Venting: Focusing on Materialistic Self Help

[soos_mite_ah]

I'm in a place where I have dealt with most of my neurosis and have created a life that I'm mostly fufilled by. I enjoy the simple pleasures in my life and make time for being. I have a number of fulfilling relationships. And I have a good amount of stability mentally, emotionally, and financially. 

Now when I think about all the ways that my life can be improved or experiences that I would like, I just keep thinking about the money and a more materialistic form of self-improvement And it kinda bothers me, not because I don't think money is important, but I guess because I don't like it being front and center in my self actualization journey. I also find myself missing the parts of my self-development that focussed on more emotional and spiritual matters. 

I also wrote about this in my journal and I wanted to include it in this post: 

On 1/7/2024 at 9:33 PM, soos_mite_ah said:

This might also have to be with the phase of self development I'm in but I miss not being as aware of baseline monetary survival in terms of my self development. I remember before so much of my self development was on things like dealing with various forms of trauma and becoming more self confident, and figuring out my values and ideals for my life. I did go through that and I put in the work in the past and I'm in a very good place in my life regarding being a well adjusted adult who makes good decisions and has their priorities straight. And I think at this point of I guess leveling up my life, so much of it has to do with making more money. My life is pretty great now and I'm content with my life but when I think of making my life better, I think of the following things: 

• Travelling more = $$
• Potentially going to grad school= $$$$$$$$$$$$$
• Transitioning into a career in journalism= $$$ (the concern of money comes from the chance that I might not be making as much as I'm making now or a livable wage. I don't have a super lavish life now but I do like having a cushion and the peace of mind of living well below my means and that's on how much I'm making now. And I don't really want to make less than I make now because I'm used to my current salary.) 
• Passive income so that I don't ever have to worry about the bills = $$$
• Having an apartment in a walkable city that I can comfortably afford = $$$$$$$$$$$
• Affording to buy a house or apartment in a decade or so = $$$$$$$$$$$
• Being able to afford a kid down the road and maybe be a stay at home parent for a couple years = $$$$$$$$$
• Having money to get a hair cut and ocassionally go to fancy restaurants (I can afford this now but I feel a little weird about spending money in superflous ways given my income even though it's not that bad).= $

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I feel kind of nostalgic about the more emotional and spiritual phase of self development I had and I'm not looking forward to a more materialistic form of self improvment where I focus on my career and making more money.  I just wanted to vent in this post and wonder if anyone else encountered something similar. 

[Leo Gura]

Nothing wrong with bolstering your finances. Just don't get trapped chasing money for happiness.

[Bobby_2021]

I feel ya. Focusing on finances feels so weird different after being a self help junkie for so long. 

It's weird in a way normies would never understand. For most people it's to live make money enjoy and die. And they get some sort of first mover advantage when it comes to making money because they are more likely to pounce on it and bang it hard without thinking twice when the opportunity strikes. 

Self help junkies think and contemplate a lot more which might be a hit to money making muscles. However it's better to get it out of the way before it becomes a roadblock.

You are not alone. 

[Sandhu]

Frequently, certain desires we perceive as materialistic may, in fact, be emotional or spiritual in nature. We often default to seeking material solutions, not realizing that more cost-effective and straightforward alternatives exist. Discovering these simpler paths can fulfill our longings efficiently, saving both time and energy in the process.

[koops]

I find there is a problem dividing between materialistic desires and spiritual ones. It can lead to confusion.

A lot of things you mention sound spiritual /life purpose: Traveling, education, having children, living in a nice area

Making a lot of money can be the most spiritual thing you can do, since being short of money, working in a shitty Job, worrying about the bills, being stuck... is going to be a burden in your spiritual journey.

 

[Girzo]

17 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

Just don't get trapped chasing money for happiness.

I feel like the most Actualized-goers are the type of person to have trouble with motivating themselves to stay on the money-making path for strategic reasons, rather than troubles with deviating from it. 

[soos_mite_ah]

19 hours ago, Bobby_2021 said:

I feel ya. Focusing on finances feels so weird different after being a self help junkie for so long. 

It's weird in a way normies would never understand. For most people it's to live make money enjoy and die. And they get some sort of first mover advantage when it comes to making money because they are more likely to pounce on it and bang it hard without thinking twice when the opportunity strikes. 

Self help junkies think and contemplate a lot more which might be a hit to money making muscles. However it's better to get it out of the way before it becomes a roadblock.

You are not alone. 

Yes. The best way I can describe it is imagine being a student who generally loves school and the whole process of education. You go to all of your classes and do well. You do your homework. But then there is that one subject that you kinda hate and you want to procrastinate on the homework for. So you procrastinate by doing other homework that has been piling up and is quite frankly more interesting. And then you're done with that one but you still have homework from that subject you don't like. 

14 hours ago, koops said:

I find there is a problem dividing between materialistic desires and spiritual ones. It can lead to confusion.

A lot of things you mention sound spiritual /life purpose: Traveling, education, having children, living in a nice area

Making a lot of money can be the most spiritual thing you can do, since being short of money, working in a shitty Job, worrying about the bills, being stuck... is going to be a burden in your spiritual journey.

That's a good way of thinking about it. Thank you. I feel like this helps 

 

[soos_mite_ah]

All that said. I have been thinking about the benefits of having a passive income or some kind of side hustle. I have an excel sheet that I have been using to track my expenses for over a year and I think making an extra $2000 a month would be helpful. It would pretty much cover like 90% of my expenses and the rest of my money that I make from my job can go towards things like savings, investments, and my retirement accounts.  

How realistic is this goal of making an extra $2000 a month? What are some ideas? 

[koops]

@soos_mite_ah Is realistic, but it can take a few months.

An online marketing agency (selling websites, SEO, social media marketing, paid ads...) can be a good idea.

Pretty fast to set up, and you can outsource the project if you are not at expert at it. That way is not very time consuming.

(I know because a I ran one).

Nowadays there is a lot of info on youtube and on paid courses.

 

[Bobby_2021]

I have been trying to integrate spirituality and finances and it is not working well. Sometimes, spirituality is nothing more than cold hearted survival and nothing more is to be expected. Any attempts to integrate those two will either fail, or it you do manage it, you will get no tangible advantage when it comes to making money. Better follow the rules of making money and use the skill you learned here.

 

[Yimpa]

On 1/15/2024 at 11:23 PM, Leo Gura said:

Nothing wrong with bolstering your finances. Just don't get trapped chasing money for happiness.

Happened to me while I was working for DoorDash at the time 

Took a whole year off to seriously contemplate and introspect how I relate to my mind and heart. It wasn’t really a vacation, it was serious work that nobody else will know but me.