How Much Money Is Enough For You?

[MJ DeMarco]

At some point on your journey, you will know "it's enough" -- might not be a number per se', but a feeling.

Read this from @biophase from this thread:

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/success-story-biophase.328/page-3#post-569881

My last update was June 2015 so it's only been 15 months.

Ecommerce and Amazon has pretty much been the same. Although I think that my update in 2018 may be different since Amazon just changed their review and giveaway policy. That did not affect me at all since I don't use those tactics, but I wonder what new strategies people will come up with now.

I've been doing this for almost 10 years now and my outlook has changed in the past year. Honestly, making money does not excite me anymore. After a while the sales numbers are just numbers and everything is the same. It's just like being at the same job for 10 years, except you own it.

I started a new business last July and its largest expense is its charitable portion. I am finding that the charitable portion is the most fulfilling part of this business. I don't look at the bottom line. The goal is this business is not to maximize profits or even to make money. My mind has shifted a little and I'm beginning to understand the likes of Elon Musk, Tony Hsieh and Jeff Bezos.

These guys are obviously not in it for the money. If you ever wonder how Amazon can afford to ship you a $10 order 2 day UPS air for free, the answer is that they really can't. They are losing money on your order. As an ecommerce person, that made no sense to me, until now. Think about how 2 day shipping is almost the norm now. In 3 years, same day delivery could be the norm. 9 years ago, I was charging $19.99 for ground shipping and people were paying for it.

My point is that Amazon turned 2 day shipping into the speed that we expect online orders now. They sacrificed profit to improve online delivery to the masses. Think about this value add for us as consumers as a whole. They did something that everyone thought was insane, and paved the way for all consumers to get 2 day free shipping from many other stores.

Because my goal is not profit per sale now, I am free to do things that sound crazy. For example, I can price my product at $5 and lose $1 on each sale and happily sell 2000 of these and lose $2000. Why? Because each sale is beneficial to my cause. So in my head I'm donating an extra $2000 to a cause.

This is problem for my competitors who are trying to make money because I can and am willing to lose money for months on a product now. How can they compete against a person who is not trying to make money? So when all my competitors are at $15 and I am at $5 and running $.80/PPC, they are probably wondering WTF?

I'm not doing all of this to lose money. I understand that I am building something here that may take 3-5 years. I am building a brand and an organization that will be counted on in the future for a steady stream of donations. It's not just about me and how much goes into my pocket. I can afford to lose money or break even now, but as the company grows and matures I will being to tighten the costs and make it profitable. Every order doesn't need to be profitable, but at the end of the year, the company should make at least $1.

I literally think years in the future now. I don't look at this year or next year. I try to picture what the company will look like in 2020. It's a very different mindset for me now.

There are things that I want to do with my current business that sound crazy and definitely will lose money per transaction. For example, I have a product selling for $60, cost is $35, shipping is $20 (it's huge). How could I possibly sell this on Amazon? No way right? But now I'm thinking, maybe I could run this at a loss for one year and figure it out during this time. Not sure, how I'll solve it but I need to try vs. just giving up right?

(more to come)

THIS ^^^^^^^^^^ IS WHAT "ENOUGH MONEY" LOOKS LIKE.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Damian Pros]

I wrote this about half a year ago:

How I Made $11032 In 2 Months With Less Than 1.30 Hour Of Daily Work

Now, half a year wiser, I can see a flaw in my mindset back then which I would like to share with you. It will help you fix it, if you also share the same flaw.

I was under the impression that becoming wealthy as fast as you can is the best thing you could ever do in your 20's.

Reach to the point where you are making at least 7 figures in profit per year and you will have almost everything you want in life.

Right?

I am still under the impression that you owe it to yourself to secure your financial independence as early as possible.

However, two things have changed in the last 6 months.

1. Social Relationships
2. Happiness Levels

Firstly, when you reach the mid six figures per year point, you realize that 99% of the people in your life cannot keep up with you. You move forward super fast and friends and family stay behind. Even when you try to take them with you, you realize that in the end that's only slowing you down. This feeling sucks, but I guess it is normal.

