673 That is so true. Sometimes I wish that Norfolk job never called me, because now I'm alone with lots of money.
@@factorfitness3713I ask myself that question everyday now. Now I feel like a idiot because there are rumors of layoffs in my company and now I have golden handcuffs and DEBT!
Nice
You loved st Thomas cus of the people, not the job.
That job is dead now. You will NEVER find those people again if you stayed bartending.
People are more antisocial and passive now. Its exceedingly difficult to make worthwhile connections anywhere in life
I actually received a performance bonus from my previous job a year after I quit. That's how it should be. You worked for that bonus so even if you are no long are employed you still earned that payout.
You get bonuses? Definitely not in edu!
@@rusticitas customer service. I'm fairly sure my wage with performance bonuses was lower than yours 😂
Whatever the opposite of work addiction is, I have that. Seriously, when I get a week off my day job, I have to drag my brain kicking and screaming to get anything done at all. I have a "downtime" addiction.
Sounds like burnout
Been riding burn out for the past 4 years and am genuinely in no position to solve it. Maybe one day
I'm addicted to my work. Just so happens that I found a job as a carpenter which fulfils me emotionally, financially and spiritually. Can't ask for much more out of a job
How much do carpenters usually make
@@H2daIzzo69 depends on whether or not they are self-employed. And their skills. I know of carpenters that are very good who can make up to £60-70000 but most are probably sitting at the £35000 mark
I wish I could be a carpenter. It just doesn't support my life goals though. sigh.
I believe there was another spiritual carpenter who made a pretty good name for himself.
The goal is to set up your entire family for generations! It starts with goals, living below your means, saving and investing and making it happen!
Your worth as a human being is measured by your productivity. Productivity also serves as status. No wonder people have trouble relaxing, retiring, etc.
Not really, the highest status people are not productive at all
'Work to live, not live to work' is my motto. I work a very stressful, albeit lucrative job however my team is very good about taking time off when you're getting burned out and we try to enforce taking at least one full week off a quarter. Burnout is very real, and it's miserable. What comes with burnout is working over 8 hours a day. I did that for a few years and my god does your productivity level absolutely crater after ~7hours, hit hour 10 - 12 and you're worthless. I'm by far most productive and sharp the first 3-4 hours of the day.
Yup and if you have a job that gives you the weekend off it’s all the better. Work 10 hours every day Monday to Friday and then enjoy the weekend.
Honestly, as far as I know almost all productivity studies suggest similarly. If I have a difficult problem to deal with and it's not done by 3pm, it's probably not happening until tomorrow.
Never underestimate a well timed break!
@@Cesarhiguera664 how did you just agree to what he said and then say 10 hours?
@Roberto Vidal Garcia OT and also idk about other states but in California it’s more than welcome
One of my biggest life advantages is that I spent time in the job market before I finished college. My best job then was working helpdesk for $12.50 an hour. Now I make much, much more than that, but I have already learned how to be happy with less. I was willing to keep my old lifestyle and stash the remaining money in my retirement fund. Fast forward fifteen years, and my small townhouse is paid in full and I'm planning for an early exit from the rat race. Meanwhile, some of my coworkers still can't work up a down payment because they won't live in less than 3500 square feet and ten acres.
It's not that simple. not every field allows for the ability to immediately begin saving and most get out of school with lots of debt. Not to mention the increase in housing has made it impossible for 80-90% of the country to afford now unless you're making $120k+ to even own a small town home. You made good choices, but are ALSO very fortunate. Even having someone talk with you about how to save for retirement is unusual.
I'm not trying to shame you for your success, just reminding people not to look down on others for not having the same success, you don't know their situation and it's dangerous to assume.
@@cokebottles6919 I'm not looking down on people who can't get enough income to escape. Those are the people who need our help the most.
Each day we sell another sliver of our soul to the Corporate Devil. We do it to pay the bills.
Many don't have a way to fix this. But the median household income for 2022 is $70,181. A third of the country has six figures to work with. A lot of people have a way to fix this, and they do not use it.
I'm looking down on the people who make way more money than I, yet complain they can't pay off their student loans. And they are doing this after we drove to the lab together in their brand new luxury car they purchased for the same amount as their remaining student loans.
Yes. That actually happened to me. My coworker did that.
I've also had the chance to witness two coworkers making the same stock complaints everyone makes about how the system is rigged against them... while knowing that one made six figures and the other made $40k.
One of them I expect to have problems and need help. One I expect to fix his own problems.
