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Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

robkhenderson.substack.com

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Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#461

Post by fbdab103 »

blagie wrote: post #367
prpl wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One slight different is that spending on your home will generally add value to it. It may not be necessary, and you may not get a dollar-for-dollar out of it, but it’s added value nonetheless. I cook a lot, I personally would like a higher quality stove - I’ve killed one before because I (an)use the broiler a lot (it wasn’t terribly old), but I probably would do an NXR or something. maybe in the $2k. Or a used Wolf/v…

In my area, if I were to spend $50k renovating my home, the value would increase by approximately $0. If I were to spend $300k renovating my home, the value would increase by approximately $100k. The only real increase in home value comes from additions which add bedrooms. If I were to spend money converting an attic, a basement, or adding an add-on, I'd probably come out even at the sale. And renovations are quickly…

>I'm much better off doing that right before a sale.

I would love to see industry averages on if pre-sale renovations make any sense at all. Considering the outright financial expenses, possible financing, potentially weeks/months of organizing contractors, dealing with overages, delaying the house sale, yada yada.

If the work takes more than a week (so not just appliances, painting, etc) is there generally a positive expected return?

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#462

Post by plandis »

steveBK123 wrote: post #47

"An example from Ogilvy Vice Chairman Rory Sutherland: If you’re a top executive, turning up to work on a bicycle is a high-status activity because it was a choice and not a necessity. But if you work at Pizza Hut, turning up on a bike means you can’t afford a car." This tidbit reminds me of a similar anecdote (that my experience aligns with) re: the modern upper class that wearing a $2k Rolex or driving a $70k BMW i…

> and doing a $500k home Reno because you have good architectural taste and style

This is basically the cost to add a second floor to your crappy home you bought a several years back because that’s all you could afford to buy in Seattle at the time. Probably even worse in some other cities.

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#463

Post by rdtwo »

nibbleshifter wrote: post #275
rdtwo wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not that simple. You need to validate the transaction on the chain and that takes hours

You only need a single confirmation these days. It takes 10 minutes. Source: have been doing this for years.

How much do you pay on the transaction cost

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#464

Post by [deleted] »

idlehand wrote: post #416
nightski wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's also because working "hard" isn't enough. You have to put your effort where it matters. That is so often overlooked.

Working hard implies the labor theory of value, which is that all work is interchangeable. While that might have been closer to the truth during the first industrial revolution, the variability in the value of labor has never been higher than today. It's comforting to think that those that have achieved the best outcomes in life have simply sacrificed time spent on other things, and spent more time on work. There mig…

[deleted]

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#465

Post by [deleted] »

idlehand wrote: post #416
nightski wrote: post #192

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's also because working "hard" isn't enough. You have to put your effort where it matters. That is so often overlooked.

Working hard implies the labor theory of value, which is that all work is interchangeable. While that might have been closer to the truth during the first industrial revolution, the variability in the value of labor has never been higher than today. It's comforting to think that those that have achieved the best outcomes in life have simply sacrificed time spent on other things, and spent more time on work. There mig…

[deleted]

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#466

Post by brendamn »

vineyardmike wrote: post #427
pclmulqdq wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there's a bit of an idea now that you should be expressing yourself with your money, not expressing society's ideas. Around cars and watches, this creates a little bit of a "dead zone" for prestigious professionals. For example, if you aren't showing up in a $200k Maserati, your car had better be under $50k (maybe $70k with inflation). Only posers who aren't really into cars but want to show off their wealth…

> Clothing seems to be the same at many companies: you had better wear tailored suits and shirts or be less dressy than "business casual." There’s a running joke in my circle about the “dad professional class”. People who are older (40-60s) and go to the office in a remote-work-accepting world mostly because they seem to want to leave their family at home. They all dress like shit in ill-fitting clothes, but because…

I’d be careful making assumptions about a group of people like you’ve done here. I’m not quite old enough to be in the “dad professional class”, but I’ve been around long enough to have worked with plenty of people who are. In my experience, the people who dress “like shit in ill-fitting [overly professional button downs and slacks]” have been dressing like that for at least the last 20 years, and that it was common (at least in IT/development) to dress like that.

