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My Path to Financial Independence as a Software Engineer

software.rajivprab.com

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Re: My Path to Financial Independence as a Software Engineer

#401

Post by stocknoob »

mwattsun wrote: post #391
incognition wrote: post #380

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Real tip is don’t have kids. Corollary to your number 1

I don't agree with this because you want to have kids if you are to have any chance of anyone caring about you when you are old. I guess some might be satisfied with people caring about the money you have when your old, potentially leaving some of it to them, but that's not my cup of tea.

It’s nice to bring someone into existence so they can serve you. And if your kid is disabled?

Your retirement plan should work regardless of requiring you breed live-in caretakers.

Re: My Path to Financial Independence as a Software Engineer

#402

Post by cardosof »

deepnotderp wrote: post #379

Compound interest wasn’t the key here. The key was salary increasing rapidly and the 600K+ salary at the end. He could’ve not invested at all and still gotten there.

This. Compound interest is the key when the household income remains stable for decades. With monthly investments and dividends reinvesting a medium class family can achieve something... 20 years from now.

Not saying the author doesn't have merit, of course he has plenty. It's just a different kind.

Re: My Path to Financial Independence as a Software Engineer

#403

Post by detaro »

stocknoob wrote: post #401
mwattsun wrote: post #391

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't agree with this because you want to have kids if you are to have any chance of anyone caring about you when you are old. I guess some might be satisfied with people caring about the money you have when your old, potentially leaving some of it to them, but that's not my cup of tea.

It’s nice to bring someone into existence so they can serve you. And if your kid is disabled? Your retirement plan should work regardless of requiring you breed live-in caretakers.

"caring about" != "caretakers"

Re: My Path to Financial Independence as a Software Engineer

#404

Post by thesimon »

lpv wrote: post #362
thesimon wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Using a different metric the Netherlands are slightly better than the US, but Germany is slightly worse. https://www.oecd.org/els/soc/1-5%20generations.png

That graph, and "social mobility" analysis in general, shows the movement from low income to average. This is good for a country overall, but it's irrelevant to the discussion that people are having in this thread. Most people here are more interested in the median to rich movement. Unfortunately this movement is practically impossible in countries like Sweden and NL (for an employee). Let's take a typical profile th…

>Most people here are more interested in the median to rich movement. Unfortunately this movement is practically impossible in countries like Sweden and NL (for an employee).

Same in Germany why I assumed the diagram would be appropriate. But you are 100% correct and I agree with

> This person would never become rich in NL, but almost always become rich in the US.

Re: My Path to Financial Independence as a Software Engineer

#405

Post by giantg2 »

crakhamster01 wrote: post #384
ac29 wrote: post #369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> such compensation is reasonably possible to a moderately competent software developer working for big companies in the United States The author made $625k in compensation this year. Even for large US tech companies, that's far above the "moderately competent" level. According to levels.fyi, this is approximately what a Principal SWE makes at Amazon, the third highest compensation level listed.

My guess would be a higher end SDE3/L6 - I believe Amazon backloads their vesting schedule so the jump seems reasonable?

Rational, maybe. Reasonable, not from my perspective.

Re: My Path to Financial Independence as a Software Engineer

#406

Post by cpursley »

xvilka wrote: post #382
bjornsing wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That said, I know self employed developers making 150-200k (EUR) gross per year as contractors. There’s nothing unusual about that. I was making that kind of money 15 years ago. But one problem is, that’s about what I can make today as well. There is no upward mobility in pay. And it has nothing to do with ability. It’s a cultural thing. (Also, the deal is typically that you sell your social career progression. So…

Move to Russia with its low tax of 13% (could go as low as 7.5% if you establish a company and enjoy some additional benefits) and work remotely. Or any other country with low taxes and low cost of living.

It can actually go lower then that if you set yourself up as a contractor. And outside of Moscow basic apartments can be rented for $250 a month.

Re: My Path to Financial Independence as a Software Engineer

#407

Post by BeetleB »

vjeux wrote: post #232
lotsofpulp wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you are going to include the tax rate on the capital gains, then you should include the capital gains in the amount in your bank account. You should also hire a CPA or at least spend some time reading about strategies to minimize taxes if you are paying close to an effective 50% income tax on $500k of income.

You are right, I should be more precise. If you earn more than $523,600 and are single, then your tax rate is not 50% but 37%, which is still meaningful amount that is often not considered when looking at those big numbers. https://www.manafld.com/blog/2021/2/26/rsus-no-sell-tax If you are in California, then your employer will not give you all your RSU but sell 40% and give you 60%. So you don’t have a big scary sur…

> If you are in California, then your employer will not give you all your RSU but sell 40% and give you 60%.

That is entirely irrelevant. You will get taxed the same no matter what they sell and give you. If your tax rate should be less than 40% (true for me, and probably most people here), you'll get the money back as a refund.

You do miss out on any appreciation, but if you know your marginal tax rate is < 40% (just look at your previous tax returns to figure it out), you can simply spend the delta to buy the stocks you should have gotten and you'll still get the appreciation (and the cash in the tax refund to compensate you for doing this).

Re: My Path to Financial Independence as a Software Engineer

#408

Post by odiroot »

mwattsun wrote: post #376

Let me add 1) get a prenup before marriage because there's a 50/50 chance you'll lose half in divorce (at least in California.) This is not very romantic so it's not something I ever considered, but it's recommended to wealthy persons by lawyers. 2) don't become an alcoholic or drug addict. If you think you might be developing a problem, own up to it, seek help and go to rehab if necessary. This includes gambling add…

> get a prenup before marriage because there's a 50/50 chance you'll lose half in divorce (at least in California.)

Some countries outright ignore them anyway -- last I've heard England and Wales (Scotland still holding them valid).

Re: My Path to Financial Independence as a Software Engineer

#409

Post by ryan93 »

secondo wrote: post #217
bjornsing wrote: post #51

> Disclaimer: I acknowledge that I’ve been very privileged, especially in the educational opportunities I’ve had. This might sound reasonable from a US-centric perspective, but to me it reads like utter nonsense. The main privilege here is access to the US labor market and tax policy. There are no stories like this one where I live (in Sweden). Absolutely none.

> There are no stories like this one where I live (in Sweden). Absolutely none. Swedish tax rates on income makes this two to three times as difficult (approaches 60% plus 30% social paid by the employer this includes RSUs as well, plus 25% VAT) but it’s nonsense to claim this doesn’t happen. I am Swedish and have made significantly more in tech than the author. So has many of my friends. With that said, the only rea…

Whats racist about voters choosing the level of immigration they want?

Re: My Path to Financial Independence as a Software Engineer

#410

Post by [deleted] »

borski wrote: post #359
cpursley wrote: post #296

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For similar reasons they're supposed to feel guilty for being born into a particular race.

You are equating guilt with acknowledging privilege, and those aren’t the same. I feel privileged for having gone to MIT, and acknowledge that privilege. I feel privileged for having grown up Jewish and white-appearing, and acknowledge that. I feel guilty for neither, and acknowledging that particular privilege takes nothing away from how hard I worked anyway. The son of two very poor Russian Jewish immigrants, I wor…

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