Chasing money vs do what makes you happy and money will come? (fund, temporary)

[newtothis15]

Wondering from your experiences which would you say was true for you? Ultimately we all want to be happy and I think money has its place.

[macroy]

I'd say it's somewhere in between. You have to chase money to an extent. Not everything is going to pay enough for you to make a living. Like anything else in life, you have to make sacrifices.

Some are simply better at adapting to the environment/society. Which allows them to make the best of their skills (which may not be their passion) well enough so that they can fund their passion.

[BrianGC]

I started my career off by simply chasing the money, but I didn't realize how unhappy I was with my field until a few years ago. The work is just shallow fire-fighting, typing up assembly instructions, people *****ing because every little aspect of an assembly job isn't easy, and occasional management-esque babysitting tasks. I've become silo'd in this field, having been in it for way too long.

The reality is that most of us need money to pay for our survival. Can you do that in a career that you enjoy? Absolutely. A couple of career change options I'm aiming towards involve fields in which I actually find the work interesting and fulfilling. I know things won't be perfect, but either option will be substantially better than the ****-show field I'm in now, and for a similar or better salary.

[Serious Conversation]

To me, there comes a point where I have enough money that other things are more valuable.

I'm pretty much to that point now. I'll gross $62,000 next year. I live in a low cost area of a no income tax state with cheap medical insurance and plenty of outdoor opportunities. My net dollar here stretches farther than it would in most places.

I can afford most of the lifestyle things I want. I take an overnight trip once a month or so. I do a lot of regional travel. I'm going snowshoeing and tubing with some friends tomorrow at a nearby ski resort - my first time ever doing a "winter sport" and trying to expand my horizons a bit.

I have a newer model Jeep. I have way more consumer goods than I need or even use. I have a standard size five-shelf bookcase filled with just BluRays and video games. I've donated or recycled a couple hundred books over the past few years. I'm single and when I compare myself to a lot of my single friends, I'm doing well.

My spending on consumer stuff is likely going to be way down in 2019. I may end up taking a bigger trip this year. At this point, I value time off and experiences more than more money and consumer goods.

[Lekrii]

Get to a point where money isn't something you worry about day to day, then stop chasing money. Going from $100k to $200k per year rarely made anyone happier. Given people who make more money tend to work longer hours, earning more often has a negative impact on happiness (assuming you are already at the point where you have enough money to pay your bills, save for retirement, etc.)

[sas318]

No, it's not true for me. The jobs that I'm good at like administration and customer service, those jobs will never pay as much as jobs with naturally high incomes like engineering, nurse, law, CPA, IT, etc.

[Sage 80]

When I was college age, I always kept in mind two things:

1) The things I liked to do didn't pay well.
2) I refused to be poor.

With that in mind, I extensively researched high-paying careers.

I did internships that I hated, which eventually landed me a good job when I graduated college. I actually hated the job and my co-workers, but stuck with it because it was a promising field, and I knew high-paying jobs like that were hard to find. I worked hard to become really good in the field. Eventually, I found a niche that I liked, and stayed there.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

The money will only come if you can figure out how to create a successful business doing what you love to do.

If you just want to sing and play music, but have zero aptitude as far as marketing yourself, or learning the music business, then you aren't going to get rich doing it. You don't get to just sit around singing and expect someone to knock on the door and give you money.

So, unfortunately, no, just doing what you love doesn't translate into money without also having a business mind and the know-how to make it successful.

And if you don't have that, you're best off to find a day job you can tolerate, and do what you love on the side. And maybe you'll get lucky, but don't waste a bunch of years expecting it to support you. At least, not if it's something to do with arts and entertainment, or sports...

[treemoni]

Money has never been my primary goal, and until Terrible Job I never had any major gripes with work. I do believe money will come once you figure out what you're really supposed to be doing and work hard. But even then, it's not going to be about the money. The money will be the result of you contributing something of value to a cause greater than yourself.

Most of the people we consider successful today did it by hook or crook. I don't believe you have to exploit others to do well. Those that do will have temporary gains, but they will pay for it in other ways. It's not about how much you make anyway. It's about how much you keep.

[yellowsnow]

I know lots of artists and musicians. Not a one of them make any money. Yet for the most part, they are happy doing what they love to do. They work hard but to them it's not really work. It's what they love.

I think the real question should be, can you be happy in poverty knowing you will never be able to afford the lifestyle of your contemporaries who chase the dollar? If you can truly accept poverty, great! If not, keep the hobby you love and go out and do what you need to do to make money!