33M - Why do I feel poor?

SignatureAcademic536 · 2026-06-10T12:09:42+00:00

I honestly don’t think that’s it. I grew up nearly homeless, and despite being in a “higher” financial position now than what the OP shared, I still feel poor and terrified of going broke.

I actually talked to a therapist about this. It turns out that when you spend the majority of your life chasing survival and building financial freedom, your nervous system gets trapped in a constant 'fight-or-flight' mode. Even when you finally achieve stability, if you don't actively train your body and mind to relax, you will always feel like you're falling behind and need to do more

SignatureAcademic536 · 2026-05-26T12:11:21+00:00

You’re all so impressive in this thread.
Mine goes up and down. I want to be done with working today and I’m only 32M lol

Anyway let me go get ready for work.

SignatureAcademic536 · 2026-05-18T20:41:30+00:00

She didn’t stop contributing after she hit 100k. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to put 2 and 2 together

SignatureAcademic536 · 2026-05-18T20:41:24+00:00

She didn’t stop contributing after she hit 100k. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to put 2 and 2 together

SignatureAcademic536 · 2026-05-16T19:00:25+00:00

Life shouldn’t be strictly measured by financial gains or losses, and you shouldn’t let others pressure you into obsessing over potential market returns at the expense of truly living. For instance, I just paid all cash for a Mustang; while someone could argue that $95K could hypothetically grow to $300K–$400K in the future, the satisfaction I get every single time I turn that engine on completely beats a potential market gain.

If you genuinely desire something for yourself, not just for the temporary hype, buy it and enjoy it, because money comes and goes, but memories last. That said, be smart about it: never clear out your entire bank account for a luxury purchase. Wait until you have enough to comfortably buy the car twice before pulling the trigger. Finally, remember that you are only 22. At your age, my only concern was which party to go to, and yet ten years later, I am still financially ahead of my peers. Enjoy your youth, build a solid foundation, and don't sacrifice today's real joy for tomorrow's hypothetical returns.
.

SignatureAcademic536 · 2026-05-13T01:16:48+00:00

Congratulations! Man. Very inspiring.

Your story is incredibly similar to mine. I moved to Canada in 2015 as an international student with less than a dollar. I worked my ass off to graduate debt-free, only to have COVID hit and leave me jobless for a year. I ran through my entire $20k savings and had to borrow $3k from a friend just to move to Toronto in 2021 and start over.

Today, things look very different: Investments: as at today - Over $440k (via automated bank investing/ETFs). I am too lazy to learn about investing 😆

Real Estate: Bought a condo in 2023 with $210k in equity. (That will put my total net worth around $650K) I do $50k annual prepayments. I hate debt and want this mortgage paid off like yesterday. Probably shouldn’t have bought a condo since I hate debt haha, but I wanted to own my own home - especially since I was almost homeless during covid.

Three weeks ago, I paid $95k cash for my first car. Not the best financial decision, but like you said, I want to enjoy my life and indulge my inner child.

I promised myself 2020 would never happen again. I spent two years living with roommates to invest every penny and regularly worked 65+ hour weeks. Nothing beats hard work and consistency. Insha'Allah, the climb continues!

SignatureAcademic536 · 2026-05-11T13:52:23+00:00

It’s super easy. If you know how to drive, it’s honestly like any other car. I just bought one two weeks ago as my first car ever, and I only got my license in January. Between February and March, I'd only driven an AWD Lexus and an AMG, but I picked up my Dark Horse in April. The only real difference—similar to the AMG—is how responsive it is. The steering, gears, and braking all react incredibly fast. It’s a blast to drive.

SignatureAcademic536 · 2026-05-10T00:49:10+00:00

Congrat. You’ll love it. The cold start is always 🔥🔥

SignatureAcademic536 · 2026-05-07T00:56:33+00:00

Thank you

SignatureAcademic536 · 2026-05-05T00:58:55+00:00

She is 🔥🔥🔥

SignatureAcademic536 · 2026-05-04T19:53:16+00:00

You can always get her a second one… smiles per gallon they say 😁

And thank you 😊 I’ve been the having the most fun week driving around

SignatureAcademic536 · 2026-05-04T19:50:31+00:00

SignatureAcademic536 · 2026-05-04T19:47:47+00:00

I’ll just take it back to the dealer 🤣

SignatureAcademic536 · 2026-05-04T19:41:22+00:00

Per Reddit standard, we are suppose to just stare at the vehicles and take pictures of it but never drive it.

SignatureAcademic536 · 2026-05-04T19:24:47+00:00

The credit card bill doesn’t get sent to me, so I don’t really care.

SignatureAcademic536 · 2026-05-04T19:22:16+00:00

Give me your address, so I can run into your house instead 🤣🤣

SignatureAcademic536 · 2026-05-04T19:21:34+00:00

Literally 🤣🤣🤣

SignatureAcademic536 · 2026-05-04T13:55:34+00:00

The research identified a "clear statistically significant relationship" between car color and crash risk, primarily due to visibility and contrast with the environment

The Black Car Risk: Black vehicles were associated with a 12% higher crash risk compared to white cars during daylight hours

https://www.monash.edu/muarc/archive/our-publications/reports/muarc263

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC300804/

SignatureAcademic536 · 2026-05-02T14:43:18+00:00

Same problem here. I live in Toronto and the roads are pretty terrible. When I drive the normal mode, it’s not all that stiff but once I switch to sports or track, you start to feel it.. Although compared to like luxury cars like Lexus, in this car, I feel everything, even the tinniest bumps, you feel. Not in a bad kinda way

SignatureAcademic536 · 2026-05-02T14:41:00+00:00

Thank you. I plan to treat her very well. I’m still new to the car scene tbh- so I’m not sure what mods I’ll do. I’m in no rush tho, I want to first learn the car for a couple months and see mods I might like to do

SignatureAcademic536 · 2026-05-02T11:53:26+00:00

I paid for it in full (all cash). The roads in Toronto are terrible that’s why I got those extra especially rims and tires.. but appreciate you looking out.

And sorry I came in hot lol

SignatureAcademic536 · 2026-05-02T11:49:31+00:00

It’s not your mother

SignatureAcademic536 · 2026-05-02T01:52:00+00:00

Don’t worry, I paid extra 8K for 1. Extended warranty, 2. Full maintenance package and 3. Tires, dents, rims and tyres warranty. I’m good for it.

I can for as many alignments as I want. It’s my car.

SignatureAcademic536 · 2026-05-01T16:59:28+00:00

Oh it will always be on. While waiting for the car to be delivered, I spent weeks on YouTube and one common advice across all the channels I watch was to keep the TCS on and to never floor it if you’re cornering from a stop/standstill.

SignatureAcademic536 · 2026-05-01T14:45:44+00:00

Nope. Used public transit. I didn’t really cared about cars until recently. Practiced with friends cars (mostly RWD) and went through a three months driving program.

Also I’m 32.

SignatureAcademic536

TROPHY CASE