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Ask HN: What is the best financial advice someone has ever given you?

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Re: Ask HN: What is the best financial advice someone has ever given you?

#31

Post by AlwaysRock »

johncreatescode wrote: post #20
jameshush wrote: post #9

Invest in skills that pay money and spend less then you make. Skills are key because they’re inflation-proof, and no person or government can ever take them away

I always try to learn new things, and new skills that allow me to be able to get income even in a crisis. but how do you expand that so it doesn't depend on you, In the end, our body has an expiration date.

Sure. I worked in sales for many years and development for the last handful. It feels good to know that if somehow tomorrow development jobs were scarce I'd be able to walk into a sales job.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best financial advice someone has ever given you?

#32

Post by screye »

dosinga wrote: post #22
meristohm wrote: post #16

That land is more valuable than money. Reminded of this while watching Lakota Nation vs United States. The Oceti Sakowin refuse the just-compensation settlement claim for the Black Hills; a people can live many generations on the land, while money is an intermediary and too easily lost.

That doesn't strike me as financial advice; land is only more valuable than money if you care about a particular piece of land because of ties with it. Otherwise if you have money you can buy a piece of land. Having land takes effort, having money doesn't. You might enjoy the effort of course

No, land is illiquid, and that's a good thing.

People, as a group, undisciplined. Without discipline, money in hand is money spent. Land, land sits there, doing nothing, menacingly. In that sense, land is 'default alive' and money isn't. Generations can go by without any land-atrophy.

It helps with another human weakness too. It's impossible to get a person to save at rates of 30-40% of their salary. But make it a mortgage, and suddenly they've learned conscientiousness.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best financial advice someone has ever given you?

#33

Post by stavros »

saltcured wrote: post #27
stavros wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The trick with compound interest is to find something that beats inflation, because inflation compounds more quickly than your savings interest.

Another useful perspective is to recognize that a leaky vessel is better than no vessel at all. Savings is not just a poor performing investment vehicle. It's a security buffer which opens many choices down the road. Imagine if early society decided there was no need to stock food for winter because there is some loss in the process...

Sure, but the discussion is "where do I put my savings", not "should I have savings or not".

Re: Ask HN: What is the best financial advice someone has ever given you?

#36

Post by jmcgough »

ldjkfkdsjnv wrote: post #17
cpach wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is that?

Nobody gets rich from diversification. Its just what they tell uneducated people so that they dont take on huge risk

Idk, keeping spending low and pumping everything I could into index funds worked really well for me with minimal risk. When you come from a poor background and can't bounce back as easily from setbacks, you may have a different risk profile.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best financial advice someone has ever given you?

#37

Post by ungreased0675 »

jameshush wrote: post #9

Invest in skills that pay money and spend less then you make. Skills are key because they’re inflation-proof, and no person or government can ever take them away

While this sounds good, and I agree, it’s hard to turn a big pile of skills into money. Employers are generally looking for exact fit puzzle pieces.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best financial advice someone has ever given you?

#38

Post by usernamed7 »

I've got a few i like:

Put your money to work for you.

Time in the market is better than timing the market

It's better to own a small basket of good companies than a large basket of mediocre ones

gold is an important security in some cultures; but the US economy is a better bet if you can make it.

Re: Ask HN: What is the best financial advice someone has ever given you?

#39

Post by dauertewigkeit »

meristohm wrote: post #16

That land is more valuable than money. Reminded of this while watching Lakota Nation vs United States. The Oceti Sakowin refuse the just-compensation settlement claim for the Black Hills; a people can live many generations on the land, while money is an intermediary and too easily lost.

Is this true? I think the difference in ROI between land speculation and investing in the stock market is minimal. At least according to my napkin math. And both incur their own risks. BTW, I am not making an arguement for renting instead of buying. But if you had a spare $1million, becoming a landlord won't make you significantly richer than just putting it in the stock market.
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