Top all-time · #12601
Root of Good
Personal blog · rootofgood.comeconomicscareer
Root of Good is a personal blog at rootofgood.com about economics and career. Since 2014, 6 different Hacker News readers have linked it 6 times. It is still writing: the last post was on 2026-09-15, and you can follow it by feed.
Too few sampled comments (5) to say how often HN recommends it.?
Why HN links it
HN readers link this personal finance blog for posts on early retirement, Social Security contribution caps and benefits, Roth IRA conversion ladders, and high savings rates.
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 5 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
Retired in 2013 at age 33. Life is Good.
What Hacker News says?
SS contributions cap out at around $143k (indexed with inflation). Beyond that, extra income has no impact on your eventual SS payout. Even below that threshold, returns on Social Security tax associated with higher income are pretty small once you meet the 40 credit threshold for any benefit[1]. [1]: https://rootofgood.com/early-retirement-social-security/
Comment linking /early-retirement-social-security/
on “Why I'm donating $150/month (10% of my income) to the musl Libc project (2019)”Submitted It’s possible to pay $150 in taxes on an income of $150K as a story · 42 points
HN discussion1. Housing: Rent is all about location, location and location including supply and demand. The rent is high in some places because a group of customers are able to pay that exorbitant price be it in NY, SF or Seattle. You draw higher salary for that in those big cities. And I agree that rent/mortgage is a major chunk of a white collar job income(typically middle class). 2. Healthcare: With Obamacare, I am pretty opt…
Comment linking /about/
on “Ask HN: What is really wrong with the US economy, really?”how about this guy: http://rootofgood.com/ seems like he had a more honest starting position also, caring about 3 kids is no joke
Comment linking /
on ““We quit our jobs, remortgaged our houses” – how passion made Cuphead a reality”There are actually a few ways to get money out of your 401k before the traditional retirement age. It involves rolling the funds over from your 401k into a traditional IRA, and then into a Roth IRA in what is sometimes known as a Roth ladder. Here's an article on it: http://rootofgood.com/roth-ira-conversion-ladder-early-retir...
Comment linking /roth-ira-conversion-ladder-early-retirement/
on “Ask HN: What are your long-term goals?”Root of Good did it too with a modest income compared to Mr. Money Mustache. 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.
Comment linking /
on “A Google employee lives in a truck and saves 90% of his income (2015)”