[throwaw2736]

Yes. I’m not extraordinary by any means and my income was relatively modest compared to a lot of my programming colleagues. Just a saver at heart and someone who likes investing.

- dividends from publicly traded companies ~$30k per year

- investment properties net of expenses ~40k per year

- software side projects ~ 70k per year

I still work full time as I feel financial wealth can be fleeting if not tended to properly and prudently.

[throwaw2737]

Didn’t expect to post a follow up, so literally threw away the password.

Instead of answering your questions directly, I’ll speak broadly about this as I think it’s more useful.

- You need to start off with a job. A decent paying job. This sets the tone, if you will, for anything else you do. If your job isn’t paying you well, learn the skills you need to get a better paying job and apply to those places. Ideally you do this the younger you are, but regardless of age this is the first step.

- if you are not single, make sure your significant other is willing to live “poor” even though you have money. This is more of a mindset than anything else. Approach this like you would as if you’re starting a business. When my SO and I got married, I explained we can be successful financially if we work as a team. By doing so, anything we do as we are doing it with a shared goal.

- forget about the FIRE lifestyle. Investing to get dividend so one doesn’t have to work anymore is not great because it doesn’t account enough for unexpected circumstances. Keep working, save diligently and invest. One day you’ll wake up with enough money and realize you now have the option to quit, but it’ll be on your own terms.

- if you start a side business (software or otherwise), make sure it can run itself. Don’t make it an overly big project. Wordpress plugins, slack apps, that sort of thing. I’ve built like 20 projects or so. Most of them flip. 1-2 bring in most of the revenue, but I have half a dozen that brings in several hundred a month. Copy ideas, but don’t plagiarize. Keep development time to less than a month and launch.

- stocks. Buy safe and boring stocks for 95% of your portfolio. Ignore it. Stick with etf. The other 5% be speculative.

Good luck. It’s just a lot of small steps and hard work.

If you have a good paying job, that’s probably the hardest part. It’s the cornerstone to ensure enough stability for you to save and invest for the future.

[nickthemagicman]

What amount is a good paying job nowadays?

[deanmoriarty]

Whatever covers your living expenses after taxes and saving at least 20% for retirement.

[magneticnorth]

I'm curious about your approach to software side projects that's been so successful. I'd appreciate answers to any of the below that you feel comfortable sharing:

- How many have you built? (Either in net terms or per year/month). How many do you still maintain?

- Is that level of income based on 1 or 2 big wins, or is it dozens of smaller-netting projects that don't take much maintenance?

- What kinds of projects? Apps, websites, services?

- Are there any guides/websites that you found particularly helpful in discovering an exploitable niche, or learning the necessary marketing/etc?

[vladsanchez]

How to start? I have 401k funds that aren't performing as expected and would love some advice on how to mimic you. Thanks for your help (private or public).