What It Feels Like To Be Absolutely Loaded By Age 25
mod note: this post is from quora answers "What It Feels Like To Be Absolutely Loaded By Age 25" (link below)
I'll answer from personal experience, but with a less depressing outlook than other Anon user. Background: early employee at successful tech company, $10+ million at the age of 26.
For me, the first realization was the I never have to work again. The second realization was that I'm not the type of person to retire (ever). I feel as though I've been given the ultimate gift: enough money to do anything, at a young enough age where I still have the time and drive to do it.
Random thoughts, in no particular order:
1/ Net worth is irrelevant, I consider cash flow. Before starting a new company and raising money, I just paid myself a salary from investments. The salary (equivalent to $300k/year pretax) wasn't huge, but definitely affords a life of nice dinners, theater tickets, and frequent travel to exotic locations. That said, it's really not enough to start buying yachts, helicopters, or a brownstone in Manhattan.
Along those lines, my plan for expensive purchases (e.g. a house) is to "borrow" from myself and pay it back from my self-paid salary. The goal is to never even get close to a situation where I could end up broke.
2/ I don't sweat the small stuff. $100 parking tickets, fancy dinners a few times a week, and flights to my college football team a few times per year aren't even worth debating. I don't bother with many traditional financial instruments like life insurance, FSAs, or 401(k)s- it just isn't worth my time for slightly preferential tax treatment on a few thousand dollars per year. I'd rather keep my accounts simple.
3/ I'm terrified of inflation. Given my conservative, sustainable spending habits, the only real threat to me is high inflation. Then again, I don't really care what happens to the United States. If it goes to shit here, I'll just move to Singapore or Hong Kong.
4/ It made me consider what's important in life. Most people spend 40 years chasing money, but that's no longer the driving force in my life. After leaving my company, I talked to many companies in Silicon Valley before deciding I just wasn't passionate about their products. Instead, I traveled for many months and really invested in friendships before coming across the right combination of idea and people that made sense- and now I happily work as hard as ever, with an even greater sense of purpose.
5/ It's true, I'm usually the most underdressed person in the room. Given my age and background, most people just think it's novel and let me get away with it. I figure I can pull that off for another year or two at least.
6/ People ask me for money. It happens, it sucks, and I've always said no. Fortunately, no one really close to me has asked yet- that might be more difficult.
7/ Dating is weird. I don't purposely flaunt money, but when a mid-20s guy takes random trips around the world, pays for expensive meals without flinching, and has a nice flat in a good part of an expensive city; people tend to assume things. It always comes up pretty early, but I try to keep it abstract and avoid specific numbers.
Additionally, it can cause conflict when one person has completely different spending habits than the other. For example (true story), I've had multiple people tell me "that's the most expensive dinner I ever had" - for meals that (by my standards) weren't crazy expensive. Also, the idea of deciding on a Friday to spend the weekend in Vegas, showing up at an airport with nothing packed, and just going is completely foreign to most people.
To top it all off, I'm slightly paranoid about gold diggers. It's also made me compulsive about always using birth control, preferably two methods.
8/ I'm really impatient. I hate waiting in lines or when the subway takes more than a few minutes. I frequently just opt for the taxi, or buy my way into an bar/club with a queue.
9/ I've invested time in learning the most efficient ways to spend money to increase my marginal happiness. http://www.bakadesuyo.com/8-ways... gives a good overview, but the main point is to buy experiences, not possessions. I own very few things, but have many experiences.
Long story short, the lifestyle probably isn't much different from someone making a few hundred thousand per year in a corporate job. Anything more would involve unsustainable spending habits.
The real benefit is the freedom to do exactly what I want for the rest of my life. That's why I'm happy I have "fuck you" money.
Here is the LINK to the article.






Great stuff. If I had $10+
Great stuff. If I had $10+ million at 26 I'd have never seen 27.
(No subject)
"A man generally has two reasons for doing anything. One that sounds good, and the real one." - J.P. Morgan
Sounds like my life, except
Sounds like my life, except this guy actually made his money. Nice.
