Looking for Advice / Stories from Older folks

[Gregmal]

14 minutes ago, CharlesMunger said:

 

100%!

 

Even if I had infinite money, I would still work a few hours a week. I think it's nice to interact with different people, and it keeps you going. My grandparents had their own company, and they went to the office until they were 97 and 92. 

 

—

 

I am probably one of the younger folks here - turned 26 couple of months ago. I am working in FDD and thought it would be a  solid foundation for my career. But I don't really find it satisfying. There is so much stupid and unnecessary adhoc/asap work. People are quite nice compared to these M&A shops, but at the end of the day, it somehow feels like everyone in finance lives in some sort of a bubble. What also frustrates me is that if you've read Buffett/Munger, you also know that most of what you do is not really relevant.

 

Always find myself in this spot between "be happy with the job/opportunities you have and keep it going a couple of years" and "if you're not happy, switch immediately," (don't save sex for old age)

 

Goal for me is to become independent as soon as possible. Since I moved to Zurich and taxes are low, thats maybe 7-8 years out.

Totally. I don’t know when the “do what you love movement” started, but to any younger guy starting out…100% the advice I’d give is to do whatever makes the most money as fast as possible, even if you are totally miserable. Do it till you have a solid foundation, AND THEN do something you love to pay the bills. It shouldn’t be impossible using the above to get a primary home and $250-400k in a savings/investment account by a reasonably young age, and then from there, with 20-30 years of growth ahead of you, most of it takes care of itself. Just don’t live a Johnny Depp lifestyle. 

[LongHaul]

I would echo the information about health and exercise. 

 

I started becoming a bit of a health nut around 17 years ago and our brains and bodies are extremely 

interconnected with what we eat and exercise and even stress.   There are at least 20+ parts of our body that benefit from healthy eating including the heart, minimizing cancer, kidneys, immune system, inflamation, skin, liver and probably the brain.   I have been surprised how many of our body systems are connected to healthy eating.

And health is a form of wealth.  

 

https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/foods-linked-to-better-brainpower

 

 

 

[LongHaul]

Hi Dealraker,

 

I would really love to read your writeup of "The 12 Ways GE Misleads Investors."

That is awesome that you could see that very early. 

 

I have a big fascination with frauds.   

 

 

Edited October 28, 2022 by LongHaul

[james22]

On 10/24/2022 at 2:38 PM, Gregmal said:

Totally. I don’t know when the “do what you love movement” started, but to any younger guy starting out…100% the advice I’d give is to do whatever makes the most money as fast as possible, even if you are totally miserable. Do it till you have a solid foundation, AND THEN do something you love to pay the bills.

 

 

Shouldn’t I make money first — to fund my dream? The notion that there’s an order to your working life is an almost classic assumption: Pay your dues, and then tend to your dream. I expected to find numerous examples of the truth of this path. But I didn’t find any.

 

Sure, I found tons of rich guys who were now giving a lot away to charity or who had bought an island. I found plenty of people who had found something meaningful and original to do after making their money. But that’s not what I’m talking about.

 

I’m talking about the garden-variety fantasy: Put your calling in a lockbox, go out and make a ton of money, and then come back to the lockbox to pick up your calling where you left it.

 

It turns out that having the financial independence to walk away rarely triggers people to do just that. The reality is, making money is such hard work that it changes you.

 

It takes twice as long as anyone plans for. It requires more sacrifices than anyone expects. You become so emotionally invested in that world — and psychologically adapted to it — that you don’t really want to ditch it.

 

...

 

The ruling assumption is that money is the shortest route to freedom. Absurdly, that strategy is cast as the “practical approach.” But in truth, the opposite is true.

 

The shortest route to the good life involves building the confidence that you can live happily within your means (whatever the means provided by the choices that are truly acceptable to you turn out to be). It’s scary to imagine living on less.

 

But embracing your dreams is surprisingly liberating. Instilled with a sense of purpose, your spending habits naturally reorganize, because you discover that you need less.

 

https://www.fastcompany.com/45909/what-should-i-do-my-life

Edited October 27, 2022 by james22