Tag: income

how to make money without a job and why you should

 

Spend less than you earn is the wrong way to think! Your time will be much better spent thinking of more ways to make money than it will be thinking of ways to save money. Chances are good if you read this blog that you’ve already given some thought to alternative income, but let’s back up.

“It is better to have a permanent income than to be fascinating.” - Oscar Wilde

Everyone has a primary source of income. Usually it is a traditional job - an employer who asks them to show up from 9 am to 5 pm, file a TPS report and pay an ungodly amount of taxes for the privilege of being laid off in a restructuring when the company misses earnings estimates by $0.01. Income can also come from self-employment, a small business, unemployment checks, a pension, or hundreds of other primary sources. Alternative income - which is sometimes referred to, incorrectly, as passive income - can come from rental properties, royalties, investments or other sources. All of these sources could also be primary income to someone but usually these are income streams that people receive in addition to their primary income. To be truly rich one thing is certain: for every ’stream’ of income you have, you should have an alternative. Alternative income is the key to wealth.

Most people have a single source of income. They work for employer Megacorp or Wal-Market and receive a paycheck. Some people may have a trickle of investment income, or occasionally sell something on eBay and then give up after a few sales, but a large number of people consider catching up on the final season of NBC’s beloved quirky comedy “The Office” a better use of their time than trying to earn more money after a tiring day in the office. Their goal is to get by on minimum work, minimum income and maximum “down-time.” Alternative income seems like a lot of extra work to these people, and extra work isn’t what anyone wants.

However, there are many advantages to finding alternative income, not the least of which is being able to get rid of your primary income stream. Having alternative streams of income means that no one stream can direct your life. Do you think you could tell your boss you were going to quit at the end of the month if your wage is your only source of income? Not unless you had an offer letter from your next ex-boss ready. But what if you had 15 streams of income? What if no single stream accounted for more than 10% of your total income? You could do a constant analysis and drop underperformers. You could drop streams that were inefficient, or frankly just made you blue. This is why being a consultant is better than being an employee, and why owning a business is better than being a consultant, and why creating content is better than owning a business - ease of adding and dropping income sources. Consultants and businesses and especially content creators can have more than one ‘employer’ at a time. No one ‘employer’ becomes critical for putting food on the table.

There are two more advantages to alternative income besides diversification of income sources. First of all is the expansion of skills. Creating an income stream from a website you create or eBay sales or a small business is a completely different skill set than being a financial analyst, for example. Not better, not worse, but different. Even blogging about financial analysis is a different skill set than being a financial analyst. Every time you create a new revenue stream, you are expanding your skill set. You are learning something new, and making it that much more likely that you’ll be able to add further income streams.

This leads to the greatest advantage of alternative income streams of all. This is the viral nature of alternative income. For the first 10-12 years of my working life, I never thought there was any point in worrying about income past my wages and a quarterly trickle of dividends from my stock holdings. The truth is that when you start thinking about creating alternative income you’ll find out that something funny happens. Your ideas will snowball. That first idea will spawn two more, and they’ll each create two more. You’ll get excited the first time you make a few dollars that didn’t come from your employer. You’ll see opportunities everywhere and even though many won’t work out, some will. The one that does will give you a lead to another stream. That stream will inspire you to create another. You won’t be content to sit back and wait for your corporate payroll department to mail you that never-changing check every two weeks. You’ll want more, and by wanting more you’ll find more. Once you understand that alternative income is the only way to real, long-lasting wealth every idea you have could be the start of something amazing.

So even if you come up with an idea for generating an extra $10 a month, don’t sneer at it. That $10 a month idea may someday serve as the basis for a $100 per month idea. That $100 stream may help you gain the skills and experience you need to have for a whole new stream that generates $1000 per month. If you see where this is going, you see the possibilities. Keep an eye out - you never know when you’ll come up with the next small idea that could turn out big!

