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Do you think you'll ever be a millionaire, and would you work for it if you could?

JordanN

Banned
So I was watching this [still quite] recent interview of Tony Hawk and he talks about what it was like working on the old skateborder games.

At 2 minutes into the video, he says that by the time he got to the fourth game (Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4), he met with a Supervisor who just handed him a cheque for $4 million dollars.




And you might be wondering, what's the big deal? It's $4 million. But remember, he's a professional skateboarder. Not a doctor or a Politician. Yet, if the guy who does kickflips outside your 7-11 store can be filthy stinking rich, then why not any other everyday man?

And the funny thing is, the Hawk is even richer today. So he went from a $4 million cheque in 2002, to now being worth $140 million today.

pm54MQK.png



This now begs the question. Why aren't you a millionaire? Why haven't you moved up in life from the peasant class to the actual 1%?

I've been working shitty jobs my whole life that pay minimum wage while having to put up with other BS that's commonly found in the ghetto, yet I still rather lift myself by the bootstraps and get into a career that is at least guaranteed to pay more than the national income average.

I think the steps towards becoming a millionaire could be easily achieved if,
1. Get an extreme good sense of business. Like even though Hawk is a skateboarder, he still seemed to translate his skills into taking over the video game market (for a time).

2. Become an elite or veteran of your own trade. In this shitty job market, employees of all trades are still rewarded based on their actual experience. So say you have 10 years of being a Game Developer, or a Store Manager, or a Welder, your goal should be to start asking for a base salary of $120,000 or more.

A $120,000 base salary a year can easily land you in millionaire status if you save your money up and don't live in a province/state that will molest you of taxes.
 
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V2Tommy

Member
I will have around 1.4 million at retirement, so I'll let you know how it feels then. Thanks, passive investing!
 

JordanN

Banned
I will have around 1.4 million at retirement, so I'll let you know how it feels then. Thanks, passive investing!
Keep in mind, what do you think $1.4 million would actually be worth by the time you retire?

A $1 million dollars is literally how much some houses cost in a lot of urban places. Maybe 40 or 50 years from now, a million dollars will be seen as the new "poverty line".
 
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In my view, chasing $ should never be a person's primary focus in life. Do what you love, and let the money come however it comes, even if you have to do what you love while having a "job" in addition.

Money is (ought to be) a means unto an end, not an end unto itself.
 

JordanN

Banned
I have no need for millions.

I'd like just enough to live a comfortable life.
I use to think the same but being poor really sucks ass.

If you're extremely wealthy, it's not just about your own life, it's also the life you can give to your children/family.

I'd love to tell my baby at 1 month old, he would already have all his post secondary education paid for, he can be the first in line for medical treatment, he gets to eat the best food instead of a poor man's diet of Mcdonalds and Donuts.

Basically, we humans only live once. Why live in the slow lane and not the express? Hell, imagine if in the next few years there will be companies offering tours of outer space?

I wouldn't want to be the chump who misses out. I want to buy tickets so I can visit Mars like it's the new Disney Land.
 
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Codes 208

Member
At this point no, i have no expectations (unless my animations start taking off, but i have low expectations)

However it is something i definitely feel i want to warn rather be awarded (ie id rather make a million off my art than a lottery ticket.)
 

DKehoe

Gold Member
I’m sure he has a lot of money but I wouldn’t trust Wealthy Gorilla as reliable source for him having $140 million. Those celebrity net worth sites are notoriously untrustworthy.

I feel pretty lucky to be in the financial situation I’m currently in, where I don’t need to worry too much. I don’t feel like I need to go chasing more just for the sake of it. The super rich I know barely have any time to enjoy what they have earned. They seem fine with that so good for them but I put a lot of value on my time away from work.
 
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Jooxed

Gold Member
I live comfortably doing what I am doing. But I will probably never be a millionaire.

My father was 6 figures and was about there when I was a kid he was a Director of Finance for the Party City stores Corporate office. However he wasn't "happy" and gave it up to teach inner city school children business.. what a pleb.
 
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eot

Banned
There are jobs I could seek out that would pay very well, but they're the kind where you only work and basically give up the rest of your life. I've toyed with the idea but I'm not sure it's for me. Right now I'm sticking with something I enjoy and gives me a ton of freedom. I think for me that is important, moreso than money, but I guess you'll never know until you try.
 