Edmundo Braverman: Great
Great stuff. If I had $10+ million at 26 I'd have never seen 27.
this.
doublepost
doublepost
What It Feels Like to be
What It Feels Like to be Absolutely Loaded at Birth: eh...
All I care about in life is accumulating bananas
BTbanker: THIS
THIS
Imperialian: but the main
but the main point is to buy experiences, not possessions. I own very few things, but have many experiences.
a point i'm slowly realizing ... tough making that realization and seeing all this useless crap accumulated over the years..
Making 200k/year living
Making 200k/year living paycheck to paycheck doesn't sound that much different in terms of recreation. The major difference is just time. You have to have a job to make 200k/year. He has investments.
did you have to find a new
did you have to find a new circle of friends with as much money as you? if so, where did you find them and is the friendship more superficial? my boss made a lot of money at a young age and lost a lot of good friends not because they asked for money but they couldnt keep up with his life style
Who asks you for money and
Who asks you for money and under what circumstances (aside from homeless people and Nigerian princes)?
What is your money invested in? If you're afraid of inflation, I would definitely own at least $250k of physical gold.
I am not really the jealous
I am not really the jealous type about anything, but this actually makes me a little jealous.
Imperialian: 7/ Dating is
7/ Dating is weird. I don't purposely flaunt money, but when a mid-20s guy takes random trips around the world, pays for expensive meals without flinching, and has a nice flat in a good part of an expensive city; people tend to assume things. It always comes up pretty early, but I try to keep it abstract and avoid specific numbers.
Don't talk to the new girl about the random trip you just took to Vegas, don't go to the most expensive restaurants, etc, if you are really trying to hide how much you're worth. Doesn't seem that hard to me.
accountingbyday: I am not
I am not really the jealous type about anything, but this actually makes me a little jealous.
This. Note to self: build successful company.
Leadership can be defined in two words: "Follow Me"
FinanceGirl: Imperialian:
7/ Dating is weird. I don't purposely flaunt money, but when a mid-20s guy takes random trips around the world, pays for expensive meals without flinching, and has a nice flat in a good part of an expensive city; people tend to assume things. It always comes up pretty early, but I try to keep it abstract and avoid specific numbers.
Don't talk to the new girl about the random trip you just took to Vegas, don't go to the most expensive restaurants, etc, if you are really trying to hide how much you're worth. Doesn't seem that hard to me.
When you're used to a certain lifestyle, it takes a lot of effort to hide your wealth.
On the topic of birth control... If your girl does get pregnant and you get married with a prenup, the prenup can be voided because they were "under duress"... Just a heads up fellas.
I don't accept sacrifices and I don't make them. ... If ever the pleasure of one has to be bought by the pain of the other, there better be no trade at all. A trade by which one gains and the other loses is a fraud.
damn it feels good to be a
What did you do? founder of
Edmundo Braverman: Great
You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist. - Friedrich Nietzsche
Yeah if you are so worried
Note to self: In some ways I
someusername: What did you
Leadership can be defined in two words: "Follow Me"
Also, to the poster - here's
illiniPride: someusername:
Guys, I have over 1 billion
Banker88: Who asks you for
I had a really loaded friend
poodles: BTbanker: THIS c
Also, good on you OP, I'm not
International Pymp: Note to
Turbo leverage for capital explosion -- BD Capital
My WSO Blog
International Pymp: Note to
pymp is a bit extreme but he
leveredarb: pymp is a bit
leveredarb: pymp is a bit
Have a friend in the exact
... Has anyone bothered to
Kanon: ... Has anyone
Third prize is you're fired.
Kanon: ... Has anyone
ScoobyDoobie: Kanon: ...
Kanon: ScoobyDoobie: Kano
Leadership can be defined in two words: "Follow Me"
Its all relative and someone
If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
BigBucks: International
leveredarb: pymp is a bit
BigBucks: leveredarb: pymp
happypantsmcgee: Its all
There was a point earlier in
CompBanker
There is an enormous
"I'm the luckiest guy in the world, and when I die I want to come back as me."
-Mark Cuban
@chrishansen, I agree - when
International
CompBanker
CompBanker: sending three
"I'm the luckiest guy in the world, and when I die I want to come back as me."
-Mark Cuban
CompBanker: International