This post originally appeared, in slightly modified form, as a guest post I wrote on Lazy Man and Money. He’s all about alternative income, of course, which is the subject of this post, so his blog is a great place to brainstorm.

Photo Some rights reserved by stevendepolo

updating my financial goals, July 2008

Back in December, while participating in the Carnival of Financial Goals started by Patrick of CashMoneyLife.com, I gave my 2008 financial resolution. I’m pretty happy about where I’m at with it now.


Creative Commons License photo credit: Tigr

Here was my resolution and how I intended to accomplish it:
I will average $1000 per month in alternative income in 2008.

More specifically, these were the SMART measurements I came up with to measure this.

  • Specific - I’m going to expand my alternative income through this blog, through writing freelance articles, through my investments (although those will be reinvested) and through my other blogs.
  • Measurable - In December I will look back, take the total of my non-wage income for 2008, and divide by 12. That number will be higher than $1000.
  • Actionable - I’m already started on this goal - this blog is earning nearly $0.03 per day, I have some dividend-and-interest-producing investments, and I have started submitting a few freelance articles here and there. I just need to increase the intensity of all of these actions!
  • Realistic - If you’ve read this blog for a while you know I believe that just setting a goal down to (figurative) paper means that you can achieve it, but even without that belief I’m sure that if I work hard enough at 10 different income streams I can manage to generate that much, or more, if I make it a resolution.
  • Timely - I will have a good idea if I’m headed in the right direction by February 1, but even if I earn $10 in January it just means I have to average $1090 for the next 11 months. I’ll have a moving target each month, and I’ll know on December 31 if I hit my goal or not.

I followed it up a couple of months later, pointing out that I had come up far short of that goal. I interviewed myself (yes, I actually did - it’s a slightly disturbing one-person two-sided conversation). At that point, I had made far, far less than my original goal.

Well, as Jack Nicholson said in Wolf, “The worm has turned and it is now packing an Uzi, Mary.” I spent some time focusing on this goal and a surprising thing has happened. I am now close to halfway to my goal of earning $1000 a month on average. Considering how badly I did for the first month of the year you can imagine that things have really started picking up. I’m not even counting dividend or investment income at this point.

So how did this happen? I’ll attribute it to three specific actions:

  • My network, The Money Writers, has provided some help with obtaining revenue (namely advertisers) but far more importantly they’ve helped with ideas, tips and support. This is a perfect example of the mastermind concept in action. I wouldn’t be where I am without these guys (and gals).
  • I reengineered the blog and its advertising. Instead of my previous throw-everything-at-the-wall approach, I stuck to about four categories of ads and studied what worked. I tried to eliminate some of my in-your-face ads but put more ads on older posts. I deemphasized or removed ads that didn’t work, rather than hoping they would generate trickles of income; the purpose was to keep the overall experience of reading fun.
  • And I am sure this final point appeals to half of you and disgusts the other half, but I really concentrated on attracting success; not just for this alternative income but in my overall financial life. I decided that from being positive and writing more about what I feel needs to be said - from my gut - success would follow. I hope it has, in the sense that I hope what you read continues to deliver more value to you (in terms of ideas and maybe even just some fun reading it) than it takes from you (in terms of time). Only you would know that! Otherwise, you’d go read CNN Money.

So I’m halfway there, after an awfully slow start. Later in the year I’ll also pull in other alternative income: totally independent (rather than contracting) consulting in a slightly different field, my work-in-progress book, dividends, referral fees that I mentioned before (I have “headhunted” some former colleagues into positions this year - one 60-minute phone call netted me a $2000 fee for one of them, for example). I have a lot of plans, and the only constraint I have is time. Scratch that… I watched 45 minutes of Star Wars II: Attack of The Clowns, er, Clones last night, so I have time. The only constraint I have is myself, and I’m working hard on not constraining myself in anything!

And to quote again from my interview article update: “Well, the playoffs WERE good. 17-14, baby.” Anything is possible, even beating “The Greatest Team in History.” Nothing is impossible. Nothing.

