15 ms·

Redditors who are rich (net worth $1 million+) - how did you get rich?

202 points by rinnbehr 15y ago

mcphilip 15y ago
Long response from a redditor who launched a reasonably successful startup: http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/rqejz/redditors_who_are_rich_net_worth_1_million_how/c47vz37 http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/rqejz/redditors_w...
- davidw 15y ago
  Looks like it's fake though. The thread is a reminder of the awful S/N ratio on Reddit.
  - SatvikBeri 15y ago
    I'm curious-what in the post indicates that it's fake?
    - danielhellier 15y ago
      Here http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/rqejz/redditors_who_are_rich_net_worth_1_million_how/c48bw7n http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/rqejz/redditors_w...
    - davidw 15y ago
      The reply to it: http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/rqejz/redditors_who_are_rich_net_worth_1_million_how/c48bw7n http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/rqejz/redditors_w...
freehunter 15y ago
WRT the top post there (as of right now), you have to be pretty lucky if driving a 20+ year old car is a net gain. Especially if you weren't the owner of that car for the majority of its life. Like with old codebases, there's a lot that can go wrong at any moment and be so difficult and expensive to maintain that it's worth it to just throw it out and get a certified pre-owned. Depends on the car, I guess, I ditched my 12 year old Dodge for a 14 year old Toyota and feel much better about the reliability.
- vaksel 15y ago
  with cars you can just buy them used and sell them before they depreciate too much. Buy a 3 year old car, keep it for 1-2 years, then sell it. (if that's still too rich for your blood...get a 5 year old car and keep that for 2 years) Just look at the cars as the cost to own...not actual price you pay. So even if a car depreciates 20% in that time period, you can still drive something decent. A $10,000 used car...will depreciate $2,000 or $1,000/yr or $83/mo $83/mo is a small price to pay to have a reliable car that's just 3 years old. And if you want something better... A $40,000 used car...will depreciate $8,000 or $4,000/yr or $333/mo. $333/mo is nothing, and a $40,000 car started off its life as an $80,000 one. And that's if you hold the cars for 2 years....if you sell them within the year...you can sell it for the same price you paid for it.
  - run4yourlives 15y ago
    Wouldn't it be easier just to lease? The big thing your entire calculation leaves out is the time it takes to do this transaction every couple of years, because there is no way a dealership is going to give you the money you are looking for... I'd rather do something else with my time to be honest.
    - vaksel 15y ago
      leasing costs way more. cars lose the most value in the first 3 years. So in those 3 years, you'll lose 50% of the car's value. Since leasing is basically just covering the cost of depreciation...you end up on the hook for the biggest loss in the car's life. when you buy used and sell in the next 2 years, you only lose ~20%. + with leasing you are limited to 10-12K miles per year. remember, for this thing we are talking about getting the best bang for your buck, while still getting something decent. i.e. I'm leasing a CRV for my mom(don't want her to deal with repairs etc). It costs me $262/mo...so over 3 years it will cost me $9,432. At a 20% loss...that same $9,432 loss...would have been the same as if I've gotten a used $47,160 3 year old car, then sold it 2 years later at a 20% loss. A $47,160 3 year old used car would have been a $70-90K new car. Some alternatives(used eBay with the buy it now and low miles): Original MSRP is inside the ()...but with most of these cars you can add another 10-20% for options. 2009 BMW M5($83,000) 2009 Audi S5($60,000) 2009 MB CLS550($71,000) 2008 MB SL550($105,000) 2008 MB CLS65 AMG($94,900) 2008 Audi RS4($70,000) 2008 Porsche 911($82,000) Now which would you rather drive...a CRV...or any of those. Yes your time is important, and you have to add that into the calculation.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
smackfu 15y ago
Easiest way: No kids. Two good incomes. Reliably saving 20%. Mid 40s. No college debt or health issues. That should get you to about a million in assets.
- inerte 15y ago
  Maybe that's the easiest, but not the most common. According to Millionaire Next Door, there are kids, sometimes only one income, savings of 15%+, and late 50s.
  - smackfu 15y ago
