Money vs. Happiness

Ding ding ding.

I don't think that census stat says what you think it does, zulu.

I know plenty of people my age who have bought homes, too. Quite a few of them were/are in dire straits because of it. Just because they did buy a home doesn't mean they could afford it.

 

Oh, there's absolutely no denying that part of the increase in younger buyers is because of the exotic mortgages that are now hurting the buyers. However, when you consider what the average interest rate was on a conventional 30-year mortgage in 1988 (more than 10%) vs. now (well under 7% since 2002, even before the recent rate cuts), you can't really say that it's harder to buy a home now than 20 years ago. There are plenty of young buyers who've bought in the last 10 years who didn't take the low- or zero-down payment route and just got a good rate on a regular mortgage.

 

I picked happiness and it worked out pretty well for me. I still freelance, so I still feel connected to journalism.

 

the priorities change

you want money when you're young, and happiness when you're older


best of both worlds is to make enough money to pursue happiness in later life

 

I moved to take my first job out of college during the two-week span the diplomas were going out, so I never received it.
I inquired about getting a new one -- $50, they told me.
It was right around then I told myself I wasn't paying for a new diploma until I made more money than I did delivering pizzas during my last year of college. I'm hoping next year is going to be the year.

 

Prime in 1988 was anywhere between 8.5% and 10.5%. Today it's 5%.

 

Story last week said median home price has gone up 64 percent since 2000. Median salary has gone up 16 percent. Talk about a dream deferred...

 

Considering that I'm going to have a sleepless night waiting the results of a blood test tomorrow morning/afternoon, I'd say find happiness. I know a lot of wealthy people that are miserable. Life is too damn short to be unhappy.

 

I've had fun and misery at every job I've worked since I've started working. I hated dealing with the nitwit patrons at the public library, but made some friends that I still have to this day. I was a flop in the car business but had the pleasure of meeting some wise people that had some wise advice. I've tried, hard as it may be sometimes, to suck both good and bad marrow from every position I've ever worked.

I think that the key now is to find a job that offers a compromise of a fraction of the happiness in exchange for other things. Maybe I dont enjoy the next job as much, but in exchange I have my evenings and nights available to freelance/hang out/go out to dinner with my girlfriend/join a bowling team/whatever. Maybe I dont have as much fun with the next staff but get a smile when I open the pay stub every two weeks. I might have less fun, but that might involve less stress. Who knows?