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lock2k

Banned
So I was watching this [still quite] recent interview of Tony Hawk and he talks about what it was like working on the old skateborder games.

At 2 minutes into the video, he says that by the time he got to the fourth game (Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4), he met with a Supervisor who just handed him a cheque for $4 million dollars.




And you might be wondering, what's the big deal? It's $4 million. But remember, he's a professional skateboarder. Not a doctor or a Politician. Yet, if the guy who does kickflips outside your 7-11 store can be filthy stinking rich, then why not any other everyday man?

And the funny thing is, the Hawk is even richer today. So he went from a $4 million cheque in 2002, to now being worth $140 million today.

pm54MQK.png



This now begs the question. Why aren't you a millionaire? Why haven't you moved up in life from the peasant class to the actual 1%?

I've been working shitty jobs my whole life that pay minimum wage while having to put up with other BS that's commonly found in the ghetto, yet I still rather lift myself by the bootstraps and get into a career that is at least guaranteed to pay more than the national income average.

I think the steps towards becoming a millionaire could be easily achieved if,
1. Get an extreme good sense of business. Like even though Hawk is a skateboarder, he still seemed to translate his skills into taking over the video game market (for a time).

2. Become an elite or veteran of your own trade. In this shitty job market, employees of all trades are still rewarded based on their actual experience. So say you have 10 years of being a Game Developer, or a Store Manager, or a Welder, your goal should be to start asking for a base salary of $120,000 or more.

A $120,000 base salary a year can easily land you in millionaire status if you save your money up and don't live in a province/state that will molest you of taxes.


No. I'm too incompetent for that. I live to pay my bills and I wish it would have been different but I don't know how to turn it around.
 

V2Tommy

Member
Keep in mind, what do you think $1.4 million would actually be worth by the time you retire?

A $1 million dollars is literally how much some houses cost in a lot of urban places. Maybe 40 or 50 years from now, a million dollars will be seen as the new "poverty line".

You're absolutely right, but in the context of this thread, it's topical. But to have a million+ dollars, no mortgage and no debt will put me way ahead of most of my cohorts.
 

JordanN

Banned
There are jobs I could seek out that would pay very well, but they're the kind where you only work and basically give up the rest of your life. I've toyed with the idea but I'm not sure it's for me. Right now I'm sticking with something I enjoy and gives me a ton of freedom. I think for me that is important, moreso than money, but I guess you'll never know until you try.
I think even with those jobs, there's nothing stopping you from only having to work for a certain amount of time, and then choosing to retire.

That's basically what a lot of actors are like. Frankie Muniz went from acting in TV/Movies to now being a race car driver. But he could retire anytime because he already had a shit ton of money at age 19.

 

Rbk_3

Member
Yes, I will be inheriting one of my parents farms one day. My wife and I plan to sell our house and build there and rent out the land. She will also inherit a farm from her parents that we will likely sell.
 
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Fbh

Member
Pfff I have like a million in my account right now.




Our currency is shit. A million here is like $1.2k USD And after paying all the bills I must pay I'll have like 300 bucks left lol
 
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JordanN

Banned
Pfff I have like a million in my account right now.




Our currency is shit. A million here is like $1.2k USD And after paying all the bills I must pay I'll have like 300 bucks left lol
That's why for me, I would quickly take whatever $1 million I have and reinvest it in owning land.

That's basically what Canada is at this point. We're just one giant real estate tycoon. The more land you own, the more power you have.
 
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That's why for me, I would quickly take whatever $1 million I have and reinvest it in owning land.

That's basically what Canada is at this point. We're just one giant real estate tycoon. The more land you own, the more power you have.
Yep. Their money is fake. Use it to aquire real value while you can. Being stuck with an account full of zeros when its value becomes zero is going to suck.
 
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I'll never achieve or posses that kinda cash. And I'm okay with it.
I'd like to have enough money so that I don't have to work for the rest of my life.
I'd be touring europe on my bike, experiencing prostitutes and playing videogames. That's my dream.
 

Fbh

Member
That's why for me, I would quickly take whatever $1 million I have and reinvest it in owning land.

That's basically what Canada is at this point. We're just one giant real estate tycoon. The more land you own, the more power you have.

Yeah it's pretty crazy how much our currency has devalued. Not too long ago 1 USD was around $500, now we are at $800. Imported goods have become fucking expensive and the 19% sales tax doesn't help either.
 

