Living Without a Job - The Unemployed Slacker Life

Posted by Jacques - August 23, 2009

empty-pockets So you were laid off, or maybe you were born unemployed. Maybe you don’t want to work, or more likely, there really isn’t anything work to be found. I think this is a relevant discussion as most economists believe unemployment is going to remain in the double digits for most of 2010. How do we slackers remain vigilant in our daily lives when even jobs in the public library or at the local smoothie shop are thin?

Well, this needs to be attacked from two angles. First, we need to accept that spending money is usually what causes us need to get more of it so we need to understand that the less we consume the less we will need to work or worry, and it happens to be great for the environment too. Secondly, we have to learn that jobs aren’t the only source of cash, and if you don’t understand that, then you are missing out on a huge opportunity to live the quiet, sedentary lifestyle you deserve.

Housing is usually the largest expenditure. If you rent your own apartment see if you can break your lease for 1 month’s rent and live someplace cheaper. Stay mobile, and keep everything portable so you can take advantage of better deals as you see them. Find out if there are live-in personal assistant opportunities out there. Sublet your place. Move back in with your parents. If you own, then sell, even if you have to take a loss. Or if that is not an option, rent out all the other bedrooms including the master and sleep in a den or one of the smaller bedrooms. Cast away everything you thought was important about having a place to live, because truly, being house poor can be like a prison.

If you have a car, sell it privately and buy something cheaper that you can afford in cash. If you’re worried about being seen as poor buy something really old and pretend you’re into collecting and fixing up old cars. Nobody will know one way or another, and they’ll think it’s cool that your car has character. Even if you have to save up money to sell your car because you owe more than its worth, having a car payment makes a huge dent in your monthly cash flow even for the upper bracket incomes.

Don’t nickel and dime yourself to death. A coffee here, a movie there, eating out every night, will eventually take what little money you have at the end of every week and make it nothing. Learn how to entertain yourself for free, or even better, make money while entertaining yourself.

Finally, if you are unable to find work there are plenty of ways out there to make money. You can sell your sperm, your eggs, or your blood. For the best bang for the buck, you can sell your plasma. Take advantage of people in the hot sun by selling bottled water that you purchased in bulk. Banks will give you money by opening an account to test out their services. Treasure hunt for things that people left behind at the beach or try online businesses like buying and selling domains or day trading. While being a slacker often means that ambition and hard work are out of the equation, there’s no excuse for not being able to make enough cash to get by.

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August 23, 2009 | In All Slacker Methods |

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Been out of traditional employment line over 5 years.Having Soc Sec and Medicare my position is obviously better.My Toyota is 12 years old and gets 24 mpg-no clunker.Have some income from fixed income investments and dividends.More time fillers and uncome when checks spent in my case.Take care of self have rainy day backups and be positive.Many people want to mind your business for you.
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Comment by ike — August 24, 2009 #

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