Live data from Hacker News

I bought 300 emoji domain names from Kazakhstan and built an email service

tinyprojects.dev

611–620 of 642 posts

Re: I bought 300 emoji domain names from Kazakhstan and built an email service

#611
post #576

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We do the same, but in reverse: we roughly figured out what we need for shared spending, and have both set up automatic transfers into our shared checking account from which those expenses are paid. Everything that remains can be spent at will without having to consult the other. Edit: No kids though.

Yup, the same here down to the no kids. The tricky bit is deciding on what counts as 'shared spending' — my partner is insistent that it should cover necessary bills only, I think it should cater for almost everything we share including meals out, for example.

I'd love to hear more details on how you are defining 'shared spending'. I've seen my parents have major conflict over control of spending and this shared account idea is very appealing to me, when I need it.

Re: I bought 300 emoji domain names from Kazakhstan and built an email service

#612
post #607

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We are talking about people with internet access, not some rural farmers in the third world. Nobody says those rural farmers should embark on an emoji project.

Here in the United States, there's well-publicized research into how hard many families would have to work to come up with the money to cover an unexpected $400 expense. https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/2019-economic-we...

I didn't see anything about how much they would have to work, just what percentage would have trouble coming up with the money on short notice. It doesn't even imply they are poor, they could simply put all their money into their mortgage every month.

Re: I bought 300 emoji domain names from Kazakhstan and built an email service

#613
post #509
post #505

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1000$ is not a lot of money. Stop making excuses. (edit: he paid 1200$ initially and bought more when he already had some sales). So 1200$ was enough, or even less, as he could have done the same project with 50 domains instead of 150). If you don't have spare 1000$, you should work towards having them.

> 1000$ is not a lot of money Yes, it is. I can't imagine spending $1000 on a fun thing or a joke and I'm single.

I run a corporate data science department and my wife has a more respectable job and we still couldn't imagine spending that kind of money on a joke.

Re: I bought 300 emoji domain names from Kazakhstan and built an email service

#614
post #613
post #509

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 1000$ is not a lot of money Yes, it is. I can't imagine spending $1000 on a fun thing or a joke and I'm single.

I run a corporate data science department and my wife has a more respectable job and we still couldn't imagine spending that kind of money on a joke.

Could you elaborate? I'd really like to understand why you don't have any spare money, despite of two good earners in the household?

"A joke" is also incorrect, the guy is trying to make money. Nevertheless, if you reframe it as "for fun", vacations presumably should count. I rather doubt you would be unable or unwilling to spend 1000$ on a vacation?

Nobody says that everybody should be willing to spend money on an emoji email project. That just happens to be that person's interest, so they spent money on it. Don't you have any interests at all that cost money? I personally wouldn't spend 1000$ on many things that other people spend it for, but that is not the same as not being able to afford it.

Re: I bought 300 emoji domain names from Kazakhstan and built an email service

#615
post #614
post #613

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I run a corporate data science department and my wife has a more respectable job and we still couldn't imagine spending that kind of money on a joke.

Could you elaborate? I'd really like to understand why you don't have any spare money, despite of two good earners in the household? "A joke" is also incorrect, the guy is trying to make money. Nevertheless, if you reframe it as "for fun", vacations presumably should count. I rather doubt you would be unable or unwilling to spend 1000$ on a vacation? Nobody says that everybody should be willing to spend money on an e…

$1000 is less than 1% of the money I have in savings sitting in the bank. After all my expenses this month I better have more than $1000 left over when I get paid or somethings gone horribly wrong!

Yet...

I still wouldn't spend $1000 on anything outside of essentials without having a really good reason. I'm not spending $1000 on a holiday, that seems mental to me but then I'm not big into traveling.

I like gaming but I can't bring myself to spend the $2-3k or whatever it would be to get a good gaming PC. SO I have a PS4 and I mostly get games on sale or "free" via PS+.

Hell, I'm even considering whether or not I want to spend I just feel $1000 is a LOT of money. There's an amount of money that is a lot and an amount of money that I don't consider a lot. I think that break off is actually around $400. More than that trips a mental switch for me.

Re: I bought 300 emoji domain names from Kazakhstan and built an email service

#616
post #615
post #614

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you elaborate? I'd really like to understand why you don't have any spare money, despite of two good earners in the household? "A joke" is also incorrect, the guy is trying to make money. Nevertheless, if you reframe it as "for fun", vacations presumably should count. I rather doubt you would be unable or unwilling to spend 1000$ on a vacation? Nobody says that everybody should be willing to spend money on an e…

$1000 is less than 1% of the money I have in savings sitting in the bank. After all my expenses this month I better have more than $1000 left over when I get paid or somethings gone horribly wrong! Yet... I still wouldn't spend $1000 on anything outside of essentials without having a really good reason. I'm not spending $1000 on a holiday, that seems mental to me but then I'm not big into traveling. I like gaming but…

Maybe "not a lot of money" was a bit misleading. It really depends on what you want to achieve. I agree that it feels like a lot of money for spending it on a gaming PC (I have the same debate with myself). But since you are a head of something, you probably know how much it costs to hire people to get anything done. So 1000$ does not seem like a lot for investing in a project, for example - even if you don't pay any money for anything, you'll rake up 1000$ in opportunity costs quickly.

