Change your mindset
March 14, 2023 11:19 AM Subscribe
just grit determination and small loan from yrrr parents
posted by philip-random at 11:38 AM on March 14, 2023 [16 favorites]
posted by philip-random at 11:38 AM on March 14, 2023 [16 favorites]
the $15 million bit is *mom's slap*
posted by chavenet at 11:46 AM on March 14, 2023 [12 favorites]
posted by chavenet at 11:46 AM on March 14, 2023 [12 favorites]
Even well-intentioned professional organizations composed of people with higher education have trouble with math.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 11:46 AM on March 14, 2023
posted by ricochet biscuit at 11:46 AM on March 14, 2023
It took me a second to go from furious to amused but I got there.
A while ago Facebook thought I would definitely want to watch a “getting rich is so easy!” hack reel where the poster claimed “learn how to paint, paint 10 rooms a month at $50 each - you’ll have $100k in a year!” And they seemed… genuine?? Like, I can’t even figure out where that math train went off the rails.
posted by obfuscation at 12:01 PM on March 14, 2023 [13 favorites]
A while ago Facebook thought I would definitely want to watch a “getting rich is so easy!” hack reel where the poster claimed “learn how to paint, paint 10 rooms a month at $50 each - you’ll have $100k in a year!” And they seemed… genuine?? Like, I can’t even figure out where that math train went off the rails.
posted by obfuscation at 12:01 PM on March 14, 2023 [13 favorites]
Wait, where did they get that tiny little monocle from?
I have a kid who's motivated by someday making plenty of money -- but he plans to, you know, earn it through work and not by trying to beat some "system" with B.S. slogans & hustling & mindset.
posted by wenestvedt at 12:04 PM on March 14, 2023
I have a kid who's motivated by someday making plenty of money -- but he plans to, you know, earn it through work and not by trying to beat some "system" with B.S. slogans & hustling & mindset.
posted by wenestvedt at 12:04 PM on March 14, 2023
SMBC's creator released "single use monocles" in a disposable foil wrapper a few years back, but I don't know if the sizes match up.
posted by Callisto Prime at 12:09 PM on March 14, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by Callisto Prime at 12:09 PM on March 14, 2023 [8 favorites]
I think I am going to stick to my original plan of losing myself in the music.
posted by srboisvert at 12:21 PM on March 14, 2023 [12 favorites]
posted by srboisvert at 12:21 PM on March 14, 2023 [12 favorites]
Imagine if we invested in tomato plants instead.
posted by mrgoldenbrown at 12:38 PM on March 14, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by mrgoldenbrown at 12:38 PM on March 14, 2023 [5 favorites]
There was another recent thread about what constitutes satire; this is good satire. It's just not that far off the beam from what I call the "stop playing videogames and make an app" genre of social media posts. Bonus: the actual Monopoly ripped off a game with the exact opposite intention (prev).
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:44 PM on March 14, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:44 PM on March 14, 2023 [7 favorites]
just grit determination and small loan from yrrr parents
My nephew and niece have a thing going where they will borrow money from their dad to buy shoes, clothes, or other things that drop, sell them for a profit, and then return the original money back to their dad and keep the profit for themselves. I guess their risk is that if they can't find a buyer then they have to wear their limited edition merch and find another way to pay back their dad but overall its been a pretty sweet deal for them. My kids are younger so I don't know if all teenagers are doing stuff like this or if it's just my nephew and niece.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:54 PM on March 14, 2023 [9 favorites]
My nephew and niece have a thing going where they will borrow money from their dad to buy shoes, clothes, or other things that drop, sell them for a profit, and then return the original money back to their dad and keep the profit for themselves. I guess their risk is that if they can't find a buyer then they have to wear their limited edition merch and find another way to pay back their dad but overall its been a pretty sweet deal for them. My kids are younger so I don't know if all teenagers are doing stuff like this or if it's just my nephew and niece.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:54 PM on March 14, 2023 [9 favorites]
This reminded me of a situation I encountered about 6 months ago.
