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Show HN: In a single HTML file, an app to encourage my children to invest

roberdam.com

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Re: Show HN: In a single HTML file, an app to encourage my children to invest

#131

Post by koakuma-chan »

whoooboyy wrote: post #128
koakuma-chan wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are people who don't invest? Do they just keep their retirement savings in cash? I imagine for most people either the government or their employer invests for them.

Incredible HN post. I'm hoping it's because you are from a country where people are generally well taken care of. Yes, there are people who don't invest. Where do they keep their retirement savings? 40-50% of Americans, at least, simply have no retirement savings! Most people in America aren't earning enough to put away a meaningful amount for retirement. It's going to be grim as boomers and millennials hit retiremen…

And it doesn't occur to them that they will need money when they're old and can't work? Incredible.

Re: Show HN: In a single HTML file, an app to encourage my children to invest

#132

Post by sebastiennight »

roberdam wrote: post #12
cbeach wrote: post #2

Showing siblings' investment performance side-by-side on a fridge-mounted screen. Author understands child psychology. You can't motivate kids by filling their heads with theory. Instead, make the outcomes of their actions visible to them - then they -motivate themselves- to learn how to improve those outcomes. Add in some friendly peer-competition and you're golden!

That was the idea! I hope it works out that way.

Can they pull money out? I don't see any place to update the balance up or down as the kids want to add money into the piggy bank or withdraw it.

Re: Show HN: In a single HTML file, an app to encourage my children to invest

#133

Post by coldpie »

sureglymop wrote: post #119
linsomniac wrote: post #102

There's an awful lot of negativity here, but as someone who's 55 and has earned a good wage since I was 17, I really wish I had taken investing more seriously from the very beginning. While I knew of compound interest, I really didn't understand it until like a decade ago. If I'd started putting 5% of my money into a target retirement plan from 17, I'd be retired now. As it is I'm not doing badly, but I really wish I…

You say that now but as a young person with a decent income and no family or many responsibilities it's hard to even know where to start. And I'm not even talking about what to invest in, I'm already confused at which platform/bank/whatever to do it through. The "meta", if you will. I just want to invest the 70% of my salary I don't need every month and not think about it for 40 years but how? Maybe an important deta…

Don't know about Switzerland, but most US brokers offer some kind of "target retirement date" fund, which automatically shifts from higher-risk assets to lower-risk as you approach retirement. VFIFX is one from Vanguard, for example. Pick one you like (just ask a coworker what they use, if you pick a big-name brokerage it really doesn't matter which one), shove your extra cash into it regularly, and forget about it. Then cross your fingers the market isn't actively crashing when you plan to retire (this is unlikely, but it does happen a couple times per century).

If you start to get into truly high wealth amounts (USD$500K+) you might consider hiring a wealth advisor, who can probably do better even after accounting for their fees.

Re: Show HN: In a single HTML file, an app to encourage my children to invest

#134

Post by koakuma-chan »

coldpie wrote: post #133
sureglymop wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You say that now but as a young person with a decent income and no family or many responsibilities it's hard to even know where to start. And I'm not even talking about what to invest in, I'm already confused at which platform/bank/whatever to do it through. The "meta", if you will. I just want to invest the 70% of my salary I don't need every month and not think about it for 40 years but how? Maybe an important deta…

Don't know about Switzerland, but most US brokers offer some kind of "target retirement date" fund, which automatically shifts from higher-risk assets to lower-risk as you approach retirement. VFIFX is one from Vanguard, for example. Pick one you like (just ask a coworker what they use, if you pick a big-name brokerage it really doesn't matter which one), shove your extra cash into it regularly, and forget about it.…

Even when it crashes it's like 20% no? It's not actually that big of a deal.

