NationStates Jolt Archive

Hi, I'm rich. Not Bill Gates sort of rich, but I have enough money so that I never have to work again and I can pretty much do what I want. Now I figure there are plenty of people out there who want to be rich so I'll tell you how I did it. Now not everyone will want to follow this plan and that's fine, but it's here if you want it.

STEP 1: Get a job. If you want to get rich quick a high paying job is better but isn't necessary. You'll probably earn more money if you have a degree or a high degree of training, but it doesn't really matter because you can earn money in the time other people are studying. Consider jobs that can not only increase your pay, but will help you save. For example, there isn't much to buy on an oil platform.

STEP 2: Save at least 50% of your net work income. Personally I saved over 70%. Consider working overtime or starting your own business to bring in extra cash. The more you work the more money you make, and even more importantly, the less time you have to spend money. We're aiming at being workaholic here, but make sure you always get paid for your work. No freebies unless it's for a good cause.

STEP 3: Invest the money you save in an indexed share fund and leave it there. Don't touch it. Sure the stock market has its ups and downs but since you'll be adding to it everytime you're paid it should all even out. Usually you don't have to pay much tax on shares so you should average about 10% return per year after inflation. Don't try and play the stockmarket, you won't do as well as an index fund unless you are some sort of expert and you will probably be too busy working to become an expert.

STEP 4: Work hard and invest for say 7 years. If you have been saving 70% of your income by that time you will have more than seven years worth of work income invested earning 10%. At this point you can easily retire because the money your investments earn is more than the amount of money you've been spending to live. However, if you want to be really rich, work for a couple more years and you'll have over 10 years worth of income invested earning more money than your entire work income. You are now free from having to do anything you don't want to. Enjoy.

So that's the plan. I realise it's not for everyone, but it hope it will help some people acheive their financial goals.

i know how to get rich quick. write a book called "how to get rich quick." copies will fly off the shelves...

Better yet, rob old ladies. Grandma's a sucker and will gladly sign over her social security checks to you.

I'm donald trumps son.. so fuck this!

So that's the plan.

I've re-read over your plan ...

You .. umm ... don't have kids, do you ...

Save 70% ... HA!

"No man with a dog was ever poor!" I don't know if that's an actual quote or if I just made it up, but it sounds good. Not like Poor Richards Almanac kind of good, but like Kenny Rogers & Yogi Berra's gene-spliced son kind of good.

"No man with a dog was ever poor!" I don't know if that's an actual quote or if I just made it up, but it sounds good. Not like Poor Richards Almanac kind of good, but like Kenny Rogers & Yogi Berra's gene-spliced son kind of good.

I think it would flow better as "no man with a dog was ever born poor". I'm not entirely sure why.

I've re-read over your plan ...

You .. umm ... don't have kids, do you ...

Save 70% ... HA!

Yep, it's sort of dependant on not having kids. Or at least on selling them if you do. But for the sake of the arguement let's say your kids are independant by the time you are 45. If you follow the plan for 10 years you'll be able to retire by the time you're 55. And you shouldn't have to save 70% because by the time you're 45 you should have some assets.

Or follow the plan for seven years from the age of 18 and have kids when you're 25. Then you spend all your work income on your family and don't touch your investments. By the time your first kid is fourteen your investments will total to about 25 years work income.

"No man with a dog was ever poor!" I

Well I guess he would always know where his next meal was potentialy coming from.

I already have my 'get rich quick' scheme. Write the next harry potter! Sorted ;)

Seriously, this is the plan. And trust me, it isn't that difficult. Have you ever examined the standard of writing in the harry potter series? It isn't that good. Just the idea carries it. All you need is a good idea and to be a good writer, and with all honesty I can say I am a good writer already. Plus I've always been good at getting ideas :D

Hi, I'm rich. Not Bill Gates sort of rich, but I have enough money so that I never have to work again and I can pretty much do what I want. Now I figure there are plenty of people out there who want to be rich so I'll tell you how I did it. Now not everyone will want to follow this plan and that's fine, but it's here if you want it.

STEP 1: Get a job. If you want to get rich quick a high paying job is better but isn't necessary. You'll probably earn more money if you have a degree or a high degree of training, but it doesn't really matter because you can earn money in the time other people are studying. Consider jobs that can not only increase your pay, but will help you save. For example, there isn't much to buy on an oil platform.