Each day we sell another sliver of our soul to the Corporate Devil. We do it to pay the bills. If you CAN escape the trap but decide you value a luxury car more than your own soul, then I pity you.
wooooowwwww; thanks a million for the inspiration, will definitely keep in mind to live frugally throughout my college years!
People feel uneasy about the future because all it takes is one accident or health issue. Then everything you've spent a lifetime earning can be wiped out in a few months.
Especially so in the US
Wish I had golden handcuffs! Right now my handcuffs are the health insurance. New jobs = 90 days no insurance, 1 year no retirement
I think the issue of *_identity_* @6:48 is right on. Their careers define who they are and how they see themselves. Many people take great pride in their job titles, the brand-name organizations they work for, and their high status at work (e.g., "I have 200 people under me."). Employers know that and feed it and the even higher-ups are all caught up in it themselves. I've seen them strut around the halls as if they are the in-house rock stars a bit drunk on their own perceived power and prestige. So, if they quit or take an early retirement, who are they then? Where does their perceived value come from?
And that's what keeps fairly useless management around longer than they need to be. They are so afraid to lose the identity they sacrificed so much for that they don't quite their job and inhibit others from having opportunities. And it would be different if they actually continued to grow in their roles, but they don't. They just ride the paycheck and the clout out while screwing over people to protect it. I have seen it too much in my career. I am actively working on building some kind of post-career life now so I know when it will be time to get out of the next persons way.
Exactly. It’s a big part of the reason why it was so hard to quit investment banking.
@@HowMoneyWorks Well, congratulations on your freedom. You're a free man now!
Exactly, they are people with mental problems. They define themselves by how much power they have over others. A sane and healthy person would be quite uncomfortable about being in a position that could have a potentially negative impact on those many people (plus their families). We need to start seeing them for what they are, sick people rather than role models.
I work 50-60 hours every week haven't called in a single day in almost 3 years and never use all my PTO, literally will loose 5.5 days of PTO this year... why do I work so much, because life outside of work is boring and lonely. No family, I live alone, and all of my friends are at work. Work is the only place I feel valued, respected, and socialize... when I am not at work I just sit around doing nothing alone in my house. My work ethic has propelled my career, made me some pretty decent money, and I enjoy my job... it has just come at the cost of a life and I don't know how to break the cycle...
Jesus loves you!
My boss is a workaholic and he expects people under him to have the same commitment to our jobs. It sucks beyond belief.
Fuck him, stand on your principles of not making your job more important than your personal life.
Iv heard the same thing from people under elon musk lmfao.
Hes autistic and operates his company like a passion project.
$1M is not enough to retire in most big cities on the East and West Coast. It actually takes $1.7M+ to retire in places like NYC or DC.
People have $10 million don’t retire.
I was a workaholic for 10 years. I was able to save for a house, but spent money on a bunch of bs. I have no friends, never dated before, never went outside or did anything. Now at 27 I got a job that allows me to work 4 days a week. My quality of life has done a 180. I feel like I lost my youth and now I need to get it back.
I can definitely identify with this. I’m 37 and my whole 20s was spent working. I now usually work 100 days straight before taking a week off.
lost your youth? you re 27, as long as you re in decent health its a perfect situation. almost 2/3's of your life left
@Roberto Vidal Garcia I got my 100k at 24. It wasn't worth it. I have 2 sports cars tho. Not budget at all.
@@azorahigh3218 not really. I have missed out on learning social skills and now my anxiety is so bad I can't do it.
@@Capitanvolume I feel I'm going down a similar path as u, in the social department. I'm 24, depressed & have social anxiety, jus getting ready to commit myself to focus & learn how to start a biz. Let's not allow our social skills to hold us back! Do u have any tips for a hatchling about to leave the nest?
This video misses the mark on comparing whether to be addicted to work or to be struggling to even pay the bills with a highly insecure job.
I deeply love your channel, I’ve recently brought myself on the journey of perpetual learning & your delivery plus the obvious motive to just impart knowledge is a huge draw for me. Keep doing what you’re doing & God bless you.
This has to be one of my favorite videos. So beautifully said and explained. Love the awareness that comes from considering this perspective.
Just let that sink in.
In a time when most American workers can't even hope to comfortably retire.
Why is that?
People underestimate the structure and purpose a job offers most people, even if your doing a shitty job it provides a structure , routine and a social circle cause most people at least like 1 person at their job, their likely adding real value of some kind no matter how small even your a fry cook. People I’ve known unemployed for extended periods aren’t out here living their best life, they are living with their parents smoking weed and doing small hobby stuff like video games and fishing, when I talk to them their not often happy about it and feel lost.