I was in the hospital (a real hospital) for treatment of a real disease by real doctors.
In the middle of the night when I hobbled to the bathroom with my IV tree a woman pulled me to the side.
She couldn't believe that I had a health diagnosis because I seemed young/ healthy (which I am neither/ it is all relative). She told me that someone she knows drank boiled eggplant water and that it completely cured her health problem.
I was like, "thank you for sharing. Maybe I will try that."
Exhausted, I went back to bed but still think it is hilarious/ frightening that.......maybe it is that simple!
Same logic as used here.
posted by Word_Salad at 12:59 PM on March 14, 2023 [18 favorites]
I was in the hospital (a real hospital) for treatment of a real disease by real doctors.
In the middle of the night when I hobbled to the bathroom with my IV tree a woman pulled me to the side.
She couldn't believe that I had a health diagnosis because I seemed young/ healthy (which I am neither/ it is all relative). She told me that someone she knows drank boiled eggplant water and that it completely cured her health problem.
I was like, "thank you for sharing. Maybe I will try that."
Exhausted, I went back to bed but still think it is hilarious/ frightening that.......maybe it is that simple!
Same logic as used here.
posted by Word_Salad at 12:59 PM on March 14, 2023 [18 favorites]
any portmanteau in a storm, who do they sell them to? Is there actually a market for pre-owned items bought on sale then sold at full price?
posted by JHarris at 12:59 PM on March 14, 2023
posted by JHarris at 12:59 PM on March 14, 2023
JHarris, this isn't stuff on sale they then sell for full price, it's limited edition stuff that they will wait in line to buy (either virtually or IRL), and then they will sell it at a markup to people that weren't able to get it. By drops I don't mean price drops but a limited edition run of something.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 1:26 PM on March 14, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 1:26 PM on March 14, 2023 [7 favorites]
For a while back in '79-'80 or so my neighbors had a two car garage. One side was the domain of the 18-ish son that had dropped out off school at 16. He built hotrods, new junker every month, turned into burning rubber all up the street, sold to some schmuck and new car started being built. The father worked at the big (regional) bakery down the street, but the other side of the garage was his. He bought lots (random unseen stuff for cheap) and the my age neighbor boy and I and the father and other son went through them looking for things that would sell at the weekend flea-market. That's how we ended up with a lot of fireworks, a crate of model rocket engines and I snagged a ton on lab glass.
Both things made a good deal of PROFIT. Buy cheap, sell high is doable, it does take a bit of capital. But market for pre-owned items bought on sale then sold at full price? is a yep.
posted by zengargoyle at 1:35 PM on March 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
Both things made a good deal of PROFIT. Buy cheap, sell high is doable, it does take a bit of capital. But market for pre-owned items bought on sale then sold at full price? is a yep.
posted by zengargoyle at 1:35 PM on March 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
Heh, that was quite amusing, but also scarily like how actual people talk all over social media.
posted by dg at 2:04 PM on March 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by dg at 2:04 PM on March 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
The progression to UNEXPECTED MONOCLE is what did it for me.
posted by praemunire at 2:14 PM on March 14, 2023 [18 favorites]
posted by praemunire at 2:14 PM on March 14, 2023 [18 favorites]
I don't math good and thought maybe I didn't know enough about compound interest or whatnot but now I understand that I must get a tiny little monocle and a top hat if I want to get serious about money.
posted by allthinky at 2:19 PM on March 14, 2023 [13 favorites]
posted by allthinky at 2:19 PM on March 14, 2023 [13 favorites]
hack reel where the poster claimed “learn how to paint, paint 10 rooms a month at $50 each - you’ll have $100k in a year!” And they seemed… genuine?? Like, I can’t even figure out where that math train went off the rails.