STEP 2: Save at least 50% of your net work income. Personally I saved over 70%. Consider working overtime or starting your own business to bring in extra cash. The more you work the more money you make, and even more importantly, the less time you have to spend money. We're aiming at being workaholic here, but make sure you always get paid for your work. No freebies unless it's for a good cause.

STEP 3: Invest the money you save in an indexed share fund and leave it there. Don't touch it. Sure the stock market has its ups and downs but since you'll be adding to it everytime you're paid it should all even out. Usually you don't have to pay much tax on shares so you should average about 10% return per year after inflation. Don't try and play the stockmarket, you won't do as well as an index fund unless you are some sort of expert and you will probably be too busy working to become an expert.

STEP 4: Work hard and invest for say 7 years. If you have been saving 70% of your income by that time you will have more than seven years worth of work income invested earning 10%. At this point you can easily retire because the money your investments earn is more than the amount of money you've been spending to live. However, if you want to be really rich, work for a couple more years and you'll have over 10 years worth of income invested earning more money than your entire work income. You are now free from having to do anything you don't want to. Enjoy.

So that's the plan. I realise it's not for everyone, but it hope it will help some people acheive their financial goals.
wow it sounds so wonderfully simple.
how about if you're already in debt by the time you start work?
what country are you from? have you factored in the incredible cost of buying houses in this country, the necessity of mortgages, the high cost of living in this country? kids? i don't think saving 70% of your income is possible here.

i'm not completely dismissing what you say as investing saved income for a number of years is obviously a good way to accrue extra funds, but i simply don't think your 'plan' takes into account a lot of practical factors in people's lives that might not have applied to your own.


edit: my own 'get rich quick' scheme involves working hard on this business, building up my products, and in a few years, selling or licencing the product to larger companies for easy money. then using that money to invest, yadda yadda...

If I'm comfortably on 30% of my income, I'm already rich. :p

I already have my 'get rich quick' scheme. Write the next harry potter! Sorted ;)

Seriously, this is the plan. And trust me, it isn't that difficult. Have you ever examined the standard of writing in the harry potter series? It isn't that good. Just the idea carries it. All you need is a good idea and to be a good writer, and with all honesty I can say I am a good writer already. Plus I've always been good at getting ideas :D

Thats all you need to write any book, a good idea and some writing skills... confused much.

Thats all you need to write any book, a good idea and some writing skills... confused much.

Yup. And if you do it well, and the idea is good enough, you can make millions overnight. E.g Harry Pottar!

Yup. And if you do it well, and the idea is good enough, you can make millions overnight. E.g Harry Pottar!
And people actually have to want to read what you write. Otherwise a large proportion of the global population would be writing best sellers.
Which, of course, would negate the goodness.

how about if you're already in debt by the time you start work?
No change, you'll just have to work and save until you're out of debt. Of course you'll probably need to cut up all your credit cards and if you bought a fancy car on borrowed money you might have to trade it in.
what country are you from? have you factored in the incredible cost of buying houses in this country, the necessity of mortgages, the high cost of living in this country?
When I was on the plan buying a house or unit wasn't worth it for me. I found I was better off putting the money into an indexed share fund and lived in low rent flats. My trick is to get a cheap place near a noisy road or airport and put in my own soundproofing.

kids?
This plan is good for before you have kids. You can also use it after your kids are grown, but generally people find it very hard to go from saving nothing to saving 50% or more of their income. In a way it's easier to start young.

edit: my own 'get rich quick' scheme involves working hard on this business, building up my products, and in a few years, selling or licencing the product to larger companies for easy money. then using that money to invest, yadda yadda...

Provided you are happy with the risks and make sure you invest money you make (either in your own business or elsewhere), then your own business is often a great way to get rich. And usually you are free to be a total workaholic if you want to make the maximun amount of money in the shortest time.

Would someone please define for me what to be "rich" actually means?

And people actually have to want to read what you write. Otherwise a large proportion of the global population would be writing best sellers.
Which, of course, would negate the goodness.