    Right. Kids do tend to be a quadruple whammy though: * Basic living costs (food and clothing and fun). * Childcare requires either expensive daycare or a parent not working / limited working. * Money needs to be saved for college. * Require more bedrooms, which drives up housing costs although it's arguable whether this has an impact on net worth. (This may be double-counting the first point, but going from a $100k condo to a $400k house because of a child is more than just living costs.) Add those up and yes it probably takes another 10-20 years to meet your net worth goals. OTOH, you have a safety net when you get older. And, you know, a kid.
    - guga31bb 15y ago
      Also in some areas housing is much more expensive in areas with good public school districts.
  - alanfalcon 15y ago
    Yes, the single biggest factor is age. You want a net-worth distribution where the wealthiest people are at retirement age because they're going to quit working and then that wealth will be spent in their retirement. It's like a roller coaster, you want to be moving the fastest right before you enter the loop so that you can be sure not to stall right when you're upside down (or embarrassingly fail to make it even that far and end up rolling backwards.) If everyone was going the same speed all the time, we'd just have boring flat tracks and there would be no point in going on the ride.
stephencanon 15y ago
Take pride in doing good work. Find a job that will reward you for it. Be lucky. Don't pay more for things than they are worth to you.
toddmorey 15y ago
Entrepreneurism seems under-represented: most of the responses seem to be inheritance or stock investments. I'm wondering if that reflects on the reddit community makeup, the type of people who would answer this question, or just that growing a successful startup is really hard / rare.
- eli_gottlieb 15y ago
  9/10 start-ups fail, just like most other forms of new business. I believe we could apply Bayes' Law here...
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
  - jaxn 15y ago
    That is crazy talk. The rate for small businesses as a whole is around 50% failure within the first 5 years. There are exceptions to that rule and ways to increase the odds. As an example, 90% of franchise businesses are still running after 5 years.
    - carguy1983 15y ago
      Anecdata: Walk down a main commercial street in any large metropolis and count the number of completely unviable businesses (these are the ones that turn over their real estate every few months). These are further polluting the statistics.
      - jaxn 15y ago
        I am not knowledgeable enough to know whether or not a business is viable just from looking in the storefront. Though I would argue that as the owner of two retail locations, I am probably better equipped to make that judgement than most. In my experience, most retail leases are for 5 year terms. I can't imagine that the default rate on those is anywhere near 50%. Most business "failures" likely never got far enough to sign a lease.
hkarthik 15y ago
Our path to be on track for a net worth of $1 mil: 1) Two good incomes on the professional track. We both have good degrees from universities and don't plan on taking any breaks in employment. Even with kids, there are plenty of great childcare options available. Living near family helps too. 2) Drive paid off cars. Buy new cars if you want, but structure your costs so you can pay them off in 2-3 years max and then drive them for another 5 or more. Stagger your purchases so you never have more than one car payment at a time. 3) Buy a home well below your means in area with a lower cost of living. There are plenty of parts of the country where you can earn a combined six figure income while spending less than $100/sqft for a home in a good neighborhood. 4) Limit how often you eat out for lunches and dinners to twice a week or less. 5) Live frugally so that you can save 20-40% of your income. Don't cheapen out on things for you or your family, but don't let yourself be manipulated by the consumerism that surrounds us. If you have a disposable income, use it for experiences like travel rather than collecting stuff. 6) Avoid expensive hobbies/activities that consume a lot of time and don't contribute much to your marketable skills. If a hobby requires spending a considerable chunk of your monthly income, reconsider whether it's really worth it. TL;DR: It's really not that hard to save your way to $1 mil, you just have to be willing to work a little harder and spend a little less than most people to get there.
- rorrr 15y ago
