Our generation's lack of work ethic and money skills.

[PrinceofWands]

Two things:
1. I completely skipped over the "100+ hours/wk" thing the first time I posted in this thread. I call shens. That's over 14 hours a day, every day. If you are ever doing that for more than a day or two, I don't know how you wouldn't hate your life.
2. This is an entirely different discussion if you're talking about salaried jobs or OT-capable jobs. Anyone who works 100+ hours/wk on a salary is just an idiot. Anyone who works 100+ hours/wk on OT is making a ton of money, but doesn't have any time to actually enjoy it. You're going to get burnt out pretty quickly. But you aren't an idiot - at least you're getting compensated for it now, before you die from exhaustion like the South Korean marathon gamers.

I did 16 1/2 per day without a day off for about 6 weeks straight. It's doable, just not smart or enjoyable.

 

[Cerb]

programming, my friend. programming.

Been there, done that, had my Office Space moments--that movie was funny before, but after, it was an experience. Today, what they want as far as jobs on the open market is just crazy, to the point that I'm sure at least half of them are published for the sake of saying they tried to find someone outside, even though it was already filled.

I've have several short stints of work that I've enjoyed much more, and were great for my health (I really enjoyed data gathering, FI, and it turns out my denseness/stoicism is actually a benefit, when interviewing people who'd rather be doing something else ), but none has managed to turn into anything substantial. Most people I personally know in my demographic are in either the same boat, or stuck at crappy jobs.

 

[JMapleton]

How many hours a week do you work then?

Over the course of a year, I average around 50 hours a week. But I work overtime only about 3 months out of the year, so for those 3 months I'm workin 80+ hour weeks and the rest of the year I'm working 40 hours.

Most of the year I'm enjoying myself, but when the overtime signal calls, it's like the bat signal. I put on my overtime baller uniform and get to work.

 

[JS80]

Shens

Don't worry inflation will bring him out of retirement.

 

[JS80]

Last time I worked 100 hour weeks we sold the company I got paid a $50k bonus and cashed my options for a couple hundred grand.

 

[brianmanahan]

I put on my overtime baller uniform and get to work.

lol im pretty sure you are related to alky

 

[JMapleton]

Last time I worked 100 hour weeks we sold the company I got paid a $50k bonus and cashed my options for a couple hundred grand.

You forgot the part where you went home that night and slept with your supermodel girlfriend, which coincidentally has perfectly portioned elbows and knees.

 

[brianmanahan]

Don't worry inflation will bring him out of retirement.

thats why you invest substantial assets in tips and ibonds, lol

 

[JS80]

thats why you invest substantial assets in tips and ibonds, lol

Lol you think .gov won't rig it so they don't pay to real inflation

 

[JS80]

You forgot the part where you went home that night and slept with your supermodel girlfriend, which coincidentally has perfectly portioned elbows and knees.

Some of us made choices in life that didn't relegate us to working loser hourly jobs and thinking making $30k is riach

 

[brianmanahan]

Lol you think .gov won't rig it so they don't pay to real inflation

well, corporate + treasury + municipal bonds too

i guess i havent gone full tinfoil turban yet like you

 

[HamburgerBoy]

The middle class is known to be the hardest working in that there are no large payouts through financial aid or easy money by already being wealthy. I don't see how you can generalize the middle class as slothful so easily.

"large payouts through financial aid", lol.

I know that many do work hard, i.e. the engineers that don't dream of a career of Mathcad 40 hours a week, the lawyers that realize a 3.0 GPA business Bachelor's and third-tier JD won't net $$$$$$, etc, but many of them are spoiled and only have their high standard of living because the government holds the monopoly on who gets to be a citizen, and right now only the most menial of positions are allowed to be substituted with mass immigration.

 

[JMapleton]

Some of us made choices in life that didn't relegate us to working loser hourly jobs and thinking making $30k is riach

Don't make assumptions about what I make or what I may or may not own.

 

[PrinceofWands]

Last time I worked 100 hour weeks we sold the company I got paid a $50k bonus and cashed my options for a couple hundred grand.

I got a raise to $9/hr and one day off. LOL

 

[EliteRetard]

Where are you staying in Japan for 3 months? And what are you doing so that you're basically doing it for free, maybe even making money by adding to savings? Just curious.

I'm staying in a house (shrek-watta) near Musashiseki station in Tokyo. I've got internet here. Started trading metals (base and precious) and making investments. I was working but after being treated like shit there for six years I started to realize how stupid it really was. I wasn't even getting paid a fair wage ($25K/yr before tax). During most of my time there I was running both shifts and trying to train somebody to take the first shift. Couldn't ever get anybody to stay for long. Come to find out, the people I was training were getting paid much more than me (30% +). Even then they didn't want to deal with the crap. They finally fired me (when they bough out the competitors and merged the employees in) and I've been free ever since.