David Tyree New York Giants Super Bowl XLII

is college worth it? (part 1)

guinea pig reading a book

Based on a few recent comments on some of my articles about careers (this one, for example), I started wondering about the difference in wealth between college graduates and skilled non-college graduates. A college graduate can usually expect to go into the professional world as a “white-collar” worker, earning substantially more than his non-college graduate peers. However, the college graduate - unless he is very athletically or academically gifted - will probably come out of college with at least some student loan debt. He will probably start earning money several years (4 or more) later than a non-college graduate.

So I decided to do a comparison of the two career paths, and see what those big choices meant for someone later down the road. Specifically I wondered if I could answer a few questions:

  1. Can the late start in saving by the college graduate be overcome through higher salaries?
  2. Does the lower earning potential of a non-college graduate mean that the non-college graduate will be required to “work until they die”?
  3. Who will be able to quit the rat race first?

I made a lot of assumptions and put together a spreadsheet to try to come up with answers to some of these questions. I’ll cover that in part 2. I ignored a few things - I didn’t worry about inflation, for example, since it would affect them both equally. You could argue this is wrong, because inflation moves at different rates in different parts of the country, commuting costs (gas, etc.) might expose one or the other to more inflationary pressures, etc. I skipped that. I also assume that both are highly disciplined savers, always saving 10% of their income and getting decent returns over time. If, of course, both started saving as soon as they start earning and never reduce that amount, they would be in the .000001% of the US population that does so.

My findings were a surprise and weren’t a surprise to me. The main point of the exercise was for me to challenge my own personal context (a concept Robert Kiyosaki talks about a LOT in his book “Retire Young, Retire Rich“). My context is that smart people go to college and get desk jobs. My context is that wealth is created through earning as much as possible. I am trying to challenge my own prejudices about what “building wealth” and “escaping the rat race” actually mean to me. It’s interesting, because I don’t have much exposure to people who don’t subscribe to the “go to college, earn money” credo; but fortunately I’m learning more about the opposite mindset and it’s interesting for me. It’s too late for me to undo my decision to go to college for 7+ years. There were alternatives - I could’ve started a business and educated myself. It’s not too late for me to learn something new.

Stay tuned!

(photo by GirlReporter)

4 quick steps to building wealth

1. Find something you can do well and (at least moderately) enjoy doing.*
2. Do it.**
3. Try to save some of the money you make doing it.***
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3.****

I think that may be it. What do you think?


Creative Commons License photo credit: woodleywonderworks

* Notice I didn’t use a phrase like “doing passionately” or “doing because you love it.” You don’t have to love it, but you have to enjoy doing it enough that it is not annoying to you. If you love helping people, maybe working as a nurse’s assistant is enjoyable. If you have a passion for music, maybe owning a record store would be fun. If you have a love of football, maybe being a sports writer is enough. You don’t have to be Brett Favre, always “having fun out there.”

**It helps, obviously, if you enjoy investment banking or building fantastic dot-com startups instead of making rag dolls for the neighborhood kids. However, I don’t think you can discount loving doing it. If you want to make rag dolls, figure out a way to get rich doing it. Launch a rag doll company, or write a how-to on the internet. Somebody got rich on Cabbage Patch Kids, after all.

***As I’ve pointed out before several times you’re always better off thinking of more ways to MAKE money than SPEND money. At the same time, UNLESS you are investing in your wealthbuilding (spending money to increase your skills or education or to grow a business, etc.) you’re better off spending no more than 99% of your income. The difference between spending 99% of your income and 101% of your income is the difference between getting richer and getting poorer, any way you look at it.

