Interesting that it is so taboo to talk about how much you make, but money is still used as a scorecard for success. What percentage of the people with big houses and cars do you think can REALLY afford that lifestyle? My guess is around 20%.

(By really afford, I mean not living paycheck to paycheck and actually having something in savings and retirement accounts.)

As a young man, I was under the illusion that having the big house, the cars, a “position” instead of a common job, and community standing was the mark of success. This illusion played out as false by the time I had reached mid 30’s.
I then realized that success is a state of mind.
If I provide for my basic needs, have an emergency fund for whatever comes up, and can live a peaceful and stress free life then I am successful in every way that is important to me.
As to selling a book, the money made from doing so is necessary. The time spent to write, organize, proof, and publish is very expensive to the writer. In the last five years, I have been a little disappointed in the content of many books that are published on finance/economics. These books, while trying to look innovative at first glance, all basically tell one to “Get out of debt, stop spending, save money, and cut expenses”. Most people probably go and buy these books by the boxful once they realize their finances are in deep kimshee.
I read this blog because the answers/solutions/thought processes go far beyond treating a systemic economic problem.
While the methodology involved in ERE is very attractive to me, and would especially be were I young enough to have participated, I am afraid the willingness and full understanding of the concept is beyond the embrace of the average person. (I hope I am wrong on the last statement).

“For example, I can determine what the demand would be it the price was $0. This would likely correspond to exactly how many people could be made aware of its existence since the cost of clicking to download would be zero.”

What about the fact that people will automatically assume that your book is worthless if you don’t charge money for it? I can definitely see situations where the demand for a book would *increase* if the price went up to $1, precisely for the reasons you state above – we use money as a proxy for value.

Same logic applies to volunteer work, and the reason that some people insist upon being paid nominal wages rather than working completely for free, even for causes that they want to support. If you’re not being paid, you don’t get treated as well, because people associate money with value.

Jacob:

That was a great deduction and I’m impressed you have 20 full-time readers!

So how would you suggest modifying money or status to account for time?

The amount of years spent to acquire a certain career position? The income generated from monthly work hours?

It still seems like people revere time, but more as a subtext. If you saw a 30yo versus a 60yo driving some sports car, you’d think they’re both successful but that the 30yo was more so because of the younger age.

i am trying very hard to get out of the “i am going to succeed before you” race that is currently raging with my college mates. this success will be quantified by what they can afford and whether they can go. This might cause them to get into debt so as to prove a point and satisfy their egos. all i want is to live a meaningful life and this doesn’t include making a billion before 40

I think suchong has a point. I’ve never sold books, but in other small businesses I’ve dabbled in, raising your prices doesn’t always cost you customers–it sometimes brings in more. It’s like advertising or packaging.

It’s funny because I’ve dropped out of regular society to an extent this year with the move to France (no career, no contact with the usual friends, family and colleagues.) I really did used to have all these measures of success–benchmarks. Am I good at my job? Can I see that my students are learning? How much money am I saving? etc.

All of it has kind of slipped out of my mind lately–which makes it really strange when someone ‘snaps me out of it’ with a success oriented comment.

The search for quantifiable success is a world view.

Hi Jacob. I just wanted to say that I would never have started reading your blog if you charged for it. That being said, I do plan on buying your book new. I almost always buy books second or third hand (or just check them out from the library) but I’m figuring that this will be a way to compensate you for all your ideas that I’ve filled my head with. In a way, this blog is the perfect way to advertise your book to people like me.

@Kevin M. I am starting to think that our society has been engineered to think that asking how much money you make is taboo. Why? Well, if you know how much someone makes then you can make a good assessment on whether that person is really wealthy or not. However, if you don’t know the former you can not really know the later (though you can make an educated guess). This encourages people to borrow money to fake their wealth since no one will really know for sure whether they are wealthy or not. That in turn makes the truly wealthy people (ie. lenders and business and factory owners) wealthier.

Jacob,

To quote a classic sci-fi movie, “I’d buy that for a dollar!” I too will buy your book just because of the value I derive from your website. I respect the fact you don’t post ads, which makes it a pleasure to frequent your blog. Perhaps a discreet “donate” button would be the compromise to monetizing your blog.

Finally I hope you choose to do the finance project as your next endeavor.

p.s. check out Nassim Taleb’s “Black Swan” for some interesting reading.

I am married with kids and I have been a stay at home mom for 9 years. I have struggled (until recently) with not feeling successful and wanting to get out there and make a lot of money (100K and Up) and outsource my children to a nanny. I tried it for 6 months and as difficult as it is for me I decided that the world’s idea of success would mean potentially failing in having healthy/happy relationships with my children and husband as after working all day I tend to have little energy when I get home. So, although I don’t get any awards etc. I am confident that I am doing my best with my kids and I know my marriage is happy. I am not sure if this would be the case if I followed the society’s idea of wealth. Fortunately my husband has done really well so all that is bruised here was my ego: -).

Secondly, as someone noted that asking someone what they make could tell you if they were wealthy and that is not true as it has nothing to do with how you handle your money. That is if you make $300K and spend $305K a year then you are not wealthy, but broke.

Jacob, when does your book come out?

As a husband, I for one, appreciate that Senait (above commentor) has figured out how difficult it is to be super Dad after coming home from a hard day at work.

My wife is understandably jealous of women who don’t have to work outside the home. Definitely has its advantages over the alternative.

I feel there are two decisions that are critical to happiness.

WHo or if you marry?

And second… what you do for a career on your way to FI.

Both decisions have a huge impact on every other part of your life. But then again you know all that.

For me success is having more time to spend with my family. It doesn’t matter how anybody else views it, only how you view it. Success to me is making enough money to support my lifestyle without sacrificing time. Time is more valuable than money, I can make more money but I will never be able to relive a moment.

On the salary issue as a measure of success, isnt it more important on how much you retain of your income, then how much you earn. Frugal folk will always be more successful then high consumption, high leveraged high earners

“Success is having enough to get by.” Can’t remember where I heard that, but it makes sense. Your lifestyle will depend however on how much you need to get by. Also I don’t think this just means money; time, friendships, etc.

@ Jan,

According to Jan, the Japanesse Fuedal classes are the most succesful way to live. Samurai are very healthy, right-hand men to the emperors, very logical via stradegy however usually very emotional. Farmers then would grow only what they needed and grow extra for others or to barter with, but the important message is they could live below their means and did not have to work extra (especially if making those berry sticks ,); though unfortunately they did have to pay taxes to the Emperor and creditors, which by default the creditors actually were the Samurai, a sidenote most forget. Merchants were usually well-educated men/women doing bussiness with foreigners, and many were dishonored by other Japanesse Families for giving away “traditional” homeland secrets. Yet, as the Western Influence took hold, the merchants became more powerful than the samurai. They even took over the title of Creditors, and thus the Samurai class was no more. It was replaced with the soldier class, whom where farmers usually drafted for money which the emperor collected from the merchants, and never quite paid to the poor farmers, though glady paid back with interest to the merchants (Big National Corporations).

For me it’s simple. I am successful when I reach the goals I have set for myself. It does not matter if it is a goal of digging a tree stump out of the ground or making enough money to retire it is my goals that count. Mind you it took me a while to work that out.