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You don't really want a million dollars

ryanwaggoner.com

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Re: You don't really want a million dollars

#141

Post by petercooper »

I agree with the general point but.. I actually do want a million dollars for something specific ;-)

My family wants to move to the US (from the UK) and I want to continue working solely for myself. I could come up with a clever investment using the E-2 visa but that'd realistically take a cpl hundred thousand and then involve renewing/funding a business/etc. Or I could spend $500k-$1m on an EB-5 depending on locality. Beyond that, we'd need extra money to cover how expensive the US is. So, yeah, we could do with a million

Re: You don't really want a million dollars

#142

Post by [deleted] »

simon_ wrote: post #13

I really disagree with this. Far from being more than anybody needs, a million dollars is actually not enough to secure a dignified existence in the US. Sure... a "trip to Thailand" doesn't require a million dollars, but what if you want: Not to face bankruptcy if a major health problem arises? Not to worry about the cost of college for your children? To own a small home in NYC or SF? To afford competent legal repres…

[deleted]

Re: You don't really want a million dollars

#143

Post by rick888 »

ryanwaggoner wrote: post #83
oz wrote: post #69

No, you don't. I'm really tired of anti-money meme. Why is it so difficult for people to admit that many things in life come down to money? This isn't about being Gordon Gekko. You could have the purest heart, but it still takes cash to care. Some are fine with minimalism. More power to them. But I don't want to exist. I want to thrive. I'm 24. I realized a few years ago that my highest value in life is autonomy. I w…

I'm 24. I realized a few years ago that my highest value in life is autonomy. I want to be able to wake up tomorrow, and say "Hey, I've never been to Sweden," and just hop on a plane, without worrying about a small matter called rent. I'm 28, and I could do that today if I wanted to. And surprise, surprise, I don't have a million dollars. That's my point. Figure out what you want and make it a priority. Don't spend y…

"I'm 28, and I could do that today if I wanted to. And surprise, surprise, I don't have a million dollars. That's my point. Figure out what you want and make it a priority. Don't spend your life working for a big payoff so you can then figure out what you want. You'll never get there."

I don't want to work for anyone again. Do I need a million dollars? probably not, but I'm going to need a business that has enough income coming in to support my (and possibly anyone that works for me).

Re: You don't really want a million dollars

#144

Post by ryanwaggoner »

gnaritas wrote: post #119
ryanwaggoner wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In late 2007, my wife and I sold our car, quit our jobs, put our valuables and personal records in a storage space, sublet our apartment (for roughly what our rent cost), and then spent three months trekking around Asia. It's really not that hard if you don't have pets or kids.

> It's really not that hard if you don't have pets or kids. Which is a fucking enormous if . I'd bet at least half the people reading the post do have kids. Fuck, it's having kids that makes many dream of dropping everything and running away halfway around the world in the first place!

I have no idea how doable it is or isn't with kids. I don't have kids, but I know that a lot of families have jumped off the ledge and managed to be just fine. I hope I have the courage to show my kids a life without boundaries.

Re: You don't really want a million dollars

#146

Post by maxawaytoolong »

ryanwaggoner wrote: post #144
gnaritas wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's really not that hard if you don't have pets or kids. Which is a fucking enormous if . I'd bet at least half the people reading the post do have kids. Fuck, it's having kids that makes many dream of dropping everything and running away halfway around the world in the first place!

I have no idea how doable it is or isn't with kids. I don't have kids, but I know that a lot of families have jumped off the ledge and managed to be just fine. I hope I have the courage to show my kids a life without boundaries.

My sister has done this with her kids.

The deal is they have to be a certain age. I'm thinking around 6 years old. Old enough to not require 100% upkeep, but young enough to not have much else going on.

Kids pre-teen or older would rather be hanging out with their friends than accompanying their parents on their budget travel fantasy.

Of course it depends on the kids, but don't forget that at a certain age, spending a lot of time trapped with parents is the last thing a kid wants to do, even if (especially if?) it's on a bus across Laos, or whatever.

Re: You don't really want a million dollars

#147

Post by brc »

rationalbeaver wrote: post #96
muhfuhkuh wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What, in the ever-loving name of Buddha Himself, is a babymoon vacation?