****I hope that the general theme of wealth and ‘becoming rich’ doesn’t always come off as a crass pursuit of one more dollar. I realize, for example, I might have made a lot more money continuing to claw up the corporate ladder, but I felt so drained and lifeless doing it that I had to quit (see step #1). I like the idea of doing something more-or-less enjoyable, while making money doing it. It may sound childish, but if you work hard at something that makes you miserable you have to wonder whether you’ll be able to continue doing it well enough to succeed. Something you like doing - even something you just TOLERATE doing - is a better option. If you become wealthy doing it, so much the better; life is easier when you have a little money in the bank.

10 Tax Deductions You Don’t Want to Overlook

Millions of Americans overpay on their taxes every year.

Although some of these tax deductions are small, missing too many of them can add up to a lot of money. To make sure that you don’t make a costly mistake that could mean missing out on major savings opportunities, check out these 10 frequently overlooked tax deductions.

Out of Pocket Costs for Charity

While most people already know that they can deduct donations of cash or goods, many are unaware that they can also deduct all of their out-of-pocket expenses when they volunteer. This includes everything from transportation – including mileage, parking fees and tolls – to other travel expenses when away from home, such as meals and hotel stays. It is strongly recommended that you have good documentation to back up these expenses and that you never attempt to deduct an expense unrelated to charity.

Job Hunting

If you are actively seeking a new job, any expenses incurred during the search can be deducted. You are permitted to deduct money spent to send out resumes, including paper, ink and stamps. You can also deduct any internet expenses – such as posting your resume to different job sites – and any travel expenses sustained to and from interviews. It is important to note that you cannot deduct job hunting expenses for your first job.

Moving Expenses to Take a New Job

You can take this deduction even if you do not itemize. As long as your new job is at least 50 miles farther from your old residence than your previous job location was from your prior residence, you are allowed to deduct mileage and the transportation of your household goods to your new location.

Refinancing Points

If you buy a new home or refinance your current mortgage and buy points, you can deduct the cost of the points. If you purchased a home, you can deduct the cost all at once. If you refinanced, however, you have to take the deduction over the course of the loan.

Home Improvement Loan Interest

While most people claim interest on their home loan, many overlook interest paid on a home improvement loan. As long as the loan is intended for a major renovation, you will be able to deduct any interest paid.

Tax Preparation Fees

If you paid to have your taxes prepared or purchased software to complete your taxes, these fees are deductible. You can also deduct any fees associated with e-filing your tax return.

State Sales Tax

All taxpayers have the option to deduct state sales tax. Typically it only makes sense if you are living in a state that has no income tax because you have the option to decide between deducting state and local taxes or state and local sales taxes. For the individuals that live in states that have an income tax it is a no brainer to deduct that instead of the sales tax since it is likely a lot larger. This deduction may not save you a lot, but why pay uncle sam more than you need to.

Student Loan Interest Paid By Parent

If you are a parent and are paying back your child’s student loans, you can deduct the interest you paid, up to $2,500.00.

Transportation for Medical Visits

Many people forget to deduct transportation to and from doctor visits. You can deduct mileage if you take your own car, in addition to parking and tolls. If you take a bus or pay cab fare for transportation, those expenses are also deductible.

Jury Pay Turned Over to an Employer

If your employer paid your full salary while you served jury duty and you turned over your jury duty pay to your employer, you still have to report the jury duty money as income; however, you are allowed to deduct the amount that you turned over to your employer.

Tax laws are complex and constantly changing. It is very common for people pay more in taxes than they have to each year. If you feel you missed a large deduction in the past, consider filing an amended tax return. To file an amended tax return you have three years from the due date of the return that was filed. When filing your taxes, it is a good idea to use tax software or go to an experienced tax preparer to help ensure you take advantage of all the deductions that apply to you.

This guest post was provided by BackTaxesHelp.com, a website that helps taxpayers find the best solution to their tax problems. Visit their site and find more information on IRS levies, tax penalties and more.

