Many of my friends (even though they havent said it out loud..) probably think im a bit weird to be saving away for some distant future years from now. It simple isnt in their mindset. I have alot lower income then most of my friends but they save less (if any). They probably feel that saving are for the oldies, when you are young you should enjoy life (I dont know the correlation between expensive clothes and happines, but it cant be high?)

Many of my friends arent happy about their housingstandards. They simply stay passive and hope for better times. I think the key is to understand that you can change your future by saving. By saving a modest 2000kr every month (about 300 usd) you can probably pay half of an apartment ,in cash, 10 years from now.

Perhaps an automatic calculator like the one on swedish placera.nu (im sure there are others) can be a good tool for understanding how monthly saving grows. In that “piggybank” you put 3 inputs:
1) Savings goal
2) Savings time (years)
3) Yearly return (%)

And within seconds it spots out your needed monthly savings.

The hard bit is to start. Once people start saving they will see how little you sacrifice and how easy it is to avoid some of the unneeded consumtion.

:]

I’d argue the reason people do not begin building their path to a higher net worth is likely the same reason people don’t floss their teeth on a regular basis.

Everyone wants to have a cavity-free mouth, without gum disease, crowns and other unpleasant things, but does anyone actually take the act of flossing seriously? Most don’t and choose to floss only the night before seeing their dentist.

On the flip side, it is the individuals who truly understand the importance of flossing, as means to prevent future problems with their teeth and gums, who make the conscience choice to floss on a daily basis. These motivated people, much like people who choose to begin building wealth, are few and far between.

Congratulations to everyone reading Matt’s posts, as we are a select few who understand the importance of planning for our futures and allowing ourselves to be comfortable in the fact we will be ready for any future financial challenges.

Thanks for your comment. It’s not that I think people don’t want to build wealth, it’s that I think they don’t actively decide to set out to build wealth.

I’m sure reasons are varied, as people are varied. I don’t think minimalism has much to do with it, as most people are not particularly minimalist, though that might be the reason for some.

My estimate is that the primary reason is that most people view their wealth as being equal to their income. They receive income, and view that as money they can spend, knowing that more is coming with the next paycheck. They’ll set some aside for retirement and consider that “paying their dues”. Most people, while they want more money, aren’t actively choosing to become wealthy (or at least wealthier). Maybe they don’t understand all the options open to them, or look at themselves as someone that is not capable of building wealth.

Is it b/c they are minimalists perhaps and don’t need much?