Hacker News Reader

Comment by bartread | Hacker News Reader

> They justify it by reminding you that “you get to be part of the mission”.

That reminds me of the post from a few days ago on HN: "#### you: pay me!"

I think there comes a point in many (and I'd hope all, but I don't think it's true) peoples' careers where they realise that, in business, money talks and everything else is sadly just chatter.

View on HN

Your attitude seems common, but I'm quite curious just how common it is.

Personally I totally happy with my current income and don't have any real interest in making more. I can pay my bills, buy anything that catches my eye, max out my 401k, travel to visit family. I don't turn down raises or bonuses, it is nice to have a little bit extra in case of emergencies. But an extra dollar doesn't mean much compared to the personal satisfaction of working on good projects.

Just curious. Have you done a serious analysis of how much you’ll need in your retirement savings to be able to live a comfortable life when you’re no longer earning (due to lack of desire to work or lack of opportunities to work)? Say you live till you’re 90. I’m asking because many times people think about the present and say they don’t need any more money, but don’t think about the future when they won’t be able to earn.

Somewhat. We've eyeballed the cost of living where we want to retire (NorCal Redwood Coast) compared to the many asterisked expected 401k returns and everything looks reasonable. The big gotcha in my mind is that I expect that once we get old then some big medical issue will hit one or both of us and drain any/all saving.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com