1. Devote your life to golf for 3 years. 2. Win the 2013 U.S. Open.
Ah, but it is generally accepted wisdom that it takes 10 years to become really good at something.
Ask HN: How to become a millionaire in 3 years?
81–90 of 147 posts
Re: Ask HN: How to become a millionaire in 3 years?
#82Move to Zimbabwe.
Re: Ask HN: How to become a millionaire in 3 years?
#83Steps: 1. Learn to come up with your own ideas. 2. ... 3. Profit!
2. And then a miracle happens.
Really? No one's seen this?
http://blog.stackoverflow.com/wp-content/uploads/then-a-mira...
I'm not positive on this, but I think my comment's parent was actually referencing it.
Re: Ask HN: How to become a millionaire in 3 years?
#84Earlier quoted context omitted.
Perhaps an example of how "small" a trend can be could excite you enough to look out for things that are "bite sized" enough to try. I'm pretty deep in the Ruby world. A trend that has emerged (and is almost becoming a cliché) over the past 18 months or so is selling Ruby related screencasts. Peepcode started selling screencasts about 3 years ago but no-one followed on in a serious fashion for quite a while (until Pe…
I somehow got myself in producing open source video games for freelancing cash. I first got my starts by trying to blog about video games. Then I started a wiki which I bootstrapped off my own saving. Now it produce maybe 20-30 bucks each year. Not a whole lot, but I bootstrap my way with that money in addition to programming work that I started working. I am hoping to go back in automating the maintenance of my wiki…
I hope you missed a "k" after that 20-30 and 15...
Re: Ask HN: How to become a millionaire in 3 years?
#85Get a job as a software engineer at a large company. Rent a small room, don't own a car, don't eat out, don't go to Hawaii for vacation, whatever it takes to save $250k in three years. Then go to Vegas and put everything on red twice. (Metaphorically speaking -- I don't know if they'd allow a $500k bet in Vegas. But in the wonderful world of contemporary financial markets, there are instruments to make any kind of be…
Your method works, but even if successful, you'll end up at $1M pre-tax, out of which $750 are gambling income. Gambling income is taxable in the US. If you win that much you might have to pay estimated taxes on that, so you'd only actually have $1M for a few months.
Darn you're right :)
To defend myself (feebly) I can say that you can max out the after-tax 401(k) to the $49k a year limit, then fund a traditional IRA with $5k per year, then roll it over to Roth IRA after quitting your job (or even right away, if your employer's 401(k) plan supports it). That way $162k out of $250k will be tax-sheltered. (Of course, you can't take the money in Roth IRA to Vegas, but as I said with carefully tuned investments you can have the same risk-reward line-up). So you will only own taxes on $264k so the taxes will be in the neighborhood of $100k. So I guess you have to save a bit more than $250k or accept a bit worse odds.
One problem with money in Roth IRA, of course, is that you cannot take the earnings out without paying the tax and penalty, until you're 65. But if you plan to use your $1M to live modestly off of it (as opposed to buying a tropical island), then you can get around this by starting a SEPP program.
Re: Ask HN: How to become a millionaire in 3 years?
#86Get a job as a software engineer at a large company. Rent a small room, don't own a car, don't eat out, don't go to Hawaii for vacation, whatever it takes to save $250k in three years. Then go to Vegas and put everything on red twice. (Metaphorically speaking -- I don't know if they'd allow a $500k bet in Vegas. But in the wonderful world of contemporary financial markets, there are instruments to make any kind of be…
[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: How to become a millionaire in 3 years?
#87Get a job as a software engineer at a large company. Rent a small room, don't own a car, don't eat out, don't go to Hawaii for vacation, whatever it takes to save $250k in three years. Then go to Vegas and put everything on red twice. (Metaphorically speaking -- I don't know if they'd allow a $500k bet in Vegas. But in the wonderful world of contemporary financial markets, there are instruments to make any kind of be…
"If there was a sure-fire way of getting from $0 to $1M in three years everyone would be doing it."
I've seen many people write that, but I doubt it.
There's a sure-fire way to be healthier, look better, likely live longer, and have more energy overall. And yet the amount of people who don't exercise is huge. I doubt it's because they don't believe in the benefits or don't want the benefits of exercise, it's just that exercising is hard.
The same with making a million dollars.
Re: Ask HN: How to become a millionaire in 3 years?
#88Earlier quoted context omitted.
Can you name some ugly, stinky problem that we haven't already farmed out to the third world?
Visited the Gulf of Mexico lately?
Which brings up something I was wondering about. BP is compensating Americans. Are they compensating Mexicans, Guatemalans, etc...
Re: Ask HN: How to become a millionaire in 3 years?
#89Get a job as a software engineer at a large company. Rent a small room, don't own a car, don't eat out, don't go to Hawaii for vacation, whatever it takes to save $250k in three years. Then go to Vegas and put everything on red twice. (Metaphorically speaking -- I don't know if they'd allow a $500k bet in Vegas. But in the wonderful world of contemporary financial markets, there are instruments to make any kind of be…
I like this method but just increasing the time span to 12 years. 100% success rate.
Re: Ask HN: How to become a millionaire in 3 years?
#90Why? Why do you want to be millionaire? A little introspection and self knowledge might lead you to your real goals more directly. I've always been wildly successful at my goal - which was to be happy.
Being happy won't buy a car, a house, health care for you and your family, happy won't buy vacations or trips (though they in turn do buy more happy & health), etc. Happy is good. Wealth + happy is even better. :)
I personally don't think happiness works that way.
http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_gilbert_asks_why_are_we_happy.h...