5 ms·

Not only is this unrelated to the OP, but it's also not actionable advice. Sounds like you got lucky and got a bunch of great stock. That's not something most p

by ericyd 2y ago

Not only is this unrelated to the OP, but it's also not actionable advice. Sounds like you got lucky and got a bunch of great stock. That's not something most people can count on, and housing in American urban centers only goes so low.

mgdev 2y ago
"Save while you're earning decent cash" seems pretty actionable to me.
- benzible 2y ago
  "I wouldn't be able to do this so easily if it weren't for stock" does not. It's misleading to attribute early retirement to a frugal lifestyle and savings when it appears that they hit the lottery.
- ericyd 2y ago
  I found the anecdote of retiring in 6 years to distort the message significantly. Sure everyone can save more but that likely won't result in massive lifestyle changes in a short time frame.
  - yreg 2y ago
    Six years is certainly lucky, but it's easy to save working as SWE. There are people living in your city on a tiny fraction of your income. A person without commitments could save the entire diff, if they wanted to. And travelling is cheap as well, I have a friend who is travelling long term for like $300-600 a month, including all the transportation costs, etc. (The opportunity cost of not working is obviously much higher though.)
  - wing-_-nuts 2y ago
    Yeah for real. I think that any dev can retire by 50 if they want to. Maybe by 40 if they really put in effort, but if you're retiring before your mid 30's you're either 'leanFire' meaning you've basically committed yourself to a life of relative poverty or you somehow got hold of a 'lotto ticket', and that, by definition is extremely rare and not something anyone should plan for.
  - AlwaysRock 2y ago
    Kind of depends. Plenty of people COULD live like a monk and save a ton over 6 years. But that requires not having a family and likely not enjoying your life very much. I probably COULD live on significantly less than I make right now. Hell, I have in the past. But I sure didnt enjoy it very much. But if you lived on rice and beans in the cheapest place you could find while making a 6 figure salary... Saving a very significant sum every year would be possible.
- necheffa 2y ago
  > "Save while you're earning decent cash" seems pretty actionable to me. This is in fact pretty unactionable unless you are planning on boondocking during your career and retirement - at which point - why bother with post secondary education and a white collar job in the first place, just boondock from the getgo.
GaryNumanVevo 2y ago
I was able to save around ~$800k over 6 years while living in the Bay Area, that's now at $1.45mil two years later. But I consider myself extremely, extremely lucky.
- skeeter2020 2y ago
  It's incredibly unrealistic for anyone to replicate that sort of principal savings and then return. You might as well suggest buying lottery tickets, which you essenntially admit. This is either bad advice or shameless bragging, but tough to see it in any charitable light.
  - yreg 2y ago
    OP asked for any kinds of stories.
- jimbokun 2y ago
  Do you mind sharing your total comp during those years? (since you are sharing pretty personal numbers already)
  - GaryNumanVevo 2y ago
    TC was ~300k USD. My base salary could cover my living expenses (single living with a roommate). I held all of my RSUs + ESPP for 5 years.
jimbokun 2y ago
It’s actionable advice for many, if not most, people who write software for a living.

by ericyd 2y ago

mgdev 2y ago

"Save while you're earning decent cash" seems pretty actionable to me.

benzible 2y ago
"I wouldn't be able to do this so easily if it weren't for stock" does not. It's misleading to attribute early retirement to a frugal lifestyle and savings when it appears that they hit the lottery.
ericyd 2y ago
I found the anecdote of retiring in 6 years to distort the message significantly. Sure everyone can save more but that likely won't result in massive lifestyle changes in a short time frame.
- yreg 2y ago
  Six years is certainly lucky, but it's easy to save working as SWE. There are people living in your city on a tiny fraction of your income. A person without commitments could save the entire diff, if they wanted to. And travelling is cheap as well, I have a friend who is travelling long term for like $300-600 a month, including all the transportation costs, etc. (The opportunity cost of not working is obviously much higher though.)
- wing-_-nuts 2y ago
  Yeah for real. I think that any dev can retire by 50 if they want to. Maybe by 40 if they really put in effort, but if you're retiring before your mid 30's you're either 'leanFire' meaning you've basically committed yourself to a life of relative poverty or you somehow got hold of a 'lotto ticket', and that, by definition is extremely rare and not something anyone should plan for.
- AlwaysRock 2y ago
  Kind of depends. Plenty of people COULD live like a monk and save a ton over 6 years. But that requires not having a family and likely not enjoying your life very much. I probably COULD live on significantly less than I make right now. Hell, I have in the past. But I sure didnt enjoy it very much. But if you lived on rice and beans in the cheapest place you could find while making a 6 figure salary... Saving a very significant sum every year would be possible.
necheffa 2y ago
> "Save while you're earning decent cash" seems pretty actionable to me. This is in fact pretty unactionable unless you are planning on boondocking during your career and retirement - at which point - why bother with post secondary education and a white collar job in the first place, just boondock from the getgo.

GaryNumanVevo 2y ago

I was able to save around ~$800k over 6 years while living in the Bay Area, that's now at $1.45mil two years later. But I consider myself extremely, extremely lucky.

skeeter2020 2y ago
It's incredibly unrealistic for anyone to replicate that sort of principal savings and then return. You might as well suggest buying lottery tickets, which you essenntially admit. This is either bad advice or shameless bragging, but tough to see it in any charitable light.
- yreg 2y ago
  OP asked for any kinds of stories.
jimbokun 2y ago
Do you mind sharing your total comp during those years? (since you are sharing pretty personal numbers already)
- GaryNumanVevo 2y ago
  TC was ~300k USD. My base salary could cover my living expenses (single living with a roommate). I held all of my RSUs + ESPP for 5 years.

jimbokun 2y ago

It’s actionable advice for many, if not most, people who write software for a living.