[jacquesm]

I agree with most of your decisions but:

> Completely forget about the price tag when buying small-ticket things: a taxi ride, asking for an extra plate, an occasional flight, paying a round of drinks

Needs a little asterisk, you're changing your lifestyle to one that you probably can not yet afford, be careful with that, these 'little things' really add up over time.

Other than that: Congratulations :)

[beachstartup]

i completely disagree - he has a small but successful real estate business and has presumably close to or over $1M in assets. he definitely can afford a tax ride, an extra appetizer, or a flight somewhere without thinking about the implications of the cost. if not this guy, then who? do you have to be a billionaire before you can order an appetizer without guilt?

i'll describe the lifestyle you probably can't afford - $20k vacations, $500 dinners, $100k cars, and $1M houses. not appetizers and taxi rides. appetizers and taxi rides are normal things that normal people buy. even normal people who don't have a successful exit under their belt and don't have a successful new business as an investor.

this irrational overemphasis on frugality i always see on hn just seems like a different form of elitism / pedantry to me. since most of us have money, it's just a covert way of signaling an extra level of self-control and discipline (which are usually required to make money, but since so many of us make money, we've got to find novel ways to signal that extra status).

[smackfu]

OTOH, I agree that it is very easy to double your discretionary spending if you stop caring about "little things". And that can really add up over time. You spend $50 each day, that's $1500 a month, $18,000 a year. A decent salary can certainly support that level of spending, but not so much if you double it.

[incision]

>"this irrational overemphasis on frugality i always see on hn just seems like a different form of elitism / pedantry to me. since most of us have money, it's just a covert way of signaling an extra level of self-control and discipline (which are usually required to make money, but since so many of us make money, we've got to find novel ways to signal that extra status)."

I get this sense as well and think the signaling theory is a solid one.

I'm thinking this is a part what frequently turns me off of topic specific forums - people have a tendency to want to sort and differentiate themselves. The higher the baseline - whether it's income or knowledge - the more pedantic the self-sorting.

[memonkey]

I am honestly curious but is there a link or survey somewhere that says most HNers make/have money?

[jonnathanson]

There have been occasional polls, on topics such as salary, exit amounts, etc. People generally consider the results of these polls unreliable.

[michokest]

True :) that probably deserves clarification: I made a clear separation between "spending money" (rent, travels, food, leisure) and "investment money".

Anything spent is either an investment, where I try to keep returns over 5% yearly, or just everyday stuff. I've found that everyday stuff ends up not being very different than my previous spending levels.

EDIT: I also live outside the Bay Area, which definitely helps.

[msrpotus]

Explains how you can buy so much property with just $1m.

[michokest]

By investing in Berlin and Barcelona, where I've paid from €50k to €150k approx per apartment, and leveraging 50-80%.

[Iftheshoefits]

Leverage. The Bay Area is an especially bad area to compare with. The single family home I own (and rent out) where I lived before I moved to SV could be purchased 5 times for the same amount it would sell for once here. I guarantee I could not rent it out for five times the rent I charge my tenants.

[inanutshellus]

"just $1m." ... I can't wait 'til I can say that with a straight face.

...

Granted, it'll probably be when candy bars are $20@. /Le Sigh/

[cylinder]

Leverage.

[Phlarp]

He lives outside the bay area! ;)

[wtracy]

It is a valid strategy to not sweat the individual purchases, but watch your bank account and track your overall burn rate, then adjust if necessary.

[wiredfool]

FWIW, about 5 months ago, my family started sweating the small things. It's changed our burn rate by ~25%, from disturbingly over income to comfortably under income.

Looking back now, our happiness level is pretty much at the same point. We can't really tell what we we're missing, although I know there are things.

[ChuckMcM]

I wish I could vote this up more. So many folks I've talked to who have been 'losing ground' even though their family income was comfortably over $150K (in the bay area) and then done a walk through the 'little things' only to discover $30 - $40K of expenses in there.

Most often it seems that this came about where they reached a point where their income meant they didn't really need to 'save up' for things, which lead to a 'don't care' attitude which lead to spending money on things and experiences that were not expensive but not valuable.

[bcgraham]

Keep your eyes on the pennies. The dollars will take care of themselves.