by piecu on 1/10/19, 8:39 AM with 76 comments
by hoaw on 1/10/19, 10:08 AM
But you don't want to be rich as much as you want to be wealthy. And that isn't just about money. My friends in other industries didn't make as much in their twenties, but the are relatively wealthy in their thirties. Their career, prospects and family life is generally better than my friends in the tech industry.
The whole article is basically all the other things you should do and manage to try to become successful. Most of it unrelated to technology. That isn't wealth in my book, nor is it happiness.
by aedron on 1/10/19, 10:44 AM
> Which leads me to the "but money can't buy happiness" position so many people have repeated over the years. Bull. Shit. Anyone who has ever said that simply doesn't know where to shop.
If happiness for you is about things you buy in shops, then you are a shallow person, and you are missing out. A lot. In fact you are poor, but in a spiritual sense. The next statement: "money spent on physical items can bring people a huge amount of pleasure" reinforces the impression that you have some concepts confused.
It's great to have cool stuff, and thanks for the probably sound advice on how to achieve that. You don't have to try to convince (yourself?) that this equates happiness.
by loeg on 1/10/19, 10:45 AM
by robjan on 1/10/19, 11:11 AM
The real takeaway: don't waste your money, don't get into too much debt, invest your money and invest in yourself. Every motivational speaker/guru/life coach will say the same thing.
by ganonm on 1/10/19, 11:18 AM
The opportunity cost of making a sub-optimal choice when it comes to employment is huge, both financially and in terms of your career. Taking a hit on a few months pay is a complete no-brainer if it means you can take a job that you find intellectually stimulating, gets you out of bed in the morning, and offers better long term compensation.
by jb827 on 1/10/19, 10:50 AM
by humanbeinc on 1/10/19, 12:17 PM
No other takeaways for the general public here.
by jondubois on 1/10/19, 11:02 AM
This statement is false. The truth is that "investments have grown over time". It's not necessarily true that they will continue to grow over time. The efficiency benefits of corporate growth have been reached long ago and are on the decline. Corporate growth today relies on crooked government policies, stock buybacks and other methods of wealth concentration without value creation - There is no guarantee that it will stay like this; people are already wising up to this.
by jstewartmobile on 1/10/19, 10:52 AM
What have we become?
by ck425 on 1/10/19, 11:44 AM
by sbmthakur on 1/10/19, 6:56 PM
1: Money Buys Choices
2: The Money You Earn Young is the Most Valuable Money You'll Ever Earn
3: Invest in Financial Literacy
4: Learn the Tax System
5: Know Good Debt from Bad Debt
6: Diversify Earning Potential and Risk
7: Prepare for Luck
8: Put a Price on Your Time - and Your Family
9: Have a Goal
10: Financial Prosperity is a Partnership
by benj111 on 1/10/19, 10:33 AM
Theres also this "Bad debt is the likes you have on a credit card. It's almost always accrued on a depreciating asset (for example, a new TV) and it's very often at a high interest rate"
Why is depreciation always mentioned as a problem of bad debt? My house will depreciate if I don't maintain it.
Surely bad debt is a combination of interest rate, and whether you actually need, and can afford the thing you're buying on credit.
by ikeboy on 1/10/19, 12:54 PM
Conversely, if you have bad debt, every penny that goes towards paying it back could instead go towards the kinds of purchases he endorses using "good" debt for.
There's no principled distinction between the two.
by xupybd on 1/10/19, 11:04 AM
by sakisv on 1/10/19, 10:34 AM
Most of the "lessons" are not groundbreaking, they are rather things that are obvious and most of us know about. The value for me came from having them all written down in an organized way. It's much easier to refer to something more tangible than your memory.
One thing that bugs me and puts me off is the financial literacy that Troy mentions. I try to translate some terms to my mother tongue only to find that, even then, I still don't really understand them.
Does anyone has any pointers on how you can start improving on this like finances 101 or something?
by RickJWagner on 1/10/19, 12:56 PM
Especially for those working in tech, there are ways to put the odds of becoming wealthy greatly in your favor. It's our choice to act on it or ignore it.
by andydavieswork on 1/10/19, 11:24 AM
Money is important. But I hope I never get to the point where my mind is as anxious and clinical as this.
by peteretep on 1/10/19, 11:15 AM
"Since I was a boy, 10,000 new laws have been passed, and the country isn't any better. The new laws that have been passed are just for the sake of it, and you take away someone's freedom every time you pass a new law"
This sounds a lot like the Trumpian:
"If there’s a new regulation, they have to knock out two. But it goes far beyond that, we’re cutting regulations massively for small business and for large business"
Yes, there exists duplicitous and over-zealous legislation, but most of it is written to protect the rights of people. Since Mr Packer was a boy, Australia has new rights for gay people, aboriginal people, a great deal more environmental protection, and so on and so on.
The "rich person appeals to common sense by saying they shouldn't be regulated" meme needs to die a death.
by jstanley on 1/10/19, 10:14 AM