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An interesting story. One observation: "[...] At 29 years old, I was the oldest of the three GitHubbers, and had accumulated a proportionally larger amount of
by eliben 13y ago
An interesting story. One observation:
"[...] At 29 years old, I was the oldest of the three GitHubbers, and had accumulated a proportionally larger amount of debt and monthly expenditure. I was used to my six digit lifestyle. [...]"
Now, how does it happen that a guy earning six figures "accumulates a large debt" over time?
- ebiester 13y agoIf you still live like you're making six figures when you're making 0, and putting money into the business.
- elemeno 13y agoThe same way anyone else does - you spend more than you make.
- enneff 13y agoBy living beyond ones' means. Most people do it, regardless of their income. The single best piece of advice I've heard is "Live within your means."
- eliben 13y ago> Most people do it, regardless of their income. Really - how does this work? If you consistently live beyond your means, do you just die with a huge debt or do you repay it somewhere along the way?
- seanmcdirmid 13y agoEventually, it catches up with you, and either austerity ensues or you go bankrupt. Happened to me a couple of times as a kid (via my parents, not my spending of course).
- eliben 13y agoWhat does it mean for an individual to go bankrupt? [genuinely curious]
- markdown 13y agoIt means you're fucked. Your name is dirt after that. You'll never get credit again.
- dublinben 13y agoNever being seven years.
- markdown 13y agoI guess it depends on where you live. In my community, nobody of consequence, let alone credit providers, would forget within 7yrs. Further, there are other consequences eg. you'd be barred from holding public office.
- tptacek 13y agoYour community sucks in this regard. Bankruptcy is not like that in the US.
- duck 13y agoIt doesn't have to mean being in debt, although I think for a lot it does. It can just be living paycheck to paycheck through most of their life and using credit to buy things they can't afford. The worst part beyond the stress it puts on a family is reality is forced on them around retirement, when it is really too late to change anything.
- jakebellacera 13y ago> do you just die with a huge debt People do die with large amounts of debt, this is not unheard of.
- adventured 13y agoHe didn't say it was a large debt, he said it was a proportionally larger amount of debt. That could mean $15,000 on credit cards, or a mortgage, etc. (while his pals maybe had a fraction of that). Also, obviously earning six figures doesn't inherently dictate financial responsibility. Just like someone making $50k can accumulate $20k in debt easily, a person earning $125k can accumulate $50k in debt easily. And there can be exceptionally good reasons for having debt.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- snowwrestler 13y agoBuy a house.
- weixiyen 13y agoIt's very simple - you buy a house.