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Comment by joshuahutt | Hacker News Reader

There are very different definitions of "rich."

Take the old comparison between Gates and Jordan. "If Jordan saves 100% of his income for the next 450 years, he'll still have less than Bill Gates has today."

You can become wealthy and comfortable working for a salary. But, the canonical way to get "FU money" is to win the lottery.

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It's all about managing yourself and expectations.

Can a janitor save enough money to rival Gates? No. Not even close.

But the same janitor could save enough money to have "FU money" later in life, and only continue working as a janitor if he chose to do so.

> But the same janitor could save enough money to have "FU money" later in life, and only continue working as a janitor if he chose to do so.

That is exceedingly doubtful

I agree, and the reason is housing. If housing in this country wasn't fucked up I think it would be possible. As of now, to do this as a janitor you would need to live with roommates or family. You would also need to avoid smoking, alcohol, gambling, and any other money sinks. Then you would need to invest all your savings for years.

Housing cost is the single defining factor in retirability now and if you're a janitor, you seriously need to consider where you are living, because moving from a VHCOL state to a lower one could be all you need.

Sure the pay is lower, but the housing costs are substantially lower.

I would love to do the math on this.

The average Janitor I salary in the United States is $34,623 as of February 26, 2024.

Average home price in the United States: $417,700.

Monthly payment for 30-year mortgage is $2,950.

Monthly gross pay is $34,623 / 12 = $2885.25...

Hm...it's literally not doable.

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