SWIMfriend said:
Idea #1:
But here's another interesting idea on the total other end of the spectrum: work like a dog, just for...oh, the hell of it, or the discipline, or the whatever.
Have you ever thought that, even if you worked only a somewhat low-level job, but your EXPENSES were very low, that you could save up quite a wad of money in a relatively short time? So do that (and it's especially nice if you can live for free in your parents house). Get, like, at least two jobs. Eat CHEAP (cook your own food), and just WORK and save all the money.
The idea is NOT to save it up to spend. The idea is just....sort of TAKING A STAND. It's off the "psychological grid" because you're NOT intending to be a CONSUMER. It's like sucking money out of the twisted economic system we have.
Then, having a nice chunk of money, LOTS of possibilities would loom on the horizon. No kidding, if you REALLY busted your ass--even if your prospects were mediocre--you could probably sock away AT LEAST $70K over, say, two years. Probably more like $100K--this is working two jobs, with overtime, for two years, and having essentially zero expenses.
You could take that $100K and buy a HOUSE, and RENT IT OUT, and live (very cheaply) off the income (or there are other small businesses you can start with $100K).
I DO NOT INTEND to recommend that you should enter the "rat race" or the "hamster wheel." Because you're not SPENDING the money, it's...SUBVERSIVE somehow!
I am a bit confused about this. What do you mean by "the rat race"? You suggest he work like crazy and have almost no expenses (which almost seems like working for nothing). If you're working your nuts off and not even enjoying the money you earn, how is that not the rat race? If you're willing to work a zillion hours a week, why not just enter the rat race then, and make 3 times as much? In my experience, there aren't really any "easy" jobs out there. A job that pays less doesn't seem more likely to be a breeze. The important thing is to find a job that you actually want to do. If you like the job, then you won't mind putting in more hours. If you don't like the job, then you'll probably want to minimize your hours, and you'll consider your time off work to have a lot more value.
Also, be careful with saving. I come from a very frugal background. Saving can be an addiction. I think I might be addicted to saving. Once you start saving a little, you start saving a little more, then a little more, then you can't stop saving, and unless you're saving like everything you've earned, you feel like you're bleeding money. You'll become afraid to spend ANYTHING. You'll have money, but there's no point in having it because you're afraid to spend it. You just save and save and to what end? What's it for? It's not going to be there when you die, and you may or may not enjoy it more when you get older. You might not even live to old age.
I actually think loan and debt is a beautiful system. Yeah, you could work ridiculous long hours and spend nothing for 5 years and buy a house. Or, why not just work a regular, sane amount, and live a balanced life. You can still buy the house, but you'll just have to take out a bigger mortgage, and pay more interest.... but who really cares as long as it gets paid off eventually? You could still buy that house and rent it even if you've only put down a fairly small down-payment. The advantage is you can afford things that are way too expensive for you to buy at once. The loan allows you to live the lifestyle you want. The catch is you just have to pay back your lender extra interest, but again, if you're living the lifestyle you want, does the dollar amount really matter? And of course, lending itself is a profession that lenders can use to make their living. Both the lenders, and the buyers benefit from the system. The lenders benefit with money, and the buyers benefit by being able to buy things, or lifestyles they can't immediately afford. Of course, there is potential for the system to be abused, as the world learned in 2008.
Be careful about putting too much value on the exact number amount of money you have. The value of life itself is not measured in dollars. There are other things that have value. If you have enough to pay for living expenses, then I think people really should ask themselves what they want their money to do for them. If there's some goal you have for that money, then it's good to make enough for that goal. But to just earn more and more money for the sake of increasing the dollar amount.... it's not the best way to evaluate the value of your work and your life.
Plus, everyone is in a different situation. Some people are not in a position to make lots of money, no matter what they do. They may not have education, or profitable skills. In that case, some people may decide that no matter what they do, they aren't going to be wealthy, and then that person has to decide just how much they want to devote to their working life. Will it really matter if they make 30 or 40 thousand per year? Both numbers are pretty cheap anyway, yet both are probably enough to live off of. Would you rather spend 30 hours per week at work and earn that 30k, or spend 40 hours per week at work and earn the 40k? Depends on how much you like your job and your free time. How much value do you put on your non work life?
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