  This is a joke. What's the point of saving up $1M while living in a shitty cheap area, cheap shitty house, no going out, no fun hobbies. Even if you do make six figures (and most people don't), it will take you decades to get $1M, and by then it will not be worth that much. Inflation is a bitch.
  - wmblaettler 15y ago
    ...and then you're dead.
  - orangecat 15y ago
    If you have an above average income like many on HN, people who earn 15 or 20 percent less than you are not generally living in cheap shitty houses and never having fun. Inflation is a bitch. Fortunately, there are alternatives to keeping your savings in your mattress.
dwc 15y ago
There's a sad undercurrent to this, as some redditors respond that they find this depressing. While I understand their plight, I do not understand the sustained pessimism for most of the depressed ones. I went to work right out of high school at menial jobs. No college, no big family business. Paycheck-to-paycheck, and any minor emergency like a dead car battery was a financial crisis. I did not "get lucky" on stocks or anything. While getting rich has not been a focus for me, I decided I definitely did NOT like being poor. Lots of small steps, and staying on the lookout for ways to improve matters has led me to not be poor. I'm not rich but I'm in decent shape and moving in the right direction: no debt except the mortage, which will be payed off soonish; some money in savings, stocks, 401k, etc. I'm living at a decent level and should be able to retire in some comfort. No magic. No big windfalls. This is doable by most of those depressed people.
- mfieldhouse 15y ago
  To sum up the average discussion about jobs and money on reddit: a victim mentality and belief that we live in the hardest time ever to get a job because of events outside of our control.
  - laaph 15y ago
    It's easy to get that mentality. I am in a broke period of my life right now. One can easily tell me about how much it is all my fault, but I thought I had enough money to last for two years when I quit my job, I thought I could find a job within six months in the bay area, people could argue that I am generous to a fault and people I have lent and given money to in the past can't or won't help me out now. So it is easy to have some depression when scraping together a few bucks for transit to a job interview becomes one of the harder tasks. It's doubly frustrating when you get on the wrong bus and wind up 45 minutes late to the interview.
    - deleted 15y ago
      [deleted]
- stevear 15y ago
mfieldhouse 15y ago
This comment is why I stopped reading reddit. The person mentions they "noticed a couple of GOOD POINTS"... Get lucky, either through a series of serendipitous events or through birth. Be old enough to have lived in an era when you didn't have $50K or more in student loans to pay off and could get a good job.
- PagingCraig 15y ago
  I like reading it to see how people react to such a question, not really the advice people give. Most people seem to think divine intervention is the best way.
c16 15y ago
I think the best line from the whole thread has to be: 'TL;DR If your reading this first, your not going to be successful. You're too fucking lazy.' - http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/rqejz/redditors_who_are_rich_net_worth_1_million_how/c47vz37 http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/rqejz/redditors_w...
- noodle 15y ago
  Generally agree with the sentiment, though that guy seems to have deleted his account because (apparently) his post is a big lie.
aresant 15y ago
The #1 expense over your lifetime won't be your house, your entertainment, or your cars. It will be TAXES. If you build a career path that can take advantage of tax breaks you wind up with a huge advantage from the start. For tech entrepreneurs - focus on building your enterprise value. Reinvest profits into GROWTH so that you wind up paying the bulk of your taxes in capital gains vs. personal income tax. On $1m or 2m in money the difference in what you save is staggering. In real estate you can take advantage of all sorts of loopholes to reinvest or shelter profits that let you drastically increase your available pool to invest and create gains. And for goodness sakes at the very least start a LLC or S-Corp if you're making more than $25,000 or so a year from "side projects / consulting" so you can properly write off and document all business related fees (computer hardware, cell phone usage, home office, etc).
- jberryman 15y ago
