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Fair enough but I did all the things you regret and I am very very happy I did them. Bought a house in 2009 when everyone said it was stupid because of the grea

by Kranar 6y ago

Fair enough but I did all the things you regret and I am very very happy I did them. Bought a house in 2009 when everyone said it was stupid because of the great recession, avoided partying, drinking or doing any kind of drugs, or "having fun" all throughout high school and university, and instead of using all the newest and greatest popular technologies I made my own libraries. That house is now worth 3 times more today than when I bought it, almost all popular technologies from 10 years ago are dead and unmaintained today whereas the technology I made for myself forms the basis of my software company, and frankly I don't know many people in their 30s who still continue to maintain the same kind of friendship with their party buddies. All this to say that it's irrelevant whether you do things everyone else does or do things no one else does. It's just a very poor way of reasoning about anything in life.

VoodooJuJu 6y ago
I think that's exactly what they're saying - that they regret not partying and not buying that nice house.
- Kranar 6y ago
  Fair enough, my interpretation is that he wishes he did party in college and chose not to because he thought it was best in spite of what everyone else was doing and that he regrets not buying the house simply on the basis that everyone was telling him that he should when he felt that he shouldn't. My response is simply that it's irrelevant what everyone else is doing and to not make decisions on that basis. Sometimes most people do things for good reasons and it's worth knowing those reasons and participating in the same actions. Sometimes most people do things for bad reasons and you should avoid doing them even though it will make you unpopular. Don't decide to buy a house because everyone else is doing it or not doing it, buy a house because it's a sound financial decision based on your own personal life situation. In general, focus on the reasons, not on the popularity.
ska 6y ago
> Bought a house in 2009 when everyone said it was stupid I don't know who your "everyone" is, but to do this is extremely conventional financial advice...
- Kranar 6y ago
  Doing something that most people advise against is by definition unconventional but we can agree to disagree on this matter.
  - ska 6y ago
    The point was that I think the conventional wisdom here is to do exactly what you did, not the other way around.
    - Kranar 6y ago
      Maybe that's conventional wisdom, but I simply disagree then. Just because everyone tells you not to buy a house doesn't mean you should buy one. I didn't buy my house because everyone told me not to, that would be incredibly stupid. In fact I would even go further and say that doing the opposite of what everyone tells you to do for the sake of being contrarian is worse than just going with the flow. You can listen to people's reasons and try to appreciate where they are coming from and you can definitely learn from that, but making a decision on the basis of what everyone else is saying to do, one way or another, is bad advice.
      - lilactown 6y ago
        I am 99% sure ska is saying that "lots of people would have suggested to buy a house in 2009." I was not in a position to buy then, but IIRC the market had plummeted the previous year and was at an all-time low; if you were in a position to buy, it was a great time to do it.
        ska 6y ago
        Exactly. So Kranar's scenario I think boils down to "although conventional financial planning says it's a great time to buy a house, I thought through my own situation before doing it". I can't argue with the logic but not sure what it contributes to the OP point.

by Kranar 6y ago

VoodooJuJu 6y ago

I think that's exactly what they're saying - that they regret not partying and not buying that nice house.

Kranar 6y ago
Fair enough, my interpretation is that he wishes he did party in college and chose not to because he thought it was best in spite of what everyone else was doing and that he regrets not buying the house simply on the basis that everyone was telling him that he should when he felt that he shouldn't. My response is simply that it's irrelevant what everyone else is doing and to not make decisions on that basis. Sometimes most people do things for good reasons and it's worth knowing those reasons and participating in the same actions. Sometimes most people do things for bad reasons and you should avoid doing them even though it will make you unpopular. Don't decide to buy a house because everyone else is doing it or not doing it, buy a house because it's a sound financial decision based on your own personal life situation. In general, focus on the reasons, not on the popularity.

ska 6y ago

> Bought a house in 2009 when everyone said it was stupid I don't know who your "everyone" is, but to do this is extremely conventional financial advice...

Kranar 6y ago
Doing something that most people advise against is by definition unconventional but we can agree to disagree on this matter.
- ska 6y ago
  The point was that I think the conventional wisdom here is to do exactly what you did, not the other way around.
  - Kranar 6y ago
    Maybe that's conventional wisdom, but I simply disagree then. Just because everyone tells you not to buy a house doesn't mean you should buy one. I didn't buy my house because everyone told me not to, that would be incredibly stupid. In fact I would even go further and say that doing the opposite of what everyone tells you to do for the sake of being contrarian is worse than just going with the flow. You can listen to people's reasons and try to appreciate where they are coming from and you can definitely learn from that, but making a decision on the basis of what everyone else is saying to do, one way or another, is bad advice.
    - lilactown 6y ago
      I am 99% sure ska is saying that "lots of people would have suggested to buy a house in 2009." I was not in a position to buy then, but IIRC the market had plummeted the previous year and was at an all-time low; if you were in a position to buy, it was a great time to do it.
      - ska 6y ago
        Exactly. So Kranar's scenario I think boils down to "although conventional financial planning says it's a great time to buy a house, I thought through my own situation before doing it". I can't argue with the logic but not sure what it contributes to the OP point.