[loeg]

I strongly encourage Technology professionals (and everyone else) to learn some basic personal finance and how to effectively (1) set aside some cash for emergencies, (2) pay off and keep off high interest debt, and (3) invest for the long term, i.e., retirement. But this rambling post which is heavily focused on Troy's personal experiences and anecdotes isn't a particularly great resource for teaching anyone personal finance; nor is it especially interesting.

[chosenbreed37]

You're right in the anecdotal nature of Troy's trajectory in life. In fairness to him I think he did acknowledge several slices of luck that he enjoyed. I'd regard him as an outlier and as some have point out there is an element of survivorship bias with respects to his outcomes and the narrative he's built around out. But I think you highlight the benefit of learning some basic personal finance principles and simply just taking the time and thinking 5, 10, 20 years into the future. Generally I think the key is about taking responsibility for my life and taking steps that might lead me to a better future regardless of the starting point.