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PaperclipPerfector  7mo ago (text post)   1997 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for September 22, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

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Not sure it’s the dumbest question I’ve ever asked but it is one I’ve never asked in real life (maybe because I’m too embarrassed to ask it, maybe because I’ve never had someone good to ask it to…)

How do you think about maximising your earnings? Asked another way: How do you go about making the most money for the least effort without breaking the law?

How do I? I don't. Maximizing my earnings isn't a goal of mine and I've never structured my life to maximize them. For anyone that's tolerably well-off monetarily, I would suggest against earnings-maxing in a refined way, it's just not going all that likely to maximize life-satisfaction. I would strongly suggest thinking in terms of tradeoffs rather than extremes.

Say you’re not “tolerably well off monetarily”. What would you say to someone who has generations of poverty (often extreme poverty) in their genes and wants to break that cycle?

If you're in the US, breaking out of generations of poverty boils down to:

  • Not making truly idiotic financial decisions
  • Becoming a great employee

That's it. If you do these two things, you will have multiple leadership opportunities and a comfortable living. Every single job I've had, from the crappy to the great, has eventually led to a manager realizing I deserved to be paid more than my peers and given more power and control of my destiny. A server at a mid-tier restaurant in the US makes an insane amount of money relative to the amount of effort and dedication they put into their job. Oilfield workers are famous for high school graduates making enough money that it takes hookers and high-interest car loans to destroy their future. Literally, just show up on time, try hard, and be friendly with your boss.

If you're struggling with the first, I find this book to be 90% excellent advice for people who have not been educated about money from an early age.

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