Lots of wisdom in this article for money matters and much more. I've basically lived my life on the assumption that I can usually trust strangers and I've rarely had cause to regret it. In my experience and observation the trouble is most often not with strangers but with people in positions that make it hard to question their motives or hold them accountable. I'd far rather trust a stranger where a matter of money is concerned, for example, than my own employer. That said, if I'm ever in a real scrape I'm sure there's precisely one agency I would want and trust to save my butt, and that's the US Coast Guard.
Thank you for taking the time to reply, Jonathan. You call FIRE "a phenomenon that simply isn’t relevant to the site’s readership or the world at large." I couldn't agree more. The point I'm trying to make is really not at all about FIRE though. It's about the self-satisfaction and the ridicule of others that is increasingly seeping into this website's culture. There are some columns and authors whose work I really value here; there are still some humble writers at Humble Dollar. But there is also a growing body of "they save too much" and "they save too little" paired with "look at us, we figured it all out so now let's laugh at the others." The others are easy targets, I guess, because they aren't the kind of people who are very likely to be here, because they aren't the kind of people who could feel very welcome here. They are almost always younger and often poorer. Strangely, the worst crime in the eyes of some writing on this website, it seems, is for one to be younger and richer, especially if one aquired that wealth by saving half or more of their income. Anyway, I always look forward to your pieces. I just wish that more of the discussion here could be guided by the principles of humility that your articles always reflect, and upon which I had always believed this website was founded.
I really like Humble Dollar but I'm afraid that I will soon have to modify that statement to past tense. There's an extraoridary snarkiness toward younger people on this website. I do not say that it is from everone--in fact it has mostly come from one very frequent author and ubiquitous commentator, whose writing often moves beyond snarkiness to outright contempt--but I am afraid that this general tone appears to be becoming more general. Johnathan, I implore you to use your editorial discretion to shift the conversation in a way that this site is not only for boomers. If from nothing other than a business perspective, that can't be a good long term business model. And from the point of view of site philosophy, I believe these attempts at satire and ridicule or draining all the humility from "humble" dollar. I value the humble part. It's a big part of why I started visiting. It's slipping away.As for this piece, which concludes, "There you have it. Bottom line: if you want to be a super-saver, all you need to do is stop living," does this make the internet a wiser, more humble place? At the very best, it is simply wrong. At the worst, it is a piece designed to pile on to people who have different values and choose to live their life differently than most of the authors/audience of this website. It sure ain't humble.
Comments
Lots of wisdom in this article for money matters and much more. I've basically lived my life on the assumption that I can usually trust strangers and I've rarely had cause to regret it. In my experience and observation the trouble is most often not with strangers but with people in positions that make it hard to question their motives or hold them accountable. I'd far rather trust a stranger where a matter of money is concerned, for example, than my own employer. That said, if I'm ever in a real scrape I'm sure there's precisely one agency I would want and trust to save my butt, and that's the US Coast Guard.
Post: Why We Get Fooled
Link to comment from February 8, 2023
Thank you for taking the time to reply, Jonathan. You call FIRE "a phenomenon that simply isn’t relevant to the site’s readership or the world at large." I couldn't agree more. The point I'm trying to make is really not at all about FIRE though. It's about the self-satisfaction and the ridicule of others that is increasingly seeping into this website's culture. There are some columns and authors whose work I really value here; there are still some humble writers at Humble Dollar. But there is also a growing body of "they save too much" and "they save too little" paired with "look at us, we figured it all out so now let's laugh at the others." The others are easy targets, I guess, because they aren't the kind of people who are very likely to be here, because they aren't the kind of people who could feel very welcome here. They are almost always younger and often poorer. Strangely, the worst crime in the eyes of some writing on this website, it seems, is for one to be younger and richer, especially if one aquired that wealth by saving half or more of their income. Anyway, I always look forward to your pieces. I just wish that more of the discussion here could be guided by the principles of humility that your articles always reflect, and upon which I had always believed this website was founded.
Post: How to Retire at 38
Link to comment from February 2, 2023
I really like Humble Dollar but I'm afraid that I will soon have to modify that statement to past tense. There's an extraoridary snarkiness toward younger people on this website. I do not say that it is from everone--in fact it has mostly come from one very frequent author and ubiquitous commentator, whose writing often moves beyond snarkiness to outright contempt--but I am afraid that this general tone appears to be becoming more general. Johnathan, I implore you to use your editorial discretion to shift the conversation in a way that this site is not only for boomers. If from nothing other than a business perspective, that can't be a good long term business model. And from the point of view of site philosophy, I believe these attempts at satire and ridicule or draining all the humility from "humble" dollar. I value the humble part. It's a big part of why I started visiting. It's slipping away. As for this piece, which concludes, "There you have it. Bottom line: if you want to be a super-saver, all you need to do is stop living," does this make the internet a wiser, more humble place? At the very best, it is simply wrong. At the worst, it is a piece designed to pile on to people who have different values and choose to live their life differently than most of the authors/audience of this website. It sure ain't humble.
Post: How to Retire at 38
Link to comment from February 2, 2023