You want to live the good life, and you realize that this is impossible to do with those that you used to spend your time with in the past. If you still want to enjoy a vacation with them, you have to wait for months until they have saved enough money to go for a short trip or be able to get the permission to leave whatever they are doing - whether that's a job or college.

Thus, you either slow down your pace to let them keep up with you for a little longer or you simply change your social circle. This feels weird and uncomfortable at first, but it's going to accelerate your success even further. So, don't be afraid to do it. This doesn't mean that you will never spend a minute again with people from your old social circle, but that your interactions with them will probably be significantly reduced.

Secondly, you realize that once you go past making a few tens of thousands a month, the increase in your "happiness levels" due to your rising financial power has reached a "slow down" point.

It's somewhat like in this graph:

In the beginning, your life changes radically and you are significantly happier. After a certain degree, you will only notice a mild increase in how much happier you become by making more money.

Hence why many wealthy people eventually become miserable as making more money does no longer make them happier. Hence why many of them start seeking other forms of pleasure and satisfaction - like drugs.

Money does buy happiness and money does not buy happiness. If you pursue money just to become happier, you will probably won't find that happiness.

Money is wonderful and after having been incredibly poor I choose being wealthy 10 times out of 10. However, I noticed that after a certain point, chasing money just for the sake of making more didn't make me happier. I suppose others here must have experienced the same thing.

Does this mean you should stop making money? Or that you should not continue on your way to becoming wealthier?

It doesn't. Maybe, all you have to do is to regulate it a little bit. You want to be rich and free. You don't want to be greedy or spend your entire life building your bank balance just to realize that all you have been left with are 7,8,9 or 10 digits in the bank.

At the same time, you want to ensure that you have enough digits in the bank to buy the freedom and the lifestyle you desire.

With all that said, I am wondering, how much money is enough for you?

I am also curious to hear your perspective on how money affects your Social Life as well as your Happiness and what is the best way to handle these (maybe, that's going towards the more experienced).

Regards,
Damian Pros

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Fox]

How I Made $11032 In 2 Months With Less Than 1.30 Hour Of Daily Work

Here is the power of this forum:

When I read that back in February I didn't really think it was possible just starting off online (even though I used to make 5 figures a month in my job last year). I didn't think he was lying, just that he was an extreme outliner. "That takes years"

Now I make over that every month, although I am working more hours, within only a few months. Not to side track this thread but when I read that first section I had a good laugh at how fast what seemed impossible is now standard.

Nowadays my thoughts are on the 6 figures a month level.

Thanks for the post Damien.

 

[AgainstAllOdds]

$4,000,000 in order to attain freedom. Here's what that amount will buy:

• Primary residence for $1,000,000 - I have no intent in living in markets like NY, Silicon Valley, etc. So for that amount, I can buy a really nice 5 bedroom/5 bathroom house for me and my family.
• Secondary residence for $500,000
• Third residence for $500,000 - The second and third residence will be in different parts of the world, allowing me to travel and reside wherever I please whenever I please. They will also help cover taxes and upkeep for the other residences through Airbnb rentals, etc.
• $100,000 annuity for about $2,000,000 - This assumes that I can generate a 5% return through passive investing. At $100,000 annually, I'll be able to provide for my family, eat well, travel a bit, and live comfortably.

This amount won't allow me to consume in excess, however, it will help me attain freedom. It creates an above average lifestyle (likely at least 90th percentile in the U.S.), while allowing me to focus my time and efforts on whatever I please.

However, I do enjoy the process and game of business, and will more than likely continue working until I'm old.

 

[TonyStark]

Man, not all rich people are miserable. People do a lot of charitable work; look at the lives of Zuckerberg and Gates. You think they ever feel sorry for themselves because other people can't keep up with them? They're curing entire countries of diseases.

 

[ApparentHorizon]

I think it's about self awareness and calibration.

According to hedonic adaptation theory, we tend to return to a neutral state after positive and negative events.

You see people set ridiculously high goals all the time, and one of the reasons is to not achieve them too quickly. However, if you do achieve them, set another. And another...

Tony Robbins had a Ted talk where he explained how we're happiest when we're in the process of achieving something. That anticipation of a reward can actually be greater than the reward itself. You see this in sales as well: "Sell the sizzle, not the steak."

