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What I would do if I was 18 now

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Re: What I would do if I was 18 now

#21

Post by jlgaddis »

Fezzik wrote: post #20
linkregister wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A Roth IRA (a post-tax retirement account) in the United States will permit untaxed capital gains. The maximum yearly contribution is $18,000. The S&P 500 returns 7% average on most 20-year intervals. [1] 1. https://dqydj.com/sp-500-return-calculator/ ; I tried to find a 20-year interval less than 7%, I could only find a few terminating in the last ten years. They were above 6.5%. (not that I find most of what is in…

According to the IRS the maximim contribution to a Roth IRA is far less: $5,500. https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employ...

Yep, though once you reach a certain age it goes up to $6,000/year.

The $18,000 number sounds familiar. I think that's the maximum annual contributon to a 401(k) but don't quote me on that.

Re: What I would do if I was 18 now

#22

Post by mozumder »

tyrw wrote: post #17
mozumder wrote: post #10

> Happiness comes from intangibles, like experiences, relationships, activities, not stuff. Experiences don't make you happy. It's one of the mistakes millennials make. Vacations are exactly the same as buying shit - you're just buying more shit, except your buying a pre-packaged consumer-friendly vacation. Taking a vacation to south of France isn't going to make you happy. You'll be just as angsty there as you are i…

I don't think there's much mileage is blanket statements of what "makes people happy". I've traveled and thoroughly enjoyed it and it made me happy, and I know people who I think honestly derive happiness from staying with the latest fashions, etc. To each their own.

The article already makes a blanket assertion that happiness doesn't derive from stuff, which isn't true for a lot of people. Plenty of people derive their happiness from material things.

Re: What I would do if I was 18 now

#23

Post by tvmalsv »

tyrw wrote: post #15
zaptheimpaler wrote: post #8

Demonstrates the easiest way to success. Just tell others how to be successful - live a crazy life that seems awesome and blog/write about it! Pretend you know something they don't so they stay hooked on your "personal brand". Voila!

I've always wanted to write a "how to get rich" book in which I simply describe how to write a "how to get rich" book. If done right it might actually work, and if it did you really couldn't argue with the method.

When I was looking to get rich quick back in the eighties, I saw several methods that focused on teaching you how to get rich quick by selling people information via classified ads. And, of course, you would find these products by reading the classified ads.

Not really any different than today's video courses on how to get rich by making instructional videos.

In both cases, for some people, it does indeed work :)

Re: What I would do if I was 18 now

#25

Post by uiri »

linkregister wrote: post #11
betaby wrote: post #7

> If you save that $3k/m over 20 years and put it into Vanguard ETFs (at 7% over 20 years), you’ll be 38 and have $1.5 million in the bank! Save $6k/m, and you’ll have $3 million at 38. Yes, I said that correctly. Save $1k/m and you’ll have $500k by 38. Simply, no. No. That's not how it work. You can't find index returning 7% avg on 20 year interval. Plus that gains are taxable in many contries, sometimes heavily.

A Roth IRA (a post-tax retirement account) in the United States will permit untaxed capital gains. The maximum yearly contribution is $18,000. The S&P 500 returns 7% average on most 20-year intervals. [1] 1. https://dqydj.com/sp-500-return-calculator/ ; I tried to find a 20-year interval less than 7%, I could only find a few terminating in the last ten years. They were above 6.5%. (not that I find most of what is in…

$18k is the maximum yearly contribution to a 401(k) - it can be either a Roth or a traditional account. The money in your Roth 401(k) is less accessible than that in a Roth IRA until you convert the 401(k) into an IRA. You have to be lucky enough to have an employer whose 401(k) plan includes an S&P 500 fund with a decent management expense ratio. You also need to be lucky enough to have one which allows you to contribute to Roth accounts.