  Respectfully, as someone who doesn't know anything about getting rich, isn't your advice more "how to get richer" rather than "how to get rich"?
  - aresant 15y ago
    Here's a shorter answer to "how to get rich" - be a successful entrepreneur. But applying the above: let's say you're at a low-wage, hand-to-mouth style job today. a) Today commit to being smart about taxation since that is one of your most addressable costs (and study it, there are literally THOUSANDS of loopholes) b) As a result, save up enough "runway" over several years to go take a swing at a start-up. c) Reinvest profits vs. buying a brand new status car or whatever and then cash out w/your $$$ at cap gains.
    - gnosis 15y ago
      "Here's a shorter answer to "how to get rich" - be a successful entrepreneur." Even shorter answer: win the lottery. Don't know which is more likely.
      - 15y ago
b2hack 15y ago
For the HNs who are rich. If you have to start it from the beginning. What would be a good startup to you start, service/product ?
tferris 15y ago
Interesting reads on the Reddit thread—most of them feel grounded and authentic. It's pleasent to get some new views on this topic if you are used to the typical screaming self-help books or blogs post about getting rich and success (where you never know wether the author is really rich or just a good writer).
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
corkill 15y ago
This book sums up everything you need to be wealthy, what people who live hand to mouth believe and why most people's 9-5 job, live frugally for 50 year plan to be rich in their retirement is stupid (hint: because you just pissed away your whole life). http://www.themillionairefastlane.com/ http://www.themillionairefastlane.com/ (scammy title I know but seriously read it). The guy who wrote it was the founder of limos.com.
- jodrellblank 15y ago
  s/pissed away/lived/ Just beceause it's not a constant adrenaline high doesn't make it wasted.
sayemm 15y ago
Best book on the topic: http://www.amazon.com/How-Get-Rich-Greatest-Entrepreneurs/dp/1591842719 http://www.amazon.com/How-Get-Rich-Greatest-Entrepreneurs/dp... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Dennis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Dennis
dirkdeman 15y ago
It's funny how RICH is defined in a monetary value. I live a very rich life (including kids, those of you who don't have them yet: you'll get it when you have them), can afford everything I need and most of the stuff I want. I never got the lavish spending of the wealthy, why on earth would someone buy a Ferrari or 50,000 dollar pool table? What I'm trying to say is money is just the means to fulfilling a desire. I knew an old lady who saved every penny in her life to amass 10.000 euros, it was her dream. She did accomplish it, but never had any fun in her life because she'd always save her money. When she died she had the desired amount on the bank. Her children inherited the money, but only after they paid 40% tax. How to get rich? Live your life to the fullest and have fun. And yes, raise a family at some point. I promise you that all the money in the world can't buy you what you get from your that!
- UK-AL 15y ago
  A whole life to to amass 10000 Euros?
tbsdy 15y ago
My favourite thread: My uncle put down 500k for a new lambo, and makes around a million a year. The semi-mansion he lives in with my other uncle is fully paid off, the kids colleges funds are full and so is retirement, so a purchase like that is very affordable for him. Response: What does your uncle do? Answer: Lives at the bro-mansion and drives a fuckin Lamborghini all day, am I the only one who reads?!
mase 15y ago
I hope to someday know what this feels like and not have to learn these lessons the hard way
scotty79 15y ago
So to have a million and also have free time you have to either inherit it (best case) or build up your real estate. You might be able to get that money other way but it will take so much time that you won't even have few minutes for yourself to brag about your success on reddit.
ckpwong 15y ago
Net worth of $1m is hardly "rich" in my definition, since it's not sufficient for most of first-world population to retire on. Heck, that 2500 sq ft down the road was listed for $700k and had multiple offers, and my neighbourhood isn't even considered "rich" (perhaps middle- to upper-middle class). Net worth of $1m quite easily achievable by 50 with two middle class income, not being a spendrift, and not being a bonehead in investing. (For the record, trading stocks too actively is usually a bonehead move, so is putting all savings in CD's.)

