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Fifty

jacquesmattheij.com

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Re: Fifty

#81

Post by fweespeech »

JoshTriplett wrote: post #68
fweespeech wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Or even if you're not changing track, if you're developer ~20%++ of the track changes on you every year, can you maintain this pace when you're older, maybe with a family, and don't have the time or motivation to learn yet another way of doing for the umpteenth time. For younger people I would recommend keeping a close eye on that situation over the long term and if possible have a plan B if you want to get off the…

> The plan B is always saving enough money to bail early on employment and retiring at 50-55. Or 35-40, which is not that hard in this field. Live like a college student, earn like a professional, and you'll be able to retire pretty quickly. Which doesn't mean you need to retire at that point, but it means you can . See https://networthify.com/calculator/earlyretirement and http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/t…

Both of those make some very, very optimistic assumptions about how reality works.

Pretty much any major negative event will add a decade and pretty much everyone has at least a one of those. A single one can wipe out years of savings, even at a 50%+ savings rate.

In the real world, you aren't in control of your savings rate for decades on end. No one is. I understand the illusion of that control is appealing but it simply isn't how reality works.

There is a reason the majority of the bankruptcies are from medical issues with 5 figures out of pocket and into the 6 figures when you count lost income.

Re: Fifty

#82

Post by joeyspn »

crusso wrote: post #33

Nice post, Jacques. Luckily, I'm only 47.5. I've got a long time before I have your concerns of being 50. I've found that the hardest part of getting older is the work you have to put into your mind and body just to slow the decline of age. You go from being in your 20's and eating all the donuts and burgers you wanted to.... to being in your 30's where you start having to watch what you eat and limit some portions..…

> At the rate things have been progressing, fundamental medical miracles aren't years or decades away - they're perhaps centuries away... but I hope to be proven wrong.

This is a natural reaction, specially when you see how fast things have advanced in tech. But in medicine, in order to really get the big breakthroughs we dreamed about years ago, some tools were required, and technology has only recently given us these tools: genome sequencing, stem cell manipulation, CRISPR/Cas9, open standards for eHealth, etc etc

So, I'd say there's hope, as many predict that the slope could be exponential...

Re: Fifty

#83

Post by compbio »

Thanks Jacques. I first read about you almost 15 years ago. I think you did an interview about the creation of webcams and starting the first webcam community. What struck me was the typical Dutch resentment for success and those that dare to stick their necks out. Commentators would say you were lying or embellishing or try to downplay your successes. That typical envy. I hope you are now totally over that.

A few years back you took a few hours to just chat with me, in a period when I was really depressed and did not believe in myself. Thank for you that. It really helped and you demanded nothing in return. A very approachable, commendable spirit -- I hope there are people around you who do the same for you.

Jacques. Thanks man! Congrats, and here is to many more years!

Re: Fifty

#84

Post by JoshTriplett »

fweespeech wrote: post #81
JoshTriplett wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The plan B is always saving enough money to bail early on employment and retiring at 50-55. Or 35-40, which is not that hard in this field. Live like a college student, earn like a professional, and you'll be able to retire pretty quickly. Which doesn't mean you need to retire at that point, but it means you can . See https://networthify.com/calculator/earlyretirement and http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/01/13/t…

Both of those make some very, very optimistic assumptions about how reality works. Pretty much any major negative event will add a decade and pretty much everyone has at least a one of those. A single one can wipe out years of savings, even at a 50%+ savings rate. In the real world, you aren't in control of your savings rate for decades on end. No one is. I understand the illusion of that control is appealing but it…

> Pretty much any major negative event will add a decade and pretty much everyone has at least a one of those. A single one can wipe out years of savings, even at a 50%+ savings rate.

Define "major negative event" here. Assuming you have insurance for catastrophic events, few things should be able to wipe out hundreds of thousands in savings, which is what you'd quickly build up with a high savings rate, especially in a high-paying field.

On insurance, see http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/09/21/i-can-never-retire... and http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2012/11/01/our-new-237-per-mo... .

More importantly, on safety margins in general, see http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/10/17/its-all-about-the-... .

And even if one of your desired safety margins is a pile of savings, the higher your savings rate the sooner you build up those buffers. If you assume one of those events will happen and wipe out a pile of savings, that's an added drain that you'd have to account for, but a high savings rate still means you'll retire sooner than you would have with a lower savings rate.