3 Strategies to Increase Your Lifetime Earning Potential

Life is all about choices. One of the areas in life that the effects of the choices you make will quite possibly be some of the most pronounced is when it comes to income - making moola! Sure, we all know that determining to be a sidewalk artist is quite different than setting out on the career path to be a Doctor and choices made while one is young often have long lasting effects BUT are there different things that we can do at any age to improve our lifetime earning potential? I say yes. Here are 3 different strategies that if executed properly will almost always lead to an increase in your lifetime earning potential:

#1 Start a Business

Uh-oh. I can already hear the excuses starting to roll in: “Starting a business is just so risky!” Well, entrepreneurial risk might not be all that much riskier than employment risk - especially if you go about it in a way that minimizes risk (i.e. continuing to work your “day job” and starting your business on the side). “Starting a business just costs so much money!” Well, maybe if you are starting a company that manufactures things and needs a large warehouse and lots of expensive materials BUT it doesn’t have to. Many companies can be started with very little startup capital. Starting a business is a great strategy for potentially increasing your lifetime earning potential significantly. Don’t let excuses stand in your way.

#2 Load Up on Degrees and Credentials

We have all heard the oft bandied about stat that people with a college degree will make somewhere close to $1,000,000 more than their counterparts without a college degree but setting aside whether that is accurate or not the Wall Street Journal recently published an article highlighting the fact that college graduates are much more likely to KEEP their job in tough economic times than those without a college degree. How’s that for an increase in lifetime earning potential? Increased future earning potential studies aside for just one moment - no matter whether you are an entrepreneur who is your own boss or someone looking for a job - having credentials and degrees is one sure fire way to at least get your foot in the door. Degrees and credentials alone won’t earn the money for you but they may just earn you that interview with a potential employer or that business meeting with that potential investor in your business. Quiz! Answer quickly - if I am introduced to you as “Joel Ohman is a Certified Financial Planner™ with an MBA… blah blah” do you think differently about me (and what I might be about to say/write) than if I were simply introduced as “Joel Ohman is a computer nerd that owns a website … blah blah” ? Chances are that learning my credentials and advanced degree certainly won’t impress you or cause you to believe anything I say carte blanche but it will at least likely cause you to want to give me the time of day and potentially listen to what I might have to say in the areas of business, financial planning, etc. … right? … maybe? … is anyone still there? guys? 🙂

#3 Get Some Specialized Training

It’s pretty common sense that as your career progresses you should have the mindset of always wanting to be learning new things (yes, “Mr. I’m-still-learning-how-to-use-the-fax-machine”, I’m looking at you) but to take it a step further be sure and attempt to learn some kind of specialized skill set that will see an increased demand in the future. Easier said than done? Maybe, but a lot of things you can spot coming if you just pay attention. If your company is making the switch to a new computer system then be sure that you are soon seen as one of the experts in the new system. If you notice that your bosses, managers, and other superiors all have taken certain classes and you haven’t then - sign up for those classes!

What do YOU Think?

What are some other ways that one can increase their lifetime earning potential? About the Author: Joel Ohman is a CFP® and serial entrepreneur. In addition to the car insurance website mentioned earlier he also has been spending time lately working on a website with information on finding the best business credit cards. He is a first time writer at Brip Blap and recommends that you check out the recent post by Steve titled “How to Develop Good Habits”.

the passion of the hobbit

It’s a subject I waffle back and forth on – the idea that passion needs to rule your life. It seems obvious, of course, that you should have passion for your spouse, children… then maybe a bit less obvious but still reasonable to have the same passion for relatives, friends and interests. Even less obvious would be the very abstract things like country, career, sports teams and so on. If you’re passionate about something lower on the list like that – say, American Idol – reexamine your priorities. I was passionate about Buffy the Vampire Slayer and I recognize that it wasn’t a good direction for my passions. I got a lot of entertainment out of it but my life is exactly 0.0% improved because of it.

