Make a big life decision for me, please!

[syracusa]

I envy their situation. Not them.

If you want to Photoshop it this way, then I absolutely agree.

I think people have lost perspective on how good we have it, relatively speaking. Relative to how things were 200 years ago. Or how bad things are for billions who barely can feed themselves, have no clothes, or even roofs over their heads. Yes it's, society isn't perfect. Yes, there are very bad men at the top contorting the economy making it harder for normal people like us to get by. Yet, we're all still alive on this beautiful world. We're all well fed with a roof over our heads with warm showers and warm beds with big houses and TVs and all manner of comforts... you have a family too. Cherish what you have instead of being jealous of those who have more.

If you find your life is stressful, you have the right to try and change that; or not. But don't complain too hard, because there are millions if not billions of other people who have it worse.

Yes, I often resort to this view to make things look better.
However, the only real difference between officially poor people elsewhere and people like myself, is that we have a lot more inconsequential trinkets, and that they work with their hands while I work with my head. The amount of stress, actual work and hours sold for wages remain the same, with people like me probably winning in the stress department. People's lives cannot be compared in a socio-economic vacuum. While the differences in lifestyle and resource consumption between various regions of the world are both huge AND unfair at the global level of analysis, this fact still doesn't change the reality that the day-to-day needs of a middle-class individual in a developed country will be drastically different than the needs of a man living in an underdeveloped village. It may sound brutal, but it is true.
An example would be that my environment requires consuming relatively tons of gas just to go get a piece of bread, no matter how guilty I feel that I am consuming this gas which
has many terrible implications for people all over the world. At the end of the day, I still have to hop in the car and get the bread, no matter how unfair it is.

In the large scheme of things I remain grateful that my health has not cracked yet and that we are all relatively healthy. This is very big. I also admit that I tend to carry a larger-than-average sense of duty towards my children because I know they will face tougher times than previous generations and that they will need all the help we can give them. Other people just want to live their lives well and only make sure the kids reach 18 safe and sound under their care; after that, they are ready to send them out in the world to make it "on their own", which includes letting them be taken advantage of by financial institutions with tons of student debt. I never paid a dime for education (and I went as far as you can go with school) because I was lucky enough to live in different times and under a different economic system; but they won't be that lucky.

I profoundly disagree that things are better now than they've ever been for the average population. In the west, things WERE indeed getting better for the average man, especially a few decades after WW II. But this was short lived, historically speaking, because those at the top figured out that you cannot create a world where 7 billion individuals aspire to live comfortable, non-stressful and secure lives just like people in the West (US, Western Europe, etc) lived in the decades after WWII.

The world is slowly going back to Middle Age arrangements, only with more plastic available for the average Joe and no dirt on the hands. Just because the average Joe has more plastic nowadays, a few gadgets and no dirt on their hands, doesn't mean he lives better. He just lives faster...which in and of itself, is very sad.

Hence my dilemma. I wish I could slow down but I know that if I do, I will not be able to help my children in the future.

[syracusa]

No, not really. My wife was smart and picked software engineering at an ivy league plus didn't goof off in high school (was valedictorian). This allowed her to get a real paying job instead of majoring in art history and working at Starbucks.

We goofed off for about 10 years, but in our early 30s decided to get serious about saving. Just passed $1 mil in investments at age 43 and hopefully will retire in three years with about $1.5.

The leech aspect will be arranging our investments and living a modest lifestyle such that we pay minimum federal tax, no state tax, and qualify for subsidized healthcare.

You still worked a lot, and most notably, BOTH of you - speaking of the earlier discussions around the economic role of the SAH female. Now you just retire earlier than others. No big deal.
You're far from the kind of leeches I am talking about.
Children, by any chance? If you are one of those DINK couples, or should I say DHINK (dual-high-income-no-kids) couples, then it would be sad if you DIDN'T have the net worth you are mentioning.