My original purchase of physical gold was less than $5K and it was triple when I sold it after being fired. I managed my own 401K as well, and I put in maybe $3K over the six years I was there, it was quadrupled by the time I left. I seem to have a knack for money and an eye for value. I make about $1200 a month now without working. Admittedly I'm spending nearly $1K a month renting the place here in Tokyo, and food and such is costing me money...but they limit foreigners to 90 days so Ill be fine. I can bring in more than $1200/month if I try.

In America I find it easy to live well for under $1K/month so my investments can grow. The area where I was working, rent was $700/month or more for even the shittiest ghetto places...so I was pretty poor. Now that I can move around whenever wherever I can find nice places for much less. With the housing bust you can even get a damn near new home for $500/month or even less (and not just in Detroit).

Personally I don't mind living out of a car either... I've always liked seeing nature and camping out is enjoyable to me. A couple bucks to stay in a national forest or whatnot seems like a deal to me. The everglades were pretty cool, and they are slowly going away (just like the ice caves on Mt Rainier...I got to see those before they melted many years ago).

 

[EliteRetard]

Shens

Its obviously not something most can do, but I am young, free of work, and currently have enough income to do what I wish. Id love to say you can do whatever you put your mind to, but that's untrue in America. You just gotta get lucky or something or be crazy smart...book wise I've forgotten most of what I learned in school, but I seem to have the thing they used to call common sense. Its very rare nowadays...and seemingly impossible to teach. So I say I'm smarter than most, but its probably a lot of luck as well. No matter how little you make, if you have the UN-common sense and maybe a little luck, you will eventually be free though. You might not be able to do it as quickly as I did, but you can do the same.

 

[EliteRetard]

I don't know how you do it. I would kill myself if 1 day worth of clothes was a penny less than $500. My shoes were hand-crafted by artisan shoe makers in China; I paid $26,000 for them

I know some people just like this in real life. Funny how they can drool over a $100 pair of Levis jeans, but you show them a pair on sale for $15 and they'll shit in your face and do everything in their power to tell you how horrible and uncool you/they are. Same company and material, but it costs less because its not advertised to the younger generation. A thin white t-shirt is $40 if it has a small famous younger generation logo printed on it. I can get a higher quality t-shirt for 5-10$ and have it custom printed for another 5-10$ to look exactly the same and they'll bitch about how the materials are different and the cotton doesn't "feel" the same. Its a better version of the same thing for less...but its completely unacceptable simply because it costs less. And fuck no, they'll simply die if they have to wear it plain unprinted. Their vanity gods will smite them!

 

[EliteRetard]

Wouldn't be impossible. Say you graduate college at 22 and live with your parents until 30. Eight years of salary/raises may average to $75k in a decent job/area. That might be $55k after taxes. That's $440k after 8 years. If you can (and want to) live really cheaply and make some great investments I could see it. I don't think your average person would ever be able to do it though.

Never went to college, massive waste of money. Started working at 16 and worked for 12 years, 6 at one and 6 at another. Never made more than $25K a year, and I've lived on my own since 16.

 

[JS80]

Don't make assumptions about what I make or what I may or may not own.

You've given plenty of information to deduce you don't make jack shit.

 

[JS80]

well, corporate + treasury + municipal bonds too

i guess i havent gone full tinfoil turban yet like you

All at bubble prices and low yield which inflation will assrape. You dumbs kids these days...

 

[EliteRetard]

And it would all be gone in 10 years unless you plan on being homeless and never owning a car.

You don't seem to have the intelligence to understand, but you can get a very nice car for under $5K. My first was a bit of a junker t-bird for $700, somebody hit it in the driveway and I got insurance for more than I paid. A little repair and I sold it, earning a net profit on it. My second was a Chrysler LHS with leather seats and power everything. Nice V6 and 30+ MPG highway, under $5k after tax license etc. Bought a nice '73 F-250 with a 390 4 barrel and 30K miles (engine/drive train) on it for $500 from a friend. Drove the LHS for 8 years as my daily driver...it developed a weird issue and I began looking for another nice car, found a Mercury Cougar with 40K miles and got it for $3500. Drove that until I got fired, and got myself a 2001 Ford Focus SE wagon for $1900. It needed some repairs, so I spent maybe $3K including some nice new high performance tires for it.

Drove that across America and Florida (that's why I got a wagon) and back. Runs great and it gets 34MPG highway. I still have most of the cars, I gave the truck to my sister...shell use it for what it was intended much more than me. I tried selling some cars before I left for Japan, but people like you refuse to buy nice used cars (50K miles!!!). That's why I got my Cougar so cheap, nobody else wanted it. Same with the LHS and Focus (that and the Focus did need repairs).

Rent can be expensive in places, I know where I was working it was expensive. But I got a clue and realized most of my income was going to rent. How stupid is that? I left when I got fired and I can find many nice places to live for very cheap. $500/month or less easy. 2-3 bedroom 1,000 sq ft or more 2000 or newer.

Food? How hard can that be, even 1lb of meat a day at $3/lb is only $90 a month. I don't eat that much meat, vegetables are healthier and more filling (more nutrient dense). I can eat fantastically well for under $200 a month.