Yup. One of the biggest problems. But being a habitual reader throughout my life I have read enough bestsellers to know what makes them up. :)

Yup. One of the biggest problems. But being a habitual reader throughout my life I have read enough bestsellers to know what makes them up. :)

At least J.K. Rowling can insert clauses properly. :p

Would someone please define for me what to be "rich" actually means?

For many people in the world never having themselves or anyone in their family ever go hungry is a good start.

For the purposes of this thread I have defined it as not having to work unless you want to and being able to go anywhere and do whatever you want, but not including status symbols like aston martins and penthouse hotel rooms.

But personally I think being rich means having a rich life. You will need food and shelter, but once you have enough to get by on you can be rich even if you never make more than minimum wage. Whether you achieve this richness through books, friends, familly, art or whatever is up to you.

Playing the stockmarket is easy... if you can think fair logically about cause and effect and pre-empt the causes. I have a friend who in invested in an alternative energy company about 8 weeks ago. He bought 17,000 euros worth of stock. It's now worth over 100,000 due to the hike in oil prices and investors suddenly thinking that alternative energy isn't such a crappy idea after all.
...
Bastard.

Playing the stockmarket is easy... if you can think fair logically about cause and effect and pre-empt the causes. I have a friend who in invested in an alternative energy company about 8 weeks ago. He bought 17,000 euros worth of stock. It's now worth over 100,000 due to the hike in oil prices and investors suddenly thinking that alternative energy isn't such a crappy idea after all.
...
Bastard.

Yeah, well, Daddy tells me shares in Shell aren't doing all too badly. :D

Originally Posted by Moto the Wise
I already have my 'get rich quick' scheme. Write the next harry potter! Sorted

Seriously, this is the plan. And trust me, it isn't that difficult. Have you ever examined the standard of writing in the harry potter series? It isn't that good. Just the idea carries it. All you need is a good idea and to be a good writer, and with all honesty I can say I am a good writer already. Plus I've always been good at getting ideas

I made my baseline money from teaching and this paid pretty well. I made extra money as a private tutor which per hour paid even better. But the most money I've ever made per hour is from writing. I found a niche I have a talent for and which is high pay. But if you don't want to just fill a niche, if you want to write the blockbusters, then you also need luck. There are a lot of good books out there that never became bestsellers simply because the publisher never put the marketing behind them.

Playing the stockmarket is easy... if you can think fair logically about cause and effect and pre-empt the causes. I have a friend who in invested in an alternative energy company about 8 weeks ago. He bought 17,000 euros worth of stock. It's now worth over 100,000 due to the hike in oil prices and investors suddenly thinking that alternative energy isn't such a crappy idea after all.
...
Bastard.

Sell!

But seriously, if it's that easy all logical thinkers would be billionaires. People like your friend win some but also lose some. Some become fantasically rich, many go bust. If they are good they will average 12% a year, which is what you get with an index fund and without the ulcers. Maybe your friend is really good and averages 15 or 20 percent or more a year. But very very few people are that good and most who think they are are fooling themselves.

The vast majority of people are better off regularly putting payments into an index fund and just leaving the money in it come hell or high water.

Yeah, well, Daddy tells me shares in Shell aren't doing all too badly. :DThey're up $8 from 8 weeks ago when they were $61. Whilst definately an increase, it's not even close to what my friend got.

Shell -
http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?pg=qu&sid=2057122&symb=RDS.A&time=3mo&uf=0

VRDM - company my friend invested in. (from 5 cents to 25 cents - pretty damn huge)
http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?pg=qu&sid=1580641&symb=VRDM&time=3mo&uf=0

They're up $8 from 8 weeks ago when they were $61. Whilst definately an increase, it's not even close to what my friend got.

Shell -
http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?pg=qu&sid=2057122&symb=RDS.A&time=3mo&uf=0

VRDM - company my friend invested in. (from 5 cents to 25 cents - pretty damn huge)
http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?pg=qu&sid=1580641&symb=VRDM&time=3mo&uf=0

Yeah, well, hmmph.

Sell!

But seriously, if it's that easy all logical thinkers would be billionaires. People like your friend win some but also lose some. Some become fantasically rich, many go bust. If they are good they will average 12% a year, which is what you get with an index fund and without the ulcers. Maybe your friend is really good and averages 15 or 20 percent or more a year. But very very few people are that good and most who think they are are fooling themselves.

