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Don't Waste the Good Days

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Re: Don't Waste the Good Days

#261

Post by blub »

goodpoint wrote: post #250
01100011 wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's tough... at 47 I'm old enough to have felt the decades past turn into a scant handful of memories. When you're older, the past matters less. The now matters more. Not being able to pay for good health care matters. Not being able to eat what you want or take vacations matters. When you're old, you realize "Oh yeah, life goes on, long after the thrill of living is gone" and you have the now to worry about. But I…

> if you're going to have kids, have them young. There is absolutely nothing on this earth which is as valuable as the time you'll have with your children This is entirely self-centered. The kids, instead, benefit immensely from having parents with experience, emotional maturity, financial stability, better work-life balance. You might not get to meet your grand[grand]kids but this is a sacrifice parents should be wi…

Grandparents are a massive help with raising kids, especially so when one doesn't have brothers or sisters.

Re: Don't Waste the Good Days

#263

Post by asdfasgasdgasdg »

HeavyStorm wrote: post #238
ryandrake wrote: post #41

I feel like there is wisdom in "Make hay while the sun shines." When you're young and unencumbered by responsibility and family, when your cognitive abilities are at their peak, when your energy is endless, when your body is strong and healthy, when your knees work, and your fingers can type without arthritis: that's the optimal time to work and earn. Min-max that salary and stay healthy. Due to compounding interest,…

That sounds terrible. You're waiting to be old to be happy? To enjoy life? Maybe it's just how you sounded - maybe you're telling people not to sacrifice their future for their present. But no one should sacrifice their present _completely_ for their future. Mostly because, well, you don't know if you'll have a future. "Stay healthy" won't stop you from developing cancer, heart disease, etc.

Fwiw I have luckily been able to do what the grandparent suggested. I entered big tech early in my career, worked hard and advanced, by luck or by skill who can say? My ship rose with the tide. Now I'm wealthy enough to provide anything my family could reasonably want for the rest of our lives, barring some kind of black swan event. And I am well pleased with this outcome.

This did not require a decade and a half of unhappiness! Did it require me to sometimes put aside my immediate wants for the sake of the future? Yes. Did it require some measure of frugality? Also yes. But I also had great times with friends. I got married and had kids. We took vacations, spent time with family, engaged in hobbies, etc.

There are some things I couldn't do while I was working hard. A gap year was out of the question. But those things are not necessary for happiness.

Re: Don't Waste the Good Days

#264

Post by moneywoes »

2143 wrote: post #195
tayo42 wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

every post here in this post is triggering an existential crisis for me. oh what to do...

And I'm in a 3rd world country making 3rd world salary. Sure I'd like to get myself into big tech (not necessarily in America). But... I don't even know where to start.

It’s pretty easy to get a PR in Canada. Once here, get a tech job. In 3 years you will have a citizenship and a easy way to get a big tech job in the US ( TN Visa).

Re: Don't Waste the Good Days

#265

Post by moneywoes »

Alex3917 wrote: post #224
acqbu wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the best time to have kids? 35?

35 is considered "advanced maternal age", where there is more risk to both the mother and baby. Given that it takes ~2 years to make a baby, ideally you should start having kids no later than 35 - 2n, where n is the number of kids you plan to have.

Does this go for both the mother and father?

Re: Don't Waste the Good Days

#266

Post by moneywoes »

colecut wrote: post #201
MrGilbert wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, but sometimes… Life hits hard and you‘ll miss out on these days. When I turned 22 in 2008, my mom surprised me with her having sarcoidosis, a disease which will turn functional cells into non-functional ones. Quite an issue when it starts in your lungs. A year later, my father surprised me with him having cancer. Long story short, they passed away in 2013 and 2017. I should also mention that I have four younger…

I'm 36, my 11 year old son's mom passed away from cancer last year, and 2 days later cancer was found in my fiancee. She passed away 3 months ago. I now share custody of my son with his stepdad... There's not much "normal" about it, but it's the best thing I/we can do for him given the circumstances. Family is what you make it. I would focus on enjoying life and doing what you feel is best with no regard for what see…

I’m really sorry to hear that. We’re there any warning signs in your fiancé?

Re: Don't Waste the Good Days

#267

Post by moneywoes »

forgotmyoldname wrote: post #136
ryandrake wrote: post #41

I feel like there is wisdom in "Make hay while the sun shines." When you're young and unencumbered by responsibility and family, when your cognitive abilities are at their peak, when your energy is endless, when your body is strong and healthy, when your knees work, and your fingers can type without arthritis: that's the optimal time to work and earn. Min-max that salary and stay healthy. Due to compounding interest,…

I’m one of those fools who took a few years off before college, after college, and decided to up and move to a faraway country while I was young. It’s very likely I’d have more money if I went straight to work while I was younger instead of goofing off. I could probably have paychecks twice as big as I do now. But you know what? My worst days in the place I live now are better than my best days in my home country. My…

How did you find the right country?

Re: Don't Waste the Good Days

#268

Post by moneywoes »

kettleballroll wrote: post #226
ipiz0618 wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I have that 10 billion, I might want to extend my life just to enjoy it more, like all the rich people do. But right now? I don’t even need to think twice to accept that offer lol. My time isn’t that precious when 50% of it is spent working for food and shelter, and trying to stay fit so that I don’t stop being capable of working.

I think you're severely underestimating what 20 years mean for your body. I'm a very fit 37 year old, and I very much notice the continued wear and tear. Recovery takes a lot longer, and the body just isn't as limber as it used to be. Partying for days on end, or some extreme sports, and maybe even some intellectual persuits are just WAAAAAY harder then they were 20 or 15 years ago. I can still do them all, but someo…

Have you considered TRT?

Re: Don't Waste the Good Days

#269

Post by rozim »

varsketiz wrote: post #192
rozim wrote: post #113

Folks might be inspired by reading Die with Zero - I sure was.

Could you tell us more about your inspiration :))?

I thought the book made a good case for frontloading enjoyment in your life and not putting off such things until a distant future glorious retirement.

They also talked about income smoothing, which is essentially a justification for, under some situations, spending more money that you "should" earlier, because later, you'll be older & less able to enjoy it -- and hopefully later you'll be making more money too anyway.

Re: Don't Waste the Good Days

#270

Post by moneywoes »

Jack000 wrote: post #90
ryandrake wrote: post #41

I feel like there is wisdom in "Make hay while the sun shines." When you're young and unencumbered by responsibility and family, when your cognitive abilities are at their peak, when your energy is endless, when your body is strong and healthy, when your knees work, and your fingers can type without arthritis: that's the optimal time to work and earn. Min-max that salary and stay healthy. Due to compounding interest,…

Life is long for most, but statistically there's about a 5% chance you'll die before 50, it's better to hedge your bets imo. Also, wind surfing in Ibiza doesn't sound that fun at 60. I worked as a software dev for a large company for 3 years and it was a complete waste in retrospect. I now make much more money and curse every second I spent in that cubicle. The corporate ladder is a low-risk low-reward path that's ge…

What lucrative opportunity did you transition too? It seems as if outside of startup luck there isn’t much room for high salaries
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