3 ms·

I'm not sure why someone would downvote you. Having a journey _is_ key, and this is why "FU money" would be useful. Given a lucky $5,000,000 lottery win, many p

by d_r 16y ago

I'm not sure why someone would downvote you. Having a journey _is_ key, and this is why "FU money" would be useful. Given a lucky $5,000,000 lottery win, many people on HN would probably have a chance to leave the day job and finally take a shot at accomplishing their dream (perhaps building the next amazing geo-tagging-social-network, or opening a store, or whatever it might be.) Without a dream, people will just spend money on toys that seem far too obvious, such as fancy cars. Simple money management skills help as well.

gaius 16y ago
There are a ton of stories of lottery winners who blew the lot in surprisingly little time, and have literally nothing to show for it. The problem seems to be if you suddenly have x money, you start to live as if you have 10x.
- sree_nair 16y ago
  I hear a lot of people saying this. Do you have any data points links for the same?. Just curious.
  - gaius 16y ago
    Not any hard numbers on % of lottery winners or anything, but stories in the papers are common: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/813314-top-5-lottery-winners-who-lost-everything http://www.metro.co.uk/news/813314-top-5-lottery-winners-who... http://loanscreditcards.co.uk/tag/uk-lottery-winners/ http://loanscreditcards.co.uk/tag/uk-lottery-winners/
- bd 16y ago
  With lotteries there is a strong selection bias. Rational people usually don't indulge in lotteries. Among lottery winners there will be disproportionally more people who are going to be really bad with money management.
brc 16y ago
I don't know. Some fancy cars are pretty awesome. Just sayin'
dedward 16y ago
You just said something really interesting in there...... that perhaps it would be building the next geo-tagging-social network. That's the problem - assuming the readers are techies.... if I suddenly had my FU money - the last thing I'd want to do is start a technology company, unless it was something I was really super passionate about. I'd personally rather go back to having my computers as my hobby, and work on my family, other hobbies, travel, maybe learn to write better.... and work on long term financial managemnet so I'll be set for good, as well as my family. And yeha, maybe a fancy-ish car or two - but the money buys my personal time back- the last thing I'd want to do is dump it into work again...
- kls 16y ago
  That changes with time. Some people that make it have a tendency to take some time off and do those type things. A portion of people take time off to restore an old car, teach themselves art, music, woodworking, go back to school for something unrelated, build a house by hand and a multitude of other things, but eventual a good portion finally return to some form of work. Sometimes a new interest turns into a business venture or an interesting idea peeks their interest and they build a business around it, but if you are young chances are you will return to work at some point. To me this is the greatest advantage of FU money, it gives you the time to recharge your battery and really contribute something to a project instead of just slinging code to ensure that you family is fed. It allows you work to have a greater purpose, if not to society in general then at least to yourself.
  - messel 16y ago
    I like to imagine myself angel or even venture investing after successfully building a company or three. There's a lifetime of work in shifting markets, and much of it can be helping other people build fantastic stuff. We only get a short time on the treadmill, better to throw it out the window so the next walker get's a beautiful view.

by d_r 16y ago

gaius 16y ago

There are a ton of stories of lottery winners who blew the lot in surprisingly little time, and have literally nothing to show for it. The problem seems to be if you suddenly have x money, you start to live as if you have 10x.

sree_nair 16y ago
I hear a lot of people saying this. Do you have any data points links for the same?. Just curious.
- gaius 16y ago
  Not any hard numbers on % of lottery winners or anything, but stories in the papers are common: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/813314-top-5-lottery-winners-who-lost-everything http://www.metro.co.uk/news/813314-top-5-lottery-winners-who... http://loanscreditcards.co.uk/tag/uk-lottery-winners/ http://loanscreditcards.co.uk/tag/uk-lottery-winners/
bd 16y ago
With lotteries there is a strong selection bias. Rational people usually don't indulge in lotteries. Among lottery winners there will be disproportionally more people who are going to be really bad with money management.

brc 16y ago

I don't know. Some fancy cars are pretty awesome. Just sayin'

dedward 16y ago

You just said something really interesting in there...... that perhaps it would be building the next geo-tagging-social network. That's the problem - assuming the readers are techies.... if I suddenly had my FU money - the last thing I'd want to do is start a technology company, unless it was something I was really super passionate about. I'd personally rather go back to having my computers as my hobby, and work on my family, other hobbies, travel, maybe learn to write better.... and work on long term financial managemnet so I'll be set for good, as well as my family. And yeha, maybe a fancy-ish car or two - but the money buys my personal time back- the last thing I'd want to do is dump it into work again...

kls 16y ago
That changes with time. Some people that make it have a tendency to take some time off and do those type things. A portion of people take time off to restore an old car, teach themselves art, music, woodworking, go back to school for something unrelated, build a house by hand and a multitude of other things, but eventual a good portion finally return to some form of work. Sometimes a new interest turns into a business venture or an interesting idea peeks their interest and they build a business around it, but if you are young chances are you will return to work at some point. To me this is the greatest advantage of FU money, it gives you the time to recharge your battery and really contribute something to a project instead of just slinging code to ensure that you family is fed. It allows you work to have a greater purpose, if not to society in general then at least to yourself.
- messel 16y ago
  I like to imagine myself angel or even venture investing after successfully building a company or three. There's a lifetime of work in shifting markets, and much of it can be helping other people build fantastic stuff. We only get a short time on the treadmill, better to throw it out the window so the next walker get's a beautiful view.