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sidjameson
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 629
Location: osaka
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 Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 2:07 pm Post subject: |
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Scott47 I detect a slight cynicism? Just do the math. Teaching in Japan pays from $30 to $80 an hour. Most of my work has been about the $45 an hour mark. Say I did an average 30 hour teaching week. I often did more. Thats $65000 a year. Very little tax, 5% $62000 I lived cheaply for the most part, but not that cheap. I remeber you saying about guys stealing the toilet paper where you work.  I spent about $1600 a month I guess. Less some months more others. $40,000 saved. Actually I could have saved more but I exchanged most of my money at unfortunatly bad moments rate wise. $40k a year, 5 years and you have $200 thousand.
Surely you know guys who have done better than this in your neck of the woods? I mean I also had a love life in that time too. 
Last edited by sidjameson on Tue Apr 06, 2004 2:08 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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sidjameson
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 629
Location: osaka
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| Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 2:08 pm Post subject: |
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Of coure I mean dates, not that I had to pay.  |
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struelle
Joined: 16 May 2003
Posts: 2372
Location: Shanghai
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| Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 2:31 pm Post subject: Re: The money |
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"Money doesn't bring you happiness" - it must be one of the most over-used cliches out there.
The thing is, though, is that for the most part it's true. |
Thanks for the thread dude, this one's a gem!!
Of course the saying is true, and conversely, a lack of money can be demoralizing. But I think the root of the unhappiness lies in wealth *comparisons*, not the money itself.
There are two kinds of comparisons: poorer or richer to peers, friends, family, or expectations set up by the media or consumer society. Seeing yourself as poorer leads to envy and bitterness. Seeing yourself as richer doesn't give any lasting happiness, since the happiness depends on other circumstances.
Imho, there's always a comparison when we say we're poor or rich, even if we don't explicitly mention it.
Let's take my situation: working and living in a developing country, China. I earn a high salary compared to my local collegaues, so it's easy to compare both ways.
I fall into the first trap more, that is, compared to Western standards, I'm barely above poverty line. It's damn hard to save money and pay off debts, let alone finance a Masters in the future. To top it off, I lost ALL my savings on a bike trip last summer. Only now, 8 months later, have I finally recovered my losses. In this context, I see situation as pretty poor.
On the other hand, many locals see me as the rich foreigner, even if they don't know my salary. I keep saying, "Nah, my salary isn't high, I barely make enough to pay off debts." Meanwhile, the locals are amazed at the lifestyle I lead, and in turn, I realize I've got a great deal compared to them. Hey, this rich foreigner life is pretty good! Trap #2.
Wealth comparison also applies with countries. The terms 'developed' and 'developing' countries show this very well. In reality, these terms are false because all countries are developing. Richer countries don't stop after being 'developed'. The problem though, is that many poorer countries see Western standards through the globalized media and set those as their own target.
I think true happiness and merit is found when you let go of wealth comparisons, and instead, develop the most of what you've got.
Sure I make peanuts compared to Western standards, but it doesn't matter. I want to maximize my opportunities, spend the money wisely, invest my skills, get more experience, and use the money to help others do the same.
Steve |
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Albulbul
Joined: 08 Feb 2003
Posts: 364
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| Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 3:09 pm Post subject: ?? |
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The bars of the world - and the EFL stafrooms - are full of fantasists and fabulists.
I would sooner believe Walter Mitty than believe that someone saved US$200,000 in 5 years of EFL.
$40,000 a year ?
SAVED ? na this does NOT ring true. |
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sidjameson
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 629
Location: osaka
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| Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 4:45 pm Post subject: |
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I like the idea that I am a fabulist.
What don't you believe?
pay at $45 an hour
Teachers often work 30 hour weeks
I lived on $1600 a month
I did it for 5 years
I am sad enough to bother to explain myself
Oh well. I'm off to the bar. |
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leeroy
Joined: 30 Jan 2003
Posts: 777
Location: London UK
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| Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 6:30 pm Post subject: |
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My - it didn't take this thread long to blossom. And now, to water some areas in places and trim a few leaves in others...
(The funeral for the above analogy is next Friday - all are invited)
| Mark-o wrote: |
Money is definitely integral to my happiness at this point in my life. With it I could pay off the debts I owe and then move into the career I want to pursue (TEFL). That would make me happy ... at least temporarily!
I'd say �15k would do it! Happiness for �15k - bargain! |
| denise wrote: |
| I don't crave money, although I am guided almost exclusively by the pursuit of it right now. I will be happy when a) my debts are paid off, b) I have enough saved up to be able to live where I want to live and not where the money's good (i.e., I'd like to be able to choose a teaching job based on something other than salary), and c) I have enough savings to be able to live for a few months between jobs. |
| johnslat wrote: |
| The possible flaw that I see in your reasoning is that, for many people, there's no such thing as "enough money". And that doesn't have to apply only to materialistic, greedy people; even those who don't care all that much about wealth often look to the future with trepidation, wondering if what they have will be "enough" to see them through. After all, what might seem like "enough" today, could well turn out to be "not enough" tomorrow - or next year. |
I defined "enough" in my OP as a kind of absolute - a kind of blanket term that applies to everyone regardless of individual circumstance and subjectivity. What is enough?
I wonder if Bill Gates feels that he has enough? Or David Beckham? (Americans! He is a famous "soccer" player). I suspect that on a day to day basis I am no "happier" than Mr. Gates; I have a feeling that he feels just as stressed about multi-billion takeover deals as I do about my overly-packed timetable for next week. Such things are relative, both of us are immeasurably happier (I expect), than a child starving to death in Mali.