It's the vacation you take shortly before the baby arrives. The wife and I took one (though I refuse to call it that). For the record, we probably spent about $250 on the whole trip (including fuel, lodging, food, etc).

We took one as well, but didn't know it had a name.

I got a last minute deal and it cost a few hundred bucks as well.

Re: You don't really want a million dollars

#148

Post by brc »

run4yourlives wrote: post #38

I find it rich (no pun intended) that a bunch of single folk can somehow assume it's easy to live these type of lifestyles if you have a wife and 2 kids. Sorry, but I'd rather have a million.

As would I.

Of course there is no point in having a million bucks as a single person. Yes, you'd probably just blow it.

With a family? Million dollars to have a comfortable home mostly paid for, college tuition sorted, no concerns about healthcare costs. If I got a million dollars tomorrow, almost nothing would change. Because most of it would go into securing the future and giving me more time with the kids.

Re: You don't really want a million dollars

#149

Post by guylhem »

runT1ME wrote: post #109
edw519 wrote: post #98

Interesting post. Let me rephrase the question: What amount of money would it take to solve my biggest problems? Here are my biggest problems: 1. My father had a massive stroke and died. I miss him. 2. My mother has severe dementia and now acts like a toddler. I miss her too, in a strange way. 3. In the past 8 years, I have lost 5 close friends and family members including the cousin I grew up with who died very youn…

Why don't you apply to work for a software company that intersects with the health industry. I really think they need all the help they can get from smart tech people. First one that came to mind: http://www.pictureofhealth.com/

Not a whole lot of information about it online. Could you recommand other interesting companies mixing healthcare and software? I'm thinking about going to HIMSS conf in Florida this february to see who's doing cool stuff and looking for help.

Re: You don't really want a million dollars

#150

Post by oz »

ryanwaggoner wrote: post #83
oz wrote: post #69

No, you don't. I'm really tired of anti-money meme. Why is it so difficult for people to admit that many things in life come down to money? This isn't about being Gordon Gekko. You could have the purest heart, but it still takes cash to care. Some are fine with minimalism. More power to them. But I don't want to exist. I want to thrive. I'm 24. I realized a few years ago that my highest value in life is autonomy. I w…

I'm 24. I realized a few years ago that my highest value in life is autonomy. I want to be able to wake up tomorrow, and say "Hey, I've never been to Sweden," and just hop on a plane, without worrying about a small matter called rent. I'm 28, and I could do that today if I wanted to. And surprise, surprise, I don't have a million dollars. That's my point. Figure out what you want and make it a priority. Don't spend y…

I don't intend to spend my life working for the big payoff. I like PG's concept of 'compressing your working life down to a few years.' Like I said to a work colleague, "Who wants to retire at 65, when you're old and geriatric, with barely any lead left in your pencil?"

At 30, I'd like to have my own music studio. But rather than simply making do with an M-Box and a cheap mic, I'd like a RME Hammerfall and Shure SM-58s. All thing being equal, money makes life easier.

It's like the old argument about bootstrapping vs VC. How many founders wouldn't want a longer runway while they iterate?

Thought so.

Admit this much: Up to a point, money simply makes life easier. And I suspect that point is WAY past 1 million.

In closing, allow me to post an unfinished poem I began writing a few months ago, as a repsonse to the 'wealth deniers.':

--------AN ODE TO LUCRE--------

We praise the One whose bounty feeds,

And to whose temple success leads,

Who blesses us with cream, with salmon,

All praise to Thee, O God, O Mammon!

The heathen speak against they name,

That thy seekers should hide in shame,

And that your love shall be our ruin,

Let papuperdom be their undoing!

(While on our grills, sirloin is stewing.)

Despite their speech, they too seek rent-

But saying for their Lord it's meant!

Till paid his due, Devil won't relent,

Even God demands his ten percent...

By suffering they have been selected,

Because thy precepts they rejected,

And while they in their misery puffeth,

We enter pearly Gates of Buffet.

Thou sent to us thy sacred prophets,

To lead us to make naked profits,

Who taught us how to raise our station:

O Atlas Shrugged! O Wealth of Nations!

I'll be finishing it soon...

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