Get Rich Slowly

I should add that I did read that before posting. And that's part of my point: you seem to have developed the tip amount framework without any regard to the larger market. My point is that the fact that many people gladly tip their bartenders > $1/week is relevant to your project. In the real world, $0.25 is not a tip, it's pocket change. (Here's a list of suggested tips, note the conspicuous lack of tips under a dollar: http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2006/10/12/basic-tips-on-tipping-how-much-and-to-whom/)

The other gripe I have is that you match expected tips for a "top open-source programmer" with an average salary for a "mid-career engineer". Why shouldn't a top open-source programmer be able to make top engineer money (read: a lot more that $160k) with Gittip? And why is there a max tip amount? What if my business wants to "tip" someone more than $100/mo? (I know, it's insane to think that code would be worth that much but to some it may be.)

So I guess I would ask you to reconsider:

1) The signaling issues around the idea that a quarter or a dollar is a reasonable amount to contribute for good programming. How do you explain to non-techies why your work is worth so much more than that?

2) The expected top end of the range for super-successful devs probably shouldn't be in the range of what recent grads are making at top firms.

Again, I'm trying to be constructive, and I think that if you want to meet your goals of helping programmers find a living building open…

>For things you like doing that you are good at, make that your main job. You will be effective and happy.

The other outcome besides being "effective and happy" is "turning something you enjoy into something you hate because now you have to do it." Just because you love doing something doesn't mean you love being forced to do it for someone else 40 hours a week.

It's pretty naïve to think that the things you enjoy in your free time are the things you enjoy doing for paid work and vise versa. I absolutely hate cleaning around my house, I hate everything about it, but I don't mind cleaning for paid work at all.

There's other issues too and quite a few people I know took that route ("doing what you love") and it lead to career dissatisfaction for various reasons.

Jobs have other "stuff" other than just your work, you may love X but hate working in X industry for various reasons, like work environment, salary, job prospects, etc.

The things you enjoy and are good are probably not even viable paid opportunities. (Nobody's going to pay you to put together model airplanes).

You don't get to "test drive" the vast majority of jobs at home first.

There's something to be about not being invested in your work and, essentially, not making your work the focus of your life.

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2012/03/18/reader-story-i-quit-my-passion-and-took-a-boring-job/

CHEAP TRICK: Buy staple foods that'll keep. Pasta, canned tuna, canned veggies, tomatoes, beans and rice rarely go bad. For good cheap protein, try preparing eggs (not only scrambled or hard-boiled, but use them in egg salads, green salads or in pasta recipes.) Also, check out: http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2007/07/30/16-ways-to-eat-healthy-while-keeping-it-cheap/.

CHEAP DINNER: Because I have no patience and often forget to eat, I've figured out a cheap, filling lasagna-type

1) Prepare favorite pasta (penne works well)
2)Heat some marinara sauce, can or jar is fine.
3)Once the sauce starts to boil, reduce heat and add 1/2 C to 3/4 C cottage cheese to sauce (works like ricotta).
4)If you prefer, spoon cottage cheese over hot pasta and cover with heated marinara, then microwave or bake briefly to warm cheese. This adds a nice layer of melty cheese.

(Cover plate of pasta, cheese and marinara with shredded mozzarella and bake at 425 for 9-12 min. if you want to be fancy and cheap.)

Last time YC News was polled, most said they wanted to become rich in order to be financially independent.

This assumes a Western cost of living. This article describes how you can be financially independent much more cheaply by living overseas.

Say you saved up $100,000. If you then stick it all in a high interest savings account:
http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2007/03/21/which-online-high-yield-savings-account-is-best/
you can withdraw about $325 a month from interest alone, which is more than enough to live in some overseas countries.

So, if you are interested in retiring early, and don't have expensive tastes, this is a route to consider. Here's someone who did it, and lives on $319 a month:
http://www.escapeartist.com/efam29/book.html

Even if you don't want to get away from it all right now, it is good to know you can. It takes the pressure away from life.

People have been complaining on HN that "houses are too expensive to buy" almost since it started 15 years ago. Yet 65% of Americans currently own their own homes. This is not as high as the peak in 2005 of 69%, but higher than the low in 2016 of 63% [1]. And IIRC, home ownership rates are near historical highs. Home ownership rate was almost always below 50% before ww2 and rarely exceeded 65% until the housing bubble of 2000-2010 [2].

The simple fact, as unpalatable as it may be, is that buying a home is always "expensive". In the US anyway, the price seems to be set by people's income. That is, their ability to pay. What does change is the size and quality of the homes.

[1] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/RHORUSQ156N

[2] https://www.getrichslowly.org/homeownership/

from a financial perspective, neither renting nor buying is inherently better than the other. in a particular locale, one or the other might be better based on the price-to-rent ratio.

so the decision of whether to rent or buy similar properties in a particular locale comes down to the local market, how long you can commit to staying, and your tolerance for different risks (rent increase, home repairs, suddenly needing to sell early).

you're not really deciding whether to rent or buy though, you're deciding whether to live in the city or move to the suburbs, which is ultimately a personal decision.

for the financial aspect, these articles might be helpful:
https://affordanything.com/is-renting-better-than-buying-should-i-rent-or-buy/
https://www.getrichslowly.org/rent-or-buy/