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Redditors who are rich (net worth $1 million+) - how did you get rich?

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Re: Redditors who are rich (net worth $1 million+) - how did you get rich?

#41

Post by laaph »

vaksel wrote: post #21
smackfu wrote: post #9

Easiest way: No kids. Two good incomes. Reliably saving 20%. Mid 40s. No college debt or health issues. That should get you to about a million in assets.

kids are an investment...they are your safety net...worse comes to worst, you can rely on them to support you in your late days if things go terribly wrong. its a good way to avoid ending up on the street...you'll always be able to get room and board with your kids. Since our generation won't get any social security or pensions to live off, we are going to need all the help we can get if things go south.

You can not rely on your kids to support you. I would not be making plans as such.

Be nice to your kids, and hopefully they will give you room and board in case of emergency -- but I've tried to help my parents many time only to regret it.

Re: Redditors who are rich (net worth $1 million+) - how did you get rich?

#42

Post by PagingCraig »

mikeryan wrote: post #24
hkarthik wrote: post #22

Our path to be on track for a net worth of $1 mil: 1) Two good incomes on the professional track. We both have good degrees from universities and don't plan on taking any breaks in employment. Even with kids, there are plenty of great childcare options available. Living near family helps too. 2) Drive paid off cars. Buy new cars if you want, but structure your costs so you can pay them off in 2-3 years max and then d…

I have to say I almost wondered if this plan was meant as a bit of a joke. I'd rather spread my income around now on a nice(r) house, some fun hobbies and a bit of abject consumerism, and enjoy life more evenly then save now not have as much fun but end up with more money in the bank later. You'll never get your younger years back.

To each his own. Owning a house =/= youth to me. I want to travel! :D

Re: Redditors who are rich (net worth $1 million+) - how did you get rich?

#43

Post by hkarthik »

FraaJad wrote: post #25
mikeryan wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have to say I almost wondered if this plan was meant as a bit of a joke. I'd rather spread my income around now on a nice(r) house, some fun hobbies and a bit of abject consumerism, and enjoy life more evenly then save now not have as much fun but end up with more money in the bank later. You'll never get your younger years back.

There lies the difference between Eastern(H. Karthik) and Western(Mike Ryan)approach to personal finances.

Just FYI, my family immigrated to the US when I was an infant and I've lived in the different parts of the US since then.

So while I had a mostly eastern upbringing, I still grew up in the suburbs, went to public schools, and lived a typical American life.

Re: Redditors who are rich (net worth $1 million+) - how did you get rich?

#44

Post by alttag »

vaksel wrote: post #21
smackfu wrote: post #9

Easiest way: No kids. Two good incomes. Reliably saving 20%. Mid 40s. No college debt or health issues. That should get you to about a million in assets.

kids are an investment...they are your safety net...worse comes to worst, you can rely on them to support you in your late days if things go terribly wrong. its a good way to avoid ending up on the street...you'll always be able to get room and board with your kids. Since our generation won't get any social security or pensions to live off, we are going to need all the help we can get if things go south.

Years ago I asked my mother about her retirement investments (she's been a career stay-at-home mom, for which I was grateful).

She responded that she had eight retirement plans, and I was the oldest.

Re: Redditors who are rich (net worth $1 million+) - how did you get rich?

#45

Post by psycho »

hkarthik wrote: post #22

Our path to be on track for a net worth of $1 mil: 1) Two good incomes on the professional track. We both have good degrees from universities and don't plan on taking any breaks in employment. Even with kids, there are plenty of great childcare options available. Living near family helps too. 2) Drive paid off cars. Buy new cars if you want, but structure your costs so you can pay them off in 2-3 years max and then d…

Em. I have always thought that having 1 mln. $ and more is about earning more - not about spending less. By the way, it doesn't mean you have to "work hard" - it's much better to work smart.

Re: Redditors who are rich (net worth $1 million+) - how did you get rich?

#47

Post by vaksel »

laaph wrote: post #41
vaksel wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

kids are an investment...they are your safety net...worse comes to worst, you can rely on them to support you in your late days if things go terribly wrong. its a good way to avoid ending up on the street...you'll always be able to get room and board with your kids. Since our generation won't get any social security or pensions to live off, we are going to need all the help we can get if things go south.

You can not rely on your kids to support you. I would not be making plans as such. Be nice to your kids, and hopefully they will give you room and board in case of emergency -- but I've tried to help my parents many time only to regret it.

I guess i should have mentioned that this relies on you actually having a good relationship with your kids.

So try to avoid beating them for fun...and you'll be fine.

I'm not talking about relying on your kids to pay your bills etc...but more of an extreme situation where you are just making sure you don't end up begging on the streets

Re: Redditors who are rich (net worth $1 million+) - how did you get rich?

#48

Post by hkarthik »

psycho wrote: post #45
hkarthik wrote: post #22

Our path to be on track for a net worth of $1 mil: 1) Two good incomes on the professional track. We both have good degrees from universities and don't plan on taking any breaks in employment. Even with kids, there are plenty of great childcare options available. Living near family helps too. 2) Drive paid off cars. Buy new cars if you want, but structure your costs so you can pay them off in 2-3 years max and then d…

Em. I have always thought that having 1 mln. $ and more is about earning more - not about spending less. By the way, it doesn't mean you have to "work hard" - it's much better to work smart.

By working hard, I meant more that you may need to spend more time working towards earnings rather than spend time on leisure pursuits. That could mean watching reading a technical book while another person watches a movie.

The thing about earning more though, is that it also depends more on circumstances not directly in your control. In general, a person has far more control over how much they spend versus how much they earn.

Re: Redditors who are rich (net worth $1 million+) - how did you get rich?

#49

Post by PagingCraig »

mfieldhouse wrote: post #31

This comment is why I stopped reading reddit. The person mentions they "noticed a couple of GOOD POINTS"... Get lucky, either through a series of serendipitous events or through birth. Be old enough to have lived in an era when you didn't have $50K or more in student loans to pay off and could get a good job.

I like reading it to see how people react to such a question, not really the advice people give. Most people seem to think divine intervention is the best way.

Re: Redditors who are rich (net worth $1 million+) - how did you get rich?

#50

Post by aresant »

The #1 expense over your lifetime won't be your house, your entertainment, or your cars.

It will be TAXES.

If you build a career path that can take advantage of tax breaks you wind up with a huge advantage from the start.

For tech entrepreneurs - focus on building your enterprise value. Reinvest profits into GROWTH so that you wind up paying the bulk of your taxes in capital gains vs. personal income tax. On $1m or 2m in money the difference in what you save is staggering.

In real estate you can take advantage of all sorts of loopholes to reinvest or shelter profits that let you drastically increase your available pool to invest and create gains.

And for goodness sakes at the very least start a LLC or S-Corp if you're making more than $25,000 or so a year from "side projects / consulting" so you can properly write off and document all business related fees (computer hardware, cell phone usage, home office, etc).

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