
CS 007: Personal Finance for Engineers – Stanford University 2017-20 - Anon84
https://cs007.blog/
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jasonjei
I saw there’s a topic on compensation, and I think this is perhaps one of the
most important topics for engineers in the Bay Area.

I rarely run into an engineer with budgeting issues, but more often than not,
I run into an engineer who has taken a compensation offer that is less than
ideal at an early stage company. I think it’s great that there is a whole
topic on compensation. I think the equity side is super complicated for small
companies and in many cases, cash is king unless an engineer really believes
the idea is going to be a home-run success...

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neonate
It seems to me a bad sign for computer science that this is part of the
curriculum. It shows what the degree is really about, and when a field becomes
about that, it is decadent.

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Bostonian
Stanford costs about $275K for 4 years. Of course students and their parents
spending this kind of money care a lot about the financial payoff.

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dannykwells
The sticker price of Stanford is not what it actually costs most students.
Stanford is a zero loan school. Students do not graduate with debt.

And also, then, why is this class not for everyone?

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harikb
I think there should be a section on stock options, what happens to your
options on subsequent rounds of funding. Similar to how the new law makes it
illegal for employers to ask about salary history, it should be engrained in
engineers to ask about equity options and how much percentage of the company
they own and the associated risk.

A story like this
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21358531](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21358531)
could be a case study.

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tunnuz
How would one go about attending this course without being enrolled?

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xwdv
If you live near the campus you can just go in and sit in the back and no one
will really care. The paper is what you pay for the knowledge is free.

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dang
A thread from 2017:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15786703](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15786703)

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jtchang
Pretty solid all around. Would benefit anyone not just engineers. I like how
the included a lecture on real estate.

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wil421
I see a net worth video.

How important is net worth? My wife and I had about $200k net worth until we
bought a house. Now it’s probably the same amount but negative after the house
purchase. We max out our 401ks and employee stock purchase. Our mortgage and
car note is below the 30% suggestion.

It will probably be 5-8 years or more until it’s positive again.

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thfuran
Buying a house shouldn't make your net worth go negative (unless it massively
depreciates, I guess). The mortgage balance is debt, but it's backed by the
value of the house.

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wil421
Thanks I’ve been watching videos on YouTube about becoming a millionaire in
retirement. They say mortgages and car payments are bad in any form.

To them any debt is bad no matter what it is and drags down their calculation
of becoming a millionaire. Their calculation for net worth is all savings
minus any form of debt.

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sersi
Car payments and mortgages are very different things. A car payment is a loan
for a depreciating asset. So even after you finish repaying your car, at the
end you have an asset that's worth much less than what you paid for it.

A mortgage is different, by getting a mortgage and buying a house, you build
up your assets with every payments you make, it's often better than paying a
rent and not getting anything in the end... The main difference between a car
and a house is that the house generally doesn't depreciate, which is why a
mortgage can be a good investment.

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appleiigs
No, car payments and mortgages are very much similar things. Excluding the
land, your house depreciates. You have to spend money to maintain both. The
rent expense goes to the landlord, and the mortgage interest goes to the
banklord. Rent is often cheaper, saving you money. And the savings can be
invested and grow in value. You get that in the end.

