Maladaptive frugality hit the front page of Hacker News. The ensuing discussion resonated with me a lot, and these two comments were the most relatable:

Amarant wrote, “Whenever I have something a little extra in my fridge, most often Italian prosciutto, I refrain from eating it, instead saving it for a “special occasion” even though it is, like, my favourite thing in the whole world. Eventually I have to throw the mouldy prosciutto away because I was too frugal to eat it.” That has happened to me as well, and I have also needed to learn to “eat the prosciutto.” Learning to defer gratification has made delaying it too rewarding, so I have had to hasten it.

And, similarly, when I played Pokemon, I also was too stingy to use the items I found (and I never spent any in-game currency). The money meant nothing; it was fictional game currency! I was a child! It’s curious to consider this psychology at work.

There was a very interesting thread about debt being part of American culture. It reminded me of a disconcerting stat from 2016, how nearly half of Americans would struggle $400 to pay for an emergency.

Havoc suggested, “Any sort of morality like framing around it is likely to lead to issues.” That resonates with me. 

wenc shared an interesting article by entrepreneur Ricky Yean on mindset inequality. One particularly resonant passage: 

A poor founder tends to be less confident. My mom, who didn’t go to college, used to say this to me, and it bothered me a lot. She’d say, “We’re not meant to be successful, so what you’ve achieved is good enough!” Compare that level of confidence to a kid with successful parents who’d say something along the lines of “If you can believe it, you can achieve it!” Now imagine walking into a VC office having to compete with that kid. He’s so convinced that he’s going to change the world, and that’s going to show in his pitch. You can’t just muster up that confidence on the spot.

It was surprising to me how universal the experience was. I’m glad we all had a moment to talk about it.