Roth accounts only make sense when you expect your effective income tax rate in retirement to be higher than your current marginal tax rate. In the current US system, your marginal rate at $35k is 15%. A Roth account would make sense for such an earner who expects to earn at least $45k or so a year in retirement. However, once your marginal rate is 25%, you have to be well into the six figures (around $230-240k) before your effective rate hits 25%. For almost anyone in the 25% bracket in the US, the traditional 401k/IRA makes more sense. If you're actually expecting six figure retirement income, you should be trying to shift as much of that into long term capital gains as possible. This also all assumes a single earner - double the income thresholds if you're a married couple.

Re: What I would do if I was 18 now

#26

Post by reustle »

mozumder wrote: post #10

> Happiness comes from intangibles, like experiences, relationships, activities, not stuff. Experiences don't make you happy. It's one of the mistakes millennials make. Vacations are exactly the same as buying shit - you're just buying more shit, except your buying a pre-packaged consumer-friendly vacation. Taking a vacation to south of France isn't going to make you happy. You'll be just as angsty there as you are i…

> except your buying a pre-packaged consumer-friendly vacation

I know very very few people under 40 who travel like this. The common way seems to generally be grab an Airbnb and a cheap flight and figure the rest out.

Re: What I would do if I was 18 now

#27

Post by zaptheimpaler »

tvmalsv wrote: post #23
tyrw wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've always wanted to write a "how to get rich" book in which I simply describe how to write a "how to get rich" book. If done right it might actually work, and if it did you really couldn't argue with the method.

When I was looking to get rich quick back in the eighties, I saw several methods that focused on teaching you how to get rich quick by selling people information via classified ads. And, of course, you would find these products by reading the classified ads. Not really any different than today's video courses on how to get rich by making instructional videos. In both cases, for some people, it does indeed work :)

Did it work for you, is the question :p

Re: What I would do if I was 18 now

#28

Post by JBlue42 »

tyrw wrote: post #15
zaptheimpaler wrote: post #8

Demonstrates the easiest way to success. Just tell others how to be successful - live a crazy life that seems awesome and blog/write about it! Pretend you know something they don't so they stay hooked on your "personal brand". Voila!

I've always wanted to write a "how to get rich" book in which I simply describe how to write a "how to get rich" book. If done right it might actually work, and if it did you really couldn't argue with the method.

There's a version of that in the travel blogger / digital nomad market where they shill their e-books about how to be a successful travel blogger / digital nomad. I assume Step 1 is to write an e-book.

Re: What I would do if I was 18 now

#29

Post by JBlue42 »

tbabb wrote: post #13

Who are all these people who "didn't learn anything" from university? What were they spending their time doing? I learned a ton about a wide variety of fields from experts in those fields; it was extremely valuable. Did this guy just goof off the whole time?

You can still goof off and get a lot from it if by goof off you mean partying, going to sports events, etc. I went to a large public school, learned a lot, met lifelong friends (some of whom have gotten me jobs), worked part-time throughout school, and also had a damn good time. This was 2001-2005 so I'm sure things have changed. Costs surely have.

Re: What I would do if I was 18 now

#30

Post by JBlue42 »

mozumder wrote: post #10

> Happiness comes from intangibles, like experiences, relationships, activities, not stuff. Experiences don't make you happy. It's one of the mistakes millennials make. Vacations are exactly the same as buying shit - you're just buying more shit, except your buying a pre-packaged consumer-friendly vacation. Taking a vacation to south of France isn't going to make you happy. You'll be just as angsty there as you are i…

As others said, young folks do the cheap thing, stay in hostels, or the sorta cheap, stay in AirBnBs vs the pre-packaged thing.

Also, those intangibles are "creating some new experience" - you're not buying a consumer item, you're paying for experiences.

Making things is a whole different thing, even though it can also contribute to some well-being in your life.

It's also interesting that you say that the new experience becomes validating if you "make the news" - so, instead of enjoying the process of creating, you're supposed to focus on the possible end rewards?

That's somewhat antithetical to getting joy out of a lot of endeavors.

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