I got a friend who’s a trust fund baby. Although not admitting it himself, I know he can pretty much never have to set foot in an agency of employment. He doesn’t have to worry about whether he’s gonna get paid in the next year. He can move from place to place without thinking too much about how it will affect his other expenses.
He invested in stock using a small parcel of money he made through the sale of various “unmentionable items” (don’t ask – ‘cause I don’t know), and (up until the last year and a half), as trends predicted (or so he tells me), his stocks did very well.
As I get on with attempting to plan my own life and the pragmatic details that go with it (rent/food/expenses/future career options), I am sharply reminded of my friends good fortune and his ability to earn so differently from the rest of us.
He keeps reminding me that I’ll still be slaving away for some middle-aged man wearing a brown pin-stripe suit whilst he lives it up with his cronies.
I look in awe and amazment as one thought strikes my mind:
HOW THE HECK DO YOU EARN MONEY WHILST DOING NOTHING?
Are any fellow dopers able to do this? How do you manage to survive? Any ideas on how to earn some extra cash without the necessary extra work?
My hats off to those that can. It is a marvel of pure genius. Or my sheer stupidity.
To take the thread title literally, I have made money for sitting on the can, sort of. I was doing some work editing some databases a while back and I did a lot of it from home. Once or twice I took my printouts and my red pencil with me when I was on the throne. Made me feel like a king for real.
I’ve got a 21-year old roommate who’s going to be a millionaire by the time he’s 40 whether he goes to college, gets a nice job, or just sits on his can all day. He inherited a huge sum of money that’s been graduating year after year in a bank account after his mother died.
I mean, geez–I don’t begrudge him the ‘fortune’ of losing a parent…maybe it’s just because I never really got along well with mine, but it sure makes -me- a little jealous, since I’m constantly living month-to-month without trying to get myself kicked out onto the street…
I was working on a hospital wing addition making aboot $33.00 per hr.
I used to tell the guys: “Hey, I need to use the can, I’ll be about 15min, in that time I’ll have made about 8 bucks,my crap is worth more than the lunch that made it”
I have a friend who’s the same way. He’s a 23 year old college graduate who gets paid to sleep and watch TV all day. He has a decent car, his own place, but no job. One day I got curious about him… Hmm… this guy drives a nice car and lives alone at 23 which is rare, especially here in the S.F. Bay area where we have to rent air. How the HELL is he affording all this? Easily, his parents pay for it all. This really drives me nuts. When he told me he lives off mommy and daddy, I wanted to reach across the table and crush his skull. He’s a nice guy and I like him a lot, but how DARE he sit on his ass for a living while I struggle to pay for freakin’ food?! Arrgh!! Then I got curious about what he does all day. He doesn’t have a job, he’s done with school, so what does he do? Oh, nothing. Play golf, watch TV, go up to Tahoe, whatever… all on his parents’ dime, mind you. I want to live his life. It’s not fair.
Feh. Come to Boulder. There’s an entire subculture here of TFB’s.
I worked with a guy (three kids, wife doesn’t work) who got laid off and he was out of work for 18 months (!) and one day we went golfing and he picked me up in a brand new Lexus SUV. Still had the dealer plates on.
Oh, well, luck of the draw, I guess…
Just don’t let them run for City Council like they do here. It is amazing how badly a bunch of people who have never needed to work for a living can screw up a city. (Or maybe not)
I know I would get into a serious depression if I had NO LIMITS, no challenges, no worries. I think it’s natural for a person to stop apprectiating items or even leisure time… when there is no limits to them.
I would grow so bored that I would develop neurosis… I’m sure of it.
Will he ever have get that feeling of accomplishment, will be ever feel really needed, will his intellect ever be appreciated, can he tell who is a true friend??
I think your life seem flavorless when ALL your time is leisure time.
Every time the lotto jackpot gets huge, I contemplate a life of leisure, but I can’t imagine not having to work! I can retire in 7 years, and even that seems weird to me - not having to rise at 5 and face the cold, cruel working world. I’m really curious to see what it will be like.
I feel sorry for those who have never had to earn what they get. I have a cousin who married for money - BIG money. She hasn’t a clue. I think her daughter is similarly out of the loop. Sweating isn’t just what you do in the sauna.
Well ya know technically speaking, if you have money invested like your retirement plan or money in the bank you’re making money while ‘enriching’ the soil.
My second cousin became an orphan at 18 months after a grisly car accident. Whatever money that came from the insurance settlement went into an account and sat until he was 21. And that’s a lot of time to grow. But you know, he was a great kid. He went to college and pledged his dad’s fraternity and worked hard. When he graduated and got the money, he and his friend started their own guiding business in CO. He had the money to buy all the gear they needed. What I like is that he didn’t just spend it on stupid crap.
Taking the OP more literally, my husband just started a job where they’re all telecommuting. Right now it’s a lot of conference calls and collaboration via NetMeeting, mostly where he’s just listening because he’s not one of the main developers. So he wears a cordless headset and listens most of the day. When he has, er, business to attend to, he just mutes it.
