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Ask HN: How can I prepare for hard economic times?

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Re: Ask HN: How can I prepare for hard economic times?

#251

Post by zivkovicp »

fasteddie31003 wrote: post #238

Learn how to do things yourself. Learn how to cook, fix your car and repair your house. I've saved so much money over the years by being a DIYer and it's very fulfilling. Some examples of me saving money: Replacing the transmission in my truck: shop wanted $7k, I did it all for $2.5k. Fixing my deck and expanding it: contractor wanted $55k, I did it for $7k. Leaky pipe in ceiling: plumber wanted $1k, I fixed it for $…

This is excellent life advice in general, and it feels great to know you can do it yourself.

Re: Ask HN: How can I prepare for hard economic times?

#252

Post by fundad »

gwbas1c wrote: post #246

Short answer: Mostly keep doing what you've always been doing, unless you see a good opportunity for yourself or see clear risk for your family. Now is probably not the time to quit your job to work on that startup that you've always dreamed about. But that's more about your family situation. I have young children and I wouldn't quit my job even in good times. "see a good opportunity:" Perhaps a career move shows up…

Defense is likely the “massive government spending“ the OP referred to. Good idea to get your slice during its heydays

Re: Ask HN: How can I prepare for hard economic times?

#253

Post by shigawire »

tonyedgecombe wrote: post #215
CPLX wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> i don't think there are any places around the world where owning a car is cheaper than paying for public transit ( with the caveat that depending on how you measure the time spent could alter that) That's the world's biggest caveat. Investment in a modest car that stops you from spending 3 hours each way commuting over 4 separate bus routes from exurban home to exurban job is about as high a return on money as you'…

>Investment in a modest car that stops you from spending 3 hours each way commuting over 4 separate bus routes from exurban home to exurban job is about as high a return on money as you're ever going to see. I know your example is exaggerated but even so making decisions about where to live and work like that is on a parallel with making poor decisions about your finances.

Many people have circumstances that don't allow them to choose the exact place they live.

Also living in less desirable areas often has a lower cost of living - offsetting the cost of a car.

Re: Ask HN: How can I prepare for hard economic times?

#254

Post by blfr »

k8sToGo wrote: post #65
xupybd wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're right but if I can find 20 similar costs to cut out I can start to make a difference.

That is the right attitude. Spotify, YouTube, Netflix... it all adds up.

Yes but OTOH when you're unemployed is when you have the most time to really use these services.

Re: Ask HN: How can I prepare for hard economic times?

#255

Post by bratwurst3000 »

sofixa wrote: post #167
hervature wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But going into debt for a depreciating asset like a car is a bad idea, yes. This is just as stupid as: "But going into debt for a depreciating asset like a computer is a bad idea, yes." They are both investments in potential tools. For many, an investment in a car can ultimately be cheaper than most other modes of transportation. Just like how companies finance their data centers with debt. Of course, it does not m…

> For many, an investment in a car can ultimately be cheaper than most other modes of transportation. That's a joke, right? It's entirely dependent on one's location, and i think for more people here on HN the inverse would be true ( I'm assuming the majority of users here live in or around big cities, where tech was traditionally concentrated). In well developed big cities ( so excluding the many failures at urban d…

I live in a big city with excellent public transportation. But I need 1h to the workplace with them and 30 min with the car. An monthly tickets cost around 80€ here. The car with gas assurance etc 300€. I win around 10h time if i take the car … so 10h*my hourly rate … its a win win for me, sorry public transport ;)

Re: Ask HN: How can I prepare for hard economic times?

#256

Post by sofixa »

tharne wrote: post #227
sofixa wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> For many, an investment in a car can ultimately be cheaper than most other modes of transportation. That's a joke, right? It's entirely dependent on one's location, and i think for more people here on HN the inverse would be true ( I'm assuming the majority of users here live in or around big cities, where tech was traditionally concentrated). In well developed big cities ( so excluding the many failures at urban d…

Lol, you clearly don't live in the U.S. With the exception of Manhattan, and some parts of D.C. and SF, no car = no job.

That's why i said that most cities in the US are massive urban design failures. NYC, DC, SF have mostly decent transit, and I'm willing to bet there are more Americans here on HN who live around there than outside of around there. When you add the people from European or Asian or African cities with good transit, i presume we're in the majority.

Re: Ask HN: How can I prepare for hard economic times?

