First Job

[hismajesty]

What you fail to see is that most people are not in your situation nor anywhere near your situation. Poor people pay for insurance too, they also pay taxes (I know it seems far fetched but yes it's true), some have to pay for child support among other basic necessities. Some don't own a house (nor will they never) but they do drive "normal cars" (whatever that means...). Most try to save their money too, but often can't because they must live paycheck to paycheck. Most of them will never visit the Hamptons. To many "sort of comfortable" is what I just described (at least in Los Angeles), and "rich" is what you are.

Poor people pay less taxes, because they have less money. They probably don't have a gold-digging ex-wife that takes them to court every few months (years, now, she layed off some) and has had 3 or four husbands, had a kid, then divorced them just to get child support and then used the child support on her hair and nails while the kids had holes in their clothes. Why? A gold digger most likely would not have married them.

My father got a very large discount on our house as my grandfather owned it.

By normal cars I ment non-luxury cars, American made, etc.

I will never visit the Hamptons unless I become very wealthy as an adult, it was just an example as it's a stereotypically extremely rich summer spot. Although, according to "The Millionaire Next Door" 80% of millionaires would never take an expensive vacation, it was just an example.


By the way, from Wikipedia:

Norfolk, VA:

The median income for a household in the city is $31,815, and the median income for a family is $36,891. Males have a median income of $25,848 versus $21,907 for females. The per capita income for the city is $17,372. 19.4% of the population and 15.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 27.9% of those under the age of 18 and 13.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Los Angeles, CA:

The median income for a household in the city is $36,687, and the median income for a family is $39,942. The median income for a household in the city is $31,815, and the median income for a family is $36,891. Males have a median income of $25,848 versus $21,907 for females. The per capita income for the city is $17,372. 19.4% of the population and 15.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 27.9% of those under the age of 18 and 13.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Just to show what situation the rich don't believe they're in, a quote: "Around 1980, when asked what level of personal income would qualify as middle-class, George H. W. Bush replied: $50,000. In fact, only 5 percent of the U.S. population was making that level of income at the time." [Source: Wikipedia].

Edit: eww @ double negative.

That was 25 years ago, that's hardly relative to now. If I recall correctly, if you make only a base pay of $85,000 (household income) that puts you into the top 15% of Americans. Furthermore proving that a 25 year old quote saying 50k puts you in the top 5% is not relevant.

Edit: And lets get back on topic - which is helping Mephisto. The whole intention of my post was to give him some, imho, smart options to turn his money into more money. Just because iago finds it fun to constantly point something that's not true out doesn't mean it should change the topic of the thread.

[dxoigmn]

Poor people pay less taxes, because they have less money. They probably don't have a gold-digging ex-wife that takes them to court every few months (years, now, she layed off some) and has had 3 or four husbands, had a kid, then divorced them just to get child support and then used the child support on her hair and nails while the kids had holes in their clothes. Why? A gold digger most likely would not have married them.

So what if they pay less taxes, that is not what matters. They pay less because that is what they can pay. They probably don't have a gold-digging ex-wife but trying removing the gold-digging and the same could be said for poor people.

I checked your quotes...

Norfolk, VA:

The median income for a household in the city is $31,815, and the median income for a family is $36,891. Males have a median income of $25,848 versus $21,907 for females. The per capita income for the city is $17,372. 19.4% of the population and 15.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 27.9% of those under the age of 18 and 13.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Seems fine.

Los Angeles, CA:

The median income for a household in the city is $36,687, and the median income for a family is $39,942. The median income for a household in the city is $31,815, and the median income for a family is $36,891. Males have a median income of $25,848 versus $21,907 for females. The per capita income for the city is $17,372. 19.4% of the population and 15.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 27.9% of those under the age of 18 and 13.2% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

Real quote:

The median income for a household in the city is $36,687, and the median income for a family is $39,942. Males have a median income of $31,880 versus $30,197 for females. The per capita income for the city is $20,671. 22.1% of the population and 18.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 30.3% of those under the age of 18 and 12.6% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.

I don't know if you were trying to skew the quotes or what. But, yes, the important thing to point out here is there are more people in LA below the poverty line vs Norfolk, VA. Makes me wonder if that takes into consideration cost of living. If you were to move from Norfolk to LA, you would not be able to maintain your current standard of living.

That was 25 years ago, that's hardly relative to now. If I recall correctly, if you make only a base pay of $85,000 (household income) that puts you into the top 15% of Americans. Furthermore proving that a 25 year old quote saying 50k puts you in the top 5% is not relevant.

Seems very relative to me considering your posts.

[UserLoser.]

I get $6.50 as a runner for a lawyer (& $20 a month for gas).  Simple job, I've learned quite a bit so far & am learning new things (not necessarily law related) everyday.  I plan to get an on campus job sometime (better pay, more hours, no driving around town [usually]).

$20 a month for gas...?  I spend like $20 every 7-10 days for gas!