The vast majority of people are better off regularly putting payments into an index fund and just leaving the money in it come hell or high water.He seemsto regularly make good choices. With this company though, he doesn't know whether he should see if a likely future oil price hike will push the share price higher, or sell now before the price collapses back to normal. It also sounds like it's just got off the ground with something like 10 orders for its tech, each bringing in $1.8 million.

He seemsto regularly make good choices. With this company though, he doesn't know whether he should see if a likely future oil price hike will push the share price higher, or sell now before the price collapses back to normal. It also sounds like it's just got off the ground with something like 10 orders for its tech, each bringing in $1.8 million.

Tell him I'll represent him in Australia. For a reasonable percentage of course.

Work hard for a long time and save most of your money, and wisely? A silly scam if I ever heard one. ;)

Risk 70% of your income on the stock market when internet share prices are about to burst

right

I made my baseline money from teaching and this paid pretty well. I made extra money as a private tutor which per hour paid even better. But the most money I've ever made per hour is from writing. I found a niche I have a talent for and which is high pay. But if you don't want to just fill a niche, if you want to write the blockbusters, then you also need luck. There are a lot of good books out there that never became bestsellers simply because the publisher never put the marketing behind them.

True. I don't really plan to become a millionare over night by writing. But if we are talking about get rich quick schemes, this seems to be the best.

Risk 70% of your income on the stock market when internet share prices are about to burst

right

No, you contribute to your index fund each time you get a paycheck over at least seven years, which is about the length of a business cycle, so you should have an average return of about 10% or so after inflation. A general index fund invests across the economy, not just in internet shares. If you are unlucky you may have to work a little longer. But yes, you have to be prepared to see your investment value flucuate and not panic but stick to the plan. That's one reason why this isn't for everyone.

Since a 20% or so drop in share market prices is pretty typical every business cycle I personally tell myself my investments are only worth 80% of their actual value so I'm always psychologically prepared for a sudden decrease. Even a 1929 great depression type 50% drop would only be an annoyance, not a disaster for me.

Hi, I'm rich. Not Bill Gates sort of rich, but I have enough money so that I never have to work again and I can pretty much do what I want. Now I figure there are plenty of people out there who want to be rich so I'll tell you how I did it. Now not everyone will want to follow this plan and that's fine, but it's here if you want it.

STEP 1: Get a job. If you want to get rich quick a high paying job is better but isn't necessary. You'll probably earn more money if you have a degree or a high degree of training, but it doesn't really matter because you can earn money in the time other people are studying. Consider jobs that can not only increase your pay, but will help you save. For example, there isn't much to buy on an oil platform.

STEP 2: Save at least 50% of your net work income. Personally I saved over 70%. Consider working overtime or starting your own business to bring in extra cash. The more you work the more money you make, and even more importantly, the less time you have to spend money. We're aiming at being workaholic here, but make sure you always get paid for your work. No freebies unless it's for a good cause.

STEP 3: Invest the money you save in an indexed share fund and leave it there. Don't touch it. Sure the stock market has its ups and downs but since you'll be adding to it everytime you're paid it should all even out. Usually you don't have to pay much tax on shares so you should average about 10% return per year after inflation. Don't try and play the stockmarket, you won't do as well as an index fund unless you are some sort of expert and you will probably be too busy working to become an expert.

STEP 4: Work hard and invest for say 7 years. If you have been saving 70% of your income by that time you will have more than seven years worth of work income invested earning 10%. At this point you can easily retire because the money your investments earn is more than the amount of money you've been spending to live. However, if you want to be really rich, work for a couple more years and you'll have over 10 years worth of income invested earning more money than your entire work income. You are now free from having to do anything you don't want to. Enjoy.

So that's the plan. I realise it's not for everyone, but it hope it will help some people acheive their financial goals.
Yep, i've down steps 1 and 2 successfully but i have been too lazy to do step 3 and as such step 4 is not in motion.

This plan works.

Save 70% of your income???

What?

How do you live if you save that much?
You clearly don't live in Britain if you can afford to save 70% - we get approx £5k tax-free, and then have to pay 21% on the next £25k and then 42% on everything else. Save 70% and we wouldn't have anything to live on!