#257

Post by jonathanfoster »

wnolens wrote: post #250
fasteddie31003 wrote: post #238

Learn how to do things yourself. Learn how to cook, fix your car and repair your house. I've saved so much money over the years by being a DIYer and it's very fulfilling. Some examples of me saving money: Replacing the transmission in my truck: shop wanted $7k, I did it all for $2.5k. Fixing my deck and expanding it: contractor wanted $55k, I did it for $7k. Leaky pipe in ceiling: plumber wanted $1k, I fixed it for $…

Does the math pan out when compared against salary increases in tech? I happily DIY things, but for the joy of self sufficiency. USA software engineer bias: At several 100k raises possible (which you receive every year going forward), even 50k one time savings are drops in the bucket over the course of a career.

It’s all about your time versus money in my opinion. Do you have more time than money, do it yourself. Do you have more money than time, hire someone.

I found the hourly rate of tradesmen to be comparable to software engineer rates ($150-$200 per hour). But because I work on salary, one hour or my time does not directly increase my cash flow. Also, I’m senior enough in my career that effort alone does not equate to salary increase.

Your mileage may vary of course.

Re: Ask HN: How can I prepare for hard economic times?

#258

Post by fasteddie31003 »

wnolens wrote: post #250
fasteddie31003 wrote: post #238

Learn how to do things yourself. Learn how to cook, fix your car and repair your house. I've saved so much money over the years by being a DIYer and it's very fulfilling. Some examples of me saving money: Replacing the transmission in my truck: shop wanted $7k, I did it all for $2.5k. Fixing my deck and expanding it: contractor wanted $55k, I did it for $7k. Leaky pipe in ceiling: plumber wanted $1k, I fixed it for $…

Does the math pan out when compared against salary increases in tech? I happily DIY things, but for the joy of self sufficiency. USA software engineer bias: At several 100k raises possible (which you receive every year going forward), even 50k one time savings are drops in the bucket over the course of a career.

I've thought long and hard about this issue. Why DIYing makes sense for millionaires:

1. Depth vs breadth of skills: You could double down and become the most efficient software engineer, giving you great depth of skills and you could just pay people to do things for you. This leads to a boring life and a flat personality in my opinion. I know too many people who just know how to do one thing well. They are very boring to talk to, don't have many original thoughts, and just annoy me to be honest.

2. Control over your environment: It is a great feeling knowing you are the master of your environment and not beholden to anyone to get things done. Knowing I have control of my environment is a great mental relief and frees my mind to think how things should be done in a fun engineering mindset.

3. General understanding on how things work. I am a polymath and want to know how everything works. By DIYing you need to understand the fundamentals of how a lot of different things work to come up with a solution to problems. It's a good mental exercise.

4. Exercise: I have yet to find a better workout than manually digging foundations or chopping down trees for firewood. Most importantly, it get you away from your computer.

Re: Ask HN: How can I prepare for hard economic times?

#259

Post by sofixa »

majewsky wrote: post #193
itake wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in Seattle. To get to work in Bellevue, I have 1.15hr commute by bus + walking. When I lived in SF, I had a 1.5-2hr Caltrain/bike commute to Palo Alto. Missing a train would cost me 45 min. A car getting stuck in the tracks or a suicide would cost 1-2 hours. A car currently saves me 2hrs, enabling me to have more time to cook healthy food myself and visit the gym with cadence. Imho, a car pays me in dividends.…

I'm guessing GP was thinking of non-US residents when making their claim (although I'm very skeptical of the implication that non-US-based citydwellers make up the majority of HN).

Non-US based city dwellers+ US city dwellers from the few cities that get public transit right-ish, is, in my opinion, the majority here.

Re: Ask HN: How can I prepare for hard economic times?

#260

Post by Clubber »

coffeefirst wrote: post #213
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #87

I've always found that "living at my means" has paid dividends. To many folks, 'round these parts, they'd consider it "living below my means," but that's mostly because they "live beyond their means." I avoid personal debt like the plague. If that means living in a small house, and driving an old car, then so be it. I've also found that learning to deliver software, as opposed to just "writing" software, has made me…

This is sound. The difference between "below my means" and "at/above my means" is having a bunch of cash on hand so layoffs and market crashes are annoyances rather than crises. Not everyone can do this, but if you can, it's worth it for your sanity alone. Also learn to cook. Cooking is infinitely cheaper than eating out. There are a lot of comments about streaming services, which is similar to "make your own coffee.…

>is having a bunch of cash on hand so layoffs and market crashes are annoyances rather than crises

If you really planned well, getting laid off due to market conditions can be a blessing. I've allowed myself a 3 month sabbatical before and it was amazing. My costs were higher than I wanted them to be, so I started to stress (unnecessarily really) toward the end. I'm in a much better position now though.

Edit: Health insurance w/ COBRA is the biggest cost. I wish the ACA would apply to recently unemployed people and apply the subsidized zero income rate temporarily, at least for catastrophic events.

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