If you had the money to retire at 30, your savings would be invested and on an average year your earnings would cover your expenses. You would have health insurance, so no worries there. The only catch is that you would have to keep your expenses at 65% of what you spend right now. Would you take it, or would you rather work a few more years for a better lifestyle and financial security?
I don’t think most people could live on 65% of their current income. Many people are poor and can’t handle a surprise $500 expense.
I could live happily on the median income of my area (NYC) - $113,400. Even if I got a more expensive apartment, I could make that work.
I do wonder about people’s budgets sometimes. One of my friends has crushing medical, student, and credit card debt so they’re always struggling. But another friend was like “I can’t leave my job at [evil megacorp]! I need the money!” But when pressed slightly, their “needs” included broadway plays, fine dining, and every hot new game on steam (that they don’t even play). Most people are probably between those two extremes.
I, personally, also prioritize living life.
What’s the point of life if im going to eat rice and beans and never enjoy it. I’d simply resign.
My ‘needs’ include what makes me want to continue living, regardless of what it looks like from your perspective
My parents would fight about this sometimes. They would blur “need” and “want” together, and that caused difficulties. It’s imprecise and, in my opinion, immature, to conflate the two categories. If you’re looking at a budget and you smush everything into “needs”, how are you going to know what to cut? The electric bill by any reasonable metric is more important than another lego death star, assuming you plan to continue living in society.
Furthermore, “I can’t quit my job at [evil megacorp], because then I might not be able to do luxury dining experiences as often” is laughable. Like, sure, there’s no way to live pure in our capitalist hellscape. We all have bills to pay. But highlighting “I like broadway” as the justification for “I help build AI used by ICE to deport people”? Come on. I’d respect it more if they just said out right that they don’t give a shit about other people. At least that’d be honest.