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Don't Waste the Good Days

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Re: Don't Waste the Good Days

#301

Post by nine_zeros »

ignoramous wrote: post #153
nine_zeros wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am with you. So fkin done with work (aka management and coworkers) wasting my precious time on this planet - on pointless nitpicks and micromanaging standups. Typed from a hammock on a tropical beach.

If you're at a beach, on a hammock... put that phone down, son. (: The news.yc crowd may not be all too different from your managers and co-workers. They are but a similar people in a different setting.

On a coffee tour, will get back to you later.

Jk, its the freedom from having to be present that makes retirement worthwhile. I still love tech and I still want to blog, read and talk about tech. I just don't want to waste my life on bullshit meetings and work that is meant to impress some management.

Re: Don't Waste the Good Days

#302

Post by staticassertion »

onion2k wrote: post #300
staticassertion wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if you'd die wind surfing? What if you would have cured cancer if you'd only worked that one extra day? What if you would have met the love of your life on the train to work? Asking a bunch of hypotheticals isn't a great way to make your point. Yes, as time goes on the chance of "bad things happens" increases. But we can also make a lot of assumptions. I don't plan to die at 57, I don't plan on being expendable…

Asking a bunch of hypotheticals isn't a great way to make your point. The hypotheticals are the point. When you're thinking about how to live your life, to windsurf or to build your savings for example, you're considering hypotheticals because you have to make a choice about which one to do. All the others are hypotheticals because you end up not doing them. Planning is all about hypotheticals.

I guess my point is that your hypotheticals are very leading and lack important context like probability. People generally don't plan to die at 57 because most people don't die at 57 (or 40). Planning your life like that isn't really sensible.

Re: Don't Waste the Good Days

#303

Post by staticassertion »

consilla wrote: post #252
staticassertion wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lots of people I know in a generation or two above me regret not saving when they were younger. Now they're nervous about being 70 and having to retire soon but not feeling stable, or feeling that they may financially burden their children. Compounding interest on money means, as previously mentioned, money you earn at 20 will be 10x as valuable compared to money earned towards a typical retirement age. With tech hav…

I think many experiences do compound. Most people who take the traditional path of working straight after school trade security for reference experiences which help in understanding what they want, and helping deal with challenges further down the line. For some this is fine, security is what they want and the 'what ifs' and opportunity cost on growth experiences will not bother them. For others this may cause more e…

I think the question of how experiences compound is totally interesting and worth asking (which is why I did :P). It's something I think is worth considering when thinking through how you prioritize your life and your goals.

Doing things that make you a happier, healthier (mentally and physically) person at age 25 my seriously pay off vs doing those things at age 45. In fact I strongly suspect they do.

Re: Don't Waste the Good Days

#304

Post by thelittleone »

onlyrealcuzzo wrote: post #271
thelittleone wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Very, very few people pay such an amount yet stay many years legally. There's some "fluidity" in the system.

Pedantic - but you aren't really "paying" that amount. You're investing in something easy to liquidate which has a history of not losing value.

Fair enough, but there are alternatives that avoid that payment altogether.

Re: Don't Waste the Good Days

#306

Post by neycoda »

ryandrake wrote: post #41

I feel like there is wisdom in "Make hay while the sun shines." When you're young and unencumbered by responsibility and family, when your cognitive abilities are at their peak, when your energy is endless, when your body is strong and healthy, when your knees work, and your fingers can type without arthritis: that's the optimal time to work and earn. Min-max that salary and stay healthy. Due to compounding interest,…

Wrong. Making your youth all about money is as wasteful as making it all about spending it. You can do both you know, make money but not spend all of it.

Re: Don't Waste the Good Days

#307

Post by altdataseller »

tayo42 wrote: post #71
basedgod wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yes let's spend our 20s and 30s hoarding money and never doing anything fun, then when we're older and tied down with spouses and kids and aging parents we have a gigantic pile of money we can use to go on slightly "better" vacations one week a year I don't think there's a single dying person on the planet that wishes they experienced life less in favour of making stacks.

yeah i feel this way already, at 31, starting to really feel options closing, and realizing how insignificant a lot of decisions were in the end I wish I did more with my 20s some how (not like i had a lot of money to do much with anyway)

What options do you feel are closing?

Re: Don't Waste the Good Days

#308

Post by tayo42 »

altdataseller wrote: post #307
tayo42 wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yeah i feel this way already, at 31, starting to really feel options closing, and realizing how insignificant a lot of decisions were in the end I wish I did more with my 20s some how (not like i had a lot of money to do much with anyway)

What options do you feel are closing?

I think the window of opportunity to keep traveling and exploring is closing fast, life's milestones are pretty much happening soon, buying a home, getting married and starting a family. I don't think Ill ever get a chance to live in another country besides the US, even for a short period of time. I probably should settle down at some point instead of constantly leaving friendships behind.

At this point its pretty clear I'll never advance as far as I would like in my physical hobbies without sacrificing a lot in my other aspects of life.

Food and cooking is something I can't really explore beyond a interest and just being an eater. I think this ties back to travel too.

There are a lot of things that are really tied up in academia. I got pretty interested in philosophy of mind last year but my enthusiasm died pretty quickly when I realized there is really no where for me to take this hobby other then satisfying my own curiosity. Somewhat similar in programming, more paths seem unobtainable. I don't think I'll ever do something like work on operating systems, anything that intersects with electronics or cutting edge. I don't have the education or even a way to test the waters. This ties back to before with life's milestones, I don't know if i feel comfortable about a risky career switch when Im making tons doing what I am already.

thats off the top of my head

Re: Don't Waste the Good Days

#309

Post by [deleted] »

bathtub365 wrote: post #66
derekp7 wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The truth is, no matter what path you take in life, you can find yourself wishing that you took a different path.

I saw this posted elsewhere on HN and it really resonated with me. “I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and a…

[deleted]

Re: Don't Waste the Good Days

#310

Post by SoldShort22 »

tayo42 wrote: post #308
altdataseller wrote: post #307

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What options do you feel are closing?

I think the window of opportunity to keep traveling and exploring is closing fast, life's milestones are pretty much happening soon, buying a home, getting married and starting a family. I don't think Ill ever get a chance to live in another country besides the US, even for a short period of time. I probably should settle down at some point instead of constantly leaving friendships behind. At this point its pretty cl…

Please don't sell yourself short. Yes, your window of opportunity is closing at 31. But don't miss the forest for the trees: you still have a huge window.

I always had an interest in traveling and was able to do some travel in my 20s and 30s, but nowhere near the amount that I had dreamed of. A trip at age 38 made me realize just how important seeing the world was to me and I left the US the same year. I have been living abroad ever since.

I've met expats who have been living abroad since their 20s and 30s, and others who didn't leave until their 40s, 50s and 60s. And I know plenty of people who have spent even 1-3 years abroad and are now back home and they are different people (in a good way I think) because of those years.

31 is a perfect age to do many things, including live abroad. If you're "making tons", you have more options to do this than many people. The only thing stopping you is yourself. If you want to do something, "just do it". There will never be a perfect moment, and you'll never be 100% comfortable before you take the plunge.

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