100 percent yes.
Video games and fishing sounds great thanks
They sure have little satisfaction from their free time or life outside their job.
Thats why i never want to retire i hve been on ssi for years and i have felt lack of purpose tothe point i consider it synonamous with retirement
I have no job and am happy. I made enough money to live on without needing to work. I live simply but not with my parents. I have a social circle through hobbies and work on mutual aid projects for purpose.
I got a second job recently to save for a house (and also as a hedge against a possible recession induced layoff), and any time I told someone they would say something like "good for you!" when what I really wanted them to say was "my condolences" . How fucked up is our society's relationship with work that we believe that trading more of our time and freedom in for work is something to be admired? It would be one thing if I were a firefighter saving lives or something, but I'm just an office drone! The world isn't a better place for me working more, nobody is clamouring for me to fill in more spreadsheets, I'm not happier, about it, I'm not using the money to live out some wild and crazy dream.
It's like they're cheering me on for being a masochist. "Look at him, stapling his balls to chair and dragging it around with him everywhere he goes, that shows real strength of character!" Don't romantacise this shit! Things are never going to get better if we keep letting them get worse and then normalising it!
Whenever someone tells me they have a second job, my first reaction is "Oh god, why? Do you really need it?" Or "Are you saving for something?" The side hustle culture is a horrible and disgusting disease and I wish it would die so people would realize they're being gaslit into believing needing a second job is normal when it is not.
That culture is created from the obsession of "creating more jobs" for people. The goal should be to create more quality jobs than mindless soul crushing zombie jobs just for the sake of employment statistics.
You gotta find friends who are more connected with the fact we are mortal and wasting our precious lives making other people rich.
They are probably just being polite. Some people get second jobs because they love to hustle and not knowing if that is you, they don’t want to come off as pitying or condescending if you are proud of working that hard.
I had a 2nd job for a year, to also save for a house. After that year I had a deposit and quit the 2nd job once I purchased my first home. Was it worth it? Definitly. Did that house up and sold it for a profit. Now in a better house. Was given a good piece of advice - "A home can buy stuff, but stuff can't buy a home"
Saved for about a decade straight after I left high school, was the most miserly SOB throughout my USMC enlistment and civilian life. Saved/invested a massive egg, and as soon as I go to buy my dream house, the market crashes, house prices soar, and inflation goes sky high - just barely managed to get a home that popped up in the town over before my lease ended.
I should be on easy street right now, but even though I have a house and became self employed, I can't shake the feeling that if I don't work I'll never be secure.
@@zUJ7EjVD insanely wrong, UBi will just raise basic goods by that much. You socialists never think these things through
House prices don't soar when the market crashes. A crash means they've gone down. The problem is the opposite. The economy is too strong.
Yup
@@zUJ7EjVD you're out here throwing nothing but truth
Well you messed up by buying a house at the worst time. The recession will wipe you out if you don’t prepare.
Couldn't be more true...... Just 11 months ago.... I was desperate to find a job in a field I want .... Then I got it.... You would think I would be happy.... Then I desperately wanted to get promoted from associate engineer to engineer.... Then I got that too in just 9 months.... Now I desperately want to get promoted to senior engineer.
Did you seat down and ask yourself why?
Im sorry but this is more of an internal problem than society itself
I don't mind a workaholic, their lifestyle habits, and sense of purpose through their career. What drives me bonkers is that they think I should want the same for myself. I am not career oriented, my bills are paid and I'm ok with that. Good luck to everyone on the path that suits them.
It's what was happening where I used to work. When that factory opened, it used to be 8 hours for everyone with some Saturdays at work. With time two or three elements begun to overwork daily. 9 hours. 10 hours. With time people refusing to work as much as the "golden workers" were left home, replaced with people desperate enough to work 10 hours per day and all Saturdays (here's when I came in, 2011, just out of school, in full economic crisis). 3 years in, the "golden workers" begun to do 11 hours a day because "why not if you love your job". Except I hated that place with every inch of my body. 2 years later, contract did not get renewed as "I wasn't working up to management expectations". The standard was now 11 hours a day and if you didn't like it, you're out. The day they kicked me out has probably been one of the best days of my life.
Wanna be a workaholic? Fine. But don't force everyone else to be one. We don't all want to waste our life to make our bosses richer.
@@Dexter01992 Wow, an early lesson! Thank goodness you didn't waste decades figuring it out. Sometimes, being dismissed really is the best fortune. I hope you're living well. It goes by so fast ;)
Unless they are running their own businesses, its morally unethical to work extra hard for unpaid overtime.
