
A Google employee lives in a truck and saves 90% of his income (2015) - LopRabbit
http://www.businessinsider.com/google-employee-lives-in-truck-in-parking-lot-2015-10
======
jwtadvice
Coworker at Fortune 500 does this. Old housemate at different Fortune 500 did
basically this (slept on the floor, only owned cardboard boxes, one week of
clothes and a car).

Both of these people are incredibly rich. One came from parents with oil and
financial sector money. The other has multiple real estate properties. Both
have six figure incomes.

Other people I know in the tech sector are less extreme, but nonetheless have
various plans for exiting the corporate world so that they can feel
financially independent enough to retire early and then work on problems they
find enriching/bring value to people rather than shareholders/etc.

Though one of them was obsessed with immortality and saving up for when
cryogenics and Kurzweil's singularity were figured out. So I guess it's not
all about the rat race for everybody.

~~~
lucaspiller
Becoming rich (assuming it’s not handed to you by your parents) isn’t about
how much you earn [0], but about how much you save. If you earn $120k/year,
but only spend $20k/year, after five years you will have half a million in the
bank.

The hard part is convincing yourself (and your family) that you don’t need to
go that resturant or you don’t need that new car. Obviously younger people
have the advantage here, as they typically have less attachments.

There’s a point where this can get a bit too extreme, but it depends on what’s
important for you. Having that house within walking distance of your office,
or cycling 10 miles to work and retiring at 35? If this is interesting to you,
take a look at the various financial independence/early retirement
communities.

[0] After a certain point, but I’d argue pretty much everyone working in tech
is there.

~~~
thesmallestcat
I hate to split hairs, but you'll take home about $80k on a $120k salary, so
the plan you've proposed would require over eight years of slumming it, not
five.

More on topic, imagine that you try to retire with $500k in the bank at 35.
Even if you're willing to slum it at $20k/year for the rest of your life,
you'll only make it to 60! And that's ignoring the elephant in the room,
inflation. With mandatory health insurance, $20k/year's going to be tough to
clear too. You're probably going to have to seek disability status to qualify
for government assistance at some point if you are fixed on the "early
retirement" goal.

Now, it's not like you're going to throw the $500k in a mattress. Surely some
combination of bonds, index funds and specie can spare you from the worst of
outcomes. I don't know about you, but all of this sounds like a mean and
tentative existence to me, babysitting a nest egg. There's not much wiggle-
room for taking risks, like starting a business that's more interesting than
"freelance programmer."

In summary, I doubt that one can retire early with any comfort off of a decade
of decent earnings. That's not really controversial, but it disagrees with
your financial advice, which I suspect is dangerous. I think it's a bit
irresponsible to suggest that somebody spend the prime of their life squeezing
out every last penny. I think it's unrealistic to suggest that the difference
in rent between a convenient walking commute and a safe, 10-mile bicycling
commute can equal the budgeting difference you've proposed. Lastly, you're
ignoring the opportunity cost of living like a monk when it comes to
professional networking, or more important things like having a varied and
healthy social life.

~~~
toomuchtodo
You can live on $24k/year from $600k in invested assets. With mandatory health
insurance, its income tested, not means tested; living on $24k/year means a
family's premiums will be heavily or fully subsidized (under current ACA law).

> In summary, I doubt that one can retire early with any comfort off of a
> decade of decent earnings.

It can be done.

"A Brief History of the ‘Stash: How we Saved from Zero to Retirement in Nine
Years"

[http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/09/15/a-brief-history-
of...](http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/09/15/a-brief-history-of-the-stash-
how-we-saved-from-zero-to-retirement-in-ten-years/)

"Getting Rich: from Zero to Hero in One Blog Post"

[http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/02/22/getting-rich-
from-...](http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2013/02/22/getting-rich-from-zero-to-
hero-in-one-blog-post/)

~~~
thesmallestcat
This guy and his wife are making $160k gross in 2003, and that's on the fifth
year. I plugged that into a .gov inflation calculator just now and got $216k
equivalent today! Some numbers are omitted, but they're nearing $200k by 2004
and certainly clearing it by 2006. Then when he "retires" he's pulling 50k
with a side business? Everything about this is misleading.

~~~
jonmb
Root of Good did it too with a modest income compared to Mr. Money Mustache.

[http://www.rootofgood.com](http://www.rootofgood.com)

Lots of people have done this successfully, making use of the "4% rule".
Though it's always helpful to have a fun side income.

------
adamnemecek
Local computer wiz digs food out of a dumpster and saves 100% on food. Walmart
hates him!

