Feeling like a failure?

Ask those friends that earn twice as much as you, and are younger than you, if they feel like a failure?
 
I earn around the same as the OP.
I'm married, have 2 kids a 3 bedroom flat which is almost paid off and 2 cars.
My wife does not work, so my income is the only income for the household.
I don't save much at the end of the month, but I live comfortably.
I may not be able to afford all the luxuries that I desire but i'm content with what I have.
Be content with what you have and your depression will go away.
 
age old saying you have heard 10000000000000000000000 times.
Money <> Happiness.
It still amazes me that so many people know this saying but never actually use it.

Change sh#t up OP. Go travel, move jobs, move houses, get a girlfriend, go exercise, get a hobby, i dunno flippen something.

I've been in your situation where you are stuck in a job and depressed (granted i wasn't even earning half of what you are) but nothing in that made me happy. So change **** up. It's quite easy to do, just take a leap.
 
Rule of life. Some people will better off than you are and some people will have less than you have. Stop comparing yourself with others.
 
I am kind of with OP. He earns a decent salary but if you think about it what can you do with that?

25 years ago the equivalent of that would see you buying a nice little family home, decent car, etc. Now not so much.

I live in Cape Town, have a kid and wife who earns about half of what I do.

Both our cars are paid off (Hers is 10 years old - mine 5 ). We send our kid to one of the more affordable private schools because no decent government school will take him. We don't live an extravagant lifestyle but we can't afford a small, 3 bedroom family home in a decent neighbourhood.

It gets frustrating. We are doing everything right but are feeling increasingly under financial pressure. It sucks.
 
Kilgore_Trout_Redux said:
I am kind of with OP. He earns a decent salary but if you think about it what can you do with that?

25 years ago the equivalent of that would see you buying a nice little family home, decent car, etc. Now not so much.

I live in Cape Town, have a kid and wife who earns about half of what I do.

Both our cars are paid off (Hers is 10 years old - mine 5 ). We send our kid to one of the more affordable private schools because no decent government school will take him. We don't live an extravagant lifestyle but we can't afford a small, 3 bedroom family home in a decent neighbourhood.

It gets frustrating. We are doing everything right but are feeling increasingly under financial pressure. It sucks.
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well said.

from the heart I could tell.
 
DrJohnZoidberg said:
This.

I'm also OPs age and earn substantially less but it's really not something that bothers me in the slightest. I live a very comfortable life and don't care what other people earn.
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This. I am 31, earn roughly a third of what the OP earns but I have more time to do what I want than most people do. I choose to live with my brother to keep my costs low and yes, this can sometimes be a problem, but I'd rather keep my costs low and my life stress free and have time to do fun stuff than move out and see a huge chunk of my salary gone on a crappier home. The only thing that bothers me is that I would like a house to keep dogs in the future and on my current salary won't get me that, which is why I've started a couple of side projects.

OP. To put things into perspective, there are people who earn a ton more than your friends earn. Some people have made one video game and have billions because of that one game. Again, stop comparing yourself to others and live the life you enjoy. Salary is not an indicator of your worth or success. I also know some dumb ****s who earn a **** ton of cash.

Edit. Most of my friends are younger than me and earn close to what you earn because they are engineers and doctors and lecturers. In my group I'm the least formally educated person with an Honours degree, but it doesn't bother me one jot because I know I'm as smart as most of them.
 
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BashX said:
I earn around the same as the OP.
I'm married, have 2 kids a 3 bedroom flat which is almost paid off and 2 cars.
My wife does not work, so my income is the only income for the household.
I don't save much at the end of the month, but I live comfortably.
I may not be able to afford all the luxuries that I desire but i'm content with what I have.
Be content with what you have and your depression will go away.
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Context. How much older are you than OP?
 
Drifter said:
True that, but start factoring in a bond, varsity fees, car payments, it runs out pretty quickly.
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Which again is directly correlative of the lifestyle you lead. If your funds are running out despite a rather decent salary, then you need to re-evaluate your lifestyle.
 
CDP said:
Hi.

I seem to be experiencing some depression the last couple of months regarding my career or more importantly my income vs. my age status. I am a system admin at a mining company, am 32 years old and earn a gross monthly salary of R32000. The majority of my friends, all in different industries, earn more (and some much more) than me and they are either my age or younger.

This makes me doubt my future and career choice and I am feeling as if though I am a failure. I was wondering (hoping) whether there are some of you who have also experienced these thoughts / emotions and how you dealt with it. I know I should not compare myself to others but it is frustrating to see them being able to afford a house, children, new cars etc. and I am battling to make ends meet.

Any advice will be appreciated and I apologize for the depressing topic.
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32000 and ends meet don't correspond. WTF
 
@CDP, if you're very career oriented and driven then yes, you are earning too little at 32. If the friends you're comparing yourself to are far more educated//career driven/entrepreneurial than you, then you're not making a fair comparison. IMO, if you're 32, have a decent degree, work at a major mining company and you're a high performer, you should be earning around 65k pm gross, at least. Thats just my opinion though, and you know what they say about opinions...
 
Pavan said:
@CDP, if you're very career oriented and driven then yes, you are earning too little at 32. If the friends you're comparing yourself to are far more educated//career driven/entrepreneurial than you, then you're not making a fair comparison. IMO, if you're 32, have a decent degree, work at a major mining company and you're a high performer, you should be earning around 65k pm gross, at least. Thats just my opinion though, and you know what they say about opinions...
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65k pm :eek:, I'd be crying tears of joy if I ever get to that level
 
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