@@Dexter01992 My impression is that one of the roles of the labor unions, back when they still existed, was to prevent this type of expectation creep. I used to hear about some off those union rules when I was a kid, and think they were silly and absurdly restrictive . Seeing what has happened to workers, including white collar workers, since unions disappeared has made me realize why they had those rules though.
Agreed. Workslaves who try to enforce their slave morality onto others annoy me more than anything, especially the ones who are elitist in upper middle class or white collar positions.
People want to keep up with the Jones too much. Nothing wrong with having nice things but people care too much what others think.
Very true. I see it all the time.
Some it's not even that rent eats income like acid and it's hard to survive on groceries being their prices as there is barely even cheap bread now a days
Honey wake up, How Money Works just posted a new video.
I want to hear more about the 2nd type of workaholic the one from 6:46 - 8:09. It's so well said in the video and so scarily similar to my life. It feels like if you are not the first type of workaholic (someone who is addicted to their job because they truly love it) it is very easy to become the 2nd type (someone who has worked too hard for their achievements to let them go in order to mend other aspects of their life). It becomes so easy to dismiss friendships, relationships, family, mental health and all else when your most important and only asset is your career, it's worth too much to risk losing, and the competitive nature of such presitigious positions puts a lot of pressure on you.
My dad was a workaholic. It never did him any favors and his children grew up to despise him
I wouldn't quit because I like what I'm doing. I'd give it up in a heartbeat to work in F1 though. Another reason why I wouldn't quit working though is I need structure in my life and my job gives me that. I would only give up work if I could structure my life around something else I enjoy.
I live in a camper van and eat food that I prepare on my stove. I don't like to spend a lot of money eating out. I don't work a normal job anymore, but I can buy and sell enough free stuff that I find to pay for my hobbies. I sometimes wish I had some more homely luxuries like AC, but at the end of the day, without a rent or mortgage payment, you can do whatever you want whenever you want and wake up any time you feel like it. Nobody can tell you what to do (as long as you don't hurt anyone) - and this is how I like to live my life now. If I so desire, I can decide to drive out to LA and hang on the beach for a few weeks or get an extra roll in a film. If I decide I want to drive up to Montana and park at a lake and fish for a month, I can do that too (and so can you). If you decide you want to take a job for awhile, and your supervisor is a prick, you tell him to go get fucked. The possibilities are endless if you decide to "cut loose". Is it a drastic change? Sure, but we live in a drastic world now. At the end of the day, I decided not to kill myself making some corporate douchebag fat off of my labor.
I’m grateful to have one of those jobs where I really enjoy it and get paid pretty well for it.
It’s still a challenge to keep spending in check because it’s so easy to pay for convenience when I’m not working so I can focus on the two things I care about: my family and my work.
I’m not sure I am even interested in retiring.
I started my own business so I could be my own boss and choose my own hours.
Now I work more than ever 😅
Yep that’s how it goes for entrepreneurs 😅
My takeaway from this phenomenon is do whatever you can to preserve balance in your life, mental, physical, financial. Do not let your identity get tied down to anything, lest you become a slave to it.
My golden hand cuffs: a DB Pension. It wasn’t easy to earn - but it paid off HUGE.
Every decision has to be framed in terms of a choice: IF not A, then B.
.
If I'm not working, what will I do with the time when I would have been working? Will it be more enjoyable? Will I have the same amount of daily interaction with people I like and who are like-minded? Will I go fishing? Screw around on Social Media? Volunteer for a charity? Travel the world?
.
I think a lot of times it boils down to work forms much of our identity. What's the 2nd or 3rd question you ask someone new you're meeting? Usually, "What do you do for a living?" That's before we ask about the family, friends, hobbies, etc.
.
Also, working is something we do more than any other activity other than possibly sleeping. 8 hours/day * 5 days a week * 48 weeks per year (assuming you get vacation and holidays) = 1,920 hours annually. That's about 22% of your entire year or 1 minute out of every 5. It takes a LOT of hobbies and social time to fill that all in with something. Most of us don't have time to think "what would I do if I had 80 extra 24 hour periods of life to fill?"
