My cousin the accountant made me feel bad about my entire life

Was at a family dinner last night and my cousin Sarah asked what I do. I said I'm a digital nomad doing freelance writing from coffee shops. She gave me this look and asked how my retirement plan is going. I laughed but then realized I've been bouncing between hostels in Thailand for 3 years and have zero savings. Has anyone else had a regular person make them question this whole lifestyle?

3 comments

3 Comments

robertgreen1mo agoOG Member

Read an article the other day about how "success" looks totally different depending on who you ask... the writer interviewed people living in vans and people in corner offices. Your cousin Sarah probably just has a different definition of success, one built around 401ks and house payments. This lifestyle is valid as long as you're happy with it right now, but maybe you could set aside a little each month just to ease that worry in the back of your mind. Nobody ever regrets having a small safety net, even if it's just a few hundred bucks in a savings account.

johnflores1mo ago

Valid as long as you're happy" sounds like settling to me.

martin.paige24d ago

My buddy Dave quit a solid tech job to live in his truck and surf for two years. He was happier than I've ever seen him, until his transmission blew and he had to borrow money from his mom to get home. Now he's back in a cubicle saving up again, but he told me he'd do it all over, just maybe with a backup plan next time.