But if you can’t focus on something, it’s a shortcoming. In my case, I don’t have a lot of passion for my work. I view it as a mechanical activity that provides food, shelter, clothing and Netflix for the family. I wouldn’t view this as ideal, although I realize at the same time that 99.99% of the human population wouldn’t view sitting in a quiet, air-conditioned cubicle for 8 hours a day for an income in the top 1% of the planet’s population as a hardship. Many of the “seize your passion” bloggers do – they assume that everyone can seize their internet business bliss – nobody has to make the computer, only to live off of them.

But that’s fine – of course some can and some can’t. Whether any of us choose to do so is of course a choice; if you love taking care of horses and instead choose to pursue a career as an account receivable manager, you’ve made a choice. Whether you can live with it or not is the problem - many can, and a few can’t. I’d guess that the time when all of this questioning really came into play was when the social contract that said companies would handle retirement broke down. If I worked for IBM for 25 years and knew they’d take care of me during those 25 years, and after, I’d be a lot more inclined to give up on the need for passion. But nowadays, that’s not true; just recently a colleague of mine got laid off from a company he’d worked for over 20 years without even a thank you. Your future is not secure.

I realized all of this tonight while reading to my son. For about a week we’ve been reading a few pages of “The Hobbit” by J. R. R. Tolkien every night. I’ve explained the general story to him – a little hobbit goes with a bunch of dwarves to steal back their gold from a dragon – but I don’t have many illusions about how well a four-year-old can follow Tolkien’s esoteric prose. It’s not exceptionally complicated, but it’s not Goodnight Moon.

But tonight when I asked him if he wanted to try something easier, he said no. I asked whether he understood most of it, and he said no. I asked then if he wanted to stop, and he said no. I asked why, if he couldn’t understand all of it, and he gave me an answer that should make things clear (to paraphrase): I’m excited about it because you’re excited about it, Papa. He liked listening to it because I liked reading it. Something was in my voice that wasn’t there when I was reading Goodnight Moon or I’m A Truck.

Some of my fondest memories from childhood are of my father reading The Hobbit to me from the same book at a slightly older age. I remember being a little confused by the language and the complex plot, but loving the fact that my dad thought I was ready for something so amazing. That passion translates easily, and makes reading something like The Hobbit far simpler than struggling through Goodnight Moon for the 100th time. Sitting down at the desk in the corporate office for the 100th time is much like that; coming up with new ideas, starting new jobs or developing new ideas is much like picking up The Hobbit.

I don’t like to think that work – and through that, life – is bleak without purpose. It’s not; other things should put life in balance even if there isn’t purpose in one’s work. But work and parenthood and friendship and one’s relationship with parents, community, school and whatever else are, in fact, intimately tied up with passion. Without the passion to pursue something – church, charity, community, work, parenthood, etc. – life is going to be a little less exciting. Excitement is its own reward.

try something new, and links

I’ve been working on something with my son. It’s “try something new”. I have made an effort to convince him that he should try something new, and if he likes it, great, if not, fine. I’m mostly applying this concept to food but it’s relevant to things like trying new sports or ideas or so on. I realized this morning - while I was talking to him about the concept of trying something new - that it should apply to all of us. None of us should ever settle for stopping learning, trying, tasting, etc. But it’s easy to do. I quit REALLY trying new things years ago. Hopefully I can shake myself out of that pattern soon…

Here are a few of my favorite reads this week:

A Frugal Daughter’s Guide to Back to School Shopping: Always interesting to get a different perspective - like a daughter’s, for example.

Should You Refinance Your Mortgage? Rates Are Low, But It Is Still a Tough Decision: I’m leaning towards doing a refi. I’ve got a good rate but the rates are so low now that the benefits to refinancing seem almost too good to believe.

To mini-retire or not to mini-retire? Escaping the Mundane: Great tips on how to break out from the “ordinary” life.

New UK Kindle a tax on literature?: Interesting take on the Kindle. My Dad LOVES his Kindle. I plan to get one soon - basically once the WiFi version hits $100.