People continue working (likely part time) after they can retire for a sense of purpose, structure, and desire to live a fulfilling life. Not for everyone of course. But there are definitely reasons
Or if you're like me and don't have friends, working a lot is the only thing that keeps you sane
This is a great vid for those that don't already know about this type of work prison. I work in an industry/level/position that includes a lot of the things in this video. Kids out of college get sucked in by higher salaries, signing bonuses and RSUs. But the companies are in the highest COL areas in the country so that $150k total comp means they're renting an apartment, financing a vehicle (probably a Tesla because of course) and buying or worse yet financing other high $$ toys because that's what their peers/mentors do. And it only expands from there, very few pay cash for anything, so you see people making $300k+ a year with a $1.5M house, RV, 3 cars, a motorcycle and a watch collection all on monthly payments. And that $300k is probably half or less base pay as the vid mentions. The rest is stock vesting over time and a yearly or quarterly bonus so it trickles in and in some cases costs capital gains to access. I'm proudly the one living in the small 'affordable' house with no debts other than a reasonable mortgage but I'm the exception rather than the norm. I do like my job but once my kids are off to college I'm out. ;)
@@Bobrystoteles it seems like americans in general have poor money management skills. I have a part time job at a gas station and once in a while I'll see people decked out in jewelry who can't even afford a damn snickers bar or who are using food stamps to buy their items.
Shit is so much more expensive 😩 paying cash is difficult but I would say doable if you're living UNDER your means.
@Bobrystoteles life will change you, though. I was that one with the 68K mercedes SUV, coach and Louis shopping until I got married. My husband's business slowed way down and then his truck he used to haul broke down... needless to say my priorities changed. I paid off my SUV and we financed him a new truck and now I no longer shop 😅. It's difficult as hell to change your habits
@@kiaharper7172 That's the thing, our societal values have been hijacked by banks and marketers. They're very good at telling you that you'll be happy when you get that new rolex or LV purse, on the credit card of course. And if you make a little bit more, just buy the next tier up of stuff, on the card of course. And there is always another tier. For me the easy way to step outside that is to foster north star values that aren't tied to money or possessions. Family, health, maximum outdoor time in the mountains for me but could be anything really.
Don't confuse income (actions) with discipline (values). They are independent. The future belongs to the thrifty & disciplined who delay gratification. Many of them do not have high incomes but will retire early in comfort. Like you.
As an engineering student in their 6th and (hopefully) final year of their degree; I don't really see it becoming my life, thankfully. And a lot of it has to do with the journey leaving me very jaded. Also, I got very used to being told "no" when there was something I wanted as a kid, and it's left me with fairly simple tastes for the most part.
6th year gang let's go.
It will 100% become your life. Whether you like it or not. First getting out of school into an engineering job will most likely not be a cake walk. Once you get into some field you will need to learn everything about it. Sure schooling taught you some things, but there's still a lot more to go once you enter the job phase. Good luck out there.
@@givenfool6169 as a software engineer that gun in my drawer is looking very seducing right now.
I really like you content and tone of delivery. 💯 honesty.😂😂
I'm kinda stuck in a golden handcuffs situation, between income and benefits. I make right about $100k, but also get paid medical that's like an ultra platinum level plan. I've had cancer, and came through with nearly no debt. I've had musculoskeletal injuries that cost me next to nothing out of pocket, and even had a completely free vasectomy. Unfortunately, my body does not want to keep doing this, and I can't get a less physically demanding job that pays even close to this combo.
My grandfather was a nuclear physicist and professor, and he loved his job, and he declared that the day he retires is the day he dies. My dad follows the same thought process in chemical engineering. I've found the same line of work for myself in electrochemistry and molecular physics. I love my field, and though I'm saying this at a much younger age, I do see myself doing this for the rest of my life. I fully intend on taking care of all aspects of my life, because that's really important in the culture I come from, but I'm grateful that I found something where work became a labor of love.
I could not if I tried be more envious of you and your ancestors. I hope you get to enjoy your work for as long as possible!
@@KingUnKaged I fully intend on it! And I hope you're able to find a passion that can sustain you as well!
It’s actually possible to burn out doing work that you love, so be careful. And if you go to work for a company, that enthusiasm can be used against you, particularly whenever there is a change in management. New managers usually charge in with the idea that everyone was slacking off before their arrival, and will want to “push you to the next level” even if you were already exhausting yourself and performing miracles daily.
@@aliannarodriguez1581 I've burnt out before, but I've had ways of dealing with that, both in therapy and in just regular life (something called the 42% rule, check it out if you like). And I am glad to say that I'm in a setting right now where I haven't had to deal with such management, but you're right. Constant vigilance. Thanks for that!
I wish I could be born a nerd. Easiest life on earth. You have the brain and proclivities to be in high paying fields
My dad is a rich businessman and he is soo addicted to work that he can't sit and relax even in Holidays!
