5 Things I learned from being rich and losing it all | Hacker News Reader

5 Things I learned from being rich and losing it all

johnreel.com

47 pointsJohnReel26 comments

"It seems almost a right of passage with many Internet entrepreneurs to buy a really expensive car. Why? Why? Why? If I really wanted to spend that kind of cash on myself, I would get a full-time personal chef."

Because a personal chef doesn't show how wealthy you are every time you go anywhere. It only has that effect among the people who know you have one, and anyone who knows you that well already knows.

It's all about conspicuous consumption. I think this trend is on the way out (at least temporarily) though.

> Because a personal chef doesn't show how wealthy you are every time you go anywhere.

I personally know a guy who consciously wanted to flaunt his (newfound) wealth. He bought a Ferrari. He was unhappy to find that he was always having to park it when he went out..leading to no one he was around really knowing he had it at all. He was thoroughly teased for being frustrated by this.

I think this trend is on the way out (at least temporarily) though.

It seems to me that it's rooted in human nature and thus unlikely to go away.

It's being replaced by different spending patterns. It's a cycle, and I don't expect it to go away permanently by any means. But it's now sort of frowned upon by educated elites, whereas spending the same amount of money on an imported marble shower is en vogue.

Read Bobos In Paradise for a detail as to why.

An outstandingly well-designed and built car feels good.

Wait, I'm reminding you of this? Go out to your garage...

Ha. My car is a $50k SUV. It's not exactly a chick magnet.

I'm guessing he's talking more about uber-expensive sports cars with 12 cyl engines.

But you're right, everyone should have a Japanese luxury car.

I expected the post to have a list of what he did to lose his wealth.

3. Money does buy you happiness.

4. Stuff does not buy you happiness.

This is what I've always suspected.

I'll post back here once I find out for myself ;)

Use the money to buy freedom, not stuff. That's the secret.

Responsible use of money can liberate you from some worries, but that's not the same thing as being happy.

Indeed the article says this

Money is a means to an end, not the end in of itself.

Hi.

Thanks for all the positive discussion. :-) Point 2 and other posts I've made talk about what happened. More importantly, I lost the momentum, which should have carried me to much greater wealth.

With the lessons learned, being poor is only a temporary state that will be in the past soon enough. This makes me feel just fine about writing all the details of what I did right and wrong for those who are interested. It will just take time.

Shafqat, I'm all over the web! I'm surprised you couldn't find me. Not to mention the links on my blog. :-)

Thanks again everyone, more to follow soon.

John.

What the? This was rambling nonsense.

Basic lesson for anyone: if you get money, and you're not used to having money, put it in a cash saving account for a while and get used to it. Afterwards learn about investments and slowly start putting your money to work for you. Use what you need to become financially independent (eg paying off old loans, buying a decent car), but don't squander it.

Then you're golden and once you're debt free you'll realise money isn't everything and you can enjoy being frugal and saving money towards your kids, charity, etc, and not stuff.

In case you're wondering who you're upvoting, this guy is an "affiliate marketer." Here is one of his sites: http://www.gotrythis.com/

Actually, I'm not. I'm a software developer. GoTryTHIS is software.

Next time I’m rich Now that shows some confidence.

I read somewhere a while back that those who made it once are very likely to make it again even if you took away all their belongings and privileges.

That doesn't surprise me. If you could somehow take away all the contacts and experience they gained the first time round, it might get harder.

If you could somehow take away all the contacts and experience they gained the first time round, it might get harder.

I doubt it.

Reread his very first sentence:

"I think one of the biggest things holding people back from getting rich is the belief that it is possible."

The key word being "belief". Most of it really is in your head. This is even more important than contacts or experience.

Personally, I don't worry much about money. Not because I have so much. But because however much I need, if I don't have it, I know that I can go out and make it. I think that was the major point of his article.

Most teenagers and college students believe that they're going to get rich. It's just that sometime in their 20s and early 30s, they stop believing that.

I think the big difference is that people who get rich and then lose it don't question their belief that it's possible.

I remember PG saying something similar, that if he had no money/ if he start over, he would start a startup.

This is a good read. Thanks for offering such insights. 3 & 4 are especially interesting and quite true in my experiences as well.

Is this for real? What was his startup? I couldn't find anything about him on the web. I hope he will reveal some more.

Thanks John.

Especially liked the one about experience being better than stuff.

Took me a while to get that one, and I'm still working on it. Our society keeps reinforcing that you need more and more stuff, but in reality, it's the experiences you have that make the big difference.

Money in the bank is stored choice.

> I think one of the biggest things holding people back from getting rich is the belief that it is possible.

I get the feeling he meant to put a "not" in there somewhere.

As others have pointed out, it would have been interesting to hear how he lost all his wealth, but maybe that story is too embarrassing to tell.

After all, it takes quite an accomplishment to waste all your money from a "set for life" -type of situation.

maybe that story is too embarrassing to tell

Doesn't have to be one single thing. It's easy to fall into an expensive lifestyle without really even noticing how much you're spending. You start eating out more at nicer places, You start flying business or first class. You get cabs more. You buy tickets to events that you might want to go to but then don't (e.g. you are buying the option to go if you feel like it on the day). You upgrade/replace your phone, your computer, your TV more often. It all adds up then you look back and think wow. :-/

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