Well, let me start with saying I started this blog in February of 2015, this is a passage from what I wrote:
"As it says at the top of the blog, I'm not a millionaire, I also likely never will be. I want the money, don't get me wrong, but I don't want to be a millionaire, the work involved would mean giving up things I love more than money. However, not only have I worked with millionaires, but I have worked with and met some of the richest people in the world, not the city, or the country, the world... read on...."
In June of 2019 I added, I knew that was likely going to change... Throughout now over 20 years of learning, investing, losing a lot of money, and making a lot of mistakes, I can say I now have a net worth I never dreamed of having. This year I am going to clear 200k. I don't make an incredibly high hourly wage at my job, but I do blood hours, which is a term I made up but is pretty self explanatory. I also consider myself, a decent investor as something around 20% of my income was from stocks or real estate. Now that being said, I want to bring to light something, $200,000 a number so unimaginable many years ago (and sadly also not as good/valuable as it was years ago)... But I can honestly say:
MY OVERALL LEVEL OF HAPPINESS IS NO DIFFERENT AT 200K THAN IT WAS THE YEAR I BROKE 80K.
Now don't get me wrong, you worry a lot less about financial things, and 200k is WAY BETTER than my 2 figure bank account life in NYC.... But it's not everything.... Large unexpected bills still will frustrate you. Small losses still frustrate you, people ripping you off even when you can afford it annoys you. You go on cool vacations, but again, your $2,000 back packing trip to Europe in hostels is just as much fun as your $7,000 resort stay in Jamaica. This is not to say we shouldn't always be pushing ourselves to do better, because I'm not going to stop, I will try to get 300k, but I also want to make sure I don't lose myself, and the things I love doing in the meantime.
At 200k I have now done things I never would have at 80k, I flew in vintage planes, some of which I've flown myself, I flew business class, I bought a giant t rex statue for my backyard, $100 bottles of wine, $330 bottle of champagne, things that I would have never done before I had a greater level of financial security. BTW I paid my mortgage off for new readers otherwise I would have never done this shit.... But lets take it back to when I had a two figure bank account in New York...
When I was flat broke I taught myself to flair bartend, the art of flipping bottles to make cocktails, I taught myself this because I bartended, I needed more money, and it was free to start, you just needed an empty bottle, as I got better and broke a few I bought a $20 flair bottle to practice easier and not annoy the neighbor below with a glass breaking sound. At some point in life flipping the bottles really brought me joy and satisfaction. Now again, flying in B17 bombers, drinking designer champagne etc.... That $20 bottle I had still brings me joy. It still brings me joy to make drinks for people with flair, or to do it myself while I'm home, and it costs absolutely nothing at this point. The 200k didn't change that and never will.
I am not saying don't push yourself, ALWAYS push yourself. Jeff Bezos still wakes up and goes to work, Elon Musk, Warren Buffet etc. None of them need to, we can always better ourselves and ideally change the world for the better with it. But also be realistic, be realistic about what you are working for and what the money is going to change. It's a good change, but it's not a "be all end all" change to who you are and the life you have left in front of you. What me, you, and the richest people all have equal of, is the time we have left on this world, make money, but also make a priority of treasuring and savoring that time.
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