Tech workers dressing casually at the office is only a (relevantly) recent phenomenon. Working from home, for a lot of people, is even more recent.

You’ve made a lot of assumptions, and I would consider that this group of people are just defaulting back to what they’re used to, rather than “avoid their wife and collect a salary”.

I don’t know where you work, what industry, or the demographics of who works there, but if “people [who work there] don’t always take them seriously”, and it’s based on older people dressing like older people, then there is a culture problem.

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#467

Post by sanderjd »

abbadadda wrote: post #262
sanderjd wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Instead, they get slightly pitying looks from coworkers, which make them feel slightly inferior and ashamed, which makes them not do it again. No they don't! Is my point. This is almost entirely a story made up by this bizarro world of smart people who think themselves into circles (and aren't working at pizza hut). Nobody cares how someone gets themselves to their job at pizza hut; the other people working there a…

You seem to be in denial that this phenomenon exists. I’d suggest reading _The Moral Animal: Why We Are the Way We Are._ Quite insightful. Status matters more than you’re letting on, and the perception of it is subconscious. No one (hopefully) is actively making an effort to look down on someone for riding their bike to their job at Pizza Hut - but many subtle things get registered by humans around us every day wheth…

From my perspective, it looks like you are in denial that this phenomenon doesn't exist. (Actually what I would say is weaker than that: what I think is not that stuff like this isn't a thing at all, but that it is ridiculously overblown by clever people who find it interesting to have this weird perspective on human nature.)

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#468

Post by sanderjd »

dilap wrote: post #248
sanderjd wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Instead, they get slightly pitying looks from coworkers, which make them feel slightly inferior and ashamed, which makes them not do it again. No they don't! Is my point. This is almost entirely a story made up by this bizarro world of smart people who think themselves into circles (and aren't working at pizza hut). Nobody cares how someone gets themselves to their job at pizza hut; the other people working there a…

Check out the song "No Scrubs" by TLC for another angle on the same topic. It's a real phenomenon, not just something made up by nerds on substack. Some people are blissfully checked out enough from social competition dynamics that they don't notice it.

Haha this is the only illuminating reply so far :)

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#469

Post by steveBK123 »

plandis wrote: post #462
steveBK123 wrote: post #47

"An example from Ogilvy Vice Chairman Rory Sutherland: If you’re a top executive, turning up to work on a bicycle is a high-status activity because it was a choice and not a necessity. But if you work at Pizza Hut, turning up on a bike means you can’t afford a car." This tidbit reminds me of a similar anecdote (that my experience aligns with) re: the modern upper class that wearing a $2k Rolex or driving a $70k BMW i…

> and doing a $500k home Reno because you have good architectural taste and style This is basically the cost to add a second floor to your crappy home you bought a several years back because that’s all you could afford to buy in Seattle at the time. Probably even worse in some other cities.

Renovations that increase the square footage are a rare exception that genuinely add serious value. They are rare often due to the zoning rules and permitting requirements in most areas.

I’m speaking of interior renovations of basically aesthetic changes that are generally negative value add.

Re: Be wary of imitating high-status people who can afford to countersignal

#470

Post by lazide »

chrisbolt wrote: post #457
lazide wrote: post #397

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interestingly, the $1 salary (with large equity) gives you massive flexibility in how and when you get taxed, and also a lot of additional negotiating power and flexibility with ex-wives (and the Court) on child support and alimony, at least in California.

Courts are oblivious to equity and other non-salary compensation?

The calculations are based on income, which equity (until sold) is not. In most cases even then (capital gain).

Stock also varies a lot in price/value (sometimes being nearly impossible to value, say for private companies) and many arguments can be made (up or down) as to its value or potential.

A good lawyer can start to get traction there of course, and it won’t get ignored, but it is not easy compared to, say, a $5mln/yr salary, or 5 years of bonuses of $10mln, which you can just plug into the calculator and go.

[https://childsupport.ca.gov/guideline-calculator/]

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