Personally, I could and have lived extremely comfortably on 1k/mo in the US. If that was guaranteed for life, I'm not sure if I'd have taken the entrepreneurial path. Not sure if I'd make time to provide services to charities for free, or make donations.

Working toward something greater than yourself is more rewarding than any sum of cash, but sometimes you can't do without it.

Money is a tool, like your computer, that should be used to achieve something greater, I think.

 

[Andy Black]

Keep in mind that this is going to change as other things in your life change. When I was young and single, all I cared about was money (and power). Once I started a family, I quickly came to realize that money is just a tool, not an end-goal. In 2008, my wife and I were making 7-figures combined in the corporate world, and we both quit our jobs to start a family. Many people thought we were crazy, but was an easy decision. All the money in the world couldn't replace getting to spend every day with our kids, watching them grow up and being part of each others lives.

The best part is, once we stopped being slaves to money (again, chasing it as an end-goal), we've found money to become much, much easier to acquire. Instead of focusing every minute of our lives on accumulating wealth, we now only focus a small amount of time, but in that small amount of time, we do the things that are most important to achieving our goals. We focus on the few tasks that are important to earning money and ignore the 95% of tasks that many entrepreneurs don't realize is just busy-work.

Too many people think you need to work 24 hours a day to make lots of money. That's probably true if you want to make billions of dollars, but if you have more modest goals (millions of dollars, for example), you can accomplish as much in a few hours a day by focusing on the tasks that generate the most income. We've spent the past 8 years working part time and building up mostly-passive sources of income that rival our old salaries. Not only are we making nearly the same money, but we're accumulating assets, are a lot less stressed and have the time to focus on our real priorities (family and fun).

Nothing wrong with spending every minute of every day trying to make a billion dollars, but most people eventually get to the point where they realize the money isn't the goal. Don't get to the end of your life before you realize that...you will regret it.

Yep, we're on the same path, just a good few steps behind.

I work on my business 9-2 Mon-Thu. I have the kids from 2-7, then get back online for a couple of hours in the evening.

Money is up and down while I twist and turn to build the type of business I want, how I want. I earned more in some jobs, and certainly more going on client sites as an IT Contractor.

Not all money is created equal. How I earn my money now is a world apart from when I was an employee or when I was a contractor.


I agree that having less time can be a good thing. It forces you to prioritise, to only do things that move the needle, to be aware of what's billable, and to learn to delegate.

People who complain they don't have enough time are just not prioritising properly. (And they're complaining...)

 

[Vigilante]

.more.

 

[GuestUser155]

Great thread, great realizations.

One question comes to my mind: If you are that wealthy, why wouldn't you share it with your friends? Like actually taking them with you on vacation, paying for their stay?

From what I've read and heard, it breeds entitlement. Your friends and family get all of this wealth for doing nothing. Perhaps the painstaking process of becoming rich gives you a better appreciation for it.

To quote a mentor "I'll help you in an emergency, but otherwise you're out of luck."

 

[JokerCrazyBeatz]

The money isn't attractive to me , the process and the freedom is whats attractive . I don't have a limit to the amount of money I want . I enjoy the game of making money . I believe I'll be a entrepreneur till the death of me . I haven't even made 2k a month yet but I love the process , learning , executing , and repeating. I don't want to be a life style entrepreneur but someone who builds big businesses for the love of the game

 

[Tapp001]

$28,000 per month. That's my ultimate goal.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Damian Pros]

Man, not all rich people are miserable. People do a lot of charitable work; look at the lives of Zuckerberg and Gates. You think they ever feel sorry for themselves because other people can't keep up with them? They're curing entire countries of diseases.

Nowhere did I say that all rich people are miserable.

Generally, you have more chances to be happy when you are rich because of all the freedom and possibilities that money offers you.

 

[Damian Pros]

Here is the power of this forum:

When I read that back in February I didn't really think it was possible just starting off online (even though I used to make 5 figures a month in my job last year). I didn't think he was lying, just that he was an extreme outliner. "That takes years"

Now I make over that every month, although I am working more hours, within only a few months. Not to side track this thread but when I read that first section I had a good laugh at how fast what seemed impossible is now standard.