The paint one I saw was somewhat realistic, but there was one where a guy asks a question "would you rather have $100k in cash or $500 a month in cash", and he was "$500 a month, because that's recurring income" and the reel was about making recurring income. Yikes, that's just terrible math.
posted by The_Vegetables at 3:07 PM on March 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
The paint one I saw was somewhat realistic, but there was one where a guy asks a question "would you rather have $100k in cash or $500 a month in cash", and he was "$500 a month, because that's recurring income" and the reel was about making recurring income. Yikes, that's just terrible math.
posted by The_Vegetables at 3:07 PM on March 14, 2023 [4 favorites]
Between this and not eating avocado toast, I'm going to be swimming in fuck you money before you know it!
posted by Naberius at 3:11 PM on March 14, 2023 [14 favorites]
posted by Naberius at 3:11 PM on March 14, 2023 [14 favorites]
The bar for Poe's law is set so high (or low, not sure) that I honestly thought that was a series of clips from a "guru". Wasn't until I read the comments that I figured it out.
Yes, reality seems that stupid to me.
posted by Ickster at 3:19 PM on March 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
Yes, reality seems that stupid to me.
posted by Ickster at 3:19 PM on March 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
The paint one I saw was somewhat realistic, but there was one where a guy asks a question "would you rather have $100k in cash or $500 a month in cash", and he was "$500 a month, because that's recurring income" and the reel was about making recurring income. Yikes, that's just terrible math.
So $500 a month is about a 6% return on $100,000, so it really isn't that bad of a deal, I guess. But still, this video is hilarious, and I also was fooled in the beginning.
posted by Literaryhero at 4:46 PM on March 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
So $500 a month is about a 6% return on $100,000, so it really isn't that bad of a deal, I guess. But still, this video is hilarious, and I also was fooled in the beginning.
posted by Literaryhero at 4:46 PM on March 14, 2023 [3 favorites]
→
Definitely a thing for some folks' kids I know. It does require quite a bit of planning, following every possible lead for rare drops, lots of tedious waiting in line, managing potential buyers and not getting ripped off.
posted by scruss at 6:55 PM on March 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
they will borrow money from their dad to buy shoes, clothes, or other things that drop, sell them for a profit, and then return the original money back to their dad
Definitely a thing for some folks' kids I know. It does require quite a bit of planning, following every possible lead for rare drops, lots of tedious waiting in line, managing potential buyers and not getting ripped off.
posted by scruss at 6:55 PM on March 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
The hand gestures are perfect.
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:42 PM on March 14, 2023
posted by The corpse in the library at 7:42 PM on March 14, 2023
So $500 a month is about a 6% return on $100,000, so it really isn't that bad of a deal, I guess.
If it was inflation-adjusted, I'd buy one for retirement. But inflation will eat away at it steadily. Don't quote my numbers, but in 15 years (which would otherwise be the break-even point), that $500 will only be, I think, about $375 in value, and that's at 2% inflation.
posted by praemunire at 9:22 PM on March 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
If it was inflation-adjusted, I'd buy one for retirement. But inflation will eat away at it steadily. Don't quote my numbers, but in 15 years (which would otherwise be the break-even point), that $500 will only be, I think, about $375 in value, and that's at 2% inflation.
posted by praemunire at 9:22 PM on March 14, 2023 [1 favorite]
For those who don't want to follow the link, that's $30,000 and not $30.000. Because the headline makes no sense as written.
posted by AugustusCrunch at 9:34 PM on March 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by AugustusCrunch at 9:34 PM on March 14, 2023 [2 favorites]
it's limited edition stuff that they will wait in line to buy (either virtually or IRL), and then they will sell it at a markup to people that weren't able to get it.
Where I come from, they call that Record Store Day.
posted by mykescipark at 9:57 PM on March 14, 2023 [5 favorites]
Where I come from, they call that Record Store Day.
posted by mykescipark at 9:57 PM on March 14, 2023 [5 favorites]
that's $30,000 and not $30.000. Because the headline makes no sense as written.
Depends where you're from.
