Great wisdom, Nat. Here's the problem I've observed. Our ability to receive this message doesn't happen until 60. So, you can write these kinds of articles for the next 30 years and I'm pretty sure your readers' listening or comprehension ability will not open up until life events tell them what was really important, after all.
My # is $10m by 35. And I'm only about 9.9m away with 5 years to go. I've realized wealth is not a number. It's just the gap between what you earn and what you spend.
There's so much good about this post but I hate the title (acknowledging that it's pretty clever to get me to open the newsletter).
I think you actually get at the right message but your miss a critical detail that your title puts front and center. The biggest problem with "The Number" isn't that we can't forecast what we really need, nor that it encourages misguided, future-oriented martyrdom. "The Number" fundamentally frames us as isolated, individualized agents. We hoard, so we can spend. We measure how high up on the pyramid we are, with little acknowledgement that our anxiety stems from all the poor folks we are standing on.
Meanwhile, only a tiny fraction of people will ever see wealth anywhere close to $5M, and those that do end up spending most of their time distracting themselves from real problems or trying to spend all their money solving them.
What we need to live a secure and fulfilling life is much less about bloated bank and brokerage accounts on a dying planet, and more about being able to contribute to and benefit from a healthy society. Perhaps "The Number" we should all strive for "what is the lowest wage or net worth our society will tolerate?" or "How many people are going hungry on our town / city / country tonight?"
When those number improve, we can all breathe a little easier that, rich or poor, we're moving in the right direction - and we can take pride in apply our dynamism toward a goal that helps everyone, not just ourselves.
Great wisdom, Nat. Here's the problem I've observed. Our ability to receive this message doesn't happen until 60. So, you can write these kinds of articles for the next 30 years and I'm pretty sure your readers' listening or comprehension ability will not open up until life events tell them what was really important, after all.
Happy Birthday Nat!
Totally agree. I recently did a post on this topic where I came to a similar conclusion https://theunlock.substack.com/p/financial-freedom-isnt-what-you-think
My # is $10m by 35. And I'm only about 9.9m away with 5 years to go. I've realized wealth is not a number. It's just the gap between what you earn and what you spend.
Did you hit the goal though?!
There's so much good about this post but I hate the title (acknowledging that it's pretty clever to get me to open the newsletter).
I think you actually get at the right message but your miss a critical detail that your title puts front and center. The biggest problem with "The Number" isn't that we can't forecast what we really need, nor that it encourages misguided, future-oriented martyrdom. "The Number" fundamentally frames us as isolated, individualized agents. We hoard, so we can spend. We measure how high up on the pyramid we are, with little acknowledgement that our anxiety stems from all the poor folks we are standing on.
Meanwhile, only a tiny fraction of people will ever see wealth anywhere close to $5M, and those that do end up spending most of their time distracting themselves from real problems or trying to spend all their money solving them.
What we need to live a secure and fulfilling life is much less about bloated bank and brokerage accounts on a dying planet, and more about being able to contribute to and benefit from a healthy society. Perhaps "The Number" we should all strive for "what is the lowest wage or net worth our society will tolerate?" or "How many people are going hungry on our town / city / country tonight?"
When those number improve, we can all breathe a little easier that, rich or poor, we're moving in the right direction - and we can take pride in apply our dynamism toward a goal that helps everyone, not just ourselves.