Successful - now what?

[MarkLucas]

Hey guys
I found myself in a very unusual - yet great spot - in life and I would like your opinion. I tried searching everywhere, but I can never find advice on situations like mine.
I'm 22 and I have a internet business. It's related to online gambling, but if you guys don't mind, I wouldn't like to get into the details, since it isn't very relevant to the question.
It's earning me around U$ 200k/month. However, it probably won't have a big lifespan, meaning it could completely shut down in 6-12 months.
So far I have saved 4.35M US$.
I was wondering what would be your opinion about "retiring" at my age.
I currently live in Brazil, but plan on moving to Europe in the next 2 years.
Do you think that's enough money to use for a lifetime?
How much do you think it would be safe for me to spend every month in order to never run out of $?
I found some people recommending 3-4% yearly withdrawals to be safe.. My main worry is about inflation..
Thank you for your time!

 

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[snowbank]

So far I have saved 4.35M US$.
I was wondering what would be your opinion about "retiring" at my age.
I currently live in Brazil, but plan on moving to Europe in the next 2 years.
Do you think that's enough money to use for a lifetime?
How much do you think it would be safe for me to spend every month in order to never run out of $?

No one can answer this but you, since we don't know how you intend to live. If you want to have mansions and lambos and travel a lot, it may be hard to live off this. If you are a simple person who just wants to live a pretty simple life, it wouldn't be hard to live off that. Also, it depends on your ability to invest, which will drastically impact how much money you need. If you are the average person, I'd just calculate about 3%/yr on your money to be safe- so you could expect about $130,500 as a conservative estimate of what you're current nestegg would give you to live off of. However, if you got out of the game and decided to studying investing, returns of 15%+ on your money are not difficult, and that'd give you $652,500/yr+ to live off of, and most likely keep expanding your nestegg quite a bit since you probably wouldn't need anywhere near that to live.

There's different parts of the game, and there's very few people who are good at both parts of the game. One part of the game is building capital. One part of the game is compounding the capital you've built. A lot of people are good at accumulating money, but bad at keeping it. Many others are good at compounding money, but working with such a small amount of money they will never see wealth. Decide when you want to be in the next stage of the game, and become good at that.

 

[dexta]

You can invest in real estate and live off of rent, while real estate values go up over time.

 

[Rickson9]

It's 100% declared and tax paid, but I was just wondering if 100k/year would be a decent lifestyle...

This is a personality question. It differs depending on the person you ask. Some individuals define success by the accumulation of material goods, others less so. It all depends on how susceptible a mind is to consumer-oriented marketing.

If marketers can convince you to need a product or service, then you might need more disposable income. If marketers don't hold sway over what you consume, then you can spend the money on other things.

Oh, and according to the 3% thing, it would get me 130k/year.. or if I withdraw 4%, 174k/year..My main concern is about inflation..

Only a business can keep up with inflation - either running a successful one or hitching a ride as an investor on a successful one.

My opinion only. Best regards.

 

[socaldude]

Just invest the money in something your comfortable in, its not rocket science so don't make it. A lot of scam artists will wiggle out of the mud and try to get a bit off you, so beware.

Agree. Don't ever let anyone tell you what to do with your money. You need to study Finance and pick your own investments. Don't relinquish control to anybody. It's not hard, go buy a few books and do some online research and get familiar with the game.

 

[The-J]

A tip from a guy who has read far too many failure stories: Investing is a whole different ball game. Just because you made $5 million from affiliate marketing does not mean you are a smart guy. It doesn't mean you're good with money, either. It doesn't mean that you will be a great investor, or businessman, or any of that. All it means is that you're good at affiliate marketing in your chosen niche.

If you take the investing route, be prepared to learn about basic finance, how to read 10K's and 10Q's, what investments do and what options do. If you take the business route, be prepared to learn about a whole shitload of stuff. We don't want to see you broke, so don't squander your fortune in bad business deals, schemes and shitty investments.