If hes a businessman, then its not work like most people.
He just talks to people and walks around making executive decisions rather than laborious ones.
To him its not working anymore, to him its a video game.
@@honkhonk8009 you make it sound like it's easy work
0:35 That's a clip from Dave! I love that movie!
5:37 Another one :D
I just get bored out of my mind when I do nothing for more than two weeks so I inevitably have to get back to work
Many people think not working is the dream but it’s just a different form of hell. Life of mundane laziness becomes quite boring really fast. And it harms your mental well-being as well because work provides purpose and stamina
When you invest you're buying a day you don't have to work
Assets that can make you rich
Bitcoin
Stocks
Real estate
@Michael Andre nio I'm enjoying working under a platform that brings good return in my life and I've been making my weekly returns without stress all in crypto currency
@Michael Andre nio Learn and trade under a guide I do same and I hardly make losses in the market
Starting early is the best way to getting ahead of build wealth, investing remains the priority
Obviously trading in bitcoin is very volatile and risky to trade that's the reason most traders trade with a company
There is ALWAYS a way to make money in this market! While the market has not been set to easy mode recently, there are still ft to flip, solid coins to stake, IDOs to ape into, trades to make, yields to farm. Never stop hustling for those gains!
I'm sure not anyone who is just starting out will be able to navigate the crypto space? I don't have the heart to see the bulk of my portfolio go from green to red.
@@ashleypeterson4168 I'd say invest in good projects and DYOR if
you don't understand, Dollar cost average
instead of going all in at once, so as to give
you a good value for your money. Also i'd
recommend seeking a fiduciary Financial
Advisor who will guide, and show you the
ropes as you are just starting out. I mean the
likes of ''Mr Austin Nolan Thomas'' just like i did
@@lorenzochristensen9863 That's great, your
investment advisor must be really good, I have seen testimonies of people using the help of investment advisors in making them more financially stable. Do you mind sharing more info on this person?
@@Greg-qx8cl he's quite popular for his
services as he was recently featured on CNN. He can work with anyone irrespective of where you're located
you can communicate with him on telegam with the user name below
chase money is great but rember how many things you will miss on the way also you cannot take it with you
I've been unemployed, it was hell on earth. It's hard to imagine retirement being much different. I'm the type of person who needs the mental stimulation and human interaction of a job for my mental health. After 3 or 4 days off I'm ready to chew off my own leg rather than spend any more time on the sofa doing nothing.
that happens to peoole who are uncomfortable or unsatisfied with their own selves... when you get to know and accept your own you do not need anyone around you...
Thats why work shouldn’t be your only source of socialization
@@iamstartower A-fuckin-men to that
Make music and get into hiking
Pick up a hobby bro
When I think of “golden handcuffs” usually I think of very favourable pensions. The vesting thing is just weird to me as a concept.
With $1 million in savings I can maintain my current lifestyle with a realized 4% average yearly inflation rate for only 25 years. That's sort of scary to thing about. However, if I invested said $1 million in an index fund that returns an average of ~7%, I can maintain it indefinitely until the economy completely collapses and even potentially grow my lifestyle expense by about ~30% each year before I start losing money. Might need to do some fancy dollar cost averaging to even it out, but still...
Truly the greatest ponzi scheme of our time.
$1 million USD will be chump change in 25 years.
No
FIRE is a great community and an option not many people think about
You’ll never have a million so stfu. “Chump change.” No you switching your pathetic mindset is “chump change.”
Materialism isn’t worth anything. Finding a well paying enjoyable job with enough time to enjoy the life you are earning to live is the hard part.
1 million dollars is nothing these days...
That can't even buy you a nice home outright in Australia
This one addiction I'm most certainly not getting into or picking up anytime soon. I don't get any kind of validation from my job description and my inner circle won't despise me for not having a job. On the contrary, they would be very jealous and envious.
I'm at the stage of my life where I need this. Recalibration can happen along the way. Need prosperity.
You should enjoy your life here and now (while you can)
“Only a few dozen engineers in the world who can oversee a deep sea oil drilling project” and I’m lucky enough to work with 3 of them
You always have interesting takes on these topics. Think the "one more year" trap is super common
I'm pretty sure both my regular job and side gig [National guard] think I'm addicted to work because of how much OT I take/responsibility. [My job requires very little effort for both tbh]
They make more money sitting there than they do in retirement. Shocker, words from a seventy year old man working. Good luck.
This is not an addiction to a job.