Save 70% of your income???

What?

How do you live if you save that much?
You clearly don't live in Britain if you can afford to save 70% - we get approx £5k tax-free, and then have to pay 21% on the next £25k and then 42% on everything else. Save 70% and we wouldn't have anything to live on!
Cut costs man simplify.

Save 70% of your income???

What?

How do you live if you save that much?
You clearly don't live in Britain if you can afford to save 70% - we get approx £5k tax-free, and then have to pay 21% on the next £25k and then 42% on everything else. Save 70% and we wouldn't have anything to live on!

It helps it you work 60+ hours a week. For a long time I was able to live off my overtime and invest my entire normal salery. If you make $10 an hour and work 60 hours a week then 30% of that is still $180. That's enough to survive on if you're single. Of course only you can decide if it's worth it or not. And if you're earning over 25 thousand pounds a year I don't think you're going to have any trouble surviving. And I saved 70+ percent of my net income, not total income.

And aiming to get rich can help you break those costly bad habits such as smoking and heavy drinking.

This is a pretty inspirational thread. Its motivating me to work. What sort of food should I eat while on this plan? (a serious question)

This is a pretty inspirational thread. Its motivating me to work. What sort of food should I eat while on this plan? (a serious question)
2 minute noodles and rice crackers

It helps it you work 60+ hours a week. For a long time I was able to live off my overtime and invest my entire normal salery. If you make $10 an hour and work 60 hours a week then 30% of that is still $180. That's enough to survive on if you're single. Of course only you can decide if it's worth it or not. And if you're earning over 25 thousand pounds a year I don't think you're going to have any trouble surviving. And I saved 70+ percent of my net income, not total income.

And aiming to get rich can help you break those costly bad habits such as smoking and heavy drinking.Looks like someone forgot to factor in income tax. If you earn $10 after tax then that's alright then.

Also eat Mince, mince is cheap and here-where i live, you don't get Mad COws Disease.

So, sacrifice all enjoyment for 10-15 years of my life in order to have fun after that time?

So, sacrifice all enjoyment for 10-15 years of my life in order to have fun after that time?
Yep that is pretty much it.
And yo can't really go half and half because the compound interest isn't the same.

Also eat Mince, mince is cheap and here-where i live, you don't get Mad COws Disease.

How do you know? It's undetectable until the post-mortem. Well, it's not definitively identifiable.

How do you know? It's undetectable until the post-mortem. Well, it's not definitively identifiable.
Because it hasn't happened yet (or so few times no one cares) and we don't feed Meat products to out Livestock.

So, sacrifice all enjoyment for 10-15 years of my life in order to have fun after that time?

If it's a sacrifice to you and you think the sacrifice is worth it, then yes.
Or you could consider it as simply getting work out of the way. You can devote seven years of your life to it and get it over and done with instead of working for 40 or so years as many people do.

Personally I enjoyed my job, but after seven years I'd had enough. Now I still work, but only what I want to do when it suits me.

And you don't have to do it for 10-15 years. Seven years will do if you put the pedel to the metal.

Your basic plan is very sound and very good advice but there are a few problems.
1 You did not factor in taxes 15% to 30% off the top depending on tax bracket and country. In the US the more you make the more you pay.
2 Cost of transportation, even if you take the bus it takes money out of your pocket.
3 Medical insurance in some countries this is not a factor but here in the good old USA some of my friends are paying up to 30% of their income to pay their insurance. (I am lucky I work for Aldies and they pay 100% of mine).

Your basic plan is very sound though put a set amount in an investment every week and in ten to twenty years you will have a nice nest egg.

Your basic plan is very sound and very good advice but there are a few problems.
1 You did not factor in taxes 15% to 30% off the top depending on tax bracket and country. In the US the more you make the more you pay.
2 Cost of transportation, even if you take the bus it takes money out of your pocket.
3 Medical insurance in some countries this is not a factor but here in the good old USA some of my friends are paying up to 30% of their income to pay their insurance. (I am lucky I work for Aldies and they pay 100% of mine).

Your basic plan is very sound though put a set amount in an investment every week and in ten to twenty years you will have a nice nest egg.
It is a good viable system that will work anywhere except in Communist China.
One guy looked like a bum but drove a Ferrari or so i am told.

