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> I've already maxed out my 401K loans on the Japanese game set, and it will probably be 2-3 years before I finish dumping and scanning all of those games to se

> I've already maxed out my 401K loans on the Japanese game set, and it will probably be 2-3 years before I finish dumping and scanning all of those games to sell them for money. I always feel a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach when I read things like this. Is any labour of love worth your potential future? As much as I admire his dedication, it's not a choice I'd make... :( Maybe it's just because I'm a bit of an ops guy, and it feels like leveraging a single point of failure. :P

mjolk 10y ago
> Is any labour of love worth your potential future? Kind of a funny question on a site for people doing startups.
- mwfunk 10y ago
  A startup isn't a labor of love; if it was, it'd be a hobby, not a startup.
  - mjolk 10y ago
    If your startup isn't a labor of love or you're not driven by a strong dislike of an alternative career path, then almost every startup would die the second the founder(s) do the math of income opportunity cost of trying vs stable employment.
    - scott_karana 10y ago
      Hardly. People do "risk vs reward" assessments all the time. Balancing "use some savings to live off ramen for two years" vs "implement something people will pay for" might not be very difficult, depending on their existing rate of savings, income, state of mortgage, monthly expenses, etc.
- LeifCarrotson 10y ago
  No, it's not. Most startups fail. Most people need retirement savings. That seems a poor investment.
  - mjolk 10y ago
    Traditional full time employment is a much safer bet for savings.
ac29 10y ago
> I've already maxed out my 401K loans on the Japanese game set "After preserving this set, I sold it and used the proceeds, plus an additional $10,000 of my own money [presumably this is the 401k loan], to purchase all 1450 games sold in Japan." $10k isn't really that much (it wont destroy his ability to retire), and once he sells the games after dumping them, presumably he can pay back the loan anyways.
byuu 10y ago
I'm only 33, and the 401K loan automatically takes money out of each paycheck until it's repaid. I believe it was a 72 month loan? Might've been shorter. So, pretty sure it won't be a problem before I retire. Of course, if an exigent circumstance comes up, and I can prove it (medical emergency, bankruptcy), it's possible to borrow the other half of the 401K. But if I'm short on the mortgage, it's not going to help me, so it was still somewhat irresponsible of me.
- derekp7 10y ago
  The problem is for people that take out a loan, then decrease their monthly 401k contributions to cover the loan payments. Also, while your money is out on loan, it isn't gaining value from the market (on the other hand, it is at least gaining the percent interest that you are paying back in -- so from the fund's perspective, it isn't too bad).
  - byuu 10y ago
    Ouch, that's a good point. If you don't mind a question ... I was thinking about taking out a loan again once it was paid off in order to pay my house mortgage down to 78% so that I can knock off the $200/mo PMI. If I then contributed $200/mo toward the loan + 401K, do you think that would be better or worse than just leaving the 401K alone and paying the PMI? The PMI will probably take another 6+ years to fall off on its own, due to the criminally lopsided interest-to-principal amounts that 30-year mortgages start off at. (I realize the absurdity of asking financial advice here, but you seem to know your stuff, so why not? ;)
    - Sir_Cmpwn 10y ago
      Try /r/personalfinance?
    - Semaphor 10y ago
      You might want to try asking on /r/personalfinance
    - ryan-c 10y ago
Klinky 10y ago
This is byuu doing it, the creator of the most accurate SNES emulator ever. Given that context, it makes complete sense.

mjolk 10y ago

> Is any labour of love worth your potential future? Kind of a funny question on a site for people doing startups.

mwfunk 10y ago
A startup isn't a labor of love; if it was, it'd be a hobby, not a startup.
- mjolk 10y ago
  If your startup isn't a labor of love or you're not driven by a strong dislike of an alternative career path, then almost every startup would die the second the founder(s) do the math of income opportunity cost of trying vs stable employment.
  - scott_karana 10y ago
    Hardly. People do "risk vs reward" assessments all the time. Balancing "use some savings to live off ramen for two years" vs "implement something people will pay for" might not be very difficult, depending on their existing rate of savings, income, state of mortgage, monthly expenses, etc.
LeifCarrotson 10y ago
No, it's not. Most startups fail. Most people need retirement savings. That seems a poor investment.
- mjolk 10y ago
  Traditional full time employment is a much safer bet for savings.

ac29 10y ago

> I've already maxed out my 401K loans on the Japanese game set "After preserving this set, I sold it and used the proceeds, plus an additional $10,000 of my own money [presumably this is the 401k loan], to purchase all 1450 games sold in Japan." $10k isn't really that much (it wont destroy his ability to retire), and once he sells the games after dumping them, presumably he can pay back the loan anyways.

byuu 10y ago

I'm only 33, and the 401K loan automatically takes money out of each paycheck until it's repaid. I believe it was a 72 month loan? Might've been shorter. So, pretty sure it won't be a problem before I retire. Of course, if an exigent circumstance comes up, and I can prove it (medical emergency, bankruptcy), it's possible to borrow the other half of the 401K. But if I'm short on the mortgage, it's not going to help me, so it was still somewhat irresponsible of me.

derekp7 10y ago
The problem is for people that take out a loan, then decrease their monthly 401k contributions to cover the loan payments. Also, while your money is out on loan, it isn't gaining value from the market (on the other hand, it is at least gaining the percent interest that you are paying back in -- so from the fund's perspective, it isn't too bad).
- byuu 10y ago
  Ouch, that's a good point. If you don't mind a question ... I was thinking about taking out a loan again once it was paid off in order to pay my house mortgage down to 78% so that I can knock off the $200/mo PMI. If I then contributed $200/mo toward the loan + 401K, do you think that would be better or worse than just leaving the 401K alone and paying the PMI? The PMI will probably take another 6+ years to fall off on its own, due to the criminally lopsided interest-to-principal amounts that 30-year mortgages start off at. (I realize the absurdity of asking financial advice here, but you seem to know your stuff, so why not? ;)
  - Sir_Cmpwn 10y ago
    Try /r/personalfinance?
  - Semaphor 10y ago
    You might want to try asking on /r/personalfinance
  - ryan-c 10y ago

Klinky 10y ago

This is byuu doing it, the creator of the most accurate SNES emulator ever. Given that context, it makes complete sense.