Nowadays my thoughts are on the 6 figures a month level.

Thanks for the post Damien.

In hindsight, I think it was just an nice milestone, considering how fast it happened. It's definitely possible if you hustle.

8 months have passed since I posted it, and my monthly earnings have now increased almost tenfold.

I feel like I am still on the fast track, but I know it can get faster.

PS: Please don't tell me that I have ignored the commandment of control. I know that already. When I started that endeavor, I wanted to make $1500 a month to get by and I had no idea it would grow like that. I probably belong among the highest earning accounts on the site, if I am not the highest.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[WJK]

I wrote this about half a year ago:
I am also curious to hear your perspective on how money affects your Social Life as well as your Happiness and what is the best way to handle these (maybe, that's going towards the more experienced).

Regards,
Damian Pros

I still work everyday. The sun comes up and I go to work. Overall, I LOVE the real estate game. I have played monopoly with real money almost all of my adult life. Yes, I could sell out my real estate holdings, and I'd have a lot less stresses and a pile of money. But, what would do with it? My investment returns, dollar for dollar, would tank. And also important, my rental units house about 150 people, who are in low to moderate income households. (50 of those residents are children; 18 of the households have disabled or senior residents.) I help more people per month than most social workers. Yes, taking care of my rentals is a pain in the a$$ a lot of day -- BUT, it's a good, reliable, passive income stream, with the added perk of ample depreciation. It gives me my strutting money to play the game.

I can tell you as that you grow older, you need less stuff. Next Wednesday is my birthday... again... #64! At this point in my life, who am I going to impress? I just don't need a bunch of possessions to make me happy. Being comfortable is lot more important to me. Simple, well cooked meals, that I fix, and serve to my husband at my kitchen table, taste a lot better than a night at a impersonal restaurant. I wear comfortable clothes rather than stylish ones. I like them better. I don't want a huge house to clean and care for. Even hiring help to come in clean, is just another hassle. I'm into the KISS theory. (Keep it simple, Stupid) I'm totally conservative in my personal life. I don't personally need much anymore.

 

[Almantas]

My goal is to have €2 million in my bank before I hit 30 (I am now 24). This is what I will do:

Ignoring Warren Buffet's advice, I will invest all of the money into Real Estate. I will be able to purchase 20 houses in my current town and rent them for €600-800 each. In a worse case scenario my monthly after-tax income should be roughly €8000.

Even though I will spend some money on maintenance from time to time, guaranteed monthly income of roughly €8000 will still allow me to travel around the world comfortably while scaling my business or/and pursuing other ventures.

When I hit the target, I will invite you all to my 30th birthday party!

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Jon L]

i've got you all beat...I'm gonna hit $1T at the end of my career. Richest man in history. Then, that would be enough.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[GuestUser155]

The social aspects start changing once you go from a consumer to a producer mindset. I've found that I've stopped hanging out with most of my friends and family because they're just wasting a lot of time and toxic to my goals.

Or maybe it's the other way around? You start focusing more on bettering yourself and your situation, a lot of which is spent in solitude. Everyone starts calling you selfish, no-fun, et al and they stop bothering.

On "Your Number:"

I've read a quote somewhere that basically said "there are two types of personalities that come to light once someone becomes insanely rich; they either stop working and pursue philanthropy and enjoyment of life or they continue to work even harder. It's the second that you've got to watch out for."

I don't think a life of relation would be very enjoyable for me, but we've all got our reasons for pursuing this journey.

 

[gabeb1920]

All the money in the world couldn't replace getting to spend every day with our kids, watching them grow up and being part of each others lives.

^^This^^

This is what I want, the freedom to be involved in my family and to be there for my children 100%. I want to give them the best opportunities to pursue their own dreams in this world.
Sure I also have my own selfish goals:

• Nice house on the beach
• Couple of nice cars
• Regular travel
• Attend conferences and seminars (I love learning and the empowering feeling of these events)

But the main goal is the freedom and resources to provide for my kids.