I don't waste resources like water and electricity, my utilities were always around $100/month including phone and internet. You can easily get free (or stupid cheap) energy efficient bulbs and shower heads (1 GPM). There's simply no excuse.

I can buy 3-4 pairs of jeans and a similar number of shirts for $200 and they last a few years, get some nice jackets for 20-50$ each and they seem to last forever. I've still got a nice leather jacket I got on sale for $50 like 6-7 years ago and its in good shape (I even wore it to Japan, just in case it was cold). A lightweight windbreaker and a medium weight waterproof. Got a big poofy winter jacket with hood as well. All many years old well used yet in good shape and all were reasonably priced. Socks and undies are cheap.

I don't have to make a stupid commute every day, so I don't need to worry about gas...but even a trip across America was only like $600 total cost (fuel oil tire wear etc). As long as you can make somewhat intelligent choices, you can easily live well for under $1K/month in America.

 

[EliteRetard]

I'd believe it more if he DID buy property and was using the unit for rental income, plus accumulated a huge amount of savings to live off the interest.

Speak of, you have to be stupidly rich to have your savings afford you an actual income. Out of my ass, 10% annual returns on a million is $100k, which is doable. Find a stable 10% investment is a different story.

Making a million by age 30, I assume you did college and started working by 22, so 8 years. Investment banker or super IT?

TROLOLO another person who cant comprehend living great on $12K a year. I understand your to weak to open your own candy bars but you don't need to pay somebody to do it for you, you can just ask somebody to open it for free when you buy it.

I currently have $25-30K cash, I can access instantly or just a few days. The rest is invested, some long term. Yeah just walking along and tripping over something to give you 10% return is damn near impossible, but I'm smart enough to make things happen on my own. I wont say how much I have or what my return is, but I did get lucky and make some fantastic returns very quickly. Much thanks to the recession where many were throwing away treasure and most were selling everything at stupid low rates. I guess not to many can understand "buy low sell high", it is four words.

Interestingly enough, I come from a previously poor family...we literally lived in an old bus for a while and ate out of dumpsters. Four kids, for a total family of six. I know when I was a kid I didn't like much of what my parents did or made me do, but now I'm quite thankful they worked so damn hard to get me what I had. Most parents in America today would just drown or club their children to death...throw them in a dumpster or abort them. My parents made some mistakes but they learned from them, and worked damn hard to make up for it. I think I'm quite fortunate to have had that experience...though most people seem appalled.

You'll live a miserable life because you only make $100K, far less than you need to be a "rich" man. You'll never be able to "keep up with the Jones'". Me, Ill live fantastically well...eat great, go have fun, see places, do new things, wear good quality comfortable clothes, enjoy music, etc and Ill do it for a tenth of what you make because its easy to do. I do think it would be great if everybody could understand this, but somehow most can not.

 

[EliteRetard]

Don't worry inflation will bring him out of retirement.

Even if it were 6% (double the average) Id still be doing OK. Actually some of my investments would benefit from inflation (they were made with that in mind).

And who says I only invest in America? This country is snowballing downhill...so many stupid people here its amazing. I'm certainly not putting all my chips on that number.

 

[EliteRetard]

For those who would like to retire early, learn how to live inexpensively. Instead of working 10 hours OT each week for an extra 100$ how about spending that time researching good deals? Find a house to share or split rent, find a ghetto apartment to rent for $300 less a month...so what if you have to listen to ranchero music until 2 am you'll get used to it. Stop making payments on that stupid new BMW, cut your losses and get a nice cheap reliable used car. Stop with the trips to Starbucks, that could be costing you a hundred or more every month. Shop sales for food and simple quality clothes, consider certain refurbished/used items. Look for deals on energy efficient bulbs and showers...I see them all the time, trade in incandescent for fluorescent, or instant rebates from the energy company, heck you can even try checking for your energy companies website. Once youve found the good deals, you won't need nearly as much time to find them again later on. Do what you can to reduce your expenses in every category and start saving the money. Even if you just stick it in a basic 1-3% cash account for temporary. Then take some time to start researching better ways to invest. The time is usually much better spent than some crappy OT at work, that just increases the taxes you need to pay. Instead of wasting all your time energy and brainpower for somebody else, start shifting some of that thinking for yourself. You can continue to use more and more of your energy for yourself, even if your not good with money you should be able to find a way you can become self reliant. Some people just don't have a brain developed enough to think for themselves so they are always stuck working for the man doing what society says they should do etc. If you cant find any other way, I don't see any problem taking advantage of these zombies...its easy to manipulate people who can't think for themselves (60% or more of America).

EDIT:

I guess I should point out, all these cost cutting measures are temporary... I'm assuming you don't have a pool of cash to work with so you need to bite down, take a hit, and live what society calls a "shitty" life so you can start building a pile. It might take a while (depending on how much you really cut back) but once you've got the pile big enough you can jump the fence to freedom. Just need enough to get out of where you are, not everything you'll need for the rest of your life.

 

[DaWhim]

For those who would like to retire early, learn how to live inexpensively..................

there is a word for this, frugality