15 ms·

I'd say a small (single digit) percentage of people are able to accumulate $1.5 million over "a few" (2-3) years of working, but maybe I'm out of touch.

by throaway920181 1y ago

strken 1y ago
I would have thought a few meant 3 to 5, although I still agree that the number of people who could do it is small.
- skeeter2020 1y ago
  "couple" and "few" are debatable, but thanks to Survivor we know definitively that "several" means seven.
  - happyopossum 1y ago
    Couple is not really debatable - it has a definition that includes 2. Not 2 or 3, or any more than 2. Just 2.
    - aspenmayer 1y ago
      What if you have a couple of couples? I think if it’s a couple, meaning two, that a couple couples could be two of however many the original couple is for the first couple, and the third one might couple with both members of the original couple, so I could see three as being a couple to a certain reading, though paradoxically four seems like one too many unless they are two couples of either one or a couple of kinds.
    - reshlo 1y ago
      https://xkcd.com/1070/ https://xkcd.com/1070/
    - staticman2 1y ago
      The Meriam-webster dictionary definition number 4 for couple is an indefinite small number: few. I remember being confused as a kid what the difference is between a couple and a few. Turns out sometimes there is no difference.
Cthulhu_ 1y ago
Given you use dollars, I'll use US economics as the benchmark. Your estimate only applies to the 1%, according to https://www.investopedia.com/personal-finance/how-much-income-puts-you-top-1-5-10/ https://www.investopedia.com/personal-finance/how-much-incom..., according to [0], the top 1% earners has a minimal gross income of $682,577 per year; deduct taxes, cost of living and other expenses, there's no way they'd save up $1.5 million over 2-3 years. Yeah you're very much out of touch, what kind of income are you earning or is this more wishful thinking? [0] https://www.investopedia.com/personal-finance/how-much-income-puts-you-top-1-5-10/ https://www.investopedia.com/personal-finance/how-much-incom...
markb139 1y ago
It's doable, but it took me closer to 20 years. I got to zero net assets in July 2001. Retired from paid work (mainly sw eng contracting) at the start of covid in April 2020. I should say, at the start I wasn't married and had no dependents. Also, for large parts of those 20 years, I didn't need to own or use a car.
iwontberude 1y ago
I can and have done it but only because im day trading. My software engineer colleagues make 1/3 of what I do in total comp.
achierius 1y ago
That sounds more like "a couple". Personally I think "a few" would be anywhere from 3-9, which is more reasonable, if still handily above the median national income (like 250k a year if you save and invest well).
- _carbyau_ 1y ago
  Definitions are surprisingly varied. I see these words as being something to be cautious about. For me: couple(formal) = 2 couple(informal) = 2-3 few = 3-5 half-dozen = 6 [gap] ten-or-so = 9-11 dozen(formal) = 12 dozen-ish(informal) = 11-14 And don't get me started on "this Friday" vs "next Friday"...
  - tobinfekkes 1y ago
    My wife and I just discovered that we have different beliefs about "this Friday" vs. "Next Friday". I never even knew there was another possibility, so it's cool to see this mentioned here so soon after.
    - Daneel_ 1y ago
      "This Friday" is the one during the current week, provided it's currently earlier than Friday. If it's Saturday/Sunday already and I want to talk about the Friday that's only 5 days away I would say "this coming Friday" (or just "Friday"). "Next Friday" is always a week+ away. If it's Tuesday and I say "next Friday", I ALWAYS mean the day 10 days away. If someone says "next Friday" to me and they mean the one in a few days I'll look at them like they're crazy.
      - aspenmayer 1y ago
        What if they say “Friday week”?
        Daneel_ 1y ago
        That always means "two Fridays from now" - so if it's Tuesday, then they mean next Friday. I use "<day> week" in conversation, but I'd say it's falling out of favour. I mostly use it with my parents.
uxp100 1y ago
Maybe a tenth of a percent unless we’re pretty generous with “few”. Which I sometimes am! If I ate a few cookies it was probably more than two.

