Does it ever feel enough?

[Pursuinghappy]

you know, you work, you earn, you get pay rises but you always end up wanting more. It’s like each promotion or whatever unlocks a higher level of spending, so you never ever feel truly comfortable and always somehow like you’re failing, never have quite enough money etc? There’s always the next level to achieve, more things you ‘need’ or more experiences you want to have.

anyone else feel like that?

i know, it’s about taking a sec to remind yourself about what you have and how blessed you/ I am/ are. I’m so fortunate for my beautiful children, and nice hone, to afford a car, have a well paid (probably not by MN standards) job. BUT I mean that feeling deep down that it’s not enough? Does anyone else feel that too?

I don't need to buy more things and I don't need more holidays than I already have. Yet I want it. Crave it.

One thing that honestly cured me of that craving was watching Sort Your Life Out. People who had bought stuff to where they literally couldn’t move round their homes, really expensive stuff in some cases and half of it ended up on the tip.

Made me realise how much I spend on things that end up gathering dust, that I don’t use and don’t gain enjoyment from beyond the initial thrill of buying it. Utter waste of money that I work hard for and that I could use for holidays and experiences with my kids. I’m trying to be way more mindful of what I buy and why, while systematically getting rid of stuff that is just sitting there.

It's called destination happiness. People think they will be happy when they've done this , or got that, rather than being content with what they have now.

I try hard not to fall into that trap , but sometimes I'm guilty of it too.

I'm a Finance Director @Pursuinghappy. I've run teams which vary from a couple of people to over 100. My current department is about 30 people and organisation turnover is £80m, though revenue at my last company was almost £1bn. I enjoy the management side of it as fundamentally I'm a people person.

I initially got a science degree at uni, then secured a graduate training contract at an audit firm as I saw I'd get paid to study as I enjoy learning theory. Ironically although I earn a lot I never actually went into it for the money, and am not motivated by that, it's just a means to an end.

The modern disease, Chronic Dissatisfaction, this is worth a read

https://www.drdebracampbell.com/understanding-dissatisfaction/#:~:text=Chronic%20Dissatisfaction%20(CD)%20is%20that,it%20can%20show%20up%20sporadically.

in the financial services industry? What were your steps to get there?

We get annual pay-rises in January.
I always plan what I'm going to do with it in advance and get it set up for my first pay day of the year.

So for example arrange for increase pension payment or set up a standing payment to a regular saver account.

I found that as long as I never got used to the money to fritter, I never missed it.

It's been the best way to build up my savings.

I can totally relate. I used to have a lower wage and be really happy with 1 summer holiday a year. Now I earn more and I want several holidays a year and a lot more of the finer things in life. I have a bigger mortgage and bills. I haven't thought that I earn more and therefore can afford more. Its more like I've just got greedy, very, very greedy as I've got older. I continously want bigger and better. If I had the car I have now, when I was on the lower wage then I'd have been quite happy. Now I have the better car, I want bigger and better still.

I think there is luck in earning a lot, in that if you happen to be in a sector that is lucrative and growing you can ride the wave somewhat- if you get in at the right time the rising tide does lift all ships to a certain extent. Timing is a lot to do with building wealth too- most people sitting on a lot of housing wealth didn't 'earn' it.

I had two jobs I applied for on leaving Uni- one private and one public sector one. I really wanted the public sector one but only got offered the private sector one and that turned out to be a path that had lots of opportunities.

You could look at your skills and qualifications and then at higher earning jobs and what you would need to do to get there. But I agree with others in terms of thinking about what makes you really happy and how you get there. I think money is very important in that- saying money is unimportant is something of a luxury belief, financial stress is a killer of joy. But so is comparison and sacrificing time with family and friends to earn more and buy more just because you think you should. Most things are trade offs, sometimes you get lucky (or unlucky) but knowing what you are aiming for helps

I’m private sector and very much got here by chance, and I’ve moved up considerably. Sadly I don’t think my quals lend me to any better paid job. Undergrad and masters in humanities

I reached a point where I would have to get a degree level professional qualification to move up to middle management and as I'd been part time since having DS, I wasn't on anyone's priority list for promotion so I decided to stick to the technical side and every time I got a substantial pay rise, I cut my hours.
The financial position stayed much the same but the quality of life was so, so much better.

I generally feel the opposite.
I spend a lot of time with people who are homeless, ex addicts, care leavers etc.
It feels utterly unfair that I should have the privilege of being born into a loving family, with parents who knew how to raise me, no mental or physical health issues, married a good man and be working in a professional job making a decent wage.
It's just a happenstance of birth, why should I have so much when others have so little?

I have enough.

I earn a little below the higher rate tax threshold, DP earns a bit above (but didn’t notice for 3 years that he'd crossed the threshold, so I think I can safely classify him as 'not money motivated').

The mortgage is paid. The car is pretty new but it replaced one I'd had for 14 years and I expect to keep this one at least as long. We have enough in the bank to not think about it if we want to buy something - but mostly we don't want to. DP likes the odd gadget, and we prefer to travel in comfort, but we don't care about fashion or keeping up with the Joneses.

I've been in the same job for 20 years and keep being asked if I want to apply for promotion. I don't. In fact I plan to stop entirely this year because I don't need it. Not for money, for status, for validation, for meaning - I have enough of all of those.

@Pursuinghappy I started off as an auditor in a City firm, then moved into industry after almost 8 years. Over my career of circa 20 years since leaving uni, I've mostly worked in property finance, with the odd foray into other sectors.

There are many routes into accounting, some of them you don't even need to be qualified, but you do need to know your stuff in a niche area.

In industry, bog-standard management accountants are on about £50k. For that you don't even need to be qualified. Some accounting roles in property management dealing with services charges pay about £75k, again you don't need to be qualified.

If people don't go the graduate route, and can't afford to take a pay cut to start at Accounts Assistant or Account Payable level, they usually self-study alongside working in another job. This gives them the confidence to talk about accounting knowledgeably, although work experience would still be required.

I’m not numbers enough for accounting and same with taking a step down.

just need to get into snr product manager role or maybe product ownership but I’m not sure how one gets into that

i really thought all accountants needed to be qualified?

i really thought all accountants needed to be qualified?

@Pursuinghappy Not necessarily fully qualified.

It's rare that you would see an unqualified FD or CFO, unless they've been in the same role for last 30 years, however lower down the ranks people can and do get jobs that pay at a decent level without being qualified. There are also many different qualifications as well lol

This type of thing on the link asks applicants to be either part or fully qualified and is offering £50-60k. Management Accountant uk.indeed.com/viewjob?from=appshareios&jk=049f14ec0ea78516

Someone who is not qualified but has been working in accounts for a small to medium size company could easily get this sort of job, it wouldn't be that difficult.

I'd have a read about lifestyle creep.

With two mat leaves that’s great!

Im coming off my first one so could jump a bit in the years prior.

I work in martech for a large FMCG company