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Actual is going open-source

actualbudget.com

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Re: Actual is going open-source

#221

Post by ZephyrBlu »

TechTeam12 wrote: post #210
runako wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

0 - These examples were chosen specifically to avoid software & Internet companies, to show that "real" companies that operate in "normal" parts of the country also pay in the $200k range. (These companies are also likely to have less representation on levels.fyi because people who spend any time on levels quickly start wondering why they aren't working for a tech company.) "Cherry-picking" would be highlighting all…

5. What constitutes mid-career? Why do you disqualify someone who is 28?

Assume working life from 22 -> 65. Call it 45yrs. Therefore:

Early: 22-36

Mid: 37-52

Late: 53-68

You're definitely not mid career in your 20s. I'm in my 20s and I think that's dumb.

Re: Actual is going open-source

#222

Post by adamarice »

bern4444 wrote: post #103
adamarice wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve been working on building this since January. We should have the first version up in a few weeks. Here’s the landing page: https://www.haystack.finance

I don't know if this is a business you're trying to build or a project you're working on but I'd be interested in helping if you need. I was working on something like this as a side project but my motivation for it fluctuates.

Awesome, yeah send me an email at adam.arthur.rice@gmail.com. Would be great to chat.

Re: Actual is going open-source

#223

Post by granshaw »

la6472 wrote: post #212
codegeek wrote: post #25

"I completely underestimated how much work it takes to build a business. There's so much overhead. I'm always figuring out why a build failed, taxes, how to triage issues, responding to support, designing UIs, responding to Apple's complaints, and more. There's so much that goes on behind the scenes. There's no way a single person can possible do this alone, especially as a side project." This is the part that resona…

810 paid subscribers and he could not secure funding to sustain the business ??

Real curious what his pricing was like, do you know?

Re: Actual is going open-source

#224

Post by daenz »

maccard wrote: post #217
aidenn0 wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems expected to me that the welfare state is not going to be worth it for the top quintile? That's kind of how redistribution of wealth works?

And many of us who exist in the top quintile are perfectly happy with that, knowing that we are net contributors to a better place to live for others.

Do you think they should be forced to stay? Suppose it was easy for all of those high performers (who wanted to leave) to move to the USA. You would lose out on that extra tax revenue, and it would undermine the redistribution scheme.

Re: Actual is going open-source

#225

Post by pcthrowaway »

junon wrote: post #127
daenz wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like the missing piece is the interviewing and negotiation skills. The money is there, you just have to convince them that it is in their best interests to give it to you.

That was certainly not the problem.

Please take a look at levels.fyi if you don't believe there are $200K offers available (caveat: I can only speak for US+Canada).

I'm an above-average-skill but ADHD / below-average-work-ethic software dev in Canada who just finished interviews and my highest offer was $150K USD. I only prepped algorithms for 1-2 months but have a feeling if I spent 4 months prepping, I'd be able to break into the mid to high 200K USD range. And this is well below what a lot of people are making in the U.S. according to levels.fyi and teamblind.com

I don't say this to make you feel bad, and I even agree that the average is of course lower (glassdoor says the U.S. average for software engineers is ~$108K USD though I suspect older data-points bring it down from the real figure).

But I think >70% of U.S.-based software engineers with >5 years of experience are capable of breaking into 200K USD if they spent 3-6 months preparing (depending on their degree of natural talent and abilities to learn, problem-solve, and retain information).

Of course, chasing TC is also not a fun treadmill to be on, so if you're comfortable, you should do what makes you happy :)

The point of this is to say that these numbers are very, very real, and even attainable for the majority of devs who set their sights on them, and it's kind of silly to scoff at them as you put it. The only important skills required are ambition, dedication, perseverance, and good research skills (which are among the most critical skills for software engineers anyway) to be able to navigate negotiations and the market.

Re: Actual is going open-source

#226

Post by lmc »

daenz wrote: post #153
maccard wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of Europe sees you with the same tax rates of roughly 40%, if not higher. Even after rent, tax, and health insurance, your leftover pay is more than a mid to senior engineer will _gross_ before tax and rent in most major European cities. The real outlier there is the care cost. if you didn't have that, you would have 7/month left over (and even after that, you have $36k/year) - that's more than a mid level engin…

Why are European engineers paid so low?

Employer social security contributions is a big one. In the USA it's around 5-10% of a worker's salary. In Spain it's around 40%.

The gross salary a worker sees is after these, so not representative of what it actually costs to hire them.

Re: Actual is going open-source

#227

Post by molsongolden »

bern4444 wrote: post #60

There are a lot of tools like Actual (YNAB, Monarch, Mint, Aspire google sheet etc). All are focused on budgets and mostly managing cash accounts. I've always wanted an equivalent but for investments. I know you can sync investment accounts to some of these, but that only reports the balance generally. I'd love to have the equivalent for investment accounts that answer these questions: What is my sector exposure? How…

Maybe is roughly working on this for all of your assets.

Not much on their website yet but there's a high-level roadmap, discord, and newsletter. They're in testing with beta customers atm. Josh also built Baremetrics which does a great job of slicing and rearranging business data streams into useful insights.

https://maybe.co/

Re: Actual is going open-source

#228

Post by rglullis »

runako wrote: post #219
TechTeam12 wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

5. What constitutes mid-career? Why do you disqualify someone who is 28?

Great question! Mid-career means somewhere near the middle of your career. If you expect to work from age ~23 to ~65, the middle is around age 44. (Edit: if you start work at age 18, the middle is still over age 41.) Age 28 is much closer to the beginning of your career than the middle. Even if you retire at 50, the middle of your career is still in your mid-30s.

I am inclined to agree with you, but tech has two peculiar distinctions:

First, tech changes so fast that we end up having many "mini-careers" instead of a long one.

Second, ageism is still a thing: unless your work is so noteworthy that companies hire you for the PR (or to avoid that a competitor hires you for similar reasons), companies think there is not that much of a difference between someone with 5-7 years of experience vs 12-15.

Re: Actual is going open-source

#229

Post by panick21_ »

I work for a company that does this kind of product for banks. We spend a huge amount of time integrating our solution into traditional banks contexts. There for sure is a lot of overhead. But being inside banks also gives you better data access.

Re: Actual is going open-source

#230

Post by mypalmike »

lkrubner wrote: post #144
rglullis wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Again, what part of the world are you on? Even in Berlin, with all the talks about it becoming a top destination for tech people, I'm yet to hear any 6-figures offer. Even the blockchain companies that were flush with cash were paying 90-95k€ to their top people, maybe a 10-20% performance bonus. Mind you, we are talking about Germany where the tax is ~42% of your income at this bracket if you are single. When I was…

Europe is a very different system. Suppose I work freelance in New York City, so I make $20,000 a month. $8,000 -- city, state, and federal taxes take 40% $3,500 -- rent $1,500 -- health insurance $4,000 -- care for my elderly mom total: $17,000 In other words, it is easy to make $20,000 a month in New York City and feel like you are barely surviving. I'm grateful I don't have children, as it allows me to take care o…

Unless you are assuming worst case (ACA legal max out of pocket) you are vastly overpaying for health insurance. Average in NY is under $500.

https://www.ehealthinsurance.com/new-york-health-insurance

Also, you might look into state funded elderly care support. Saved my family thousands a month for my dad in assisted living in FL.

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