On Time, Money and Health • Hacker News Board

Re: On Time, Money and Health

#61

Post by mythz » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 2:48 PM UTC

coldtea wrote: post #57

mythz wrote: post #21

Maybe it's different for others but my best years definitely started from high-school, Uni and backpacking (teens-early 20s) which we had to do on a shoe-string budget which I attribute to hanging out with friends and meeting new people which is much easier to do when you're young. Strangely after Uni and backpacking my earning potential increased dramatically but my happiness definitely plateaued, so looking back I…

> Strangely after Uni and backpacking my earning potential increased dramatically but my happiness definitely plateaued Not really strange. Why would something like "earning potential" correlate possitively with happiness? Especially if for it to increase you also needed to spent time doing stuff for other people, indoors, attend boring meetings, day-in, day-out, lose touch with friends, forego activities, and so on.…

> Not really strange. Why would something like "earning potential" correlate possitively with happiness?

Many people (esp. if you're on min wage) think accumulating wealth increases happiness as TFA suggests and as I did when I was younger. But as I pointed out with the benefit of hindsight to my younger self: money isn't the main source of happiness, prioritize enjoying your youth and friendships instead.

Re: On Time, Money and Health

#62

Post by kamaal » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 3:13 PM UTC

pjc50 wrote: post #38

alexpetralia wrote: post #4

One of my friends opined that if most people (limited to people on this forum, let's say) rationally priced in their future earnings, they'd be in debt more often, for longer and earlier in their life. The naive algorithm of "save as much as possible" might land high-earners with a huge nest egg they end up carrying to their grave. I think I agree with that.

> rationally priced in their future earnings, they'd be in debt more often, for longer and earlier in their life Future generations may not be offered a choice in this. After all, why should student debt start at age 18 and not age 5? Ouch.

You have presented a good edge case. But consider this. If you wouldn't want to go into debt at age 5. Would you want do it at age 45/55?

Re: On Time, Money and Health

#63

Post by WJW » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 3:18 PM UTC

maccard wrote: post #54

WJW wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a huge nest egg they end up carrying to their grave Oh no! The tragedy of not spending everything you own! Sarcasm aside though, almost everyone will mispredict how much they are likely to earn in their lifetime and the opinion of your friend falters a bit in the presence of significant randomness. Estimating your future earnings too low is not really a problem, estimating too high can lead to serious problems when…

> Oh no! The tragedy of not spending everything you own! I really don't think this contributes at all to the conversation. We're not talking about going out and blowing your paycheck. If your total lifetime earning over 40 years of working is $1.2M, and you only spend $1M over your entire lifetime, you could have just worked for 16% less time and enjoyed the time. Otherwise what was the point, just trying to maximise…

Literally the next paragraph of my post addresses that. If you are accurate enough to predict your life spending needs to within 16% of the actual number, more power to you and go on living. It seems like a tall order to expect people to predict multiple decades into their own future though.

However, let's do the math: if you expect to live to be ~80 years old and are currently 40, then with the 200k buffer you mentioned you only have 5k per year or ~416/month. There are numerous eventualities that could eat up such an amount, like unforeseen illnesses or children or both. Having a bigger buffer means you will have a bigger chance that you will not need to stress out over unexpected costs.

So the point (IMO, YMMV) is not to maximize the number but to minimize the chances of life's surprises catching you off guard. The extra money buys peace of mind. (And yes, after some amount any extra money is just excess and time would be better spent enjoying hobbies/romantic partners/friends/children, but how much that extra buffer needs to be can only decided by everyone for themselves)

Re: On Time, Money and Health

#64

Post by cryptica » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 5:32 PM UTC

drumselecta wrote: post #60

cryptica wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been working almost nonstop (including many nights and weekends) for over a decade, became a skilled software developer, built some popular open source projects but I got to a point in my career where it started to feel like my employers were turning against me instead of trying to help me. I had to quit companies on several occasions to try to progress. Managers were witholding promotions and suppressing my car…

You sound pretentious, hence why you don't inspire VPs enough to follow your projects. For that purpose, being skilled in SWE is barely important comparing to relational skills. It's time to question yourself.

I think the main problem is that the average investor feels uncomfortable around me when they know my backstory. Maybe it makes them question the meritocracy narrative. Maybe they feel guilty (about their own success) by being around me. People don't like to be reminded about how lucky they are.

Re: On Time, Money and Health

#65

Post by baby » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 6:06 PM UTC

mythz wrote: post #21

Maybe it's different for others but my best years definitely started from high-school, Uni and backpacking (teens-early 20s) which we had to do on a shoe-string budget which I attribute to hanging out with friends and meeting new people which is much easier to do when you're young. Strangely after Uni and backpacking my earning potential increased dramatically but my happiness definitely plateaued, so looking back I…

I think quitting your job and focusing on travelling or meeting people is the way.