If you want to achieve anything, you'll need a lot more than 1000$, so in relation to that 1000$ seems little. And I don't just mean for projects, but in general, if you want to change things in your life (get an education, have kids, whatever).

And it also is not a lot in terms of how much money people need and earn. I think most people will spend more than 1000$ on rent, food clothing and so on every month. Especially if you have children.

I wouldn't spend 1000$ every day just like that, but I would spend it for special occasions (like going on holidays).

Re: I bought 300 emoji domain names from Kazakhstan and built an email service

#617
post #538

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, if my partner dropped £1000 on something goofy like this, and all bills were paid, I'd probably cheer them on. There's nothing wrong with spending money on something that's got no purpose other than making people smile/laugh/what have you.

I genuinely wish more people saw life this way. I hear so many people mull over money in finance forums, constantly saving every penny that is possible. If you go to finance forums of reddit or Dave Ramsey cult stuff you will even hear people brag about how they have more than a whole retirement's worth saved up yet continue to save and penny pinch. Why? It is ok to buy something because it makes you happy. Not every…

I find the whole FIRE thing a little odd. Why would you spend your entire life on a short budget just to 'retire early'. Besides, how enjoyable is that retirement if you're constantly fighting to pinch every penny you can.

Re: I bought 300 emoji domain names from Kazakhstan and built an email service

#618
post #505
post #491

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the one hand, I'm single and if I wanted to I could also blow a few grand on emoji domains for an experiment, then I could. On the other, I'd be taking a few grand from my savings for my mortgage deposit. This isn't about relationship status, the author of this post just has money to burn. And even if the author expected to get their money back through paid sales...they're on the hook for those accounts now unless…

1000$ is not a lot of money. Stop making excuses. (edit: he paid 1200$ initially and bought more when he already had some sales). So 1200$ was enough, or even less, as he could have done the same project with 50 domains instead of 150). If you don't have spare 1000$, you should work towards having them.

> 1000$ is not a lot of money.

If you're wealthy, sure. Being one of the Americans that can handle a $400 surprise expense doesn't mean you can casually handle a $1000 joke.

But it's not simply $1,000. It's a $1,000/year commitment.

It's also not simply $1,000/year. The article claims they spent weeks on it. That could be anywhere from $500 to $50k in unspecified labor, whether that's simply opportunity cost or the estimated value of your nights and weekends, for an unspecified duration.

Maybe there was no meaningful opportunity cost, maybe this person is well off enough they don't really have to make hard choices or worry about where they will live if their $50k idea is a total loss.

Re: I bought 300 emoji domain names from Kazakhstan and built an email service

#619

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not being snarky: What's the alternative? Like, what would happen if you didn't do that? I ask because my wife and I spend money however we like, and I think it'd be quite strange if she checked in with me before spending $150. Is there some useful context or previous over-spending that you're solving, or is it something you'd recommend for everyone?

People generally treat their partners like pets or property where they gain agency over each other’s wallets and body. I could careless what my partner spends his or her money on or even whom they decide to sleep with. We treat each other as equals to make their own decisions together or apart. If you’re with an irresponsible person then you either break off the relationship or agree to suffer with the consequences o…

I doubt I’m the only one a bit surprised by this post.

Do you live with your partner? How do you split shared or somewhat-shared expenses? Are your incomes equal? Who has the role of managing expenses? If you go out to dinner, who pays? What if you share a dessert? (.. etc - you get my point.)

I hope you’re willing to expand given your enthusiasm for your lifestyle, but more context will help.

Re: I bought 300 emoji domain names from Kazakhstan and built an email service

#620
post #505

Earlier quoted context omitted.

1000$ is not a lot of money. Stop making excuses. (edit: he paid 1200$ initially and bought more when he already had some sales). So 1200$ was enough, or even less, as he could have done the same project with 50 domains instead of 150). If you don't have spare 1000$, you should work towards having them.

> 1000$ is not a lot of money. If you're wealthy, sure. Being one of the Americans that can handle a $400 surprise expense doesn't mean you can casually handle a $1000 joke. But it's not simply $1,000. It's a $1,000/year commitment. It's also not simply $1,000/year. The article claims they spent weeks on it. That could be anywhere from $500 to $50k in unspecified labor, whether that's simply opportunity cost or the e…

It's not a joke, he is trying to make money. If it doesn't work out, he can cancel it after a year, or only keep the most successful domain names.

As you said, it is nothing compared to opportunity costs. The person from the article seems to also have a day job, though, so they won't end up on the street if the project fails.

Why can't you handle 400$? I have many times been in the situation where an extra 400$ would have been painful. But it was a temporary situation. It doesn't imply 1000$ is a lot of money to spend on a project.

You also have opportunity costs by staying in your current job and not trying new things.

Post reply on HN