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Think of it this way, since you're used to living like a college student, you can probably live on $20,000 a year easily. This is already taxed money so thats e

Think of it this way, since you're used to living like a college student, you can probably live on $20,000 a year easily. This is already taxed money so thats even more than it sounds. So that means you currently have 5 years of complete freedom to discover what it is that you want to do. Move to Silicon Valley, start a startup, or join one. Or go travel. Nothing really broadens your mind like travel. And you can easily do that on $20,000 a year if you have no other commitments. It's not $100,000 that you have saved up. Its 5 years. Keep thinking of it that way and you'll realize what you want to do.

kalvin 17y ago
Agreed with above, although $25k might be more realistic for the SF Bay Area if you're not naturally very frugal. Just to make it a little more concrete if you choose the first option: - $700-$1200/mo for rent+utils (1BR in shared space, south bay vs. SF) - $200-$500/mo (cooking vs. eating out) - $50-$400/mo (ascetic vs. lover-of-gadgets) - $200/mo for basic healthcare + other bills - $100/mo for public transportation - $100/mo for exigencies Feel free to email me if you have questions! (see profile) I've been working for six months in SF, living in MV. By the way, I think it's great that you have a sense of perspective already (and the savvy to be filling your Roth IRA...) that kind of stuff is priceless.
il 17y ago
I agree, travel. Travel travel travel while you have the opportunity and aren't tied down by job, family, etc. Especially in places like South America or Asia(Thailand for example) you can live very well for $20k a year. It's funny, I'm basically in the same position you are- 1 year of school left,business student, and I have enough money saved up from my Internet marketing business(and some good revenues still coming in) that I don't feel any need or pressure to go look for a corporate job. I'm going to school in the boring Midwest, and seriously contemplating moving to Silicon Valley or traveling through Asia after finishing school. By the way, about your business, getting traffic is the eays part, it's getting them to convert that is the issue. If you can consistently be earning $100 CPM from your visitors, you should have no problem getting that traffic with some precisely targeted advertising campaigns (or maybe even SEO). It's trivial to get a couple thousand uniques a day for almost any niche with a bit of SEO/PPC work, provided you're monetizing them well, so with any luck, you won't need to use that 100K at all- you could live quite well off revenues from your startup as you travel the world. graduating, send me an email to ilya[-at-]unviral.com I'd love to chat about this further.
rjurney 17y ago
$100K is enough money not for 5 years - but for a LIFETIME in many parts of the world. So, start with places like India, much of Asia, Latin America, etc. Just go across them. Take however long you want. Learn some langauges. Do Europe on $20 a day. Bring a Macbook, keep up to date. Then make your way back to Silicon Valley. Travel at this stage of your life will pay off the rest of your lifetime. You will cherish such experiences forever, as they will regularly inform your actions.

kalvin 17y ago

Agreed with above, although $25k might be more realistic for the SF Bay Area if you're not naturally very frugal. Just to make it a little more concrete if you choose the first option: - $700-$1200/mo for rent+utils (1BR in shared space, south bay vs. SF) - $200-$500/mo (cooking vs. eating out) - $50-$400/mo (ascetic vs. lover-of-gadgets) - $200/mo for basic healthcare + other bills - $100/mo for public transportation - $100/mo for exigencies Feel free to email me if you have questions! (see profile) I've been working for six months in SF, living in MV. By the way, I think it's great that you have a sense of perspective already (and the savvy to be filling your Roth IRA...) that kind of stuff is priceless.

il 17y ago

I agree, travel. Travel travel travel while you have the opportunity and aren't tied down by job, family, etc. Especially in places like South America or Asia(Thailand for example) you can live very well for $20k a year. It's funny, I'm basically in the same position you are- 1 year of school left,business student, and I have enough money saved up from my Internet marketing business(and some good revenues still coming in) that I don't feel any need or pressure to go look for a corporate job. I'm going to school in the boring Midwest, and seriously contemplating moving to Silicon Valley or traveling through Asia after finishing school. By the way, about your business, getting traffic is the eays part, it's getting them to convert that is the issue. If you can consistently be earning $100 CPM from your visitors, you should have no problem getting that traffic with some precisely targeted advertising campaigns (or maybe even SEO). It's trivial to get a couple thousand uniques a day for almost any niche with a bit of SEO/PPC work, provided you're monetizing them well, so with any luck, you won't need to use that 100K at all- you could live quite well off revenues from your startup as you travel the world. graduating, send me an email to ilya[-at-]unviral.com I'd love to chat about this further.

rjurney 17y ago

$100K is enough money not for 5 years - but for a LIFETIME in many parts of the world. So, start with places like India, much of Asia, Latin America, etc. Just go across them. Take however long you want. Learn some langauges. Do Europe on $20 a day. Bring a Macbook, keep up to date. Then make your way back to Silicon Valley. Travel at this stage of your life will pay off the rest of your lifetime. You will cherish such experiences forever, as they will regularly inform your actions.