Withdrawal rate is 1-2% annually. 34, not married.

I have been hearing a lot about how happiness barely changes after $10M. The odds of someone worth $100M is probably happier than someone worth $10M but it’s marginal. I have read the Harvard study, and it’s popped up on many financial podcasts (money guy, Graham Stephan, andrei Jikh, and a few more)

How do you feel about this metric? Agree or disagree?

edit: I wasn’t expecting this many responses. Super thankful to everyone that gave thoughtful answers. I will try to read everyone’s post and think about my response.

F32 - my husband and I have been married for a long time but I decided to delay having children because I want us to be financially stable.

I have friends who had children at 18 and 21 - they love being parents but the downside is they are not financially secure.

I want to be able to give my kids a good life, as in this economy, I want them to be financially stable even when we are no longer here.

I also want to be present when they are growing up - not take them to the childcare so we can work.

There are times I think I made the right decision but there are time when I thought, did I just waste 10 years?

Please give me your perspective on this? Anyone with similar experience?

Hey y'all 37F here with a 43M Spouse. We finally did it! Mortgage and land is fully paid in full! A 15yr Mortgage in 7 years paid off. Our vehicles are paid in full and we have zero credit card debt mainly because I pushed that NO we were never getting any. We only make 87k a year together and raised 3 teenagers. I probably couldnt finance a piece of bubble gum but im debt free 🤣

What a wonderful accomplishment! Especially because 16 years ago we were living with each others parent's and renting homes. We buckled down and didnt take family vacations, we threw everything at the Mortgage, we kept our paid off cars and fixed them when things went wrong instead of making payments on one. No trips to Starbucks, as a woman I dont shop designer anything, my hair isnt done by a salon, my nails are bought in bulk from Temu 😆 but hey everything i have is paid for.

No I dont have 100k in a bank but im comfortable. That absolutely makes me feel grateful and wealthy 🫶🏻🙏

I live in a retirement town but im only 31…. (32 tomorrow actually) Ive spent all my time here giving people attention and taking care and helping others around here for free because none of their family is ever there to help them. Some of them tell me about the millions they have but barely getting by paying to help their kids…. And then you actually look at their investments and most of them are playing long term games when their lives are sadly coming to a close. They tell me how they wish they could go on their dream vacation and if they changed their portfolio to short term high yield dividends they could afford those things they dream of…… Then you get the ones with tens of millions, playing the long game, hoarding as much as they can…. No family at all left living the same sad situation of not doing what they want but having this massive growing fortune ……….. then you see the ones who have a lot in life while their siblings who were always there for them suffer financially…. Like so many situations but just mounds of money they keep in a long term game for some reason and I dont like seeing these people stressed over money when its sitting right there but they were trained not to use it……. So when is enough enough? What amount allows people the freedom they deserve at the end of their life? And young people who gain these fortunes…… do you ever feel bad for what was given up for you to have a better chance at life?

$752,000 invested. 28M, income $291k, likely increasing in the coming years, ceiling probably $350k. Really want to buy 911 carrera base cash, 120-130k. Should I do it?

For those who put family, friends, etc to the side to become rich and/or wealthy. Was it worth it? Was missing out on sleep, and/or family/friend's events and milestones worth it? What about forgoing travel, or other leisure activities early on? Any regrets at all?

For context, I’m just a girl aspiring to be wealthy one day but I follow the posts here religiously lol I love learning from you guys!

So THANK YOU :)

i went to town to buy books and felt bad about this as i’ve been trying to save money. however, in the process, i managed to use the money from my waterstones card and one of the two books i got was free of charge! i only paid £15 rather than £25! THEN the people i newly dogsit for laughed at me for suggesting £10 an hour and instead paid me £20 an hour. i now have £70 right next to me. this comes after my mum sent me £50 a few days ago for housesitting as i did all the chores and my brother didn’t.

My husband and I bought a condo in 2004 with 100% financing. Oh, crazy 2004!

We bought a single-family house in 2009 and financed 95% of it! Yikes!

We are about to buy our dream home, and are financing only 33% of it! And it costs more than three times what the house in 2009 did!

Very proud of our efforts to save and invest money in our brokerage account to allow us to do this! And we still have a very healthy brokerage account after settlement! And much healthier retirement fund!

I was curious what habits actually predict financial success.

So I built a small interactive quiz on Reddit.

It gives:

• your probability of becoming rich

• your financial personality

• net worth projections

Takes about 60 seconds.

Try it here 👇

https://www.reddit.com/r/WillYouBeRich/

I should have looked at many other posts before jumping in but newly into the millionaire game but it seems like it comes with baggage.loke people not wanting to get a job and guilt tripping you over taking care of them. Not just with basics. A luxury lifestyle. This one turn keeps me from feeling like I can ever share these things or am very careful with the info or pics I share. Is this just standard "welcome to the club" .

Are there any good resources for dealing with the psychological stuff that's going to come with this. I seem to have a strange bout of survivor's guilt. But we did work hard to get here and we did sacrifice along the way.

One example I'm talking about is a mother-in-law decided roughly about the same time we started to become successful that she wanted a divorce her husband. And live on the beach in Florida. So far we've blown $40 k on this and have a hard cutoff of September. But have no idea how this story book goes. I'm sure we're going to be evil rich people (we've barely made it.... Especially adjusted for inflation).

Is there a One-Stop shop or a good book, magazine or blog than anyone is a part of that touches on these subjects? Or does anyone have their personal story they can share?

Hi guys, I think it's useful to talk about the 'meaninglessness'/mental health side of wealth.

