In a recent article in The Atlantic, Joe Pinsker shared some thoughts on why many ultra-rich people are not satisfied with their wealth.
There seem to be two reasons.
First, people tend to ask themselves: Am I doing better than before? Do I have more today than yesterday? "At the top of the income-wealth spectrum," one researcher told Pinsker, "basically everyone says it takes two or three times as much" to be perfectly happy. This is the hedonic treadmill in action.
Secondly, people cannot help but compare themselves with others. You ask yourself: do I have as much (or more) than the people I compare myself with? Do I have more than the other people in my family? Do I have more than my friends? Do I have more than my employees? We measure our personal success by comparing what we have to what others have. This is the proverbial "follow the Joneses".
Although Pinsker's article is about the ultra-rich, I think these trends apply to almost everyone. Even me.
Middle-class people are just as prone to jumping on the hedonic treadmill. You are just as likely to compare what you have to what your friends have. The same applies to those who are not well. Even people in poverty are drawn into the game of comparison.
In fact, I would say that there is an additional element for the poor and the middle class. Statistics show time and again that low-income people watch tons more TV than people who earn more. (Again - and many other studies.) If you allow yourself to succumb to the "other world" of cinema and television, you are exposed to more ideas about how people should live and do — even if these ideas are unfounded. (It's like Styx's "the Great Illusion": "Don't let radio, television or magazines fool you. They show you pictures of what your life should be like, but they are just someone else's fantasy.”)
The rich compare themselves to themselves and others. The poor also do it, but they also compare themselves to fictional characters from cinema and television.
The bottom line seems to be that comparing your Situation to anyone is likely to cause problems. Whether you compare yourself to yourself, your family, your friends or people in Hollywood productions, it leads to a desire for more.
Non-consumer lawyers
In recent years, the early retirement movement has gained importance. People have discovered that for forty or fifty years you don't have to work in jobs that you hate. If you manage to widen the gap between income and expenses — if you can maintain a high savings rate — then you can achieve financial independence by the age of fifty. Or forty. Or thirty-five.
Increasing income is of course a very important part of this equation, but it is not the only piece of the puzzle. The basic equation of Personal Finance is as follows: your assets are equal to what you earn minus what you spend. Your expenses play a vital role in how quickly you can create wealth and/or achieve your financial goals.
First, people tend to ask themselves: Am I doing better than before? Do I have more today than yesterday? "At the top of the income-wealth spectrum," one researcher told Pinsker, "basically everyone says it takes two or three times as much" to be perfectly happy. This is the hedonic treadmill in action.
Secondly, people cannot help but compare themselves with others. You ask yourself: do I have as much (or more) than the people I compare myself with? Do I have more than the other people in my family? Do I have more than my friends? Do I have more than my employees? We measure our personal success by comparing what we have to what others have. This is the proverbial "follow the Joneses".
Although Pinsker's article is about the ultra-rich, I think these trends apply to almost everyone. Even me.
Middle-class people are just as prone to jumping on the hedonic treadmill. You are just as likely to compare what you have to what your friends have. The same applies to those who are not well. Even people in poverty are drawn into the game of comparison.
In fact, I would say that there is an additional element for the poor and the middle class. Statistics show time and again that low-income people watch tons more TV than people who earn more. (Again - and many other studies.) If you allow yourself to succumb to the "other world" of cinema and television, you are exposed to more ideas about how people should live and do — even if these ideas are unfounded. (It's like Styx's "the Great Illusion": "Don't let radio, television or magazines fool you. They show you pictures of what your life should be like, but they are just someone else's fantasy.”)
The rich compare themselves to themselves and others. The poor also do it, but they also compare themselves to fictional characters from cinema and television.
The bottom line seems to be that comparing your Situation to anyone is likely to cause problems. Whether you compare yourself to yourself, your family, your friends or people in Hollywood productions, it leads to a desire for more.
Non-consumer lawyers
In recent years, the early retirement movement has gained importance. People have discovered that for forty or fifty years you don't have to work in jobs that you hate. If you manage to widen the gap between income and expenses — if you can maintain a high savings rate — then you can achieve financial independence by the age of fifty. Or forty. Or thirty-five.
Increasing income is of course a very important part of this equation, but it is not the only piece of the puzzle. The basic equation of Personal Finance is as follows: your assets are equal to what you earn minus what you spend. Your expenses play a vital role in how quickly you can create wealth and/or achieve your financial goals. 