7 Habits of Highly Frugal People: I’m working my way through this book for the second time (The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People). I didn’t like it so much the first time I went through but now I appreciate it more.

Why 99% Of Financial Advisors Should Be Shot Out Of A Cannon Need Extra Cash? There Are Only 4 Ways To Get It: The fours ways to make money are: * Start a business * Work more * Passive income * Spend less This is a great summary to clarify your thinking. Alternative income won’t just materialize. YOU have to DO something.

And a few more links that are worth reading:

heat and links

Just in - it’s hot. The whole eastern US is hot. It’s interesting how extreme heat and extreme cold both have the same general effect on a family with small children - both extremes tend to make you stay indoors. We made it to the pool every day this week but one, but Saturday was hot enough that even the pool was unbearable. Good times.

So due to the heat, another one of my fairly abbreviated link roundups. In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a “what I’m reading online” box over on the lower right hand side of the front page of the blog that’s updated throughout the week. I consider that a bit of an add-on to this weekly post. Plus my “thoughts” tumblr blog and my twitter account usually have a few more links, too.

  • BlogCrafted — build the blog you want!: A good consulting service if you need help building a blog.
  • Download My Free eBook: Invest Like a Pro: A good eBook for investors from Generation X Finance - worth checking out if you’re interested in learning more about investing.

    • » The secret of education: An excellent and thorough breakdown of the value of higher education that makes reference to a post I wrote way back when, attacking the humanities and praising a practical education in the sciences (read both Jacob’s post and mine before you bash me, incidentally).

And more…

welcome to the real world

Trinity: Please just listen. I know why you’re here. I know what you’ve been doing… why you hardly sleep, why you live alone, and why night after night, you sit by your computer. You’re looking for him. I know because I was once looking for the same thing. And when I found him, he told me I wasn’t really looking for him. I was looking for an answer. It’s the question that drives us. It’s the question that brought you here. You know the question, reader, just as I did.

What is the secret to financial freedom?

If you are deeply in debt, or spending more than you earn to acquire stuff, you are living in a world that is less than what it could be. Corporations and consumer society have constructed an elaborate world that is filled with shiny things and toys and useless items. In this world, you are told that true happiness comes with the acquisition of things, that your attention should be focused on today, that tomorrow will take care of itself. In this Matrix, it’s always Black Friday and it’s always the Presidents’ Day Sale.

Morpheus: What you know you can’t explain, but you feel it. You’ve felt it your entire life, that there’s something wrong with the world. You don’t know what it is, but it’s there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad.

But just maybe, while making a call on your iPhone, driving your leased car wearing your latest fall fashions on your way to the mall on your one day off from your crushing commute and your boring job, you had a sudden thought. Maybe the world isn’t supposed to be like this. Maybe we weren’t all meant to be shopping units in the corporate world’s vast consumer Matrix. Maybe our happiness doesn’t come from owning CDs, or watching American Idol, or buying a Wii. Maybe there is another world - the real world - where your work and your life are one and the same because you love them both, where you can do what you want, when you want, where you have time to give to people and experiences, not just to commuting and working for a faceless employer. No, it’s not possible. Your neighbors look like they are doing fine, and they have lots of stuff, right? This is how it has to be. This is how it has always been.

Morpheus: I’m trying to free your mind. But I can only show you the door. You’re the one that has to walk through it. There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.

Maybe you’ve started reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad or Dave Ramsey or Your Money or Your Life. Other people are trying to show you the way out. The trouble is, you set down the book and remember “I need a new belt! I want to see “Avatar” 8 times!” Only you will start the journey out of the Matrix, and it will be difficult - there will be roadblocks everywhere: pricey restaurants, bigger homes, newer cars, fancier cell phones. The Matrix will do everything it can to keep you, because its existence depends on your continued function as a shopping unit. Without shopping units to generate power, the consumer Matrix will weaken. You have to stop, today. Put down your credit card. Stay away from the store. Cook a meal at home. Turn off the TV. Try to earn income a different way.