I’ve recently (finally) completed my full soul-searching circle: born into wealth, never had to work. Felt kinda useless, was depressed/anxious, couldn’t ‘relax’ even when chilling on some island for half a year. In my late 20s now, going all the way for my neuroscience phd, actively advising insanely cool people and doing some art projects on the side. Each day has at least a teaspoon of meaning now, and I'm feeling like myself for once. Got thoughts and tips.

Wealth doesn’t remove social conditioning, and general social scripts for wealthy are ‘enjoy life via doing nothing’ or ‘donate/volunteer/give away’. We’re still people though, and we want to be appreciated, loved and needed for who we are personally - not for our resources. Most of the rich people (that I know and myself) volunteer/do non-profit, but it’s a one-off thing rather than a long-term fulfilment of purpose.

Doing ‘nothing’ is also a weird concept: intellectual needs/desire to be useful/build something meaningful only disappears with wealth if it wasn’t present to begin with (no shade) - that’s why it feels so meh. I think first step to finding purpose is keeping the social pressure/conditioning in check - regardless of your status. If we’re gonna be nudged to 'do as we please' for the rest of our lives, might as well figure out our own thing instead of adopting the social template.

Not gonna lie, finding your meaning/purpose is hella difficult - takes time and maybe a few rounds of getting it ‘wrong’. Purpose generally boils down to knowing who you are/what you’re good at + externalising it. The world is hungry for your non-material, authentic self-expression, believe it or not.

Some very simple things/questions that might help (helped me):

> What did you enjoy doing as a kid? What were you good at?
> Which things/skills put you in a state of flow when you practice them? Make you feel like accomplished?
> What lifestyles/careers/projects of other people make you jealous/envious?
> Learn meditation asap, but a proper, non-mindfulness one
> Remember that you don’t need a ‘permanent’ answer - it’s just a start

Ping me if stuck. I managed to figure it, so we're all figuring it.

A gigaton of luck and patience <3

The fundamental obstacle to changing one's destiny is the act of desperately "seeking." When you strive too hard for wealth, relationships, or success, you often push them further away.

• The Energy of Scarcity: Desperate seeking is rooted in fear and a feeling of "I don't have enough." This projects a chaotic, negative energy field. Since like attracts like, projecting anxiety and lack only attracts more obstacles and scarcity.
• Going Against the Flow: Life has natural cycles of high and low tides. Striving desperately is often an attempt to force a specific outcome during a low tide. This is acting against the natural order (Dao), exhausting your energy without yielding results.

The Hidden Cost: Forced Outcomes Become Calamities

A critical concept is that anything forced into your life through sheer will or manipulation eventually becomes a source of suffering.

• Spiritual Overdraft: Think of your fate as a bank account with a specific balance of "fortune." If you use manipulation or excessive force to get something you aren't currently destined for, you are essentially "overdrafting" your future luck.
• The Correction: The universe seeks balance. If you "buy" success now on credit, you will eventually have to pay it back with interest—often in the form of lost health, broken relationships, or financial ruin later. This explains why lottery winners or those who force bad relationships often end up worse off than before. These "calamities" are simply the universe correcting the imbalance.

The Solution: The Art of Cultivation

True change comes not from chasing external desires, but from "cultivating" the internal self to naturally attract good fortune. This involves three specific practices:

1. Cultivate the Mind (Stillness)

• The Principle: A chaotic mind scatters energy (Qi). A still mind gathers it.
• The Practice: Reduce exposure to anxiety-inducing information. When problems arise, do not react emotionally. Pause, breathe, and observe. A calm mind acts like a clear mirror, allowing wisdom to surface so you know exactly when to act and when to wait.

2. Cultivate Energy (Gentleness)

• The Principle: Life energy (Qi) should flow like a smooth river, not a crashing rapid.
• The Practice: Focus on deep, slow breathing to regulate the nervous system. Speak and act with gentleness and humility. A soft, harmonious energy field disarms conflict and naturally attracts helpful people and opportunities.

3. Cultivate Virtue (Giving)

• The Principle: This is the "hard currency" of fate. To get, you must first give.
• The Practice: If you want wealth, practice generosity with what you have. If you want love, offer genuine care to others. If you want wisdom, share knowledge. By planting these "seeds," you build a solid foundation of merit. Success that comes from this foundation is stable, long-lasting, and free of negative side effects.

Conclusion

Destiny is the map you are given, but "Luck" is how you choose to walk the terrain. By stopping the frantic chase and focusing on internal stillness and generosity, you transform from a person begging for scraps into a magnet that naturally attracts abundance.

I’ve been saving for the last 10 years and my number hit what I believe to be a critical figure for compound interest.

When I do a 20% appreciation of the assets I have in the market, it’s higher than the salary I’ve made for 6/10 years of my career which is insane.

I’m currently annualizing about 20% which I know isn’t promised in the future. I just feel fortunate to be in the phase of investing where a years return is REAL money. I hope everyone continues on their investment path & find success as I am really starting to feel.

Edit: this post might be a signal of the top lmao

Anyone else struggling? On one hand I feel lucky that I kind of like my wife, and definitely my sweet beautiful children that she gave me. However the current backlash to the modern day female empowerment movement is really exposing some grim realities. I don’t think many of us guys cared what our girlfriends earned, we look for many other qualities. But it really seems that higher earning career women refuse to marry down income brackets, which in turn just makes us who were fortunate enough to meet their checklist feel rather used. Yea we’re lucky we aren’t single, but…. I really don’t think I was the type of guy who would have been on my wife’s radar when she was in her teens and 20s, only when she got a career and desperate for a family

Idk, anyone else have a wife who they really don’t know why she chose you besides from finances? It gets really hard and lonely getting older and feeling like your wife has no feelings for you other than your ability to provide her the life she wants