It's a system of not knowing what to do with oneself because our education system doesnt teach the discipline required to learn new skills, while fiat currency is constantly stealing your wealth, and therefore your time. So you always feel trapped in whatever you are currently doing, and it's hard to start something new, so you stay doing what you're currently doing even tho you're miserable.
It's a system that creates misery in the world at all levels of income.
Your vocal intonations remind me of Chef John on the Food Wishes channel.
7:14 "I'm in this photo and I don't like it" 😅
Do not collect good or fiefs for your old age.-Miyamoto Musashi
how about you give us the other 20 principles and understand that his philosophy was about detaching yourself from all things possible in this world. Maybe it worked for him, but not for everyone.
@@Not_Always the other 20 are important but that principle seemed to be what I felt was best at the time. You are right, not every principle is applicable for everyone. We all have our own destiny and how we wish to go about life as individuals is of our own choosing. The other principles that I remember are:
- Do not act on a partial feeling.
- Do not regret what you have done.
- In all things have no preferences.
- you can discard your body but you must preserve your honor.
- In strategy you must take a close view of thing that a distant and a distant view of close things.
At the moment that's all I can remember. I needed to reread his material.
"I did nothing. I did absolutely nothing, and it was everything that I thought it could be" --Peter Gibbons
yay another how money works video! thanks for putting into words what we all feel, u are appreciated
i m hoping in 3 years i ll get to that mil. and then fuxx the work. looking at roses.
Oi, oi. I watch your material because it's fun, interesting, it educates me, AND I love your sense of humor. I watch you instead of videos of kittens and puppies because I HAVE grown-up kittens and puppies. And I don't do the Kardashians, so, TAG! You are IT! And I'm grateful for your presence. It gets lonely in the office.
I make sure to watch all your sponsors because I love your content
I was thinking how this applies to me:
As a science teacher i could get a job as a lab tech on a nearby mine for 3 times more income (I live in remote Western Australia), but I do not because i already know it is not something i would enjoy.
As a teacher I am addicted to the adrenaline of the class, in holidays I often get to the point I struggle to sleep because I am not getting the mental activity I need.
As a father I am addicted to work because I need to earn an income for my family. My wife has a job, but it is significantly less than what i earn.
I have spent a year not working before, living off welfare... and it was terrible, not because of the low income, but because it just felt terrible.
So yeah, i am addicted to my work, and if i won the lottery tomorrow, I might reduce my hours, but I would still continue working
Good for you Joel
Dude to be honest all my teachers through high school were either mediocre minds or idealists who got trapped. Teaching kids the same material each year doesn’t seem that stimulating. It’s like playing poker with dogs. It impresses them, but I hesitate if you find it thrilling.
Yeah but you're a teacher... that's an essential job to our society, especially a science teacher. Most people's jobs are just bullshit, not really contributing to society, or rather detrimental to it. One science teacher is so much more valuable than 100 bankers, real estate investors, sports players, celebrities etc yet these are the type of shady non essential positions that are rewarded financially while people with important jobs like teachers, health care workers and sanitation workers etc get shit on by this twisted greed driven capitalistic society.
@@chihirostargazer6573 i know of a lot of teachers who teach because there is nothing else they can do. They want to get out but can not (or do not try). i am not one of them.
@@aluisious i teach science and physics, while some lessons are the same, i often mix it up due to different students and new developments in the area. I actually find it thrilling, the students recognise it too.
I'm just studying right now, and not working yet, but I would rather never retire completely(although vacations are a must have). More money you have, more stuff you can buy and more financially secure you are. After all, modern marriage doesn't worth it(unless you're orthodox jewish, muslim, amish or mormon), so I don't have to worry about spending too much time at work.
_"Money can solve a lot of problems"_
... While being the source of almost all of it. People don't work because 'that's just what you do in life'. They do it because just living revolves around spending money, so you have to find a source to offset the costs and hopefully get some extra. Life's basic necessities have evolved to always require monthly, quarterly or yearly funding, so it's always a requirement to either have a large enough buffer or a source of steady income to offset this. Having a job is therefore a requirement just to live. As such, people don't live their lives anymore: they just subsist.
What would a world based on personal skill and resource allocation look like, where all of life's basic necessities are covered?
You get a thumbs up for not wasting my time and answering in the first 2 minutes
I’m in category 3. I love having millions of dollars and intentionally low expenses. One-more-year syndrome can really get you though. That hits close to home.
8:45 it's terrible that a retirement contribution match is often one of these handcuffs. Most employers that even offer a 401k hold it back for 12 months.