What I want to know is, how much is that in avocado toast?
posted by basalganglia at 2:25 AM on March 15, 2023 [7 favorites]
Depends where you're from.
What I want to know is, how much is that in avocado toast?
posted by basalganglia at 2:25 AM on March 15, 2023 [7 favorites]
My nephew and niece have a thing going where they will borrow money from their dad to buy shoes, clothes, or other things that drop, sell them for a profit, and then return the original money back to their dad and keep the profit for themselves. I guess their risk is that if they can't find a buyer then they have to wear their limited edition merch and find another way to pay back their dad but overall its been a pretty sweet deal for them. My kids are younger so I don't know if all teenagers are doing stuff like this or if it's just my nephew and niece.
I have a rich friend who funded his teenage kid doing this and they got absolutely smoked when the big shoe reselling middleman turned out to be running a shoe based ponzi scheme. Like college kid losing college funding levels of cash smoked. They have the money to burn so it is not that painful a lesson but none the less they got caught out badly by the vicissitudes of a speculative bubble.
Now even Adidas is getting its turn in the barrel as a billion+ dollars worth of Yeezys became OiVeyzies overnight.
posted by srboisvert at 3:30 AM on March 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
I have a rich friend who funded his teenage kid doing this and they got absolutely smoked when the big shoe reselling middleman turned out to be running a shoe based ponzi scheme. Like college kid losing college funding levels of cash smoked. They have the money to burn so it is not that painful a lesson but none the less they got caught out badly by the vicissitudes of a speculative bubble.
Now even Adidas is getting its turn in the barrel as a billion+ dollars worth of Yeezys became OiVeyzies overnight.
posted by srboisvert at 3:30 AM on March 15, 2023 [3 favorites]
So $500 a month is about a 6% return on $100,000, so it really isn't that bad of a deal, I guess.
If it was inflation-adjusted, I'd buy one for retirement. But inflation will eat away at it steadily. Don't quote my numbers, but in 15 years (which would otherwise be the break-even point), that $500 will only be, I think, about $375 in value, and that's at 2% inflation.
I guess you're assuming you only earn the $500 per month for the first year and the return is 0 after that? Inflation only eats up the return if inflation is higher than the return. In actuality, assuming the same inflation and interest for 15 years, you get:
100,000 x (1.06)^15 / (1.02)^15 = 180K, still a very good return. But inflation only eats up money that has a return rate lower than the inflation rate.
posted by LizBoBiz at 7:08 AM on March 15, 2023
If it was inflation-adjusted, I'd buy one for retirement. But inflation will eat away at it steadily. Don't quote my numbers, but in 15 years (which would otherwise be the break-even point), that $500 will only be, I think, about $375 in value, and that's at 2% inflation.
I guess you're assuming you only earn the $500 per month for the first year and the return is 0 after that? Inflation only eats up the return if inflation is higher than the return. In actuality, assuming the same inflation and interest for 15 years, you get:
100,000 x (1.06)^15 / (1.02)^15 = 180K, still a very good return. But inflation only eats up money that has a return rate lower than the inflation rate.
posted by LizBoBiz at 7:08 AM on March 15, 2023
So $500 a month is about a 6% return on $100,000, so it really isn't that bad of a deal, I guess.
It's a bad deal, because the question was $500 in cash, recurring monthly or $100k in cash, both immediately. $100,000 > $500. Don't make this more complicated than it is. Also, any recurring interest you could earn on $500 you could also earn on $100k.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:30 AM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
It's a bad deal, because the question was $500 in cash, recurring monthly or $100k in cash, both immediately. $100,000 > $500. Don't make this more complicated than it is. Also, any recurring interest you could earn on $500 you could also earn on $100k.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:30 AM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
Also, any recurring interest you could earn on $500 you could also earn on $100k.
