Ask HN: I've saved up $80k USD. What should I do with it? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: I've saved up $80k USD. What should I do with it?

#31

Post by hef19898 » Wed, May 06, 2020, 10:54 AM UTC

neilgodwin wrote: post #9

uhnuhnuhn wrote: post #3

Nobody can answer that seriously without knowing your situation in life. Age, family, job, etc.

30, no family, software engineer, male

No idea why that comment ended up dead. But anyway, in that case, one potential thing to invest in is a own company. If that is something you are interested in. Not now, but when the timing is right. Until then, leave the money where it is.

One other thing would be an extended travel / sabbatical. As soon as this is an option again, of course. Regarding the startup thing, this is what I did after two years. Less money (keep some funds for rainy days!), but with a house and family.

Re: Ask HN: I've saved up $80k USD. What should I do with it?

#32

Post by keiferski » Wed, May 06, 2020, 10:54 AM UTC

ccmcarey wrote: post #19

keiferski wrote: post #17

Do you have any interest in building a startup yourself? If so, $80k will last you 4-5 years for bootstrapping if you move to a low cost area and don’t have any dependents or other expenses.

I have no experience with this, but I would caution about starting a startup purely because you have enough money to run it for a while.

...that’s why the first sentence of my comment is “Do you have any interest...?”

Re: Ask HN: I've saved up $80k USD. What should I do with it?

#33

Post by glofish » Wed, May 06, 2020, 10:55 AM UTC

sneak wrote: post #10

Short answer: Dump it all in VFIAX and ignore it for about 30 years. Alternately, wait for the housing market freefall that is scheduled to hit about 180 days from now, and buy a foreclosure or two. EDIT: Cosigning the above recommendation about maxing out a Roth IRA each and every year as well, and of course maxxing out any company-matched 401(k) options.

overall awfully misguided advice. when you buy foreclosure you are buying all responsibilities for the home - past debts, mortgages, liens, future taxes, repairs etc - in addition you are betting that future appreciation will all pay off - not guaranteed at all. Homes are illiquid and a lot of trouble.

no one should just buy a foreclosed home without thorough preparation

Re: Ask HN: I've saved up $80k USD. What should I do with it?

#34

Post by CalRobert » Wed, May 06, 2020, 10:56 AM UTC

keiferski wrote: post #30

CalRobert wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a great thing to do (for some people) but keep in mind that 4-5 years of lost income should be included in the calculation.

If you don’t do a startup because of supposed lost income, frankly you shouldn’t be doing a startup in the first place.

Which, of course, is a good thing to keep in mind when making that decision.

"I can survive for 5 years on $80k but will I miss ($x) where x could be $200,000-$2,000,000 when it comes time to retire" is a relevant question.

Re: Ask HN: I've saved up $80k USD. What should I do with it?

#35

Post by pvitz » Wed, May 06, 2020, 10:56 AM UTC

mrvenkman wrote: post #4

Buy property, silver or gold. Or - in the current climate shares in the airline industry.

Please also mention how risky your advice is. Refinitiv calculates currently e.g. an implied probability of default of ~14% for American Airlines and there are price targets of 1$ for them posted by some analysts. The gold price is close to its all time high and silver doesn't move much at the moment.

Re: Ask HN: I've saved up $80k USD. What should I do with it?

#36

Post by neilgodwin » Wed, May 06, 2020, 10:56 AM UTC

keiferski wrote: post #17

Do you have any interest in building a startup yourself? If so, $80k will last you 4-5 years for bootstrapping if you move to a low cost area and don’t have any dependents or other expenses.

I sure am, but as mentioned in one of the replies, I would need an idea that I believe enogh in. Would you do it differently? How do you know if something is worth it?

Re: Ask HN: I've saved up $80k USD. What should I do with it?

#37

Post by keiferski » Wed, May 06, 2020, 10:57 AM UTC

CalRobert wrote: post #34

keiferski wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you don’t do a startup because of supposed lost income, frankly you shouldn’t be doing a startup in the first place.

Which, of course, is a good thing to keep in mind when making that decision. "I can survive for 5 years on $80k but will I miss ($x) where x could be $200,000-$2,000,000 when it comes time to retire" is a relevant question.

Right, but again, if calculating your retirement is the prime factor when determining what to do with your life, a startup probably isn’t for you anyway. Stick with a solid well-paying software job and you can do the early retirement thing.

Re: Ask HN: I've saved up $80k USD. What should I do with it?

#38

Post by hef19898 » Wed, May 06, 2020, 10:57 AM UTC

neilgodwin wrote: post #36

keiferski wrote: post #17

Do you have any interest in building a startup yourself? If so, $80k will last you 4-5 years for bootstrapping if you move to a low cost area and don’t have any dependents or other expenses.

I sure am, but as mentioned in one of the replies, I would need an idea that I believe enogh in. Would you do it differently? How do you know if something is worth it?

dang, any idea why all comments are ending up dead from this user? Anything I miss?

Re: Ask HN: I've saved up $80k USD. What should I do with it?

#39

Post by glofish » Wed, May 06, 2020, 10:57 AM UTC

neilgodwin wrote: post #15

sneak wrote: post #10

Short answer: Dump it all in VFIAX and ignore it for about 30 years. Alternately, wait for the housing market freefall that is scheduled to hit about 180 days from now, and buy a foreclosure or two. EDIT: Cosigning the above recommendation about maxing out a Roth IRA each and every year as well, and of course maxxing out any company-matched 401(k) options.

I've heard that the decrease in prices is expected for business housing, not so much in residential. What are your thoughts on that?

all speculation - nobody knows, everyone can claim anything, then survivorship bias will kick in, and those that happened to say the right thing will claim "expertise"

Re: Ask HN: I've saved up $80k USD. What should I do with it?

#40

Post by stevekemp » Wed, May 06, 2020, 10:58 AM UTC

neilgodwin wrote: post #29

stevekemp wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even if there were to be a massive freefall in housing it would take the banking system months, and probably years, to get round to processing all the mortgages which were in arrears. Foreclosure is a slow, slow, slow process even at the best of times. People can avoid paying their mortgages and still be living in a property for many years. If you're imagining something that covers a significant amount of property th…

So, you're saying no fall in prices in the short to mid term is expected?

I have heard people predicting a collapse of the housing market for almost a decade. I expect some areas will see a rise in prices, and some a fall.

Mass unemployment will cause problems for many, but at the same time lots of countries are essentially forbidding evictions and that has to have a somewhat balancing action for the short-term. How well that will hold up is an open question, and nobody knows the answer.