Actually, I'm teaching in Cummunist China. And when the original writer said he was teaching, I tought he was doing it here. An example is got 9000 yuan (about US$1,200) a month near Shanghai, appartment paid, return plane ticket paid, and a few other benefits like free electricity and water... I spent 1000 yuan a month and living very well.

So I would say, China, yes Commie China, if you are a foreigner, is probably the best place in the world to realize the guy's plan. You would save about US$12,000 a year. Then again, if you do a lot of private tutoring and accept every dinner invitation they offer you, you would double those savings.

Actually, I'm teaching in Cummunist China. And when the original writer said he was teaching, I tought he was doing it here. An example is got 9000 yuan (about US$1,200) a month near Shanghai, appartment paid, return plane ticket paid, and a few other benefits like free electricity and water... I spent 1000 yuan a month and living very well.

So I would say, China, yes Commie China, if you are a foreigner, is probably the best place in the world to realize the guy's plan. You would save about US$12,000 a year. Then again, if you do a lot of private tutoring and accept every dinner invitation they offer you, you would double those savings.
Is that a typo or are you just happy to see me?;)

You can save thousands and thousands of dollars, have everything going for you at retirement, then bam drop dead and you lose it all, what a crappy life - saving for the entirety of it and never spending your hard earned dollar.

I think i made $74 in interest this year.:D

Yep, it's sort of dependant on not having kids. Or at least on selling them if you do. But for the sake of the arguement let's say your kids are independant by the time you are 45. If you follow the plan for 10 years you'll be able to retire by the time you're 55. And you shouldn't have to save 70% because by the time you're 45 you should have some assets.

Or follow the plan for seven years from the age of 18 and have kids when you're 25. Then you spend all your work income on your family and don't touch your investments. By the time your first kid is fourteen your investments will total to about 25 years work income.


Does being able to spell independEnt not play a part in your master plan?

I've spotted a few flaws in your plan.
To have a degree means University, which means debt, which in turn means repayments. That is just the start as well.

Does being able to spell independEnt not play a part in your master plan?

I've spotted a few flaws in your plan.
To have a degree means University, which means debt, which in turn means repayments. That is just the start as well.
Having a dependent seriously effects the outcome of your quest.

Spend all your money on lottery tickets, you're bound to win eventually.

Spend all your money on lottery tickets, you're bound to win eventually.
You end up with a third of what you put in.:)

Does being able to spell independEnt not play a part in your master plan?
There was always someone at work picking on me for little things like that.

I've spotted a few flaws in your plan.
To have a degree means University, which means debt, which in turn means repayments. That is just the start as well.

Ah, I got my education for free. I guess if you can't get a cheap uni education and if you don't value going to uni for it's own sake, you might be better off working instead of studying as far as the plan is concerned. That way you are saving and investing money while other people are studying and gaining debt. But it all depends on your preferences.

Better yet, rob old ladies. Grandma's a sucker and will gladly sign over her social security checks to you.

Dont forget her rent-controlled apartment.


I'm particularly interested in the part of the church bulletin that asks parishoners to remember the church in their will. How many seniors do you figure are naming their church as a beneficiary ?

You can save thousands and thousands of dollars, have everything going for you at retirement, then bam drop dead and you lose it all, what a crappy life - saving for the entirety of it and never spending your hard earned dollar.

If you find your life is crappy while you're on the plan then maybe the plan isn't for you. I worked hard while on the plan but I enjoyed my work. After seven years I'd had enough and I stopped. And seven years seems like a very long time when you're young but it's far from eternity. And dropping dead is a definite risk, but although you might drop dead, you probably won't. For me personally I judged it to be a worthwhile risk.

I think it's important to enjoy life even if you are sacrificing for the future because if you don't enjoy life now maybe you won't enjoy it when you're rich.

Some people have mentioned income tax but the plan does say net income. That is income after tax.

70%?

Excluding living with my parents 'till i'm 35, how the hell am I supposed to eat? Your plan sucks.

70%?

Excluding living with my parents 'till i'm 35, how the hell am I supposed to eat? Your plan sucks.

