Once upon a time, I had a hope that, for most men and women, nonwork income would relieve bulk of the pressure of this modern life, perhaps thanks to globalization reduc`min cost@basicHealthy Food.

This hope was based on a universal observation — cash flow is the primary source of pressure in modern life. FIRE discussions reinforce this common notion. I think it is only slightly exaggerated, like by 0.1%

See 3stressors PIP^FOMO^burnRate. Family harmony, wellness … can become more serious stressors than cash flow.

In my case, My non-work income is rising slowly but steadily to “close the gap” with burn rate, thanks to the contribution of other burn-rate relieves such as shield plans, stable inflation and currency, well-managed healthcare cost, robust rental demand, high-payout CPF-life,,,) This rise has given me a precious lens that’s rare among my peers. Through this lens I find peer comparison as a chronic, pervasive source of pressure. You can call it exclub or keeping up with the Joneses.

Now in my 40’s I feel burn rate is (slightly more than) half the “stressor profile” in me and my peers ! HaiFeng is not a best case study as I don’t know him well. Consider fellow techies like Raymond — if I had a consistent $6k nonwork income + zero salary, I would still feel low-income (not impoverished), mostly due to peer comparison and FOMO.

(Note non-work income does cushion the impact of PIP and job loss… Fairly effective ! See covid19$$handout reflect`Realistic burn rate)

Advice — Better accept a simpler lifestyle than the so-called “peers” lifestyle:

• without vacations to Europe, Japan
• smaller home, in an average school district. Remember Ms Cheng in Bayonne.
• small cars
• without latest smartphones
• fewer yoga classes

Look ! The tunnel vision of FOMO doesn’t pay enough attention to a few fundamental factors such as

1. lifetime income, in addition to peak income
2. wellness, long-term vitality
3. family harmony
4. career longevity
5. long-term peace of mind, deep and sustained sense of security and protection (by some God, a government etc)