Hmm, I didnt see anything criticizing anyones character flaws in what I said, nor did I make any suggestion that my comment implied any application to anyone other than myself.
Perhaps I was too brief. On the other hand, there appears to be a developing trend around here for people to put words in my mouth and then criticize me for them, or to suggest that I put undesirable words in their mouths when there is no evidence of that having happened. Any way you slice it, I find I'm not really enjoying this place much anymore.
However, to actually put words into my own mouth and in further explanation...
I dont see anything at all wrong with spending a lot of money on things that brings you joy and pleasure. I certainly have some toys of my own.
Its just that 90-something percent of the time when I see someone spending a lot on something, or a lot more on something than a better value, its usually not because the item itself is supplying the joy. Its the perception one gets that one is "improved" by having spent extra in buying something, or that ones perception by others is "improved" in the expense.
If thats your motivation in pulling out the wallet, then I think thats something that you might want to look at and consider. I had all the nerve in the world to look at my own motivations and change my lifestyle. I doubt I'd have the nerve to suggest that its the answer for everyone, nor did I do so.
A major point in my recent post of what america was like 100 years ago was that the average well to do people of that time lived approximately at what we today consider the poverty level in terms of income and lifestyle. What exactly have we bought with our excesses of spending and "quality of life"?
My implication is that people who have the intention of living an ER life of 'excess' should (answering this threads original question) have a shitload of money. If on analysis you find you dont need to live alone in a 5000 square foot house, own several $100k cars and wear $500 outfits to impress your friends and neighbors, you can get by on a lot less. And theres a good chance you'll enjoy this "getting by" a lot more than your former "high quality life".
Perhaps a recent discussion got me amped about this. My parents live in a retirement community they moved into about 3 years ago. As part and parcel of the community, there are assets such as a golf course, restaurant, clubhouse, swimming pools, etc. A recent sweeping movement has been made by the better heeled half of the community to upgrade and improve many of these assets. The only problem is that spending $120k updating a restaurant that sits empty most of the time, and $25k to start heating both the indoor AND outdoor pools that nobody swims in has caused a doubling of the monthly fees. When challenged on this by the not so well heeled half of the community, the board suggested that these improvements are crucial to the residents quality of life and that if people come to be unable to afford to live there, they should pack up and move.
In this case "quality of life" translates into a few hundred of the thousands of residents enjoying taking their occasional guests on a tour of the unused assets to show off just how frickin cool the place they live in is.
Damn the folks who are spending their last dollars and who cares if they have to abandon the homes that retain low property tax values (via proposition 13) and force them to move from their homes.
Sometimes quality of life is indeed qualitative. Sometimes its part of a mass social delusion crafted by marketing and advertising, playing on our emotional need to improve ourselves.
Figure out which is which, for yourself of course, and enjoy your lives.
Adios.