Couldn't've said it better myself.

wow it sounds so wonderfully simple.
how about if you're already in debt by the time you start work?
what country are you from? have you factored in the incredible cost of buying houses in this country, the necessity of mortgages, the high cost of living in this country? kids? i don't think saving 70% of your income is possible here.

i'm not completely dismissing what you say as investing saved income for a number of years is obviously a good way to accrue extra funds, but i simply don't think your 'plan' takes into account a lot of practical factors in people's lives that might not have applied to your own.


edit: my own 'get rich quick' scheme involves working hard on this business, building up my products, and in a few years, selling or licencing the product to larger companies for easy money. then using that money to invest, yadda yadda...

Pal-o-mine, if you ever want someone representing you in the US, holler at me.

This is a pretty inspirational thread. Its motivating me to work. What sort of food should I eat while on this plan? (a serious question)

The simple answer to this question is to say work out your food budget and then buy the tastiest/healthiest food you can with it. However I never worked out detailed budgets while I was on the plan. I figure making detailed budgets is like trying to lose weight by starving yourself. It just ends up making you hungry to spend more money. But I recommend whatever works for you. Personally, before I would buy things I would ask myself, "Do I really need this? Is there something else that I would enjoy spending the money on more? Is this really worth the x amount of hours I'll have to work to pay for it?" Often the answer would be no and I wouldn't buy it, but other times the answer would be yes. I could have spent a lot less money on food, but food was important to me so I didn't mind the occaisional splurge.

Now some people may think being on the plan means you have to deprive yourself of fun. This isn't true. What is important is to make sure you get the most fun for your money. For example a night out drinking with the boys can cost well over a hundred dollars directly and cost you money the next day when you can't work. But a night spent in with your lover can cost nothing and be a lot more enjoyable. And the really neat thing about the plan is that you always have money on hand to take advantage of any oportunities that might come your way. So if you have the chance to go on a dirty weekend with the man/woman/sheep of your dreams you'll never have to say no because you don't have enough cash.

And you can always go off the plan if you want. For example you could spend six months bumming around Asia, living off the money your investments generate and then go back on the plan when you come home. You're allowed to do that.

But you asked me about food, didn't you?

Well, tinned fish is the cheapest and healthiest meat you can find in a supermarket and you don't need to eat a lot of it to get the health benefits. It can be used in pasta dishes to make very cheap meals. I can't recommend buying other meat from a supermarket. I don't know what it is like where you live but here you are probably better off getting a special deal from a butcher for buying half a sheep. In Australia at least that can sometimes go as low as $1 a kilogram (in the country at least). I also used to bulk buy T-bone steaks in lots of about 10 kilos. Much more expensive than mutton, but I enjoyed them.

Large bags of frozen vegetables are usually cheap and healthy. A little in season fruit isn't too expensive and you can buy a kilo of cheap nuts and just have a few each day for the antitoxidents.

So fish and mutton for protien. Pasta, cheap bread, muslie, etc for carbs. Frozen veges, fruit and nuts for health.

Excluding living with my parents 'till i'm 35, how the hell am I supposed to eat? Your plan sucks.

Looking back at photos of myself while on the plan, I have to admit that I do look thinner. However I never starved and I can't say I ever went hungry.

I saved over 70%. I also had three jobs. This is not for everyone. The percentage you save is up to you. You will have to find what's optimum for your personal situation. Maybe you'll only save 10% of your income. But I find that people who save even just a little lead happier and less stressful lives than those that don't save at all.

Nobody said it yet. Everyone is so busy looking for flaws in the dude's plan and critisizing it with some or much negativity. So I'll say it:

Congrats. It takes discipline. It's not for everyone. It could be for me. It ain't for my wife now. Maybe one day she will reduce her shopping for crap that she doesn't really need or doesn't really use much. But for now, it's not for us cause it's not really for her. You must be a simple guy, I'm a simple person too, can't say the same about my wife now so maybe there is a correlation between the feasability of this plan and the person implementing the plan.

Looking back at photos of myself while on the plan, I have to admit that I do look thinner. However I never starved and I can't say I ever went hungry.

I saved over 70%. I also had three jobs. This is not for everyone. The percentage you save is up to you. You will have to find what's optimum for your personal situation. Maybe you'll only save 10% of your income. But I find that people who save even just a little lead happier and less stressful lives than those that don't save at all.