Who genuinely feels that they have enough? I don't. I'm plagued by the knowledge that London bus drivers earn significantly more than I do:
| struelle wrote: |
| But I think the root of the unhappiness lies in wealth *comparisons*, not the money itself. |
I could be a bus driver tomorrow! (well, OK, maybe after a week's training) - I dare any bus driver to walk into my advanced class and teach reduced adverbial clauses! Inherent in my feelings is that of jealousy; the amount of money I earn does not just signify my spending power - it is how much I am respected by society, or perhaps more specifically, by the free market system.
(How much is that? Not very much.)
Perhaps we are really barking up the wrong tree when saying that "People work s*itty jobs with people they hate to buy s**t they don't need" (Fight Club) - maybe the real crux of it is that people recognise that a higher paying job indicates that individual's greater value in a capitalist system. Ask any economist. S***! Is this really what it all boils down to? Status? And to think that I prided myself over those daft East Asians who get so het-up about these silly little things.
The Economist (yeah yeah, I know) had an article a little while ago which quoted the results of a study conducted at Harvard University. The quesiton went something like...
You could
a) Earn $50,000 while everyone else in your peer group earns $25,000
or
b) Earn $200,000 while everyone else in your peer group earns $400,000
Most chose a) - which is apparently in direct contradiction to almost every shred of scientific research which backs up the original cliche that "money doesn't bring you....."
It seems that the point is not how much stuff you can buy - it is how comparatively rich you are to those immediately around you. But wait a second! Like struelle, I was in a developing country earning literally hundreds of times more than the average wage. Yet despite the decadent lifestyle I could afford, I didn't sense any apparent euphoria (apart from... well... that's a different story  ) from my riches. I knew very few people who earned significantly more than I.
Here I am right now, sitting in my living room drinking warm gin & tonic (ahem, left over from when the gf was round the other night) listening to jazz and unleashing a stream of conscisouness onto you lot. I don't think I'm any more or less happy now than when I was drinking Bir Bintang from a straw in an internet cafe in Java 2 years ago today.
I have no conclusion, other than this: "Happiness is much harder to achieve than simply earning money".
I'm sure we're all aware of the "If you could be plugged into a machine for the rest of your life, and remain inanimate yet living in a constant state of bliss, would you?" argument. Naturally, almost everyone would say no. This implies a lot. Although we spend our lives pursuing happiness, the "end goal" per se is not actually desirable. Perhaps the whole point is to experience the up's and down's. To say "I want to be happy" is a bit silly, what we really want to do is pursue happiness - a different kettle of fish indeed.
I think I've gone cross-eyed  |
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Shaman
Joined: 06 Apr 2003
Posts: 446
Location: Hammertown
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| Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 7:04 pm Post subject: |
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Then there's always: "Money can't buy happiness, but it sure can rent it for awhile."
I certainly wouldn't shake a stick at more lucre, filthy or no, coming my way. That being said, I wouldn't want to sell my soul doing it or be breaking my back so that I could never enjoy it. The key is balance.
"You can't take it with you."
Shaman |
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PatS
Joined: 17 Oct 2003
Posts: 25
Location: Northern California
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leeroy
Joined: 30 Jan 2003
Posts: 777
Location: London UK
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| Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 7:47 pm Post subject: |
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Thank you PatS!
I recommend that everyone in the western world read the above linked article. It summed up what I knew, felt, suspected and should know perfectly. |
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scot47
Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343
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| Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 7:50 pm Post subject: b***sh** |
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Mr Jameson
Do you really expect us to believe this ?
Grow up. If you want to be a pathological liar go and do it somewhere else. |
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Stephen Jones
Joined: 21 Feb 2003
Posts: 4124
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| Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 8:07 pm Post subject: |
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| People who think money can't buy happiness don't know where to shop! |
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dmb
Joined: 12 Feb 2003
Posts: 8397
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| Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 8:32 pm Post subject: |
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| In my local shopping centre you don't even have to buy happiness. You can enter a free draw and guess what the prize is? Yip. Happiness (OK so it's a landcruiser, but my students told me owning a landcruiser and going to the desert every weekend is happiness) |
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Stephen Jones
Joined: 21 Feb 2003
Posts: 4124
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| Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 8:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Use it to go to Bahrain and acheive ecstasy instead! |
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Guest
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| Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 9:10 pm Post subject: THE MONEY |
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Hi,
I do not own a house in Australia (only a caravan) and I have worked all my life to bring up my three children (mostly alone). Since I had my lung removed in 1989 I have only worked part time.
Now that I am here in China, I HAVE NEVER BEEN HAPPIER IN MY LIFE.
I am paid enough to live comfortably (3,500 Y per month) plus provide everything needed at the Orphanage. What more could I ask for?
I used to think that when they said "money does not bring happiness" that they were mad, but as you get older your priorities change, believe me. Health is far for important as you cannot buy good health.
They also said that when you give love to children you "get back more than you give". I did not believe that one either, until now. Now, I know just what they are talking about.
It has taken me a lifetime to work these things out, I only hope some of you learn the lessons earlier as your lives will be enriched by this knowledge. |
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dmb
Joined: 12 Feb 2003
Posts: 8397
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| Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2004 9:33 pm Post subject: |
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Rhonda, reading your posts always makes me happy. Your happiness is spread through your posts. From your words I know you are happy and I hope you continue to make people like me feel happy.
Happy dreams and continue to spread the happiness. |
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