Ask HN: What to do after $8M (all cash, post tax) exit? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What to do after $8M (all cash, post tax) exit?

#71

Post by alsothrownaway » Wed, Dec 05, 2018, 11:33 AM UTC

As someone who has been in your shoes to a lesser degree, here are some things I learned:

It is best to not upgrade your lifestyle at all, but instead to use your position to bring broken people out of the pit. Here is why:

- 1. It is better to end the suffering of someone else than to make your own already-awesome life slightly better.

- 2. If you lose everything like I did, you will have actually lost nothing and only gained friends and good deeds.

- 3. Humans are insanely envious creatures. If anyone figures you out, they will most likely hate you and secretly hope it all burns. Before this, I never experienced the butt-end of envy. It can be so isolating; even if you are the nicest person.

One other thing: Don't completely fall into the lifestyle and mentality of doing whatever you want, whenever you want to do it. Maintain a connection to some kind of job or responsibility where your reputation is on the line; something where there is accountability. It will be incredibly difficult to return to "normal life" if something ever goes wrong.

Re: Ask HN: What to do after $8M (all cash, post tax) exit?

#72

Post by logicallee » Wed, Dec 05, 2018, 11:34 AM UTC

Park it in AAPL stock (Apple) right now and don't touch it until December 5, 2025.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18560515

Per my analysis here you will get a 10% per year return and I've never been wrong. Since I posted that analysis 5 days ago (it was at $853.41B then), it corrected slightly (to 867.76B now), which is 1.6% in 5 days. It is still undervalued by about 30% right now - there is a firesale on right now that will correct shortly.

As anyone here can tell you, the chances of it going to $0 is pretty much unheard of, there is no chance that 7 years from now it will be delisted or worthless or something. We're not talking about options here (which could go to $0). The worse risk you could conceivably have isn't that bad. So just park the money and forget about it.

Live your life as you have been. Oh, wait, I do have one piece of advice. You don't mention going to the gym, start going regularly so that by the time you're 50 and it's time to exit your AAPL position you will be in the best shape of your life. Don't travel or buy vacation homes or start investing or do other stupid stuff like that. Since you don't necessarily HAVE to work, invest more of your hours in your own body: without your body, all the wealth in the world is useless to you. Don't adjust your lifestyle upwards.

Re: Ask HN: What to do after $8M (all cash, post tax) exit?

#73

Post by gboone » Wed, Dec 05, 2018, 11:36 AM UTC

I'm like you, without the $8M and have an additional kid.

I'm also a financial advisor with a tech startup.

It's just money. Money doesn't do anything, so don't love it. However, your responsibilities with it just rose far beyond what you were prepared to handle. Take your time and find a professional. If you want to learn to do it yourself, find a professional who will teach you.

The job produced the money, but there is still work to do as a man. So plan to work. Work is hard, but work is where the meaning lies, not the money that the job pays. Is also important for your kids that they see you work.

You have reason to be concerned. Many would stop working altogether. I've seen it over and over. They end up with all the vices.

Plan to work. If you like what you're doing, keep doing it.

Re: Ask HN: What to do after $8M (all cash, post tax) exit?

#74

Post by thaumasiotes » Wed, Dec 05, 2018, 11:38 AM UTC

Oras wrote: post #51

1. Buy few flats/houses and rent them out. This way your investment will always go up comparing to saving money in the bank and you'll get consistent income like a salary. 2. Focus on your health, do some sport like jogging or running. Start small and keep increasing it. I'm suggesting this because you didn't mention you're exercising. 3. As everyone else said, spend more time with the family.

> Buy few flats/houses and rent them out. This way your investment will always go up comparing to saving money in the bank and you'll get consistent income like a salary.

It's true that investing in real estate to rent can give you a loss compared to nothing, but I don't think this comment deserved the downvotes it got. This strategy offers a fairly significant psychological advantage. The old principle of staying rich is that you own some kind of wealth that gives you an income, and you spend out of your income. Mortgaging or, even worse, selling your principal is the road to poverty.

The "modern" view of being rich as owning stocks that pay off by experiencing price appreciation makes this idea incoherent. Your entire wealth is principal and you have no income. For an asset that generates rent, or a stock that pays dividends, you have a much clearer conceptual divide between your stock of wealth and the income it generates, and therefore a much simpler idea of what it's OK to spend.

If you don't quite trust yourself with the money, setting up a scheme that allows you to follow a simple bright-line rule of thumb isn't the worst thing in the world.

Don't listen to people who say you should plan to spend the whole thing down so that you've finally drained it to exactly $0 just in time for your own planned death. Hold on to it.

Re: Ask HN: What to do after $8M (all cash, post tax) exit?

#75

Post by feistypharit » Wed, Dec 05, 2018, 11:40 AM UTC

WalterBright wrote: post #45

It may feel like infinite money, but can be burned through at terrifying speed. This happens to a lot of people who suddenly get money. My advice is do nothing with it, and start reading books about finance, investing, and money management. Then start gradually investing it as you learn the ropes. Hire a good CPA to help you with taxes. Buy liability insurance, because you're now a target for jackpot lawsuits. Don't…

This. Buy liability insurance. It's cheap and sadly, you are now a worthwhile target.

Re: Ask HN: What to do after $8M (all cash, post tax) exit?

#76

Post by grezql » Wed, Dec 05, 2018, 11:40 AM UTC

put the money is fund, one that is safe but gives like 3% annual return. Quit your job, spend time with family and maybe start in a NGO or other voltuntary workplace. Help other unfortunate people. You have now a stable passive income. Spend some of the annual income on vacation with your family

Re: Ask HN: What to do after $8M (all cash, post tax) exit?

#77

Post by jameswestgate » Wed, Dec 05, 2018, 11:40 AM UTC

Start training for an Ironman while you figure the rest out.

Re: Ask HN: What to do after $8M (all cash, post tax) exit?

#78

Post by h2onock » Wed, Dec 05, 2018, 11:41 AM UTC

Firstly, congratulations! You sound very level-headed about it all which is refreshing. If you're UK-based I'd withdraw it all and hide it in a safe... FCS only protects up to about £70k (from memory) and who knows what state the banks will be in post brexit!?

Re: Ask HN: What to do after $8M (all cash, post tax) exit?

#79

Post by tempoy12323232 » Wed, Dec 05, 2018, 11:43 AM UTC

Since you have kids, I would recommend putting money into your kids college fund, and make sure not to touch it, no matter what.

Re: Ask HN: What to do after $8M (all cash, post tax) exit?

#80

Post by merricksb » Wed, Dec 05, 2018, 11:43 AM UTC

This sounds much like the situation Paul Buchheit found himself in as Google employee #23.

He wrote a blog post [1] on this topic back in 2010, in response to a HN thread just like this.

Note that the post is no longer available on his own blog, so as you're reading it, try to read them as the words of a 2010 version of Buchheit, not a present-day one, as it seems that for whatever reason, he doesn't want this post attributed to his present-day self.

[1] https://web.archive.org/web/20180119114049/http://paulbuchhe...