202 points by rinnbehr 15y ago

Long response from a redditor who launched a reasonably successful startup: http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/rqejz/redditors_who_are_rich_net_worth_1_million_how/c47vz37 http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/rqejz/redditors_w...

davidw 15y ago
Looks like it's fake though. The thread is a reminder of the awful S/N ratio on Reddit.
- SatvikBeri 15y ago
  I'm curious-what in the post indicates that it's fake?
  - danielhellier 15y ago
    Here http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/rqejz/redditors_who_are_rich_net_worth_1_million_how/c48bw7n http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/rqejz/redditors_w...
  - davidw 15y ago
    The reply to it: http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/rqejz/redditors_who_are_rich_net_worth_1_million_how/c48bw7n http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/rqejz/redditors_w...

freehunter 15y ago

WRT the top post there (as of right now), you have to be pretty lucky if driving a 20+ year old car is a net gain. Especially if you weren't the owner of that car for the majority of its life. Like with old codebases, there's a lot that can go wrong at any moment and be so difficult and expensive to maintain that it's worth it to just throw it out and get a certified pre-owned. Depends on the car, I guess, I ditched my 12 year old Dodge for a 14 year old Toyota and feel much better about the reliability.

vaksel 15y ago
with cars you can just buy them used and sell them before they depreciate too much. Buy a 3 year old car, keep it for 1-2 years, then sell it. (if that's still too rich for your blood...get a 5 year old car and keep that for 2 years) Just look at the cars as the cost to own...not actual price you pay. So even if a car depreciates 20% in that time period, you can still drive something decent. A $10,000 used car...will depreciate $2,000 or $1,000/yr or $83/mo $83/mo is a small price to pay to have a reliable car that's just 3 years old. And if you want something better... A $40,000 used car...will depreciate $8,000 or $4,000/yr or $333/mo. $333/mo is nothing, and a $40,000 car started off its life as an $80,000 one. And that's if you hold the cars for 2 years....if you sell them within the year...you can sell it for the same price you paid for it.
- run4yourlives 15y ago
  Wouldn't it be easier just to lease? The big thing your entire calculation leaves out is the time it takes to do this transaction every couple of years, because there is no way a dealership is going to give you the money you are looking for... I'd rather do something else with my time to be honest.
  - vaksel 15y ago
    leasing costs way more. cars lose the most value in the first 3 years. So in those 3 years, you'll lose 50% of the car's value. Since leasing is basically just covering the cost of depreciation...you end up on the hook for the biggest loss in the car's life. when you buy used and sell in the next 2 years, you only lose ~20%. + with leasing you are limited to 10-12K miles per year. remember, for this thing we are talking about getting the best bang for your buck, while still getting something decent. i.e. I'm leasing a CRV for my mom(don't want her to deal with repairs etc). It costs me $262/mo...so over 3 years it will cost me $9,432. At a 20% loss...that same $9,432 loss...would have been the same as if I've gotten a used $47,160 3 year old car, then sold it 2 years later at a 20% loss. A $47,160 3 year old used car would have been a $70-90K new car. Some alternatives(used eBay with the buy it now and low miles): Original MSRP is inside the ()...but with most of these cars you can add another 10-20% for options. 2009 BMW M5($83,000) 2009 Audi S5($60,000) 2009 MB CLS550($71,000) 2008 MB SL550($105,000) 2008 MB CLS65 AMG($94,900) 2008 Audi RS4($70,000) 2008 Porsche 911($82,000) Now which would you rather drive...a CRV...or any of those. Yes your time is important, and you have to add that into the calculation.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

smackfu 15y ago

Easiest way: No kids. Two good incomes. Reliably saving 20%. Mid 40s. No college debt or health issues. That should get you to about a million in assets.

inerte 15y ago
Maybe that's the easiest, but not the most common. According to Millionaire Next Door, there are kids, sometimes only one income, savings of 15%+, and late 50s.
- smackfu 15y ago
  Right. Kids do tend to be a quadruple whammy though: * Basic living costs (food and clothing and fun). * Childcare requires either expensive daycare or a parent not working / limited working. * Money needs to be saved for college. * Require more bedrooms, which drives up housing costs although it's arguable whether this has an impact on net worth. (This may be double-counting the first point, but going from a $100k condo to a $400k house because of a child is more than just living costs.) Add those up and yes it probably takes another 10-20 years to meet your net worth goals. OTOH, you have a safety net when you get older. And, you know, a kid.
  - guga31bb 15y ago
    Also in some areas housing is much more expensive in areas with good public school districts.
- alanfalcon 15y ago
  Yes, the single biggest factor is age. You want a net-worth distribution where the wealthiest people are at retirement age because they're going to quit working and then that wealth will be spent in their retirement. It's like a roller coaster, you want to be moving the fastest right before you enter the loop so that you can be sure not to stall right when you're upside down (or embarrassingly fail to make it even that far and end up rolling backwards.) If everyone was going the same speed all the time, we'd just have boring flat tracks and there would be no point in going on the ride.

stephencanon 15y ago

Take pride in doing good work. Find a job that will reward you for it. Be lucky. Don't pay more for things than they are worth to you.

toddmorey 15y ago

Entrepreneurism seems under-represented: most of the responses seem to be inheritance or stock investments. I'm wondering if that reflects on the reddit community makeup, the type of people who would answer this question, or just that growing a successful startup is really hard / rare.

eli_gottlieb 15y ago
9/10 start-ups fail, just like most other forms of new business. I believe we could apply Bayes' Law here...
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- jaxn 15y ago
  That is crazy talk. The rate for small businesses as a whole is around 50% failure within the first 5 years. There are exceptions to that rule and ways to increase the odds. As an example, 90% of franchise businesses are still running after 5 years.
  - carguy1983 15y ago
    Anecdata: Walk down a main commercial street in any large metropolis and count the number of completely unviable businesses (these are the ones that turn over their real estate every few months). These are further polluting the statistics.
    - jaxn 15y ago
      I am not knowledgeable enough to know whether or not a business is viable just from looking in the storefront. Though I would argue that as the owner of two retail locations, I am probably better equipped to make that judgement than most. In my experience, most retail leases are for 5 year terms. I can't imagine that the default rate on those is anywhere near 50%. Most business "failures" likely never got far enough to sign a lease.

