How I got wealthy without working too hard • Hacker News Board

Re: How I got wealthy without working too hard

#51

Post by ed25519FUUU » Thu, Nov 18, 2021, 4:43 PM UTC

go_elmo wrote: post #30

jjulius wrote: post #8

>Preamble: I'm extremely lucky. ... So what you're going to read is 99% luck and 1% planets alignment. I mean, that's pretty much it and he states it up front. If that's the crux, then why write about this other than to brag?

Thats just being humble. Most successful people think its that way because they are special and worked hard. Wrong. Most people work hard, its the LUCK many underestimate. Being aware of this is healthy in so many ways, especially socially.

Luck and hard work aren't exclusive attributes for success.

Re: How I got wealthy without working too hard

#52

Post by anm89 » Thu, Nov 18, 2021, 4:44 PM UTC

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #14

> Take a $ 500-1000 / day, full-remote job > Take 2 months for holidays in-between contracts > Do this for 7 years while investing most of your salary in a diversified portfolio. Working $1000/day contracts for 5 days per week, 10 months per year is equivalent to $217K of contractor income per year. But contractor income is not comparable to normal career income because you have to handle additional taxes and health…

Working 1099 should be preferable from a tax perspective (if through an s corp) and from a liquidity standpoint (money is cash, not 401k contorbutions), not worse, I would think.

You do have to pay health insurance monthly but for a young single person I'm at 250 a month so nothing that really changes things.

Re: How I got wealthy without working too hard

#53

Post by cvhashim » Thu, Nov 18, 2021, 4:44 PM UTC

So…high income, low expenses, invest smart.

Got it.

Re: How I got wealthy without working too hard

#54

Post by b20000 » Thu, Nov 18, 2021, 4:45 PM UTC

demygale wrote: post #11

Being a contractor would require me to spend about $10,000 more for health insurance above what my workplace premiums are. US, obvi. When I was a contractor fifteen years ago, I billed at $1,000 a day ($125/hr) in the US, not remote. Seems like wage stagnation has hit the software market as well. Really enjoyed the story. I love seeing the personal histories of people in my profession.

i have the impression the max contracting rate is 175/hr. when you ask for more, “HR says they never seen such high rates”… that doesn’t leave you with much in california. and i think that once you move to a cheaper place you cannot demand that rate. so how can you increase your rate as a software engineering contractor?

Re: How I got wealthy without working too hard

#55

Post by Chris2048 » Thu, Nov 18, 2021, 4:46 PM UTC

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #14

> Take a $ 500-1000 / day, full-remote job > Take 2 months for holidays in-between contracts > Do this for 7 years while investing most of your salary in a diversified portfolio. Working $1000/day contracts for 5 days per week, 10 months per year is equivalent to $217K of contractor income per year. But contractor income is not comparable to normal career income because you have to handle additional taxes and health…

> Take a $ 500-1000 / day, full-remote job

How common is this as contractor pay outside the US? I'd find it hard to hit the lower end of that (i.e. 440 eur per day) in fully-remote jobs, despite the pandemic making remote jobs more common.

For context, I'm a Python dev, in finance. I used to do Java, which I note still seems to offer higher salaries, but I wouldn't be tempted to return. Maybe the AWS route could work?

Re: How I got wealthy without working too hard

#56

Post by guico » Thu, Nov 18, 2021, 4:46 PM UTC

TL;DR: Be a parasite and use the economic opportunity others create.

Works well if only a few of us do it. But someone needs to start and run the companies where you get those contracts. Or?

Re: How I got wealthy without working too hard

#57

Post by moonchrome » Thu, Nov 18, 2021, 4:46 PM UTC

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #14

> Take a $ 500-1000 / day, full-remote job > Take 2 months for holidays in-between contracts > Do this for 7 years while investing most of your salary in a diversified portfolio. Working $1000/day contracts for 5 days per week, 10 months per year is equivalent to $217K of contractor income per year. But contractor income is not comparable to normal career income because you have to handle additional taxes and health…

> But contractor income is not comparable to normal career income because you have to handle additional taxes and health insurance, so this is more like a $150K (plus or minus) full time job once you subtract self-employment taxes and pay for health insurance.

What ? I've never heard of a scenario where you get less money after tax as a contractor vs employee, even without doing things like claiming a bunch of everyday expenses on your business (like a car, home office rent, equipment, etc.)

Re: How I got wealthy without working too hard

#58

Post by amackera » Thu, Nov 18, 2021, 4:46 PM UTC

I guess this article isn't for me, since I have no problem with working hard. I enjoy it, and derive meaning from doing good work.

In "Man's Search for Meaning", Viktor Frankl identifies three areas of focus to find meaning in life: doing good work, loving someone unconditionally, and the experience of suffering.

I've never had any trauma remotely like living through the holocaust, so I can't really related to Frankl's journey, but those three things have always have resonated with me as source of true meaning in life. When I meet other people who really seem to be profoundly happy with their life journey, they always have derived that from: doing great work, loving someone deeply, or experiencing true suffering.

Re: How I got wealthy without working too hard

#59

Post by GDC7 » Thu, Nov 18, 2021, 4:47 PM UTC

asmos7 wrote: post #45

GDC7 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Preamble: I'm extremely lucky. ... So what you're going to read is 99% luck and 1% planets alignment. We are all extremely lucky. We are just too cowards to move to Nigeria or South Africa or Ethiopia or El Salvador to cash out on this super luck that we had. Reasons are health infrastructure, being far from parents and family, fear of violence, fear of diseases. They are all valid. But by the same token there is a…

I fail to see what good it is to own a mansion and have a bunch of toys if you live in a dangerous area where you have to put up a gate, have armed guards and in general worry about someone knocking you over the head and stealing your shit. Being the richest person in the ghetto is like being tallest midget - who cares.

And none of that happens anywhere basically (except maybe some barrios in El Salvador or Venezuela)

Besides, in this world the shit is everywhere it's just the color that changes and the window dressing that makes people believe otherwise.

I'd rather deal with impoverished people and deal personally with my security than some scum of Silicon Valley such as Elizabeth Holmes or Elon Musk.

Re: How I got wealthy without working too hard

#60

Post by javert » Thu, Nov 18, 2021, 4:48 PM UTC

fhd2 wrote: post #15

jcroll wrote: post #2

> Work and self-actualisation can be rewarding and meaningful, but looking at the sea from an hammock and drinking too much beer with friends three times a week is also a completely respectable way of waiting for the gravitational swallowing of the planet. Part of wants to accept this from the author and the other part of me is wary. I didn't have a child because I wanted to be happy, I did it because I wanted a more…

I can relate, I have three and I feel it does give my life more meaning. But I still feel like pointing something out: Know that phenomenon where users that paid for software are typically more satisfied with it and give better ratings than users who didn't? Whish I knew what the proper name for it is, but having kids is kind of the ultimate version of that :D (Update: Thanks so much for helping me figure out what to…

Sounds very close to Stockholm Syndrome.