 

[PatrickP]

How does gold generate income?

You say 200K isn't that much when you start to live bigger.

How much do you make a month?

 

[Aspire4More]

Congrats on your success, that is awesome!

As far as retiring, I don't think I could ever just "not do anything" at that age, hell even 30, 40 years old. I think you could be smart and live comfortably on what you have but why not continue to do things that made you successful? The only difference is that you do things when and how you want and at your pace.

 

[Rickson9]

Maslow's hierarchy of needs - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

How much you need depends on your ability to generate money and your ability to generate expenses.

 

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[MarkLucas]

Well, I'm a guy who doesn't care much about super cars and super homes, I just need something comfortable.
What I care most is not having a job that consumes all my time.
However, the things I like that would cost me good cash would be travelling and dining out.
I'm asking all these things because I suffer from anxiety disorder, and knowing that my financial future is safe is very important for me hehehe

 

[458]

Deal with selling your website then figure out what to do with the money.

 

[MarkLucas]

Deal with selling your website then figure out what to do with the money.

Unfortunately, the way I work I can't sell my business, it's hard to explain..
That's a bad quality of my business, but it's ok..
So there's no hope for some extra $ fast :/

 

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[458]

Then no i doubt you can retire on that amount of money unless you want to live in the middle class for your entire life.

 

[WestCoast]

Mark-

You need to talk to people you absolutely, 100%, completely trust.

Not a fund manager, not an investment banker, but a peer, a successful family member, a wealthy business partner....

You need macro advice on what to do with your money, you need help budgeting and planning.

ONCE you have the big picture, then I would start on the details of good safe investments that work towards your life goals.

You have a pile of cash.... AWESOME
You can have it for a long time if you plan right.
Lots of people will want it, lots of people will ask for it.

You don't need to be greedy, but you need to be disciplined and defend it.

Talk to those really close to you - who know what they're talking about - and get some advice on the best methods to protect your investments with YOUR goals in mind.

 

[MarkLucas]

Mark-

You need to talk to people you absolutely, 100%, completely trust.

Not a fund manager, not an investment banker, but a peer, a successful family member, a wealthy business partner....

You need macro advice on what to do with your money, you need help budgeting and planning.

ONCE you have the big picture, then I would start on the details of good safe investments that work towards your life goals.

You have a pile of cash.... AWESOME
You can have it for a long time if you plan right.
Lots of people will want it, lots of people will ask for it.

You don't need to be greedy, but you need to be disciplined and defend it.

Talk to those really close to you - who know what they're talking about - and get some advice on the best methods to protect your investments with YOUR goals in mind.

Hi there
I understand about the budget and planning, I did a sketch of it, and noticed that indeed, my life would be pretty middle class if I used only 3% annually..

The problem with talking with people close to me is that nobody I'm close to has the entrepreneurial view of things, all of them just take the "slow-lane"..

 

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[458]

Do you plan on having kids? A wife?

 

[StartUp]

^Agreed

You can also invest in mutual funds, bonds, and/or become a Venture Capitalist

 

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[Momentum]

What are the possibilities of creating a spinoff product or service that could be less hands-on?

It seems that if your business is earning roughly $200k/month, you've likely got a large audience that is quite pleased with what you offer currently. Is there an info-product or automated system that could be pulled from your expertise is this area and initially be marketed to your current customer base, and then to a larger market based on the success of those initial sales?

 

[cashflow3000]

Is this money "under a mattress" or is it above board, declared, and spendable?

If it is mattress money its not going to be able to work for you.

If it is already declared and tax paid then you need to put it to work.

If you haven't read the Fastlane book go back and read it, at least the section on funding your lifestyle.

If a $100K/year lifestyle is all you need then you are set, any simple bank account or mutual fund will spit out enough cash for you to live forever.

If you need/want more than that then roll it up into some good cash flowing investments.

