Confession: Do you envy people who make more than you?

[Anonymous]

I have never looked at someone else's earnings and found it to be my business, but I do see so many people who look at others and call them "lucky", or spoiled. To me, if someone has worked hard, or had some good luck, then they should be able to enjoy what they have without other people trying to make them feel guilty.

[Anonymous]

Isn't there a difference between envying someone else's stability/security and "trying to make them feel guilty" about it?

[Anonymous]

or balancing out the difference by making those who make more pay more in taxes? or wait, that's a different thread.....

[Anonymous]

No.

[Anonymous]

Some people amass wealth by doing The Bad Thing.

[Anonymous]

Not really - sure, more money would be great, but we're comfortable now and work hours that are reasonable and allow us to have lives outside of work. Most people I see who are making more money than we do are working long hours and have travel commitments that I don't envy at all, and for now at least the time I have with my family is more valuable to me.

[Anonymous]

No. Sometime I envy someone's earning potential, only because my field (which I love) pays nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not really - sure, more money would be great, but we're comfortable now and work hours that are reasonable and allow us to have lives outside of work. Most people I see who are making more money than we do are working long hours and have travel commitments that I don't envy at all, and for now at least the time I have with my family is more valuable to me.

Yeah - I feel so lucky that we have both have really reasonable, flexible jobs that we actually like. We are actually both home today because I don't work Fridays and he has "summer Fridays" at work which means he gets every other Friday off in July and August. We also both leave and get home at the same really reasonable hour every night.

We have a healthy child so far, and a relatively happy marriage. We live in a nice neighborhood and have good commutes. We have really wonderful, supportive families and my parents live relatively close by. So I think we are really lucky.

I envy people:
-who have those big, wide open kitchens I long to have
-who know how to wear their hair more than two ways (down, or back in a pony tail)
-who can get by on 6 hours of sleep
-who can cook well and love to cook
-who have great decorating skills
-who can get through the day without having a stain on their clothes
-who do not feel the need to get a drink from Starbucks almost every day
-who had the discipline and intelligence to make it through medical school
-who are really good at yoga

But not for making tons of money, though I would definitely not complain if I had MORE money (so long as we didn't have to put in more hours to get it).

[Anonymous]

Envy, sure. Resent, usually not.

[Anonymous]

DH is an MD, PhD working in research he loves making a pittance and I envy the physicians who love their job and have more revenue. But DH comes home happy from work, so what more could I want?

[Anonymous]

No.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have never looked at someone else's earnings and found it to be my business, but I do see so many people who look at others and call them "lucky", or spoiled. To me, if someone has worked hard, or had some good luck, then they should be able to enjoy what they have without other people trying to make them feel guilty.

OP, is someone trying to make you feel guilty? It sounds like you're feeling defensive. Is that why you brought this up?

[Anonymous]

I have never envied ppl who have more $ than me but do envy ppl who just seem all around perfect in all ways and are ultra comfortable in their skin, something I clearly need to work on.

[Anonymous]

No. It may be an illusion, but I always thought if I wanted more money, I could make a point of earning it.

[Anonymous]

I wish we made more - DH is a Fed and the pay sucks - but he loves his job. I get envious when people have more choices than we do because of money, but I don't envy them, per say.