[Rule]

I understand your frustration, hismajesty.  People are generally self-consumed, and
naturally resent others who appear to have what they don't.  Unfortunately, it is likely that if you tell someone you're in contact with about something great in your life that they don't have, they'll resent you for it.  Not that you shouldn't share these things, but you have to be careful in doing so or people won't react pleasantly.

However, from skimming some of your posts it seems that you've brought a lot of this criticism on yourself.  You must realize that when you "make points" in discussions by using anecdotes that reveal that your grandparent(s) are millionaires, and that give the impression that you are fairly well off, it will rub many the wrong way; sometimes it seems as though you're just trying to show off.  Also, when you ask for help making money because you spent $600 on stuff you don't need at all at the mall (on a binge), know that this is fairly insensitive to the people reading your post who can barely afford to go out for dinner for $15.

Personally, I haven't been offended by your posts, but I thought that I should list some reasons why people have reacted in the way they have.  Basically, be a lot more discreet, and try to see things from other people's perspective.

[hismajesty]

I don't know if you were trying to skew the quotes or what. But, yes, the important thing to point out here is there are more people in LA below the poverty line vs Norfolk, VA. Makes me wonder if that takes into consideration cost of living.

Sorry, I guess it didn't copy to the clipboard when I copied the LA quotes. At first I had only included the first sentence, but then I thought I should probably post the whole thing.

Cost of living is, of course, going to be higher in LA. Also, LA has a larger population so I think the fact that there are more people below the poverty line there makes sense.

However, from skimming some of your posts it seems that you've brought a lot of this criticism on yourself. You must realize that when you "make points" in discussions by using anecdotes that reveal that your grandparent(s) are millionaires, and that give the impression that you are fairly well off, it will rub many the wrong way; sometimes it seems as though you're just trying to show off. Also, when you ask for help making money because you spent $600 on stuff you don't need at all at the mall (on a binge), know that this is fairly insensitive to the people reading your post who can barely afford to go out for dinner for $15.

I'm just trying to explain things from my point of view. The fact about my grandparents had to  do with iago saying a 'millionaire'should be donating more money. I was just saying that you shouldn't be spending needlessly if you're intention is to make money (as is most peoples.) I was using that as a personal case study, a rags to riches story. Showing that it took work and a lot of saving and patience to get somewhere. I think it's careless and insensitive to post saying that x person should do in reference to iagos post. There's people on this forum that have parents that make more than mine, but they're obviously not as offended by (mainly) iagos comments about it. It's something that ticks me off, how iago just makes generalized comments about people based on his own ideas of them without actually researching them. Perhaps he was just messing around, but I don't think for the most time he was.

Also, I'm not attempting to 'show off' or anything similar. I've made it very clear, multiple times (mainly in response to iago) that I don't live some lavish lifestyle. I don't consider my parents to be rich, we have our hard times, we were affected by 9/11, we have to make sacrifices, etc. Sure, I recognize that there are people less fortunate than me, but that's generic for most everybody. Ever since I was a little kid (3ish, according to my mom) I've had an obsession with excessive money and power - saying that I wanted to rule the world and such. That's why I talk about it as much as I do, I'm always thinking of new business ventures that I can pursue now and as an adult. The only reason I posted in this topic was to help Mephisto. Considering his current funds he'd be able to double it by just selling on eBay in a couple of weeks. I don't like how whenever I post about money, it turns into a debate with me and somebody else (iago!). I was trying to help, but now the topic is doing nothing to help Mephisto.

Perhaps I am offensive when I talk about it, but it's not something I try to do. I'm used to how I live, so maybe that's why I find it to be normal, or average. I don't know, but whatever it is - going by national figures - my parents are not "rich" and I find it to be offensive when people keep attacking me for what they think me or my family is.

[iago]

You fail to see the major difference between rich and sort-of-comfortable. We're not a paycheck away from dying, but after my dads ex-wife, insurance, taxes, etc. we're definitely not anywhere near rich (and I wish you'd stop saying we were..) We live in an average size house, drive normal cars, etc. We don't go to the Hamptons on the weekend, and don't have money to just throw away (we save it, ensuring later financial security.) Just because people in my family are rich (grandparents) doesn't mean that they give us thousands of dollars (though they send checks to my aunt all the time), it also doesn't mean that we are too. I just look at money a different way than you, I guess. Of course, you said you hated money or something like that, so that may be one of the reasons.

I get $25 for cutting my neighbors yard. She's my only customer though, I had two last year, but now I only have her.

We also pay taxes and insurance.  We live in an average sized house, share one vehicle for the family (which is in rough shape).  We don't go anywhere on the weekend.  We don't have money to throw away. 

My mom has to check her bank balance before doing grocery shopping to make sure that we can afford food, and we tend to only be able to buy a limited amount. 