Re: Show HN: In a single HTML file, an app to encourage my children to invest

#135

Post by _vqpz »

nxor wrote: post #106
linsomniac wrote: post #102

There's an awful lot of negativity here, but as someone who's 55 and has earned a good wage since I was 17, I really wish I had taken investing more seriously from the very beginning. While I knew of compound interest, I really didn't understand it until like a decade ago. If I'd started putting 5% of my money into a target retirement plan from 17, I'd be retired now. As it is I'm not doing badly, but I really wish I…

Retirement is not mentioned in the post

It is one of the most common reasons people invest though so it's entirely relevant

Re: Show HN: In a single HTML file, an app to encourage my children to invest

#136

Post by koakuma-chan »

_vqpz wrote: post #135
nxor wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Retirement is not mentioned in the post

It is one of the most common reasons people invest though so it's entirely relevant

I don't think you need a reason to invest. You should be making more money than you spend, so you might as well put the surplus to work.

Re: Show HN: In a single HTML file, an app to encourage my children to invest

#137

Post by projektfu »

johntiror wrote: post #73

There’s an old story about Rothschild getting a haircut when the barber started giving him stock tips. Rothschild thanked him, left the shop, and immediately sold all his holdings. The reason was: “When even the barber is investing, the market’s gone too far.” I might be wrong, but reading this, I couldn’t help but think: if we’ve reached the point where we’re building apps to get our kids into investing, maybe we’re…

It's certainly apocryphal and you have the British version, probably. In the US it is usually Joe Kennedy and a shoeshine boy, and also didn't likely happen. These stories are useful parables, and they serve the purpose of explaining why the smart money didn't get cleaned out when the rubes did.

Still, if a 10 year old had started investing 10% in the market in 1920 and stuck through it during the depression, even with no income coming in at the time, they would have done handsomely through the recovery and into old age. In fact, a middle aged person who had been investing until 1929 would have not been fully cleaned out, and that money would have recovered its value by 1943. Margin was what killed fortunes in the day, so the lesson to learn is to avoid margin for your investment portfolio. (Speculation is a different story).

Re: Show HN: In a single HTML file, an app to encourage my children to invest

#138

Post by ffsm8 »

ashleyn wrote: post #125
linsomniac wrote: post #102

There's an awful lot of negativity here, but as someone who's 55 and has earned a good wage since I was 17, I really wish I had taken investing more seriously from the very beginning. While I knew of compound interest, I really didn't understand it until like a decade ago. If I'd started putting 5% of my money into a target retirement plan from 17, I'd be retired now. As it is I'm not doing badly, but I really wish I…

Sometimes I feel like I started investing late at 26. Already, six years into the best decade for compounding in your life. But such was the power of compounding that I had reached a substantial net worth by age 35. So even just nine years can make such a tremendous difference even into later ages. It's never too late to sock money away.

It remains to be seen what's going to happen over the next few decades. It's entirely possible that it'll all get wiped out (the substantial gains, not all value).

While the market was a very good bet for the last 50yrs, its not a guarantee.

Especially in the current climate you should be fully aware that it's significantly more risky to start investing today vs 10 yrs ago.

(Riskier doesn't mean it's necessarily a bad idea. It should just be a conscious decision under the acknowledgement that the upward trajectory is not certain. Especially in current political climate - and that "hodl"-ing doesn't necessarily mean you'll eventually get back what you invested, if a downturn manifests)

Re: Show HN: In a single HTML file, an app to encourage my children to invest

#139

Post by micromacrofoot »

koakuma-chan wrote: post #118
alxmdev wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably, because everything would collapse if everyone was an "investor" and fewer people did actual work to keep the world going.

There are people who don't invest? Do they just keep their retirement savings in cash? I imagine for most people either the government or their employer invests for them.

median emergency savings in the US is $500-600

1 in 5 have $0

50% have enough to cover 3 months of expenses

Re: Show HN: In a single HTML file, an app to encourage my children to invest

#140

Post by micromacrofoot »

koakuma-chan wrote: post #131
whoooboyy wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Incredible HN post. I'm hoping it's because you are from a country where people are generally well taken care of. Yes, there are people who don't invest. Where do they keep their retirement savings? 40-50% of Americans, at least, simply have no retirement savings! Most people in America aren't earning enough to put away a meaningful amount for retirement. It's going to be grim as boomers and millennials hit retiremen…

And it doesn't occur to them that they will need money when they're old and can't work? Incredible.

it does but they don't know how to change it
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