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Just in time too, because that's also probably going to be the retirement age by the time most of us get there. /s I have mismanaged a bunch of my career and

by owyn 6y ago

Just in time too, because that's also probably going to be the retirement age by the time most of us get there. /s I have mismanaged a bunch of my career and life choices by just kind of "winging it". For example, I bought worthless stock options, but let the ones that were eventually worth something (8 years later) expire! It seemed like the right choices at the time. I panicked earlier this year and moved a bunch of 401k stuff into safer assets just in time to miss the biggest market boom in history! And I moved and sold my house in Seattle (for a small profit, just before the crash, got lucky there -- the next owner defaulted) which is now worth 2x what I sold it for and I could have probably bought something in SF during the crash but wasn't "sure" I was going to stay here so I missed.... the largest market boom in history! Should have just kept the old one as a rental and bought a small condo. Once you can buy something, always buy the next one too if you can. This is what my smarter friends have done and some of them own 4 houses now. I could have. I just didn't. If I bought something now I'd be in my 70's before it was paid off and I can't guarantee that I'd be able to pay it off by then. And there's Alzheimer's on one side of the family and strokes on the other, so I don't expect to live that long, which I guess is the bank's problem but... blah. I also made all these choices when I didn't have a partner or any peers in a similar situation to bounce these major decisions off of. I did have one smart friend who told me to keep the house in Seattle, I just didn't listen. So guess this is all a long way of saying it does make sense to talk to someone if you can, and make some kind of long term plans that you don't have to think about too much. Thinking is really bad. So is spending your entire career working for mid-tier startups that don't go anywhere, but that's a separate issue.

vmception 6y ago
I was going to add some motivational stuff, like "I worked with a junior developer that got two exits in one year because he always took the cash option and left. You're putting yourself in the right circumstances for the luck to happen!" but is that really what you want to read? what would you like to happen now? you want to own a cash flow producing property? you want to own another house to live in exclusively?
- owyn 6y ago
  Thanks! I'm fine! Since I started my career in SWE (at a company which went public and crashed hard in the first dot.com bust) I've always had enough so I never really worried about money. And I usually had more than my musician friends so I "felt" well off, if that makes sense. I could always buy a new guitar and they couldn't always do that. I rented the van to go on tour when they couldn't afford it because it was a bucket list thing for me and I'm glad I did it. Now I'm starting to think maybe I should have thought about it a little more. I've always been so busy working and pursuing other hobbies (guitar, then drums, now game programming (or just game playing? hard to tell) and weight lifting) that I never thought "hey, dude, sit down and plan your retirement" beyond checking a box to auto-fill the 401k. I have also worked at a lot of companies that didn't even offer a 401k so that also made a bit of a dent. I'm definitely dreaming about finding a remote job and moving out of SF, like half the developers in the city... I could easily afford a house in any other part of the country. I could use the savings to hire a younger guy to stand in front of the web cam while I type. :) My parents are still here in CA so I'm standing by to care for them if/when necessary. My dad is in a home already but I'll probably move back in to hang out with my mom soon. So far I've been happier maintaining my own apartment I'm sure a lot of people with mom's can understand. I spent a half hour on the phone today doing technical support. :) Another hint -- set up remote desktop! I'm still torn between spending the rest of my career at some BigCo or taking a shot at one last startup. A lifetime of indecisiveness has led to a lot of these half-assed decisions for sure. Since this post is about aging, one bit of advice: get your parents to sign power of attorney (medical & financial) documents long before they can't sign paperwork any more! By the time you actually have to use it for something it may be a LOT more difficult. Fortunately my parents trust me and they were happy to do it, and we're all very happy we did.
  - vmception 6y ago
    [I'm definitely dreaming about finding a remote job and moving out of SF, like half the developers in the city.] [like half the developers in the city... I could easily afford a house in any other part of the country.] Was this intentional? This is amusing, interesting. I hope you figure it out! You are scratching the surface on the idea that comparing yourself to your musician friends with less marketable skills doesn't help you really continue optimizing your own life. Your aspirations are not different than the current crop of transient developers in the bay area (ie. getting tf out of SF before it becomes Detroit West). The only difference from what I can tell is that "career" doesn't mean the same thing. Big Tech is paying enough for people to do 2-4 year stints and be done with that part of their life. Career and retirement becoming concepts that people aren't really banking on at all, but lump sum and leaving definitely being an opportunity people are really looking for.

by owyn 6y ago

vmception 6y ago

I was going to add some motivational stuff, like "I worked with a junior developer that got two exits in one year because he always took the cash option and left. You're putting yourself in the right circumstances for the luck to happen!" but is that really what you want to read? what would you like to happen now? you want to own a cash flow producing property? you want to own another house to live in exclusively?

owyn 6y ago
Thanks! I'm fine! Since I started my career in SWE (at a company which went public and crashed hard in the first dot.com bust) I've always had enough so I never really worried about money. And I usually had more than my musician friends so I "felt" well off, if that makes sense. I could always buy a new guitar and they couldn't always do that. I rented the van to go on tour when they couldn't afford it because it was a bucket list thing for me and I'm glad I did it. Now I'm starting to think maybe I should have thought about it a little more. I've always been so busy working and pursuing other hobbies (guitar, then drums, now game programming (or just game playing? hard to tell) and weight lifting) that I never thought "hey, dude, sit down and plan your retirement" beyond checking a box to auto-fill the 401k. I have also worked at a lot of companies that didn't even offer a 401k so that also made a bit of a dent. I'm definitely dreaming about finding a remote job and moving out of SF, like half the developers in the city... I could easily afford a house in any other part of the country. I could use the savings to hire a younger guy to stand in front of the web cam while I type. :) My parents are still here in CA so I'm standing by to care for them if/when necessary. My dad is in a home already but I'll probably move back in to hang out with my mom soon. So far I've been happier maintaining my own apartment I'm sure a lot of people with mom's can understand. I spent a half hour on the phone today doing technical support. :) Another hint -- set up remote desktop! I'm still torn between spending the rest of my career at some BigCo or taking a shot at one last startup. A lifetime of indecisiveness has led to a lot of these half-assed decisions for sure. Since this post is about aging, one bit of advice: get your parents to sign power of attorney (medical & financial) documents long before they can't sign paperwork any more! By the time you actually have to use it for something it may be a LOT more difficult. Fortunately my parents trust me and they were happy to do it, and we're all very happy we did.
- vmception 6y ago
  [I'm definitely dreaming about finding a remote job and moving out of SF, like half the developers in the city.] [like half the developers in the city... I could easily afford a house in any other part of the country.] Was this intentional? This is amusing, interesting. I hope you figure it out! You are scratching the surface on the idea that comparing yourself to your musician friends with less marketable skills doesn't help you really continue optimizing your own life. Your aspirations are not different than the current crop of transient developers in the bay area (ie. getting tf out of SF before it becomes Detroit West). The only difference from what I can tell is that "career" doesn't mean the same thing. Big Tech is paying enough for people to do 2-4 year stints and be done with that part of their life. Career and retirement becoming concepts that people aren't really banking on at all, but lump sum and leaving definitely being an opportunity people are really looking for.