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Golden Rules for Making Money (1880)

fourmilab.ch

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Re: Golden Rules for Making Money (1880)

#91

Post by 0xffff2 »

derekp7 wrote: post #40
0xffff2 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, they're not wrong. I'm a millennial in my early thirties who actually owns several acres of rural land. I would love to make it my full-time residence, but can't because I can't get decent internet out there. I'm a software engineer whose company lets me work remotely, but only if I can actually do my job. Until I can get good enough internet/phone service to call in to meetings and reliably access various re…

This will hopefully change in a few years, esp. with low-latency GEO satellite internet coverage (SpaceX, and other competitors).

(I think you meant LEO, not GEO.)

I completely agree. It's funny that I didn't care at all about SpaceX and Oneweb before I bought this property, but they can't launch soon enough for me now.

Re: Golden Rules for Making Money (1880)

#92

Post by sigmaprimus »

jmdeon wrote: post #76
sigmaprimus wrote: post #50

Don't Blab >>> This chapter/paragraph goes against everything I believe in, the entire opensource community is based on sharing. I am an aspiring farmer with a tech addiction and if it wasn't for people sharing their successes through YouTube and a lesser extent farmers that write books, this "City Boy" wouldn't have survived my first year on the farm. I also agree Internet sucks in the country, but it's still better…

Hey sigmaprimus I'd love to hear more about your transition from "City Boy" to farmer! I'm thinking of taking the leap in a few years after saving "enough" capital. I can put my contact info in my bio if you have time to private message.

I am still in transition to be honest, I have finally got to the point that I am living full time on the farm now but have not managed to make a profit yet. Farming is a great lifestyle but the farming lifestyle is not a great business, not yet at least. I am planning on publishing a blog/vlog this year and will definitely share it with HN. If you are looking for some inspiration though, look into Joel Salatin,John Suscovich and Curtis Stone on YouTube.

Re: Golden Rules for Making Money (1880)

#93

Post by smnplk »

tudelo wrote: post #62
ohaideredevs wrote: post #49

I am yet to hear one concrete piece of useful advice on "how to make money." The ONLY things I can say with certainty in life, as far as productive activities go is something like "workout, eat right, sleep enough, drink enough water." That's literally it.

> I am yet to hear one concrete piece of useful advice on "how to make money." Uhh... get a job?

Too many jobs, don't know which to pick.

Re: Golden Rules for Making Money (1880)

#94

Post by astura »

jimbokun wrote: post #73
ohaideredevs wrote: post #49

I am yet to hear one concrete piece of useful advice on "how to make money." The ONLY things I can say with certainty in life, as far as productive activities go is something like "workout, eat right, sleep enough, drink enough water." That's literally it.

This guy has plenty of concrete advice: https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/category/mmm-classics/ It is very similar to "workout, eat right, sleep enough, drink enough water", as they are things that "everyone" knows they should do, but few have the will power and self discipline to actually do them. Budget. Get your expenses under your income. Set aside an emergency fund. Pay off your debts as quickly as possible. Then…

The advise Dave Ramsey and Mr. Money Mustache give are really only applicable once you already did the hard part and built a steady career. Their advice isn't going to help someone who works at McDonalds with several kids with several deadbeat baby daddies and no family support get out of poverty, nevermind build wealth. The fact that most of Mr. Money Mustache's readers (who answer surveys) are engineers really reinforces that.

I'm not trying to pick on anyone here, I'm actually describing a good friend of mine.

That being said, I don't know what will, so I don't have any suggestions.

Re: Golden Rules for Making Money (1880)

#95

Post by monocasa »

pseudoanonymity wrote: post #67
jobu wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He clarified this point it a bit in the second paragraph: "Mr. Beecher advised young men to get in debt if they could to a small amount in the purchase of land, in the country districts. “If a young man,” he says, “will only get in debt for some land and then get married, these two things will keep him straight, or nothing will.” This may be safe to a limited extent, but getting in debt for what you eat and drink and…

Many full-time students use their loan funds to pay for food and clothing, in addition to tuition and housing.

You can lose access to grants if you work enough to support yourself.

Re: Golden Rules for Making Money (1880)

#97

Post by akiselev »

kileywm wrote: post #69

Interesting snippet of wisdom from the article: > The real comforts of life cost but a small portion of what most of us can earn. Dr. Franklin says “it is the eyes of others and not our own eyes which ruin us. If all the world were blind except myself I should not care for fine clothes or furniture.” In reading a few of the chapters, it was really interesting to see the dollar amounts written. They seemed rather high…

There used to be a lot fewer luxury goods and they were a lot more expensive because most came from "exotic" far away places (and many were valued solely because of it). Camel's hair, especially, likely wasn't an automated textile like cotton and it's a rather expensive material to begin with (a good shawl would likely run into four figures even now).

$1,000 is roughly two to five years average income (depending on the state) in 1880 so if the average family income right now is ~50k and a family of professionals makes 250k, it's not that far fetched. Especially when you consider that church was the important social outing for a majority of the population.

Re: Golden Rules for Making Money (1880)

#98

Post by blunte »

jimbokun wrote: post #79
plausibilities wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reminds me of that dude who made a rather impressive amount of money posting classified ads on how to make money where the "secret methodology" being sold turned out to be a set of guidelines which simply instructed the buyer to follow suit.

Sounds like an urban legend, but I hope it's true.

Most of the MLM industry is based on this exact principle.

Re: Golden Rules for Making Money (1880)

#100

Post by combatentropy »

canaus wrote: post #51

> We are all, no doubt, born for a wise purpose. I've heard and seen this time and time again and yet there's no advice on how to find that purpose. It's always easy to say, "do what you love" but how do you find what you love?

I sense two questions.

1. What kind of role should I play? Should I be a doctor or a lawyer, a salesman or a programmer? This is the question that the chapter addressed, and I think this question is easier. It should be obvious whether you would rather be a salesman or a programmer. It can get harder as you try to discern between two similar jobs: sales or management, mathematician or professor.

I believe personality is partly biological, and you should try to go with your natural grain. The Myers Briggs theory helped me, although at first it was hard to grasp. The best way may be to do a web search for each of the 16 personalities, read a few descriptions, and decide what you are based on that, instead of taking the tests. The theory may be pseudoscience, but it seems close to the truth.

2. Where should I work? Should I work at a website for finding restaurants or in healthcare? Should I work at Uber or Lyft? Or a nonprofit? Should I found my own start-up? If so, what should its product be? I think this question is harder for most people, and I don't have a sure theory for how best to tackle it.

What I'm coming around to believing though is that you get no meaning out of serving yourself. Sure, you need to take care of your needs, but if you try to find a job to fulfill yourself, you wind up empty. Instead I begin to sense fulfillment when I focus on helping other people. So, maybe ask questions like (A) What am I good at, or what do I have to offer (this is question #1, above). (B) What needs are out there, and (C) What are the opportunities within reach to mix A with B? Maybe start with small steps.

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