Thaedolus

Member
Should be well over halfway there in net worth (retirement + paid off house and student loan) by the time I’m 40 so we’ll see. That’s conservatively assuming current wages hold to inflation and we don’t get big raises in the meantime, which is unlikely considering how we both seem to be quite good at advancing our careers.

Live within your means and do good work and it seems totally reasonable more people can get there than you’d think
 
I think getting to that level is about attitude, more than skill. My aim is to make it there by retirement and if I can do it, from my background with the shit hand I was dealt in life, then anyone can, but it is about attitude.

Instead of keeping up with the jones', save, invest, rinse and repeat. Don't buy anything brand new today that will lose over 50% of it's value by next year. Don't replace a car because a new one looks better, when yours drive fine. etc.

Learn a new skill every few months, study, read, learn, experience. Don't stagnate, don't keep up with the Jones' don't settle.
 

kingbean

Member
If I work my whole life and don't squander my inheritance and keep my 401k going until I'm 65 I might retire with close to a million.
 

jshackles

Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the capability to make the world's first enhanced store. Steam will be that store. Better than it was before.
I've been working in my career for over 20 years now and I'm paid pretty well for what I do. I'd consider myself a expert in my field.

But in that same amount of time I've raised a family of four on mostly a single income, purchased a dozen or so automobiles, bought a house (which then got foreclosed on), lived through several tornadoes, moved across the country, had a heart attack (not cheap in America!), and otherwise encountered lots of twists and turns along the way. My salary continues to increase although more slowly now that I'm at the top of my pay scale, but the expenses keep going up too at a much higher rate. All that said, I haven't been able to build much wealth in my life up this point.

Now that my kids are grown and the expenses related to taking care of them are much smaller, I'm finally starting to see some daylight at the end of the tunnel. Next year I plan on buying a house, and this time doing it right. By then I'll have all my debts paid off including my car payments. I'll have a lot of left over cash and I'll finally (hopefully) be able to start saving up for that emergency fund I've never been able to have. My retirement pension from work starts in 20 years, and hopefully by then I'll have my house paid off (15 yr mortgage) and have well over $1m in my retirement accounts over and above my pension. I plan on retiring then, playing a lot of video games, keeping my house nice, keeping my wife comfortable, and having a place that my kids can come hang sometimes and possibly some day bring grandchildren to come visit. I might even have enough left over to do some traveling with any luck. But it's hard to say what the next 20 years will bring.

Life isn't all about money, money is just the means to be able to live the kind of life you want.
 
Consisting my industry, plans and the economy i expect to make my business in, yeah i think my partner and i will top a million, but we don't have any ambitions to be multimillionaires or anything

By the way, OP, in response to your "why aren't you a millionaire?" Question: not sure but part of it is likely to be this place and places like it and the industry that spawned this place and places like it
 
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gatti-man

Member
I’m worth around half a mill right now. Should retire a millionaire easily in about 15-20 years. Maybe a multimillionaire just depending on investments. I’m not one of those people that thinks passive investing is gauranteed money.
 

Ownage

Member
Good topic of discussion.

I've done pretty well in life, had a lot of help and advice, and gotten lucky too. I found you make more when you work for yourself versus working for someone else. Some of us already knew that, so... uh... that's great.

What I think folks like Jay-Z, Biggie, and other self-made people have hinted at is in order to really, really be successful, you have to break rules, bend your principles, and scheme. Sometimes lie and cheat. You definitely compromise on some things in order to achieve others. One challenge is to decide when enough is enough, and walk away.
 
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I make very close to six-figures now and my home, which was inherited, last tax assessment was $877K. I have a healthy 401K, savings account and my E*TRADE account is doing well for me too. So all in all I’m pretty much there and I’ve done pretty well for a high school drop out. My goal is to leave my daughter enough money so she can do the things she wants in life and not spend all of it working. Realistically speaking, I don’t really care for money or the trouble it brings.
 

MetalAlien

Banned
Never happen to me. I am destine to work long hours for little pay. Any opportunity that might present itself would be a trap kind of like getting a wish granted from a Leprechaun.
 
Yes because of 401k and investments, possibly.

I make money but I'm not that interested in becoming a millionaire. I used to be, but then I started enjoying life too much and I see how doing what it takes would get in the way (minus 401k, etc).
 
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