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Comment by chubs | Hacker News Reader

You're totally right. And also, some have pointed out (quite correctly) that amy and patrick recommend starting out on the side, so let me explain further:

* I have enough savings to last a few months if i sell my motorbike

* I'm reasonably well connected and, if all goes badly, getting an ios contract/job in a few months time won't be hard

* I already have a dozen apps on the app store, bringing in between $100-$150 daily

* Due to a recent house move, i'm unable to code on the train any more which used to be brilliant, so my part-time efforts have dwindled.

As for the apps, I really need to make a promo-page for them, the best i can currently give you is here: http://apps.splinter.com.au/

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$100 per day is $3K per month. While you can't support a lavish lifestyle I think you're earning enough for the basics. Most of the naysayers are just jealous that they don't have courage to make the leap. Good luck!

Don't forget taxes. You're looking at closer to $2000 a month. That will cover rent and utilities for most people, but you better be doing something else if you enjoy eating food.

enough savings to last a few months [IF] i sell my motorbike [emphasis mine]

This is a scary scenario. If you are starting out with no revenue, a few months can come and go very quickly. I like to set a runway of 1 year of income for myself. That being said, I peg my income to the bare minimum I need my family to survive on. Everything after that is just profit and is saved.

Anything can happen in 3 months that will cost you a lot of unplanned money. It's really only one season in a year, and things change so quickly nowadays that you can't possibly prepare for every bad event.

If you need to sell your motorbike in order to give yourself some extra savings to live on, that's even worse. Get yourself some more money so that you don't have to consider cutting into flesh just to trim fat.

Hey! I'm a co-founder of Kickfolio, one of Melbourne's own AngelCube startups. A friend just messaged to tell me you said you 'really need to make a promo page for your apps'. Thought it might be cool to point you to http://kickfolio.com. We're in open beta - please let us know what you think, if it does help you!

Congrats on the success of your apps on the app store and good luck with your upcoming venture.

> i'm unable to code on the train any more which used to be brilliant

i imagine the train ride would be full of interrupts, maybe you could convince me otherwise about your commute system

Commuter trains in Sydney (where the poster & I are both from) are double-decker where most people sit (except when it gets crowded). If his commute was anything like mine I get on when there's still plenty of seats next to a window and I can get out my laptop, pop in some headphones and get 45-50 minutes of solid hacking done without interruption.

I was in the same boat as the parent post until your third bullet. That's certainly enough to keep the mortgage paid and food on the table, so I think now is the perfect time to do what you're doing. When the kids go to school and things get more expensive for you it'll be harder and harder to make this decision.

Best to find out now if it's sustainable for you. Good luck.

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