Category Archives: Class & Wealth

The Next 10 Years

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I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the next 2 years, up until turning 30, but I haven’t seriously thought out the next 10 years (other than I want to get married, buy a house, and have three kids.) I spent a few minutes thinking through what I really want over the next 10 years, and find it fascinating how I see myself, once having kids, significantly cutting back my work hours to spend time with my family. I still want to work, and possibly even work full time, but I cannot imagine working a job earning six-figures when I have kids. I think I’ll want to work 40 hrs/week max at that point, and ideally consult so I can work from home and spend time with my family.

What makes me nervous is that with this plan I only have $525k in networth by 38, and that’s if everything goes as planned where I can continue saving $50k per year until I have my first kid. This all freaks me out quite a bit, I wish there was a way to get to $500k before I get married and have kids!

 

Age 28. — 2012
$200k networth. Earn $100k+ for the year, save $50k.

Age 29. — 2013
$250k networth. Earn $110k+ for the year. Get married, move into 1br w/ bf.

Age 30. — 2014
$300k networth. Earn $120k+ for the year. Start trying to have my first kid.

Age 31. — 2015
$350k networth. Earn $130k+ for the year. Have my first kid.

Age 32. — 2016
$375k networth. Earn $50k for the year. Take time off to be with kid?

Age 33. — 2017
$400k networth. Earn $50k for the year. Consult.

Age 34. — 2018
$425k networth. Earn $50k for the year. Second kid.

Age 35. — 2019
$450k networth. Earn $50k for the year. Consult.

Age 36. — 2020
$475k networth. Earn $50k for the year. Third kid.

Age 37. — 2021
$500k networth. Earn $50k for the year. Buy a house?

Age 38. — 2022
$525k networth. Earn $50k for the year. Consult.

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It’s not about what you know. It’s about WHO you know.

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The older I get, the more I realize the old adage “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” holds true. It’s a requirement to come to terms with how the world isn’t fair and on the spectrum of that unfairness is being born at a time and in a place where the people you know can not help you get ahead, vs being born the royal prince, and everything in between.

Most of us lie somewhere on that “everything in between.” If you have access to Internet and running water, I bet you do. Then there’s always some sort of opportunity in life, but the further you are over to the left, you have to work exponentially harder to get to the same spot those on the right take one step into. You have to make the first chunk of your life about developing those relationships that may are born with. That’s not impossible, but it sure takes a lot of time and effort out of otherwise being productive.

When I moved to Silicon Valley, I didn’t know anyone. At the time, it seemed like a good idea, and I don’t regret it to this day. But it’s certainly been much harder to make those connections. I could easily watch someone waltz into a role like the one I have, and if they had deep connections across the business world through their family, they could easily make a few phone calls and accomplish the work I do in a few months in one day. And for anyone who wants to start a business, having a wealthy family to support you with angel funding is priceless. Having a wealthy family to catch you in case things don’t work out also helps a lot. Continue reading →

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Happy Holidays from your Favorite Agnostic Jew!

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It’s that time of the year again. Wasn’t it just Chanukah / Christmas 2010? I swear I was just writing my “2010 wrap-up” post yesterday. In any case, it’s somehow almost 2012. I’ve made it through another year. So has the world. Huzzah! 

The past year has been one of incredible growth professionally and personally, a few (ok… one) major mistakes, and new doors opening to great opportunities. I really feel like I’m getting older, not just in terms of how long my feet can handle mini stilettos, but also in how I’m relating to the world.

I went to my 10 year reunion in November — I can’t remember if I wrote about that here or not — and saw a bunch of old classmates who hadn’t changed. They were still living in the same town, for better or worse, and I had been away — for 10 years. It was just a little over 10 years ago when I left home and went to the midwest for college, and then packed my bags to move to San Francisco with a barely-paid internship and absolute terror over what the future might hold, and every possible morsel self doubt one could swallow.  Continue reading →

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I’m turning 28 and craving babies. Yes, I said craving.

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Hello biological clock. I hear you loud and clear. Every time a family walks by with a little itty bitty one, you can’t help but smile and get that gooey feeling, like you really ought to be popping one of those out yourself any day now.

Lately, I can much picture myself as a mother much easier than I can envision myself a bride. Apparently, among Millennials, I’m not alone in this notion. We value parenthood more than marriage.

Today’s 18- to 29-year-olds value parenthood far more than marriage, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of attitudinal surveys. A 2010 Pew Research survey found that 52% of Millennials say being a good parent is “one of the most important things” in life. Just 30% say the same about having a successful marriage — meaning there is a 22-percentage-point gap in the way Millennials value parenthood over marriage.

What scares me is another report by Pew that finds the average age for U.S. mothers who had their first baby in 20062 was 25, a year older than the average first-time mother in 1990. Among all women who had a baby in 2006, the average age is 27, up from 26 in 1990. The prime child-bearing years remain 20-34 — three-quarters of mothers of newborns are in this age range.

I feel so far behind, even though I wasn’t ready to have kids until now, and really, a lot can be said about how I’m not ready now either. Now doesn’t mean this second anyway — it means in the next few years. Continue reading →

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The Gluttony of Choice: Why Options Make Us Depressed and Fat

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As much as I love that we live in a free society with an extensive selection of options at any given moment regarding what we eat, wear, drive, etc, etc, I’ve forced myself to step outside of materialism for a few moments every now and again, to discover the square root of unhappiness is often the sheer quantity of choices available everyday.

Because we live in a capitalist society, choices available are often what we want, not what we need. I look no further than my experience today at The Cheesecake Factory as a metaphor for all of the “choice gluttony” we face in modern society. The Cheesecake Factory menu is ridiculous. I love the place. It has so many options of meals to eat, including appetizers, entrees, drinks, and of course, cheesecakes and desserts. Continue reading →

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