Re: Fifty

#85

Post by tomjen3 »

fweespeech wrote: post #47
mistermann wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But the biggest thing I've noticed? What look like big opportunities, vanishing in the rear-view mirror of age.....So you get locked into whatever track you set yourself running down twenty years earlier. Changing is hard because you have less of a future ahead of you to change for. Or even if you're not changing track, if you're developer ~20%++ of the track changes on you every year, can you maintain this pace wh…

> Or even if you're not changing track, if you're developer ~20%++ of the track changes on you every year, can you maintain this pace when you're older, maybe with a family, and don't have the time or motivation to learn yet another way of doing for the umpteenth time. For younger people I would recommend keeping a close eye on that situation over the long term and if possible have a plan B if you want to get off the…

Patio11 is my plan B. A startup at 40 is too risky but I am more and more convinced that if I took some problem domain that could be solved with code and then made that a SASS I could make quite a nice living for myself.

Unlike Patio11 my first attempt would be to go for business clients first, and not sell any plan less than 99 usd.

Re: Fifty

#86

Post by tomjen3 »

dack wrote: post #77
paul9290 wrote: post #66

I just turned 40 and whoa I've never felt such a drastic change previously, as ... - Im starting to lose my hair - I gained ten pounds a week or two after my birthday (lost it now after getting back to the gym); 5'10 178 now. - I suddenly succumb to a foot disease older men have to deal with... it came and went, but could come back. WTH? - Slight depression from all the above. I want my 30s back!

It seems all relative... I'm 29 and wishing I was in my early twenties again. I'm seeing my younger ambitions slowly seeming less and less plausible. And yet, I've seen posts from 23 year olds wishing they had done more studying in highschool/college to get a better head start on their career. Maybe it would help to try to imagine genuinely being another decade older in the same situation, looking back on today - and…

That sounds like an idea worth trying.

Also keep a mens journal (which is just another name for Diary) - it is surprising and interesting how stupid I was ten years ago.

Re: Fifty

#87

Post by itbeho »

NoCulturalFit wrote: post #71
greggman wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm in a similar place to the OP. I turn 50 in a week. I get told often I look in my 30s. The majority of my friends are in their 30s. Hung out for 6 months with 28yr olds forming a startup last year, they asked me to join them. With few exceptions I don't fit with people my age. What I find frustrating is the society at large won't let me ignore my age. You get categorized all the time. Some meetup or dating event i…

Man I don't look forward of being 50. It's a hard time getting a decent programming job at 30, imagine 50 :(

50 this year. Never had a problem finding good paying work.

Re: Fifty

#88

Post by jxm262 »

cstross wrote: post #8

I hit 51 next month, and that's ... well. These decadal anniversaries seem to get more onerous each time. 20? No problem, it just means you're not a teenager any more! 30? Okay, you're officially a grownup, but you can still party! 40 was pause for concern, but it isn't what it used to be, the threshold of middle age: that's 50. Oops ... Well, as Terry Pratchett observed, inside every old man there's an eight year ol…

> If you're under 35, my advice would be to think about that. I'm taking this post to heart. Gives me alot to reflect on, thanks for sharing :) I'm lucky to find a field that I love (software), but it's time for me to focus on what I want to do "within" the field

Re: Fifty

#89

Post by artmageddon »

tinco wrote: post #55
marincounty wrote: post #32

I hit 50 two years ago. I didn't mind turning 50. It was the constant stereotyping that society(at least in the U.S.) that finally got to me. I recall hitting 50 and not giving it much thought, but it seemed like when ever I turned on any from of media, I was reminded of all the pitfalls of getting older. It's so depressing, I am thing about getting rid of cable. I'll still watch movies on my devises, but I need to t…

This is not meant as an offense, but just a little joke: Ending statements with question marks makes people read your posts in the voice of a 15yr old girl, so that's age for you on the internet ;)

What if that was the intention? ;)

Re: Fifty

#90

Post by mooreds »

tomjen3 wrote: post #85
fweespeech wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Or even if you're not changing track, if you're developer ~20%++ of the track changes on you every year, can you maintain this pace when you're older, maybe with a family, and don't have the time or motivation to learn yet another way of doing for the umpteenth time. For younger people I would recommend keeping a close eye on that situation over the long term and if possible have a plan B if you want to get off the…

Patio11 is my plan B. A startup at 40 is too risky but I am more and more convinced that if I took some problem domain that could be solved with code and then made that a SASS I could make quite a nice living for myself. Unlike Patio11 my first attempt would be to go for business clients first, and not sell any plan less than 99 usd.

The issue there is that you need to spend some time working/understanding the domain of your SaaS app (unless you aim at developers, like so many many folks do), and that eats up time if you are going to do it right. I am nearing 40 and can only think of 3-4 domains that I'd feel comfortable doing a SaaS app for.
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