~~~
westmeal
One Weird Trick to Hack And Save Money

------
ckdarby
How does anyone ever sustain a relationship let alone hooking up with
something like this?

~~~
disposable_123
I really hope he finds a partner who appreciates such a sacrifice and attitude
!!!

------
cerealbad
a redesign of the internal space of personal transportation vehicles was
inevitable this century. flat-packed open-topped convertible electric mover
rented for sleeping, sex and middle journeys (500-2000 miles).

------
squegles
Old, from 2015.

~~~
5706906c06c
Where is Brandon now?

~~~
uiri
According to his most recent blog post[0] (last week!) he is working on a
different team in a different Alphabet subsidiary.

[0] [https://frominsidethebox.com/post/the-switch-
up/567040587648...](https://frominsidethebox.com/post/the-switch-
up/5670405876482048)

------
nnfy
I did something like this making six figures and working for a non tech
industry. My plan wasn't to retire early, but to save enough to quit for 1-3
years and work on my own ideas. I'm at the own ideas part and things are going
well.

I had acquaintances who didnt understand why I lived so far below my means.
But most people reluctantly agreed once I explained my plan.

Worst case if this all comes to nothing I can go back to a job.

For perspective, I did this in Houston, was able to buy a house and have a
social life. Lower living costs will push that six figures a lot further than
it would go in a place like SF.

------
Kuiper
For a similar story, see this MLB pitcher who lived in a van on a Walmart
parking lot (even after signing a $2 million contract):

[http://www.businessinsider.com/daniel-norris-lived-in-a-
van-...](http://www.businessinsider.com/daniel-norris-lived-in-a-van-2016-3)

------
sparrowtales
Anyone knows where this guy is from?

------
pvinis
Wasn't he fired?

------
pvinis
Don't you need an address for most things?

------
marsrover
I'm not sure I'd want information like this public. Doesn't seem safe.

~~~
jrockway
I doubt he keeps his savings in the truck, and very few people are going to
risk going to prison over stealing a bed and dresser.

~~~
ocdtrekkie
And his truck's parked in a _Google_ parking lot. Where you can assume almost
every inch of pavement is on camera. This is probably, disclosure included,
one of the safest places to live in the US.

~~~
Kuiper
From this guy's perspective, the biggest risk of publicizing his living
situation is that maybe someone on Google's legal team learns about it,
decides it's a liability concern, and kicks him out of the lot.

The article is from 2015 so kind of moot at this point.

~~~
ocdtrekkie
FWIW, for the same reasons above, it's safe to assume nobody lives on Google's
campus without Google knowing about it. (And of course, the article mentions
Google security checked out the trailer.)

Google's employee perks are heavily built around the idea of keeping their
employees on campus as much as possible, an employee living there is almost
arguably the penultimate goal.

------
transverse
This is not so easily done in a cold or hot climate where air-conditioning or
heating are needed. It is the reason why most people outside of the SV bubble
can't do it.

~~~
deckar01
You would need to buy a refrigerated truck to pull this off in the south.

~~~
transverse
Yes, and a heated+refrigerated truck for most of the north. It would be
unacceptable to have the engine running the whole time. I think it's doable in
theory with a truck that has giant electric batteries, e.g. a Tesla Powerwall
or two. Maybe a specialized RV cwould have it.

~~~
T2_t2
Or a diesel generator. But that's an ongoing vs capital cost question I guess.

~~~
transverse
Diesel exhaust is never good for you. It also risks being noisy. The noise
attracts unwanted attention too.

Imagine an RV with sufficient batteries that can be charged at an electric
fast charging station. That's all you need, but I don't think it exists.

