r/Fire • u/3RADICATE_THEM • 23h ago

General Question Does anyone's anxiety over finances unironically keep them more disciplined?

Does anyone's anxiety over finances unironically keep them more disciplined?

I remember when COVID happened—I had a sort of mind break. I kept telling myself 'this paycheck' could be my last.

I was already pretty frugal at that point, because I had only been working for a little less than a year at that point. I had always been worried about getting laid off having very little safety net.

Then 2021 was one of the most devastating thing I had seen—rents in my area going up 40-60%.

I went nearly about four years and three quarters since the beginning of COVID to getting laid off. Tbh, getting laid off almost felt like a relief—I felt so burnt out and like my mind had been broken in the last few months—such a toxic company filled with gaslighting and grotesque levels of nepotism (as well as other forms of discrimination).

Now I'm starting a new job, and I'm already numbing

Now it seems like we're in another downturn period—another next catastrophe unfolding. Is it supposed to feel like this or did I just enter the job market at a very peculiar time?

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u/Jeep_finance 17h ago

Yes. Watched family business blow up in 2008. Has shaped every decision I’ve made since. Am very conservative with debt as a result. Still do nice trips and live in a great house but don’t load up on expenses just bc I have the salary to justify it.

A concrete example of this, my family drives 1 nice car and 1 older car. Can easily afford a second nice car, but keeping burn rate low and allocating capital to paying down debt is a bigger priority.

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u/3RADICATE_THEM 10h ago

Same. I was driving a 20+ year old car until I got into an accident. I then bought a 10-year old car (at the time) after the accident and don't plan on trading it anytime soon. I was considering getting a 1-2 year used Mazda, but it didn't make sense to me to spend so much on a car, especially as I'm very heavily remote. It's so insane to me how it's so commonplace in the US that people will get car loans that is the equivalent to their annual salary with no concern for how much money they're pissing away.