Re: On Time, Money and Health

#66

Post by coldtea » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 6:27 PM UTC

mythz wrote: post #61

coldtea wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Strangely after Uni and backpacking my earning potential increased dramatically but my happiness definitely plateaued Not really strange. Why would something like "earning potential" correlate possitively with happiness? Especially if for it to increase you also needed to spent time doing stuff for other people, indoors, attend boring meetings, day-in, day-out, lose touch with friends, forego activities, and so on.…

> Not really strange. Why would something like "earning potential" correlate possitively with happiness? Many people (esp. if you're on min wage) think accumulating wealth increases happiness as TFA suggests and as I did when I was younger. But as I pointed out with the benefit of hindsight to my younger self: money isn't the main source of happiness, prioritize enjoying your youth and friendships instead.

As the oldest known song fragments saved with music and lyrics says:

  While you live, shine
  have no grief at all
  life exists only for a short while
  and Time demands his due

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seikilos_epitaph

Re: On Time, Money and Health

#67

Post by quickthrower2 » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 8:44 PM UTC

cryptica wrote: post #55

quickthrower2 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I upvoted, but I’d like to know more about your story, if you are ok to post it.

I've been working almost nonstop (including many nights and weekends) for over a decade, became a skilled software developer, built some popular open source projects but I got to a point in my career where it started to feel like my employers were turning against me instead of trying to help me. I had to quit companies on several occasions to try to progress. Managers were witholding promotions and suppressing my car…

I don’t think this is unique to you, this is the way it is.

You might be passed over for promotions as they see you as a good IC but don’t think you’ll be good at managing. You can probably solve this by taking on more responsibility. In my experience there are too few people who want to manage teams so someone is wanting to do is a big thing.

I don’t have experience in VC but I imagine raising money is going to be like anything else sales like and require a lot of patience, persistence and tweaking. There is a lot of advice on HN and from YC.

Pick if you want to climb the corporate ladder or start a startup as they are two quite different things.

Also I would probable see a psychologist to help change your mindset. The world is not conspiring against you.

Re: On Time, Money and Health

#68

Post by baby » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 9:02 PM UTC

rheide wrote: post #7

I love cycling. Did my first solo touring cycling trip over ten years ago when I was in my twenties. I've done a cycling trip every couple of years since then, until I got a mortgage. Then I started focusing on my career and kept delaying the next trip, thinking "next year will be the year that I'll make time for it". Now I'm approaching my 40s, I have a medical condition that limits the enjoyment I get out of cyclin…

Oh gosh :/ I’ve been delaying my trip to Asia for 3 years. I can’t eat spicy food like I used to now (or even drink and party). I want to believe I’ll be doing it next year but…

Re: On Time, Money and Health

#69

Post by mehanik » Thu, Aug 05, 2021, 9:13 PM UTC

cryptica wrote: post #55

quickthrower2 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I upvoted, but I’d like to know more about your story, if you are ok to post it.

I've been working almost nonstop (including many nights and weekends) for over a decade, became a skilled software developer, built some popular open source projects but I got to a point in my career where it started to feel like my employers were turning against me instead of trying to help me. I had to quit companies on several occasions to try to progress. Managers were witholding promotions and suppressing my car…

I met guys like you, skillful and hardworking software engineers who deliver results but are unable to build positive relations with management. Without it there is not enough trust for promotion, investment. The fastest way to learn this is to observe and adapt behavior of more successful people in your environment. Books on the topic often ignore the differences in national and organizational culture.

Re: On Time, Money and Health

#70

Post by asdf_snar » Fri, Aug 06, 2021, 11:35 AM UTC

cryptica wrote: post #64

drumselecta wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You sound pretentious, hence why you don't inspire VPs enough to follow your projects. For that purpose, being skilled in SWE is barely important comparing to relational skills. It's time to question yourself.

I think the main problem is that the average investor feels uncomfortable around me when they know my backstory. Maybe it makes them question the meritocracy narrative. Maybe they feel guilty (about their own success) by being around me. People don't like to be reminded about how lucky they are.

Respectfully, it seems like you didn't take the following comment to heart.

> You sound pretentious, hence why you don't inspire VPs enough to follow your projects. For that purpose, being skilled in SWE is barely important comparing to relational skills. It's time to question yourself.

Instead you deflected, re-asserting your internal monologue of: it's not me, it's them. It doesn't matter what your backstory is if you're not likable. That isn't a judgment on your character -- you may be a wonderful person and friend. Likability is a skill that can be learned, and one that is arguably more important than any software skills you may have (as you may have implicitly observed).