Neo: Why do my eyes hurt?
Morpheus: You’ve never used them before.


When you finally leave the consumer world, you’ll notice that your old behavior is now awful to consider. You’ll see credit card debt, still-functioning cell phones gathering dust in cabinet drawers, barely-worn clothes in the back of the closet, half-empty rooms never used in your house. Your eyes will hurt looking at all of this STUFF that you valued so much, because you never really SAW before.

Morpheus: Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?

The dream is the 9-to-5 world. The dream is a 3000 square foot home for a family of 4. The dream is a $400 per month car lease. The dream is an iPhone, a Wii, digital cable, the latest fashions. And the dream is a nightmare. You have to wake from that dream and realize that in the real world there is VERY little you need other than shelter, food, friends, family and basic clothing and entertainment. In the dream you have no time - but you can have all the time in the (real) world if you just wake up.

Neo: I know you’re out there. I can feel you now. I know that you’re afraid… afraid of us. You’re afraid of change. I don’t know the future. I didn’t come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell how it’s going to begin. I’m going to hang up this phone, and then show these people what you don’t want them to see. I’m going to show them a world without you. A world without rules or controls, borders or boundaries. A world where anything is possible. Where we go from there is a choice I leave to you.

(with many thanks to The Matrix)

Originally posted back in 2007 or so - just thought I would run it for those who haven’t read it before. I know the Matrix references are already very dated, but hopefully everyone’s seen it.

doesn’t anyone have a job, and links

One of the things that amazes me when I’m between projects is the sheer number of people out and about during the day. If you go to Costco or Bloom (a grocery store) during the day, there are a lot of people there. There are cars on the road. There are people out and about all day long, and I always wonder - are these people who don’t work, or who work irregular hours, or who work at home? How can there be so many people out and about from 9 to 5? I don’t mind, I’m just curious.

On to the links:

My New Career: Stealing Cars in Oakland: Fun signs of the decline of the American empire…

Amazon Prime 1 Year Free for Students and Others: Amazon Prime is a great deal - I’ve been a subscriber to the plan for the last 5 years. It all depends on the volume of your orders from amazon, of course, but if you order more than a few orders a year it’s a good deal.

Our Credit Card Rewards Surprises: As far as I’m concerned, the American Express Blue cash rewards card is the best card out there - we put almost all of our household expenses on that card.

The Joy—and Value Received—of Community College: Let me start by saying I know nothing about community colleges. I didn’t ever go to one, knew few who did and don’t pay any attention to them. All that having been said, I love the idea of community colleges and wish they were better promoted. Many professions - my own, accounting/auditing included - could probably be just as well served by community college grads as by four-year college grads. Why we don’t promote these institutions more is beyond me.

The Siren’s Call of Passive Income: An interesting take on the ethical implications of “passive income.”

It Doesn’t Matter What Your Position Is Right Now, You Can Do Better: Great advice: “What can you do, right now, to start improving your situation? That’s the only question that matters. ” Quite true.

Networking Tips to Help You Find a Job: “Make sure to follow through. If someone provides you with a referral, make sure that you follow through quickly.” This is a small thing, but it’s one of the least-followed pieces of advice in the job-seeking world. I’m not nearly as good as I’d like to be at following up; but I’m better than many people are. Don’t offer to follow through if you won’t. And if you offer, and DO follow through - people WILL appreciate it.

The preservation of wealth: “In fact, I doubt there’s a rich person in the world getting by with an index tracker, a savings account, and a wodge of Government bonds.” Probably true. I’m convinced that index funds, savings, etc. are the mark of a small, non-rich mind. That having been said, they are also the mark of an educated, non-poor mind. There’s a big gray area between rich and poor that can be quite comfortable for many of us.

99 thoughts on losing 100 pounds: Hey, that sounds familiar… hah.

And more:

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