#26 Earning NT$330,000 a Month — What Are You Crying About?

【What I've been up to】

Hi, Reader,
how was your week?

Last weekend I went to Taipei
for an in-person meetup of the Inspiration Village creator community,
and met lots of creators.

I met Angie, author of 台灣製造 (Made in Taiwan),
and her husband
Paul Millerd, author of The Pathless Path.

I made a book-talk video on The Pathless Path a while back.

At the event Angie shared the story of writing her book.
It moved me, and I wrote a post about it.
It also strengthened my wish to write a book!

I'm now arranging an interview with Angie;
if all goes well,
you'll see her on my show.

I'm also running a listener-interview project:
I'll pick five listeners to talk with me
about your money pain points and your stories.
Your story might appear in my new book.
If you're interested, fill in the application form.
Applications close Thursday, April 23, at 23:59.

And a reminder: the online book club is tonight — sign up here (in Mandarin).

OK, that's my update —
now on to the topic.

【Earning NT$330,000 a month — what are you crying about?】

A while ago I came across a post on Dcard (a popular Taiwanese forum)
and shared it with friends in the Lounge because I found it interesting,
and some of them asked what I thought of it.

So today let's talk about it.
Here's an excerpt — the original is a bit long.

My wife and I both work at Hsinchu Science Park (Taiwan's tech hub).
Together we take home about NT$4 million a year — NT$330,000 a month on average (roughly US$10,000).
Lots of people will read this and say:

“With 330,000, what are you crying about?” OK, let's look at reality.
1. A European import car: NT$3.5 million, on installments — NT$30,000 a month.

2. Food: over NT$10,000 per person a month — call it NT$25,000 for two.

3. A home on Guanxin Road: NT$750,000 per ping (about 3.3 m²), 45 ping is about NT$34 million;
with a 70% mortgage, NT$90,000 a month.

4. Two trips abroad a year, and birthdays must be celebrated:
NT$300,000 for two trips — NT$25,000 a month.

5. Insurance for two: NT$10,000.

6. Utilities and building fees: NT$10,000.

7. Support for our parents: NT$50,000.

Total: NT$230,000. 330,000 − 230,000 = 100,000 left.

Now someone will say: “100,000 isn't enough? How much do you spend?”

OK, there's more. Every year I buy a Rolex —
about NT$500,000, or NT$42,000 a month. My wife buys two or three bags a year,
about NT$250,000, or NT$21,000 a month.

My wife loves cats and dogs
and donates NT$5,000 a month. Everyday entertainment, dinners out, clothes,
gadgets, wedding and funeral gifts, medical bills: about NT$20,000.

Grand total: NT$318,000.

In other words — a monthly income of 330,000 leaves just over 10,000.

Yes, NT$5 million a year, and we can't save anything. In Hsinchu,
NT$5 million a year doesn't make you rich. We don't dare have children.

That's the post.
How do you feel after reading it?

You are a product of your past

I think the point of the whole post isn't having children;
it's his values.

Morgan Housel told a story on his podcast:

Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, once had a heart attack
and was rushed to hospital, where he was saved.

Later, on a show, the host asked him:
“On the way to the hospital, what were you thinking?”

He said, “Damn it, I didn't spend enough money.”

Jack Welch grew up very poor, so he always drank cheap wine.
He felt as long as it was drinkable, it was fine. Even after he became extremely rich,
he still drank cheap wine out of habit.

But after that heart attack, he swore
he'd never again drink wine under a hundred dollars.

Jack Welch told the host: “We are all products of our past.
The environment you grew up in shapes how you spend today.”

My family was poor when I was a kid. I had no pocket money,
so if I wanted to buy something I had to save it out of my living allowance,
and the only spending I could control was food.

My rule was: eat enough, not eat well.
Rice with soy sauce could be a meal;
bak kut teh instant noodles could last a week —
all to save money.

That mindset stayed with me
as I grew up, started working
and started earning money — even now.

So I never cared much about food,
until I started focusing on my health
and choosing food that's good for my body.
Only then did my attitude to eating really change.

Back to the person in today's story:
in the past, I'd have sneered at a post like this.

But in recent years I've read a lot about the psychology of money,
especially Morgan Housel's The Psychology of Money (I covered it in episodes 59–67).

Only then did I truly understand
that we are all products of our own past.

No one is born with their values fully formed;
time and environment
shape who we are now.

He chooses to drive a luxury import car,
buy Rolexes and designer bags,
yet says he can't afford to raise a child, so they won't have one.

Could it be that his upbringing shaped values like these:
“A woman should treat herself well and carry luxury bags to attract a high-value man;
a man should wear a fine watch and drive a fancy car to show he's a high-value man.”

To be clear, I don't dislike fine watches, luxury bags or fancy cars.
I appreciate the craftsmanship — but that doesn't mean I need them.

Things can't buy real respect

In his book on life as a long, continuous accumulation (生命是長期而持續的累積), Professor Peng Ming-Hui
makes this point:
material things only earn the envy of strangers, never the respect of people who know you.

Your friends know who you really are.
Only good character earns their respect;
fame, money and position hardly change how they see you.
So things can't buy real respect.

So I won't judge this person — it's his life and his choice.
If buying Rolexes and designer bags truly makes him happy,
if he needs these things, then he should keep doing it.

But one day he'll find
these things no longer make him happy,
and he'll reach a fork in the road:

He'll question himself:
why don't things make me happier anymore?
And go looking for what truly makes him happy.
He'll decide the things he bought weren't expensive enough,
so he has to spend even more to get more happiness.

I chose the first path. I sold my Mercedes and my Rolex,
and now drive a used Skoda and wear an Apple Watch.

I came to understand:
there will always be someone richer than me, someone with a bigger house,
someone with a better car, someone with a pricier watch.

There's only one way to win the game of social comparison: stop playing.

You only see the surface, not the whole picture.

I once had a colleague
with an ordinary back-office job.

Yet he was never short of fine watches,
from vintage Rolexes to Patek Philippe.

Once I saw him wearing a Patek Philippe
and asked how much it cost.
He said, “Secondhand, still over NT$4 million — and you can't buy a new one even if you have the money.”

You might wonder how someone on a back-office salary could afford that.
Because you only see the surface, not the whole picture.

What you don't see is that his family is extremely rich, and his father left him a lot of money.

How can you compare yourself with that? So don't compare.

Social comparison is normal, but not necessarily right

Working at the Science Park, this person probably faces comparison with peers — that's normal.

Comparison isn't all bad; healthy competition drives society forward.
But if you don't know when to stop, you're the one who suffers in the end.

Remember:
everyone is a product of their own life,
and the best way to win the game of social comparison is to stop playing.

Social comparison is normal, but not necessarily right.
Only by leaving the game can you reach financial freedom.

I hope this helps.
Wishing you an early escape from the comparison game, and a clear road to financial freedom.

This week's episode

#71 | Not sacrificing today for an imagined tomorrow — that is retirement (with Hao Hsu-Lieh, part 1)

On his book about the psychology of financial freedom: freedom = ability − desire, retirement as a state you can enter at any time rather than a date, and how to stop comparing yourself with others.

Read the full show notes in English › (the episode is in Mandarin Chinese)

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