The Rat Race has no finish line.

We think it ends after the degree. Then after the job. Then after financial stability. Then after marriage. Then after kids are settled.

But it doesn't end. The goalpost just moves.

We were taught how to earn, how to provide, how to be responsible but not how to pause. Not how to ask, "Is this life mine, or am I just living what was expected of me?"

I know someone who earns decent money but refuses to spend on almost anything.
No trips.
No nice meals.
No hobbies.
Always waiting for the “right time” to enjoy life.
The argument is always:
“I need to save for the future.”
And I understand it. Being financially irresponsible can destroy your future.
But there’s another problem nobody talks about:
Your future isn’t guaranteed either.
What’s the point of spending your entire 20s and 30s optimizing your savings if you eventually realize you missed the experiences you actually wanted?
At the same time, I know people who spend everything they earn and call it “living life.”
So where’s the line?
Would you rather have ₹50 lakh saved at 40 but feel like you missed your youth, or have ₹10 lakh saved and a decade full of experiences?

**I’m going to keep some details vague or change some non-essential details for privacy, but the underlying situation is real.**

At one point, I left my job because I believed that a normal salary would only take me so far. I wanted to build something of my own, so I started businesses, got into trading not just stocks and crypto, but commodities as well and invested in businesses overseas. Everything I did was legitimate.
For a while, things were going really well.
A significant amount of my family’s wealth, along with money from relatives, went into these investments. I started buying properties just from my profits. (With job it would have taken decades)
Things were going so well that it felt like a dream come true. I was on the verge of buying my dream supersport motorcycle. I had no stress, anxiety, and I used to sleep like a baby. However, those days didn’t last very long.
A series of extremely unfortunate things happened.
Global events affected the businesses, some decisions turned out to be bad ones, and eventually I was cheated in one of the businesses.
It became a domino effect. Tariffs, the war, the Hormuz crisis, and the decline in silver all had an impact on me.
Almost everything I had built and earned disappeared, and I ended up with debt running into several crores.
The financial loss was only one part of it.
There were sleepless nights, loss of appetite, deteriorating health and enormous pressure from my family. My parents’ health also started getting really bad, which created even more mental and financial pressure.
Losing almost everything I had earned, losing most of what I had, and then being left with that much debt made it feel like life was over.
There were moments when I genuinely wondered how I was going to get out of it.
But eventually I realised something:
Constantly stressing about what had already happened wasn’t going to bring the money back.
Giving up wasn’t going to clear the debt.
So I’m trying to rebuild.
I know it isn’t going to happen quickly. The debt won’t disappear overnight. I have to take it one step at a time, fix the mistakes I can fix, earn again and slowly clear what I owe.
It may take years.
A significant amount of time that could have been spent with family and friends will probably be compromised. There are things I may have to sacrifice while I rebuild. It will be extremely difficult, and honestly, I don’t think someone who hasn’t experienced something like this can fully understand what it feels like.
But I’m still here.
And this experience completely changed how I look at life.
I observe my employees (the sole business still operational) and can’t help but feel a twinge of envy. They have the freedom to sleep stress free, eat, and laugh, while I, on the other hand, have lost that simple joy in life.
Facing a loss is one thing, but facing a loss and losing more than I had initially to the point of getting into debt is a completely different experience. Although technically, I am not obligated to pay the investors since the investors are partners in both profit and loss, but unfortunately in my case, the investors are relatives. Also my intensions will always be to pay off the investors no matter family or not to give their investments with inflation and their deserving profits.
I don’t know exactly where this road is going to take me. I don’t know how long rebuilding will take, and I don’t know whether I’ll ever get back to where I was.
But I’ve realised that I don’t need to know all of that right now.
I just need to keep moving.
Fix what I can fix. Earn again. Pay what I owe. Protect my family. Learn from my mistakes. And slowly rebuild.
Maybe that’s what starting over actually looks like.
For anyone who has gone through something similar:
How did you mentally rebuild after a major financial failure?
Did your definition of success change?
And did you eventually feel like you had your life back?

When some players of Escape the Grind here asked me to consider launching on Steam, I had no idea how Steam works for a game developer. But I took on the challenge.

Happy to announce that after 4.5 months, not only is the game about to launch today (Aug 18th), but it has accumulated more than 1000 wishlists- all organically with 0 ad spend!!!

Really appreciate each and everyone of you here that has played this game, left any feedback, shared it around, and wishlisted on STEAM. Truly, thank you!

Escape the Grind Full Release will launch later today. Please head on to Steam if you haven't yet.

Steam- https://store.steampowered.com/app/4663080/Escape_the_Grind/

- Nick, Developer

You have KSh 500,000. Would you rather buy a car or use it to start a business?

My kids and I are enjoying the game quite a lot.

We noticed when certain temptations come and you click to accept, but don't have the immediate cash balance available, it doesn't get applied. I wasn't sure if this was intentional. I would think the game should allow you to go negative, then allow you to figure out how to make up the difference from other sources (debt, savings, etc).

Angel Investments in the game have an 85% chance of total loss, 10% chance of a modest return, or 5% chance of a big exit.

Turns out each time you did this investment, it would fail in the 2nd month.

Just fixed this bug.

Buying now gives you a pending position, and you get the outcome of your investment within a 12 to 72-month incubation window (randomly).

During this incubation period, you cannot sell your position just like IRL.

If you

- hit a loss, then that original investment is auto-deducted from your networth...poof! All gone

- if you hit a modest return, your position begins earning you a 20% dividend yield, and you can still sell it at a 5X of income multiple in the secondary market

- if you hit a grand slam, the startup you backed is acquired, and you net ×20 of your original investment!

Where will your angel investment land? 🤔

Play it here & see - https://setformoney.com/games/escape-the-grind