A company won't invest in you if you don't invest in it.
@@otrebla8944 the government encentivise company's to match 401ks by allowing them to deduct it though.
@@NickVetter they save taxes in other ways. Also, it's more expensive for companies to hire replacements (if you choose to leave under a year or within a year) than it is to delay tax deductions.
@@otrebla8944 I'm not saying it doesn't cost them like any other benefit and personally I wouldn't want to work for a company that makes you wait a year.
Over here the law requires staff to be signed up to the corporate pension scheme in 90 days. You have to specifically opt out if you don’t want to join.
Yeah there's those who feel insecure of their money and not working, but coming from a family of workers, we also like to build things and work on projects and get them to be financially stable. I've also met others open small hobby business like craft or ice cream shops. even some volunteer, sponser or do mission work.
If I work as much (or as little) as I want and the job pays me pretty okay, am I ahead or behind?
Your lifestyle expands to consume all available income. I’ve seen it too often. I tell folks who change for an increased pay to put the difference away in savings or to pay off the mortgage. Then they have something of meaning.
I believe a lot of direct deposit jobs can arrange to split the deposit between multiple accounts, allowing these people to just send the extra money directly into savings so they don’t have to be tempted by *Big Number* in their checking account.
Glad to see the highly skilled narrow technical role represented. Even keeping up with everything you're also one bad project from finding yourself retired too.
I'd immidiatley quit my job and never work again if a had 1-2 million.
5:26 I cannot agree more. I saw many of my friends of uni inflating their lifestyles - "one penny in, on penny out". This is just nuts. People live through their spending, as if they were going to die, should they fail to demonstrate their social status.
You don't go skiing? you're a bum.
You don't go on vacations 2 full weeks? bum
You don't buy new clothes every month? bum
You don't change your car every 5 years? bum
sorry, guys, I prefer to prepare my future AND to give money to charities.
"Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease! Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven." - Proverbs 23:4-5
Simple: I want a fancier kitchen :/
On a more serious note, people often get a sense of self worth from being high performers, especially in tech. And you can only become a high earner, high performer in tech if you've sacrificed pretty much everything else in your 20s. So work becomes all you're good at or where you have value. So once you made enough, slow down, make friends, go to the gym, pick up a hobby you ACTUALLY like (not like pottery or woodwork or other bs) and focus on the family.
I love this channel's ability to see and cut through the bs, the lies we may tell ourselves.
I’m a reluctant workaholic. I have a high stress and high paying career. I work lots of mandatory OT and say yes to taking other peoples OT. But also I don’t have expensive tastes and save/invest a bunch of it. I’m hoping it pays off big years down the line.
If I had enough money to stop working, I wouldn't stop working. I would change what I did for work. I would love to do wood/stone sculptures for public parks and just earn beer money for the privilege, knowing everything else was paid off.
To be fair even if I do have enough money for a comfortable existence and retirement I did still choose to work. Maybe not full time but just enough to keep me active.
I have seen people who gone to waste within just a year of retirement. Having something to do that demands some discipline will at least keep me from rusting.
This explains those numerous stories of movie actors who were never home with their families, like Bing Crosby. This also explains why some actors suddenly give up successful careers to spend more time with their families, like Lucas Black (CSI New Orleans).
There's a 4th, and I've seen it a lot for low income people. I work with dozens of them. It's confusing, but they believe work is an obligation, their way to contribute to society.
It's beyond reason. These people will show up, and hurt, and even die but they'll do it begrudgingly and without fail. They'll do it harder than anyone even asked or wants. Very weird group.
Oh man, this is a great video! This is exactly what I didn't what to have happen.
I became financially retired at 54 and investment income is multiple times my expenses. I still run my aluminum manufacturing company for fun and the income could go to 0 and I wouldn't be affected.
0 debt period and sitting by my pool at my home in Florida writing this.
Live below your means now....or you'll never retire. I know so many people with the golden handcuffs....don't be one of them!
As long as you live where food doesn't cost 100 a week Id say you are right but many places food is at least 100 a week that adds up and don't forget rent traps how they raise up because they don't cap them
Thank god I dont live check to check. I saved and invested my money early mostly to escape my controlling father so having money young was the middle finger of the time.
In my career, I specialized in hi tech start up and expanding operations and in high demand. After owning my own company in a different field for fifteen years, I can’t command the same 6 figure income.
I hate workaholics. All they ever do is make things more difficult in the workplace for those of us who just want to earn a paycheck.
Good topic and very on point. I recognize these traits in gov jobs