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Plenty of people create wealth in the second half of life. But not by going to a regular 9-5 job. Typical middle class behavior leads you to average middle clas

Plenty of people create wealth in the second half of life. But not by going to a regular 9-5 job. Typical middle class behavior leads you to average middle class wealth (i.e. very little). People amass wealth by creating businesses that scale (not necessarily software, either) and focusing on the accumulation of income producing assets. May or may not be possible for you, but it’s not because of your age.

wcarss 6y ago
I don't think I was very clear because I agree with you, but I'm also confused by you -- my age wasn't meant to be a key part of the post. It is there to show that I should still 'have time' to create wealth, but doing so is not assured, even if I'm very frugal. Mere work and knowledge are not sufficient to create wealth, regardless of how they are applied. Many people work, and even work intelligently, and also save, but they never make or have wealth. To your point, many smart people start and work very hard on businesses, but they still do not succeed beyond a normal salary's value. Luck remains necessary, and I would argue, is often sufficient. Even just avoiding the bad luck (health, family crises, economic downturns) that can derail a nascent business. The luck surface area concept definitely comes into play here, but I feel the money habits touted by r/personalfinance and similar don't really have much impact on wealth-luck, only on slightly nicer retirements. With a few hours to think about it more, I have softened in the view a little, though: I think they help with creating a cushion. If you're going to do something stupid, doing some smart preparing first may really help you recover. But I still don't think it's worth trying to find a 30-year coat.
- wcarss 6y ago
  I feel awkward posting again but I couldn't help but point this out once I had noticed: if you spent $1000 on a coat that's good for 30 years, in 30 years you'll just have one very old coat. But if you spend $100 on a crappy coat today, and invest the other $900? Assuming you can swing a 6% average return over 30 years, you'll get ~$108 interest every 2 years. Buy a new coat with that and repeat, and in 30 years you'll have a new coat, 15 old ones (to sell?), your original $900, and ~$120 extra!

wcarss 6y ago

I don't think I was very clear because I agree with you, but I'm also confused by you -- my age wasn't meant to be a key part of the post. It is there to show that I should still 'have time' to create wealth, but doing so is not assured, even if I'm very frugal. Mere work and knowledge are not sufficient to create wealth, regardless of how they are applied. Many people work, and even work intelligently, and also save, but they never make or have wealth. To your point, many smart people start and work very hard on businesses, but they still do not succeed beyond a normal salary's value. Luck remains necessary, and I would argue, is often sufficient. Even just avoiding the bad luck (health, family crises, economic downturns) that can derail a nascent business. The luck surface area concept definitely comes into play here, but I feel the money habits touted by r/personalfinance and similar don't really have much impact on wealth-luck, only on slightly nicer retirements. With a few hours to think about it more, I have softened in the view a little, though: I think they help with creating a cushion. If you're going to do something stupid, doing some smart preparing first may really help you recover. But I still don't think it's worth trying to find a 30-year coat.

wcarss 6y ago
I feel awkward posting again but I couldn't help but point this out once I had noticed: if you spent $1000 on a coat that's good for 30 years, in 30 years you'll just have one very old coat. But if you spend $100 on a crappy coat today, and invest the other $900? Assuming you can swing a 6% average return over 30 years, you'll get ~$108 interest every 2 years. Buy a new coat with that and repeat, and in 30 years you'll have a new coat, 15 old ones (to sell?), your original $900, and ~$120 extra!