Maybe you aren't rich, but you're well off.  From the way you talk, you sound like a rich kid.  You do!  Sorry!  Get a tough job, it'll be fun.  Then you can appreciate having a comfortable job even more.  Plus, it's a good way to meet people; I've picked up friends at every job I've worked at.

[hismajesty]

OK. Instead of debating your points, lets stop talking about it and get back on topic, shall we?

[CrAz3D]

I get $6.50 as a runner for a lawyer (& $20 a month for gas).  Simple job, I've learned quite a bit so far & am learning new things (not necessarily law related) everyday.  I plan to get an on campus job sometime (better pay, more hours, no driving around town [usually]).

$20 a month for gas...?  I spend like $20 every 7-10 days for gas!

My gas bill is is $44 every 6-7 days.  But I don't only drive at work, however I KNOW I drive more than what the $20 gets me.

I agree with iago on that one.  My dad currently makes around $36k, about to drop to $30 or less.  Used to be even less when his construction business wasn't doing so well (he should've stayed in, this housing boom would've helped alot).
I understand wanting quality in items, education, life, so on...I don't understand going to an IVY league school...sure you'll get a better education but not good enough to justify the HUGE price difference vs. a state school (which is TOTALLY free for me here & I have friends going to Washington paying $15k a year & not major in anything [yet]).

[dxoigmn]

I understand wanting quality in items, education, life, so on...I don't understand going to an IVY league school...sure you'll get a better education but not good enough to justify the HUGE price difference vs. a state school (which is TOTALLY free for me here & I have friends going to Washington paying $15k a year & not major in anything [yet]).

Most people in the Ivy League have someone else pay for their education. I am willing to bet at least 50% of the student population at Dartmouth has some form of financial aid, most with loans some with grants (government or private). I only pay about $5,000 a year out of pocket, the rest is picked up by my scholarships (when applying for them, Dartmouth looks good). I considered heavily on attending UC Berkeley but they didn't offer me as nice a financial package as Dartmouth, among other things.

[nslay]

Last month I got my first job and so far have received two paychecks totalling $700~.  Anyways, as I get more hours, more money, etc. I am wondering what I should do with this.  Should I open up a checking account and have it at my quick disposal or should I have a savings account?  I was thinking of finally creating a Paypal account and set up a Quicken account to keep my balances and such.  I don't know, I'm pretty new to all of this and any advice would be welcomed.  I don't want to necessarily use this money just to blow it, that's not why I got the job (but I do want money to buy the things I need on occasion and to go have some fun here and there).

Open up a checking and savings account.  Be sure to note the federal law prohibiting more than 5 transfers from savings account...so be sure that you keep in your savings account what you intend to save.  For the same reason, be sure direct deposit points to your checking account.  Personally I use a custom made excel file that has a code, description, credit, debit, cleared, actual balance, and bank balance  columns (there is also a Check # column so if it is a credit card balance you're tracking you know which checks were sent to cover what you spent).  When I deposit or spend money, I mark it on excel and it adds or deducts from the actual balance until I mark the cleared column which it then updates the bank balance (no need to balance your checkbook, this essentially does that for you)....so you always know what you actually have and what the bank says you have.  Perhaps Quicken is better, I don't know, but if you want a copy of a blank file, just PM me.

Edit:  And if you can, get a Federal Credit Union account, if you want to take out loans or mortgages you can usually get very low rates.  One drawback, Credit Union accounts only hold so much (like what, $150,000?)...if you happen to have a very large sum of money then you should use a bank instead.  Credit Unions usually don't have minimum checking balances and they are nicer about NSF, if you go negative they charge $1 per day that you are negative rather than a $32 fee.

[Eibro]

Two summers ago I made $6.39 working at an office supply store. One summer ago I made $8.50 working in construction. This summer I make $19.00 as a programmer, plus $15.00 (or whatever I choose) an hour tutoring. Funny thing is, I couldn't land a regular job prior to this summer aside from those brief stints of summer employment. My standards have always been high-- I wouldn't work for minimum wage. Now I don't think I would work for anything less than $10/hr.

What do I suggest doing? Start playing online poker. Pick up a good book on the subject and learn as much as you can. Invest all your money into it. Play the small tables until you can win, then move on up. Don't be afraid to lose everything and borrow from friends. It's very addicting (and profitable).
(But seriously, you don't have to be that great of a player to start seeing a profit. Plus it's non-taxable income, and you can work from your home!)

[hismajesty]

I considered doing online poker, but Paypal added online gambling to the list of things you can't use their service for.

[CrAz3D]

Only 5 transfers from a savings to checking?...
I've made WAY MORE than 5, maybe like 13?...

[Hazard]

It might seem like high pay for grunt work, but if you do a good job you make good money.

[Eibro]

I considered doing online poker, but Paypal added online gambling to the list of things you can't use their service for.

Blah, using paypal would involve all their transaction overhead anyway. Doing a wire transfer from your own bank account is the easiest option if your parents won't help you out.