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I'm 23. I have $3000. How can I best use it to make more money?

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Re: I'm 23. I have $3000. How can I best use it to make more money?

#31

Post by polyfractal »

joshkaufman wrote: post #4

Since you're on HN, I assume you already have a good computer. Invest the money in books that will teach you how to start a profitable and sustainable business, and purchase any additional tools you need to start producing and shipping. (Here are the books I recommend: http://personalmba.com/best-business-books/ ) I've easily spend $10k in books (and $20k+ in training) over the past ten years, and can't think of any…

I'm going to be adversarial and say that no one needs to spend $10k in books and $20k in training to learn programming or tech-related skills. There is plenty of material on the internet to get you rolling without a dime invested.

If you own a laptop and can use your schools internet - start learning.

And stop spending your money. Go freeze your credit card in a block of ice or something.

Re: I'm 23. I have $3000. How can I best use it to make more money?

#32

Post by SatvikBeri »

Honestly, that level of cash is insignificant in terms of earning money.

Focus on the skills you have that help you earn money. I don't know whether you have a job or a business, but you'll get much more by investing there. For example, if you work as a programmer, you can probably get a $10k salary bump by learning how to negotiate.

Re: I'm 23. I have $3000. How can I best use it to make more money?

#34

Post by joshkaufman »

polyfractal wrote: post #31
joshkaufman wrote: post #4

Since you're on HN, I assume you already have a good computer. Invest the money in books that will teach you how to start a profitable and sustainable business, and purchase any additional tools you need to start producing and shipping. (Here are the books I recommend: http://personalmba.com/best-business-books/ ) I've easily spend $10k in books (and $20k+ in training) over the past ten years, and can't think of any…

I'm going to be adversarial and say that no one needs to spend $10k in books and $20k in training to learn programming or tech-related skills. There is plenty of material on the internet to get you rolling without a dime invested. If you own a laptop and can use your schools internet - start learning. And stop spending your money. Go freeze your credit card in a block of ice or something.

And I'm going to agree with you - if you're learning programming, there's no reason to spend $10-20k. All you really need is a good computer, some relatively inexpensive software, and a few subscriptions to online services that will save you time and headaches. Beyond that, all you need is free time, a project to work on, and a willingness to invest the effort.

I spent that much because I was learning and doing much more than programming, and even then, some of my spending was inefficient due to lack of good guides and less useful online material at the time. I bought a ton of things that weren't that useful in the end. Even with the "waste," it's still the best investment I've ever made.

I think it's entirely possible to be too frugal when it comes to learning. If you can take a course that costs $1-2k, and it directly teaches you things that help you make 5-10x more money on a recurring basis, that's a bargain.

Re: I'm 23. I have $3000. How can I best use it to make more money?

#35

Post by Prizzle »

polyfractal wrote: post #29
up_and_up wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why was this downvoted? Buying Facebook stock is a perfectly reasonable suggestion.

And besides, buying Facebook stock right now is just plain stupid. It's a low-float IPO designed to make people who already own the stock rich. By floating a low number of shares, people who own the shares create artificial demand The stock is being sold at nearly 25 times sales...Amazon is selling for about 2 times sales. Seriously? This is just a get-rich scheme for current Facebook shareholders. Not saying anythin…

$3,000. I would leave $2,500 in the bank (on the CC). Explore manufacturers in China – Perform a few searches on ebay to see which products are the most popular – Import a few widgets with the $500. Ensure you can sell for more than the product costs and shipping expenses are. Review ‘Product Differentiators’ online to ensure that you can sell your product for a higher price than others by describing it better and introducing a higher perceived value.

Could work...I would say $6,000 in the hole - $500 will not really change your predicament?

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