I'd say a small (single digit) percentage of people are able to accumulate $1.5 million over "a few" (2-3) years of working, but maybe I'm out of touch.

strken 1y ago

I would have thought a few meant 3 to 5, although I still agree that the number of people who could do it is small.

skeeter2020 1y ago
"couple" and "few" are debatable, but thanks to Survivor we know definitively that "several" means seven.
- happyopossum 1y ago
  Couple is not really debatable - it has a definition that includes 2. Not 2 or 3, or any more than 2. Just 2.
  - aspenmayer 1y ago
    What if you have a couple of couples? I think if it’s a couple, meaning two, that a couple couples could be two of however many the original couple is for the first couple, and the third one might couple with both members of the original couple, so I could see three as being a couple to a certain reading, though paradoxically four seems like one too many unless they are two couples of either one or a couple of kinds.
  - reshlo 1y ago
    https://xkcd.com/1070/ https://xkcd.com/1070/
  - staticman2 1y ago
    The Meriam-webster dictionary definition number 4 for couple is an indefinite small number: few. I remember being confused as a kid what the difference is between a couple and a few. Turns out sometimes there is no difference.

Cthulhu_ 1y ago

Given you use dollars, I'll use US economics as the benchmark. Your estimate only applies to the 1%, according to https://www.investopedia.com/personal-finance/how-much-income-puts-you-top-1-5-10/ https://www.investopedia.com/personal-finance/how-much-incom..., according to [0], the top 1% earners has a minimal gross income of $682,577 per year; deduct taxes, cost of living and other expenses, there's no way they'd save up $1.5 million over 2-3 years. Yeah you're very much out of touch, what kind of income are you earning or is this more wishful thinking? [0] https://www.investopedia.com/personal-finance/how-much-income-puts-you-top-1-5-10/ https://www.investopedia.com/personal-finance/how-much-incom...

markb139 1y ago

It's doable, but it took me closer to 20 years. I got to zero net assets in July 2001. Retired from paid work (mainly sw eng contracting) at the start of covid in April 2020. I should say, at the start I wasn't married and had no dependents. Also, for large parts of those 20 years, I didn't need to own or use a car.

iwontberude 1y ago

I can and have done it but only because im day trading. My software engineer colleagues make 1/3 of what I do in total comp.

achierius 1y ago

That sounds more like "a couple". Personally I think "a few" would be anywhere from 3-9, which is more reasonable, if still handily above the median national income (like 250k a year if you save and invest well).

_carbyau_ 1y ago
Definitions are surprisingly varied. I see these words as being something to be cautious about. For me: couple(formal) = 2 couple(informal) = 2-3 few = 3-5 half-dozen = 6 [gap] ten-or-so = 9-11 dozen(formal) = 12 dozen-ish(informal) = 11-14 And don't get me started on "this Friday" vs "next Friday"...
- tobinfekkes 1y ago
  My wife and I just discovered that we have different beliefs about "this Friday" vs. "Next Friday". I never even knew there was another possibility, so it's cool to see this mentioned here so soon after.
  - Daneel_ 1y ago
    "This Friday" is the one during the current week, provided it's currently earlier than Friday. If it's Saturday/Sunday already and I want to talk about the Friday that's only 5 days away I would say "this coming Friday" (or just "Friday"). "Next Friday" is always a week+ away. If it's Tuesday and I say "next Friday", I ALWAYS mean the day 10 days away. If someone says "next Friday" to me and they mean the one in a few days I'll look at them like they're crazy.
    - aspenmayer 1y ago
      What if they say “Friday week”?
      - Daneel_ 1y ago
        That always means "two Fridays from now" - so if it's Tuesday, then they mean next Friday. I use "<day> week" in conversation, but I'd say it's falling out of favour. I mostly use it with my parents.

uxp100 1y ago

Maybe a tenth of a percent unless we’re pretty generous with “few”. Which I sometimes am! If I ate a few cookies it was probably more than two.