As a dollar amount purely as a goal I figure $500,00 per year mostly passively. But as @JScott said this will likely change as my life changes. It's just a goal for the moment

 

[Damian Pros]

Keep in mind that this is going to change as other things in your life change. When I was young and single, all I cared about was money (and power). Once I started a family, I quickly came to realize that money is just a tool, not an end-goal. In 2008, my wife and I were making 7-figures combined in the corporate world, and we both quit our jobs to start a family. Many people thought we were crazy, but was an easy decision. All the money in the world couldn't replace getting to spend every day with our kids, watching them grow up and being part of each others lives.

The best part is, once we stopped being slaves to money (again, chasing it as an end-goal), we've found money to become much, much easier to acquire. Instead of focusing every minute of our lives on accumulating wealth, we now only focus a small amount of time, but in that small amount of time, we do the things that are most important to achieving our goals. We focus on the few tasks that are important to earning money and ignore the 95% of tasks that many entrepreneurs don't realize is just busy-work.

Too many people think you need to work 24 hours a day to make lots of money. That's probably true if you want to make billions of dollars, but if you have more modest goals (millions of dollars, for example), you can accomplish as much in a few hours a day by focusing on the tasks that generate the most income. We've spent the past 8 years working part time and building up mostly-passive sources of income that rival our old salaries. Not only are we making nearly the same money, but we're accumulating assets, are a lot less stressed and have the time to focus on our real priorities (family and fun).

Nothing wrong with spending every minute of every day trying to make a billion dollars, but most people eventually get to the point where they realize the money isn't the goal. Don't get to the end of your life before you realize that...you will regret it.

Great post.

You and your wife have taken the right path.

May I ask what belongs in the 95% busy-work according to you?

 

[Almantas]

May I ask where you live?
Your comment gives me the impression of being a place where real estate is not expensive at all.

I am currently residing in Dundalk - Ireland.

For instance, this apartment costs only €75k : http://www.daft.ie/louth/apartments-for-sale/dundalk/12-griffith-court-dundalk-louth-1336488/. The rent of a similar apartment €800, please see: http://www.daft.ie/louth/apartments-for-rent/dundalk/st-nicholas-gardens-dundalk-louth-1685029/.

It's not just a coincidence or a lucky streak. Renting is expensive.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[MoreVolume]

There is no such thing as enough

 

[Jake]

How I earn my money now is a world apart from when I was an employee or when I was a contractor.

I used to work from a bunker, now I can work from the beach. The bunker paid a lot more though..for now

 

[458]

100m

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[kytro360]

So, what are your basic needs?
How much would that cost per month?

Funny you ask, I actually did the math on this and it adds up to $93.61/day, or $2,808.30/month. This takes into account ALL expenses (even leisurely or entertainment activities). My situation is different because I live at home and didn't take into account rent.

 

[DogsBreakfast]

$10k/month online 10-20hrs work a week . It's enough to live a sick life and travel the world while having plenty of free time.

Not interested in materialistic things. Always prefer experiences, doing crazy shit and making memories.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[lowtek]

all of it

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Damian Pros]

At some point on your journey, you will know "it's enough" -- might not be a number per se', but a feeling.

Read this from @biophase from this thread:

https://www.thefastlaneforum.com/community/threads/success-story-biophase.328/page-3#post-569881



THIS ^^^^^^^^^^ IS WHAT "ENOUGH MONEY" LOOKS LIKE.

Read the whole thing. Definitely see what you mean.

 

[andviv]

• Secondary residence for $500,000

• Third residence for $500,000 - The second and third residence will be in different parts of the world, allowing me to travel and reside wherever I please whenever I please.

Or you can rent a villa at rach different place where you want to go. Why own when you can enjoy it without the overhead of taking care of the place?

 

[Almantas]

In the US, a house that costs $75,000 and rents for $800/month is considered a pretty average deal, unless it's in a nice neighborhood with highly qualified renters. Typically, a deal like this will return about 6-7% cash-on-cash if purchased for cash and closer to 8-10% if leveraged at current rates for traditional financing.

So, while it's certainly not a bad investment, unless you're getting equity when you purchase or you expect some appreciation in addition to your cash flow, these aren't the types of investments where you'll get rich unless you have a LOT of them.

Thanks for pointing this out. And I thought Ireland was a great place for Real Estate investment!

 

[Roli]

With all that said, I am wondering, how much money is enough for you?

I won't know until I have enough...