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Ask HN: How do I turn 100K into 1 million?

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Re: Ask HN: How do I turn 100K into 1 million?

#41

Post by GFischer »

If you'd like to flip real estate, you might want to look into investing in Uruguay (South America), or another reasonably lawful third world country (Costa Rica?) where 100K Euros might get you somewhat far (taxes are the killer here, though).

However, building over here is better investment than flipping. You'd need a reliable partner or heavy hands-on overseeing, and I'm not him :P

I also agree with other posters that you stick to your strengths, and research VERY carefully. Edit: sailing over here is quite nice :)

Re: Ask HN: How do I turn 100K into 1 million?

#42

Post by nearestneighbor »

HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #32

If you were in the US, I'd suggest real estate. At this point in the real estate cycle, you could probably buy two single homes, or a duplex/triplex and rent it out and have positive cashflow immediately. I used to be a landlord, but sold the house and I sometimes regret that decision since it was bringing in about $400/month with no work on my part. Rental property isn't a bad investment if you're willing to do the…

> At this point in the real estate cycle, you could probably buy two single homes,

For $100k? Where in the US would that be?

Re: Ask HN: How do I turn 100K into 1 million?

#43

Post by rajatmehta1 »

From what you have written, it seems like you are a hard core programmer.If you like programming then shifting to some other profession to earn more money , might not help much as you will always have the craving to sit on your computer and create code. Trading is good but risky, i would suggest not to risk all your hard earned money there though you might allocate a smaller portion for this. Since you mentioned you take only those projects that you are interested in that means you do get more offers, start a consulting business and give the other projects that you are not interested in to other folks that you hire and earn from their hourly rate.

Re: Ask HN: How do I turn 100K into 1 million?

#45

Post by dean »

"I rent but paid cash for a recent BMW last year" One tip I can offer is not to do things like that. A house or condo is generally an investment that increases in value, so you should buy that for yourself instead of buying it for your landlord. And paying a lot for a car that will be virtually worthless in 10 years won't help you achieve your goal.

Re: Ask HN: How do I turn 100K into 1 million?

#47

Post by rjett »

Invest in adderall and see where that takes you. Joking.

In all seriousness, drop the desire to turn 100k into 1 mil in x amount of time. That will lead you into wreckless, speculative behavior. Trading is tempting for you because it offers instant feedback. With one or two successful trades, people tend to extrapolate their returns into future returns, believing that it's possible to repeat these trades over and over again. Odds are stacked against them. Don't fall victim to this thought pattern.

Smart investors invest where their odds are highest of winning. From what you've written, it sounds like that investment would be in yourself. What led you to this "blockbuster" year? Can you grow and expand upon the factors that led to such a successful year? I'm sure there's some opportunity. Do it.

Re: Ask HN: How do I turn 100K into 1 million?

#48

Post by ahk »

Given the probability that you will not actually make a million, I think that this is a false goal that will only lead to frustration. My plan is to utilize my savings, after having got out of the 10 year rat race, to do something I enjoy (that also has a fair chance of being big). If it turns out that I make a million, well and good, if not then atleast I've been enjoying the money instead of leaving that to after retirement. The rat race is always there if I feel the need to go back.

Addendum: I also believe pretty much anything you do for the next ten years has a fair chance of being big. The only problem I see is that you're constrained by having a family and so might not have 10 years to fritter away like that.

Re: Ask HN: How do I turn 100K into 1 million?

#49

Post by raphaelb »

nearestneighbor wrote: post #42
HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #32

If you were in the US, I'd suggest real estate. At this point in the real estate cycle, you could probably buy two single homes, or a duplex/triplex and rent it out and have positive cashflow immediately. I used to be a landlord, but sold the house and I sometimes regret that decision since it was bringing in about $400/month with no work on my part. Rental property isn't a bad investment if you're willing to do the…

> At this point in the real estate cycle, you could probably buy two single homes, For $100k? Where in the US would that be?

Here in small town midwest you can get decent rental properties for around 50k-60k.

Re: Ask HN: How do I turn 100K into 1 million?

#50

Post by mynameishere »

Then AOL ran out of capacity and I was back to my 700 bucks after paying about 200 in commission to Bear.

How did you pay 200 dollars in commissions on a 700 dollar trade? How did you find work at an investment bank without being sufficiently savvy to realize that buying options on a credit card and then paying a gigantic commission is an absolute, guaranteed way to lose money over time? I'm genuinely confused here.

At any rate, the only people profiting on derivatives are the market makers. And even they blow up eventually. (Example: Bear Stearns).

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