hkarthik 15y ago

Our path to be on track for a net worth of $1 mil: 1) Two good incomes on the professional track. We both have good degrees from universities and don't plan on taking any breaks in employment. Even with kids, there are plenty of great childcare options available. Living near family helps too. 2) Drive paid off cars. Buy new cars if you want, but structure your costs so you can pay them off in 2-3 years max and then drive them for another 5 or more. Stagger your purchases so you never have more than one car payment at a time. 3) Buy a home well below your means in area with a lower cost of living. There are plenty of parts of the country where you can earn a combined six figure income while spending less than $100/sqft for a home in a good neighborhood. 4) Limit how often you eat out for lunches and dinners to twice a week or less. 5) Live frugally so that you can save 20-40% of your income. Don't cheapen out on things for you or your family, but don't let yourself be manipulated by the consumerism that surrounds us. If you have a disposable income, use it for experiences like travel rather than collecting stuff. 6) Avoid expensive hobbies/activities that consume a lot of time and don't contribute much to your marketable skills. If a hobby requires spending a considerable chunk of your monthly income, reconsider whether it's really worth it. TL;DR: It's really not that hard to save your way to $1 mil, you just have to be willing to work a little harder and spend a little less than most people to get there.

rorrr 15y ago
This is a joke. What's the point of saving up $1M while living in a shitty cheap area, cheap shitty house, no going out, no fun hobbies. Even if you do make six figures (and most people don't), it will take you decades to get $1M, and by then it will not be worth that much. Inflation is a bitch.
- wmblaettler 15y ago
  ...and then you're dead.
- orangecat 15y ago
  If you have an above average income like many on HN, people who earn 15 or 20 percent less than you are not generally living in cheap shitty houses and never having fun. Inflation is a bitch. Fortunately, there are alternatives to keeping your savings in your mattress.

dwc 15y ago

There's a sad undercurrent to this, as some redditors respond that they find this depressing. While I understand their plight, I do not understand the sustained pessimism for most of the depressed ones. I went to work right out of high school at menial jobs. No college, no big family business. Paycheck-to-paycheck, and any minor emergency like a dead car battery was a financial crisis. I did not "get lucky" on stocks or anything. While getting rich has not been a focus for me, I decided I definitely did NOT like being poor. Lots of small steps, and staying on the lookout for ways to improve matters has led me to not be poor. I'm not rich but I'm in decent shape and moving in the right direction: no debt except the mortage, which will be payed off soonish; some money in savings, stocks, 401k, etc. I'm living at a decent level and should be able to retire in some comfort. No magic. No big windfalls. This is doable by most of those depressed people.

mfieldhouse 15y ago
To sum up the average discussion about jobs and money on reddit: a victim mentality and belief that we live in the hardest time ever to get a job because of events outside of our control.
- laaph 15y ago
  It's easy to get that mentality. I am in a broke period of my life right now. One can easily tell me about how much it is all my fault, but I thought I had enough money to last for two years when I quit my job, I thought I could find a job within six months in the bay area, people could argue that I am generous to a fault and people I have lent and given money to in the past can't or won't help me out now. So it is easy to have some depression when scraping together a few bucks for transit to a job interview becomes one of the harder tasks. It's doubly frustrating when you get on the wrong bus and wind up 45 minutes late to the interview.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
stevear 15y ago

mfieldhouse 15y ago

This comment is why I stopped reading reddit. The person mentions they "noticed a couple of GOOD POINTS"... Get lucky, either through a series of serendipitous events or through birth. Be old enough to have lived in an era when you didn't have $50K or more in student loans to pay off and could get a good job.

PagingCraig 15y ago
I like reading it to see how people react to such a question, not really the advice people give. Most people seem to think divine intervention is the best way.

c16 15y ago

I think the best line from the whole thread has to be: 'TL;DR If your reading this first, your not going to be successful. You're too fucking lazy.' - http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/rqejz/redditors_who_are_rich_net_worth_1_million_how/c47vz37 http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/rqejz/redditors_w...

noodle 15y ago
Generally agree with the sentiment, though that guy seems to have deleted his account because (apparently) his post is a big lie.

