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How to get rich without getting lucky

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Re: How to get rich without getting lucky

#391

Post by Joeri »

20years wrote: post #236
falcolas wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Counterpoint: Your chances of dying before "making it big" and retiring are somewhere in the 1-in-10 range. Investing works mostly because of the current trend of artificially propping up the stock market. Any failure in your investment strategy leave you in the same boat as the current boomer retirees who are trying to get back in the workforce. Not to mention, your life is going to be pretty miserable if you're wor…

This is a good counterpoint and something my Dad points out often. He was very frugal, worked long hours and saved as much as he could so him and my mom could have a good retirement. She passed away at 42, so that never happened. He has so many regrets and wishes he invested more of his money & time in experiences with her while she was alive. I think there needs to be a balance. The trend of working crazy hours to s…

The trend of working crazy hours to save as much as you can, living overly frugal, etc. will not always lead to happiness or fulfillment.

This speaks to a common fallacy: the notion that happiness is a permanent achievement. Many people believe that you work hard so eventually you can achieve a position where you live "happily ever after". That's however not how the brain works. Happiness is a reward mechanism for effort bearing fruit. Once you stop doing things to become happy, eventually the happiness goes away because the brain adapts to its situation (this also works in reverse, you can get used to surprisingly horrible situations). The trick to being happy all the time is doing new things that make you happy all the time.

Re: How to get rich without getting lucky

#392

Post by [deleted] »

davedx wrote: post #90
whataretensors wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't listen to risk-averse engineers. You are young, invest in high risk things you believe in. Make it an active investment if you can. Recognize who is giving you boring advice(index funds), look at the risk levels in their life, and then disregard them if they don't take chances on anything. At a young age your risky investment % should be at it's highest. The exact amount will depend on your appetite.

Easier said than done. What high risk (low effort) investment opportunities are there for non accredited investors? I guess there's real estate but I don't know if that qualifies as 'high risk'... And cryptocurrencies, but I'd call that 'gambling' not 'investment' :)

[deleted]

Re: How to get rich without getting lucky

#393

Post by Willson50 »

frockington wrote: post #361
dpark wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Long term investment isn’t speculation. That’s why we call it investment . Yeah, if you are dumping money into a bubble hoping to cash out at the top, you are taking a major risk. If you’re investing long term in an asset with literally centuries of history of growth, then you’re probably going to be okay. And realistically, what’s the alternative? I guess government bonds?

Waiting for the "Treasury Notes are assuming the government will still exist 10 years from now" from people who apparently hoard cash in 1.2% Ally Savings Accounts

It's 1.6% now /s

Re: How to get rich without getting lucky

#394

Post by tim333 »

hoechst wrote: post #278

why aspire to "have way more money than you need"? cause that's what this "how to get rich" bullshit is about. set your focus on what you love to do, not on acquiring more than you need. that probably won't make you happy anyway. if you chose to work in IT because you enjoy it, you're already super fucking lucky anyway. you're sought after and money's good (generally speaking). if you feel like you need more, do the…

Getting rich is often a result of providing value to other people and so can be a positive for society. You can always give the spare to charity if you want.

Re: How to get rich without getting lucky

#395

Post by vinceguidry »

Joeri wrote: post #391
20years wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a good counterpoint and something my Dad points out often. He was very frugal, worked long hours and saved as much as he could so him and my mom could have a good retirement. She passed away at 42, so that never happened. He has so many regrets and wishes he invested more of his money & time in experiences with her while she was alive. I think there needs to be a balance. The trend of working crazy hours to s…

The trend of working crazy hours to save as much as you can, living overly frugal, etc. will not always lead to happiness or fulfillment. This speaks to a common fallacy: the notion that happiness is a permanent achievement. Many people believe that you work hard so eventually you can achieve a position where you live "happily ever after". That's however not how the brain works. Happiness is a reward mechanism for ef…

This is just silly. The brain's reward mechanism is a dopamine hit. But that's not all there is to happiness.

Re: How to get rich without getting lucky

#396

Post by skookumchuck »

falcolas wrote: post #187
11thEarlOfMar wrote: post #158

The highest probability for success for the 'everyday person': - Earn as much as you can from your own work. Take a 2nd job, change to a higher paying job, ask for more responsibility and a raise at your current job, go back to school for a more lucrative degree, ... - Spend much less than you earn. Economize, share an apartment, buy an inexpensive car, shop at Trader Joe's and Costco, .... - Learn how to invest. Thi…

Counterpoint: Your chances of dying before "making it big" and retiring are somewhere in the 1-in-10 range. Investing works mostly because of the current trend of artificially propping up the stock market. Any failure in your investment strategy leave you in the same boat as the current boomer retirees who are trying to get back in the workforce. Not to mention, your life is going to be pretty miserable if you're wor…

> current trend of artificially propping up the stock market

I've been hearing that forever. Yet still the market goes up an average of 7% per year after inflation.

> Any failure in your investment strategy

You'd still be doing well with a diversified portfolio even living through the 2000 and 2008 crashes. The 100% guarantee of failure is to do nothing.

Re: How to get rich without getting lucky

#397

Post by skookumchuck »

20years wrote: post #309
segmondy wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are tons of people who spent their money living it up and got old and are really struggling and having difficult times with tons of regrets. I suspect more than those who saved and died young.

Yes, I agree. I am not proposing spending all of your money living it up, but to find a healthy balance. It doesn't have to go in the extreme in either direction.

That's right. For example, an expensive new car isn't much better than a 3 year old used one, and the difference is a big chunk of money to invest. (And also being able to invest money rather than spend it on the interest on car payments.)

Re: How to get rich without getting lucky

#399

Post by tim333 »

ikeboy wrote: post #203

>There are no get rich quick schemes. That's just someone else getting rich off you. Eh. There are a handful, they're just unethical and sometimes illegal. E.g. https://www.aqr.com/cliffs-perspective/virtue-is-its-own-rew... explains how you can easily beat the market by investing in sin stocks. Similarly, you can make money really quickly if you mess around with grey market goods, shady affiliate networking products…

The term "rich quick scheme" generally implies a con but some schemes to get rich work out such as ViaWeb which led to indirectly to this website.

"Paul : E-commerce was not my life’s work. I didn’t actually want to spend my life working on this. I did it to get money and make that money."

Re: How to get rich without getting lucky

#400

Post by dyim »

0xfeba wrote: post #390
graedus wrote: post #338

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Going out to party can also be fun but this becomes the difference in spending $20 at home vs $200 in one night. Agreed, but try not to be the person who refuses to ever go out because you're too focused on being frugal. A few times here and there won't really hurt you in the long run (and having fun with friends is important and worth the money), but making it a habit every night will. Just avoid the latter. > Fru…

> Americans in particular tend to buy way more car than they need, and the difference in price is on an order of magnitude that really does matter in the long run for many of us Not only that, they trade it in (sometimes with negative equity) every ~5 years. I buy old, used Lexus'. Pretty much all modern features, quiet, and a fraction of the new price. Change the oil, and the timing belt if applicable, it will last…

How old, and how roughly how much do you spend? Thinking of replacing my '04 Civic sometime in the next 1-15 years :- )
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