Oh, I do save about half of what I earn now. However, I don't think that realistically i'm going to be saving anywhere near that amount when I move out and have to pay my own bills.

Looking back at photos of myself while on the plan, I have to admit that I do look thinner. However I never starved and I can't say I ever went hungry.

I saved over 70%. I also had three jobs. This is not for everyone. The percentage you save is up to you. You will have to find what's optimum for your personal situation. Maybe you'll only save 10% of your income. But I find that people who save even just a little lead happier and less stressful lives than those that don't save at all.

Bravo to you..!!

The naysayers of your plan (which would work, period) can come up with any
number of excuses to justisfy why you're "an evil capitalist" and they're "the
noble proletariat scum oppressed by the bosses".

Who does this reflect badly upon,.. the person who did well, or the excuse
makers?


-Clamato, "..what a FREAKY idea..!"

Bravo to you..!!

The naysayers of your plan (which would work, period) can come up with any
number of excuses to justisfy why you're "an evil capitalist" and they're "the
noble proletariat scum oppressed by the bosses".

Who does this reflect badly upon,.. the person who did well, or the excuse
makers?


-Clamato, "..what a FREAKY idea..!"

What the hell are you on?

You don't have to be a capitalist to save money. It's just that setting 70% of your earnings aside is out of the question for most people.

I've re-read over your plan ...

You .. umm ... don't have kids, do you ...

Save 70% ... HA!


Even without kids, you can't save even 5% of your pay these days unless your make like 60 grand a year or more, or if you live with your parents and don't have to pay rent.

While this looks like a brilliant scheme to work lots in the beginning and then not work for the rest of the time (unless you want to), I think it's not for me.

However, I do intend to attempt to follow a piece of advice: "always save 10% of your net income"

As stated earlier: It can make life less stressful for you.

And that way, you will always have a feeling of moving forward, economically speaking. You don't get the feeling that you work and all your money is just disappearing and you're left with nothing.

Finally, if you ever run on hard times and just can't get any welfare or if there is something you desperately want, you've got the money all ready.

What the hell are you on?

You don't have to be a capitalist to save money. It's just that setting 70% of your earnings aside is out of the question for most people.

YOURE A WHINGEING COMMIE! YOU JUST WANT SOMETHING FOR NOTHING!

WELL GUESS WHAT THERES NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH SO STOP TAKING ALL OF US TAX MONEY :sniper:


Uh, sorry.

Originally Posted by Clamatoatoll
Bravo to you..!!

The naysayers of your plan (which would work, period) can come up with any
number of excuses to justisfy why you're "an evil capitalist" and they're "the
noble proletariat scum oppressed by the bosses".

Who does this reflect badly upon,.. the person who did well, or the excuse
makers?


-Clamato, "..what a FREAKY idea..!"

What the hell are you on?

You don't have to be a capitalist to save money. It's just that setting 70% of your earnings aside is out of the question for most people.

70% savings might be a bit tough, but the formula still holds for SOME
percentage of saving that gets you to a bankroll that earns what you need
for comfortable "retirement".

What I'm objecting to is the mindset that says "money, as well as the desire
for it, is inherently evil and therefore unworthy of the pursuits of the 'higher
individual'".

If you're NOT a capitalist, is money not inherently evil?

What is the function of money to the non-capitalist? Enlighten me.


-Clamato, "..what a FREAKY idea..!"

I've got a much better idea.

Back during World War II, make sure your grandfather becomes an engineer. By the time the Space Race begins, assure that he's the head of a rocket parts company that makes the most expensive, but most needed, parts. By the time you're born in the 1980s, everything's quite peachy.

In other words, be a trust fund baby. We're the most useless people in society.

Even without kids, you can't save even 5% of your pay these days unless your make like 60 grand a year or more, or if you live with your parents and don't have to pay rent.

This just isn't true. I know saving is very difficult for some people but that doesn't mean it's impossible. While it would certainly be impractical for many people to save 70% it is definately possible to save more than 5% of your pay even if you are makeing less than 60 grand and have to pay rent. I saved more than 5% when I was unemployed and on the dole and paying rent.