Have fun, and good luck!

JW Hagarty

 

[MarkLucas]

What are the possibilities of creating a spinoff product or service that could be less hands-on?

It seems that if your business is earning roughly $200k/month, you've likely got a large audience that is quite pleased with what you offer currently. Is there an info-product or automated system that could be pulled from your expertise is this area and initially be marketed to your current customer base, and then to a larger market based on the success of those initial sales?

Well, based on the way I'm running my business, I'm actually doing affiliate marketing, so I don't have contact to all the users I already have, only to new ones. And honestly, they are only interested in gambling.. I can't seem to figure out what else I could offer them.
Only thing I could possibly sell would be my affiliate accounts on all the gambling sites I promote, but I doubt I could sell them for a reasonable price worth the sale.

Is this money "under a mattress" or is it above board, declared, and spendable?

If it is mattress money its not going to be able to work for you.

If it is already declared and tax paid then you need to put it to work.

If you haven't read the Fastlane book go back and read it, at least the section on funding your lifestyle.

If a $100K/year lifestyle is all you need then you are set, any simple bank account or mutual fund will spit out enough cash for you to live forever.

If you need/want more than that then roll it up into some good cash flowing investments.

Have fun, and good luck!

JW Hagarty

It's 100% declared and tax paid, but I was just wondering if 100k/year would be a decent lifestyle...
I have no clue, since I'm moving with my parents at the moment, and I'll only move out next year probably..
And for the person who asked, I plan on having a wife (I'm with my gf for 2 years) and 2 kids

Oh, and according to the 3% thing, it would get me 130k/year.. or if I withdraw 4%, 174k/year..
My main concern is about inflation..

 

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[valuegiver]

Australian bonds, physical gold, physical silver, cattle, and land.

 

[MarkLucas]

Only a business can keep up with inflation - either running a successful one or hitching a ride as an investor on a successful one.

My opinion only. Best regards.

In fact, I don't agree with this.. Inflation rates aren't THAT high, so I'm pretty sure investments in bonds and stocks could easily beat inflation.. The thing that worries me is how much does it go over inflation? My plan would be to live on that number..

 

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[Rickson9]

In fact, I don't agree with this.. Inflation rates aren't THAT high, so I'm pretty sure investments in bonds and stocks could easily beat inflation.. The thing that worries me is how much does it go over inflation? My plan would be to live on that number..

I consider "investments in stocks" as investing in businesses. My opinion only.

Best regards.

 

[laicy]

Hey guys
However, it probably won't have a big lifespan, meaning it could completely shut down in 6-12 months.

I am curious, what's the reason? Because FBI is shutting down poker sites?

 

[buckmajor]

I am curious, what's the reason? Because FBI is shutting down poker sites?

Is that for every poker site? Oh....FBI only exist in the USA lol. Maybe the law applies to most countries differently

 

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[charleswalker36]

Congrats on your success, that is awesome!

As far as retiring, I don't think I could ever just "not do anything" at that age, hell even 30, 40 years old. I think you could be smart and live comfortably on what you have but why not continue to do things that made you successful? The only difference is that you do things when and how you want and at your pace.

^^ I was thinking the same. 22 is not retiring age. You can just continue & be more successful. Yes if you feel take a break. Travel a lot if you like it. Have fun. Enjoy life in your way. Then start again. Invest your money smartly. Get professional help for it.

 

[MarkLucas]

I'm gonna start next year on my path to becoming a professional violinist, like I always dreamed of (I was scared to do so before because of the lack of remuneration)!
It's not retiring, but it's doing something I love!

 

[oddball]

What happened with your business? Just curious for an update, its been a while since this thread was started.

 

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[MarkLucas]

Well, after earning around 5M USD, it started declining gradually, and nowadays it's generating around 30k / month still.. but I think in the next months it will be all gone

 

[Mexidan]

Still not willing to share a link?
Very curious.