If there is a break even point between these two options, it's more than 40 years into the future.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:39 AM on March 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
If there is a break even point between these two options, it's more than 40 years into the future.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:39 AM on March 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
I'd expect the tax load on $500 a month ($6,000 a year) is a lot less than $100,000, although with 100,000 you could afford someone to help get you out of some of the tax burden I guess.
posted by JHarris at 8:57 AM on March 15, 2023
posted by JHarris at 8:57 AM on March 15, 2023
TikTokInvestors on Twitter "curate[s] cringy & funny financial social media content". A lot of it is very cringe.
posted by neuron at 9:03 AM on March 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by neuron at 9:03 AM on March 15, 2023 [2 favorites]
I have a rich friend who funded his teenage kid doing this and they got absolutely smoked when the big shoe reselling middleman turned out to be running a shoe based ponzi scheme. Like college kid losing college funding levels of cash smoked.
I think they spend a couple of hundred dollars at any one time so it's more on the pocket money or having the sales cover the cost of the things they want to keep for themselves side of things. At least that's how they make it sound, maybe in reality they're doing a lot more but not telling anyone.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:28 PM on March 15, 2023
I think they spend a couple of hundred dollars at any one time so it's more on the pocket money or having the sales cover the cost of the things they want to keep for themselves side of things. At least that's how they make it sound, maybe in reality they're doing a lot more but not telling anyone.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:28 PM on March 15, 2023
"single use monocles" referenced above
posted by Happy Monkey at 1:10 PM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Happy Monkey at 1:10 PM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
I'd expect the tax load on $500 a month ($6,000 a year) is a lot less than $100,000, although with 100,000 you could afford someone to help get you out of some of the tax burden I guess.
Probably, but if you'd give away about $84,000 to save $16k taxes, you should probably take the $500.
posted by The_Vegetables at 2:18 PM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
Probably, but if you'd give away about $84,000 to save $16k taxes, you should probably take the $500.
posted by The_Vegetables at 2:18 PM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
inflation only eats up money that has a return rate lower than the inflation rate
Inflation eats up what it eats up. You still have to factor inflation in, because an investment that's just over the inflation rate has to be super low risk to be worthwhile, especially in times of high inflation.
posted by dg at 2:37 PM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
Inflation eats up what it eats up. You still have to factor inflation in, because an investment that's just over the inflation rate has to be super low risk to be worthwhile, especially in times of high inflation.
posted by dg at 2:37 PM on March 15, 2023 [1 favorite]
Trading $100k now for $500 per month is an annuity. You can use an annuity calculator to figure this out (inflation doesn't really come into it since we're just talking about a fixed sum per month).
Since the original investment and monthly payout are fixed, the only two factors left are the rates of return and the length of time (how long you'll live for). Average annual stock market returns have historically been about 10%. If you think that will continue, then the calculator will show you that the $100k is a better bet (because at 10% the annuity world last forever, but you won't live forever). In fact, the annuity will last forever down to about 6%. Below that, $500 a month starts to make sense if you assume you have a few decades left in you (about three at 5%).
Even if you start off with $80k after taxes, you're still better off with the lump sum. Only if you are very pessimistic about future market returns, expect to live for a long time and would pay a lot of taxes on the windfall now would it make more sense to take $500 per month. Maybe that's true for some people!
posted by ssg at 7:44 AM on March 17, 2023
Since the original investment and monthly payout are fixed, the only two factors left are the rates of return and the length of time (how long you'll live for). Average annual stock market returns have historically been about 10%. If you think that will continue, then the calculator will show you that the $100k is a better bet (because at 10% the annuity world last forever, but you won't live forever). In fact, the annuity will last forever down to about 6%. Below that, $500 a month starts to make sense if you assume you have a few decades left in you (about three at 5%).
Even if you start off with $80k after taxes, you're still better off with the lump sum. Only if you are very pessimistic about future market returns, expect to live for a long time and would pay a lot of taxes on the windfall now would it make more sense to take $500 per month. Maybe that's true for some people!
posted by ssg at 7:44 AM on March 17, 2023
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posted by cali at 11:26 AM on March 14, 2023 [8 favorites]