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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It kind of surprises me that more people don't want nicely decorated, attractive homes, nice cars, fun vacations, beautiful clothes, household help, money for good haircuts, athletic endeavors, hobbies, college, private school, retirement...... Isn't that the American dream? Who wants to live in a tiny house and have a crappy car? Many of my friends are rich so maybe that tilts my views.[/quote]

I have to agree with this person.  Why is it that people are always claiming on this board that they don't want to upgrade their lives?  And, more importantly, why is it that people don't get that having money makes life easier?  Money can't buy you happiness but it allows you to focus more on the things that make you happy and it removes stressors that make you unhappy.  My DH and I were really happy when we were both in grad school just getting by on our TAships and when we were in the first few years of our careers living in a tiny apartment together.  It was a great experience to figure out the world together on a shoestring. But, it is also nice now that we are a bit older to be largely free of money worries.  We go out to dinner (or don't) depending on what we feel like.  We go to Europe (or we don't) depending on our mood.  Our roof leaks, we get a new one without worrying about the cost.  We decide we don't like the public school experience our kids are having, we pay for private without letting our decision be driven by money.

Trust me, you would like having money. [/quote]

Duh, of course everyone would like having more money. The question is how far would you go to get it. That's the discussion - would you work more/sacrifice more time, stress, for more $? And my answer is no. We make enough to have some security - retirement, savings, a little college plan for two kids, a cute 3 bedroom house close enough where we can have decent commutes, and enough money to not worry about budgeting every little thing, outsource some stuff, etc. In exchange we have nice jobs we enjoy that get us home by 6. We don't have money for a huge house, great vacations, or fun things I'd love to have like a yoga instructor come to my house for lessons, regular massages and facials, and more handbags. Oh well. It's not like I spend time obsessing about it. I'd also like to have my 22 year old boobs back, but I don't think much about that either.

I grew up with upper middle class parents who by the time I left for college were downright wealthy. So I know it's nice to have the huge house, private school, and nice vacations to Europe. It was cool to have that growing up, but my kids will have a different life. I don't think it will be worse. I never saw my dad, he traveled all the time and worked like a dog. Was very stressed and always wanted to achieve more, make more. My kids see their dad all the time, he cooks dinner, he volunteers at their school, etc. It's a trade off but worth it to me. I'm not complaining about my childhood because it was nice and I know my parents loved me which is the most important thing, but it was definitely different.

But sure, if someone deposited a couple million in my account I wouldn't complain. But I'm not willing to do what my dad did, or be married to someone who works like that, to get it.[/quote]

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