aresant 15y ago

The #1 expense over your lifetime won't be your house, your entertainment, or your cars. It will be TAXES. If you build a career path that can take advantage of tax breaks you wind up with a huge advantage from the start. For tech entrepreneurs - focus on building your enterprise value. Reinvest profits into GROWTH so that you wind up paying the bulk of your taxes in capital gains vs. personal income tax. On $1m or 2m in money the difference in what you save is staggering. In real estate you can take advantage of all sorts of loopholes to reinvest or shelter profits that let you drastically increase your available pool to invest and create gains. And for goodness sakes at the very least start a LLC or S-Corp if you're making more than $25,000 or so a year from "side projects / consulting" so you can properly write off and document all business related fees (computer hardware, cell phone usage, home office, etc).

jberryman 15y ago
Respectfully, as someone who doesn't know anything about getting rich, isn't your advice more "how to get richer" rather than "how to get rich"?
- aresant 15y ago
  Here's a shorter answer to "how to get rich" - be a successful entrepreneur. But applying the above: let's say you're at a low-wage, hand-to-mouth style job today. a) Today commit to being smart about taxation since that is one of your most addressable costs (and study it, there are literally THOUSANDS of loopholes) b) As a result, save up enough "runway" over several years to go take a swing at a start-up. c) Reinvest profits vs. buying a brand new status car or whatever and then cash out w/your $$$ at cap gains.
  - gnosis 15y ago
    "Here's a shorter answer to "how to get rich" - be a successful entrepreneur." Even shorter answer: win the lottery. Don't know which is more likely.
    - 15y ago

b2hack 15y ago

For the HNs who are rich. If you have to start it from the beginning. What would be a good startup to you start, service/product ?

tferris 15y ago

Interesting reads on the Reddit thread—most of them feel grounded and authentic. It's pleasent to get some new views on this topic if you are used to the typical screaming self-help books or blogs post about getting rich and success (where you never know wether the author is really rich or just a good writer).

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

corkill 15y ago

This book sums up everything you need to be wealthy, what people who live hand to mouth believe and why most people's 9-5 job, live frugally for 50 year plan to be rich in their retirement is stupid (hint: because you just pissed away your whole life). http://www.themillionairefastlane.com/ http://www.themillionairefastlane.com/ (scammy title I know but seriously read it). The guy who wrote it was the founder of limos.com.

jodrellblank 15y ago
s/pissed away/lived/ Just beceause it's not a constant adrenaline high doesn't make it wasted.

sayemm 15y ago

Best book on the topic: http://www.amazon.com/How-Get-Rich-Greatest-Entrepreneurs/dp/1591842719 http://www.amazon.com/How-Get-Rich-Greatest-Entrepreneurs/dp... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Dennis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Dennis

dirkdeman 15y ago

It's funny how RICH is defined in a monetary value. I live a very rich life (including kids, those of you who don't have them yet: you'll get it when you have them), can afford everything I need and most of the stuff I want. I never got the lavish spending of the wealthy, why on earth would someone buy a Ferrari or 50,000 dollar pool table? What I'm trying to say is money is just the means to fulfilling a desire. I knew an old lady who saved every penny in her life to amass 10.000 euros, it was her dream. She did accomplish it, but never had any fun in her life because she'd always save her money. When she died she had the desired amount on the bank. Her children inherited the money, but only after they paid 40% tax. How to get rich? Live your life to the fullest and have fun. And yes, raise a family at some point. I promise you that all the money in the world can't buy you what you get from your that!

UK-AL 15y ago
A whole life to to amass 10000 Euros?

tbsdy 15y ago

My favourite thread: My uncle put down 500k for a new lambo, and makes around a million a year. The semi-mansion he lives in with my other uncle is fully paid off, the kids colleges funds are full and so is retirement, so a purchase like that is very affordable for him. Response: What does your uncle do? Answer: Lives at the bro-mansion and drives a fuckin Lamborghini all day, am I the only one who reads?!

mase 15y ago

I hope to someday know what this feels like and not have to learn these lessons the hard way

scotty79 15y ago

So to have a million and also have free time you have to either inherit it (best case) or build up your real estate. You might be able to get that money other way but it will take so much time that you won't even have few minutes for yourself to brag about your success on reddit.

ckpwong 15y ago

Net worth of $1m is hardly "rich" in my definition, since it's not sufficient for most of first-world population to retire on. Heck, that 2500 sq ft down the road was listed for $700k and had multiple offers, and my neighbourhood isn't even considered "rich" (perhaps middle- to upper-middle class). Net worth of $1m quite easily achievable by 50 with two middle class income, not being a spendrift, and not being a bonehead in investing. (For the record, trading stocks too actively is usually a bonehead move, so is putting all savings in CD's.)