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That's awesome. Not knocking it at all, but for others, comparing the $100k from GitHub sponsors to a corporate-type salary isn't always straightforward. You w
by tyingq 5y ago
That's awesome. Not knocking it at all, but for others, comparing the $100k from GitHub sponsors to a corporate-type salary isn't always straightforward. You would have to consider a lot of things, especially in the US. Things like 401k matching, cost of health insurance for a 1-man company versus as an employee, vacation and sick time, and other benefits. Oh, and self-employment tax (ouch). And a few other items like carrying your own liability insurance if needed, other expenses you might have as a freelancer, etc.
Again, not diminishing the accomplishment at all...very impressive.
- samwillis 5y agoWorth noting the trajectory of that chart though, if he keeps up the momentum he could double his revenue from sponsors this year. Edit: Just noticed that it's a post from 2020, he now has 823 sponsors vs 535 then. So assuming the same average sponsorship that takes him to $173k/year.
- dsmmcken 5y agothe author has written on exactly that topic in a follow up post: https://calebporzio.com/making-100k-as-an-employee-versus-being-self-employed https://calebporzio.com/making-100k-as-an-employee-versus-be...
- tyingq 5y agoOh, yeah, that's perfect, and hits my list plus a few more.
- armoredkitten 5y agoThat's a good follow-up, with the quibble that the math is wrong -- he added $7.5k for insurance as a benefit for a salaried employee, then also subtracted it as an additional expense for being self-employed. So he double-counted it. Which is odd, given that he didn't use the same logic when talking about the other benefits he lists, like vacation, 401(k) matching, and equipment. Either he should have subtracted all of those from the self-employed amount, or added them all to the salaried amount, but not both. So really, the difference in take-home pay should be $98,058 vs. $77,842. Or to put in terms of gross revenue ("Total Income", as he puts it), the comparative target number for self-employed people would be $132,371. It doesn't negate his overall point, I just figured I'd mention it.
- tyingq 5y agoGood catch, though any decent health insurance you can get on your own would be quite a lot higher than $7.5k/year. What I currently pay ~$500/month for via work used to be $2k+/month when I was self-employed. So in real-life it wouldn't always be a wash.
- jjav 5y ago> Good catch, though any decent health insurance you can get on your own would be quite a lot higher than $7.5k/year. I mean, my salary contribution to paying the company-sponsored health plan is ~$2K/month, so 14K/year. That's with my employer paying the other ~half of the cost! Health insurance in the USA is brutal.
- dpweb 5y agoSome tips.. As I've made up for loss of benefits, etc. in other ways after going self-employed. I've always done my own taxes so was comfortable with that aspect. - Everything is deductible, your computer, home work space, etc.. They have phased out most deductions for employees. - Max your 401k if you can (~55k Solo 401k) - this will make up for SE tax AND reduce your AGI so you can be less likely to be income phased out of certain benefits. - Move to a state income tax free state, if feasible. Saved me $10k/yr. - Look into short-term health plans. They aren't ACA, but have very desirable terms. For instance, marketplace plan for me 8700 deductible, 16000 out of pocket max was $550. Short term plan $2500 deductible $2500 out of pocket max (just no ACA protections/benefits) was $330 and is ALSO tax deductible, so more like $240. Networks are similar for instance mine is United Healthcare national network.
- outcoldman 5y agoAlso move to North Carolina and purchase a house for 200k instead of 2M in Seattle area ;)
- mindcrime 5y agoSorry, North Carolina is full. We're not taking any new incomers. Please consider Florida, which has the added benefit of "no state income tax."
- melony 5y agoIt is also a lot easier to get cancelled and deplatformed. There needs to be the equivalent of a golden handcuff/insurance for crowdfunded content creators.