Total Invincibility: How to Crush Failure and Maximize Your Human Potential 1793847061

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Total Invincibility For Your Life

Copyright 2019 by Martin Goldberg

Dedication

To all the little Goldbergs

1. Introduction A couple years ago I decided to launch the YouTube channel Economic Invincibility. At the time my intent was simply to test the media waters by running a video service, and enhance my own communication skills in the process. My first video was the hazy review of an online course done with a low-quality webcam and horribly mismatched background lighting. I followed up with a couple of similarly ruddy pieces before choosing to take a break of nearly six months. Sometime in late February of 2016 I picked the effort up again and committed to making consistent videos on various financial and educational topics, buoyed by a slowly-increasing number of subscribers and views. Fast forward to the present day. The channel has over five million views for a variety of excellent videos that have helped shape the career decisions of countless people, young and old alike. There is no paid requirement or subscription-based program to partake in; only a desire to learn and improve oneself. With this approach, Economic Invincibility continues expanding its trove of subscribers and influencing an ever-larger group of individuals. I never intended the channel, nor the relatively blunt persona of “EI,” as I call myself, to be more than a short segue into the world of adventure, a few months at best, followed by some different project.

But it has morphed regardless, and done so beautifully. The channel has a culture of its own, thanks to the wonderful visitors who view, like, and comment on the collection of videos. These folks are in many ways an extended family to me, providing constant blessing through their messages, support, and most of all, aspirations. They have compelled me to continue on with the mission of the channel even as I am accosted by responsibilities from other projects, as well as the biting demands of life. As things stand, I hope to keep Economic Invincibility alive as long as I am able to nourish and grow its central purpose. Growth is a fine objective, but with it comes the critical need to both bolster the reach of the message and protect what has been cemented thus far. The internet is a beautiful thing with the capacity to change millions of lives through the dissemination of information, yet concurrently it has become a target of those who seek to control or constrict access. YouTube in particular has been a rabbit in the reticle, clamping down on users for supposedly “unacceptable” content, and cutting off revenue streams in order to suppress unpopular views. The latter is something I experienced myself after uploading several videos that were not deemed “advertiser friendly.” Because the criteria for such pieces is so arbitrarily defined, it can go on to effect other videos a creator produces on the basis of a digital guilt by association. While I have never strived to generate much revenue from the channel, which I view as a public service project more than anything else, I remain concerned a day will come when my content is obliterated based on political or economic convenience. To see all the value provided by my videos going to waste would be far more crumbling than any loss of revenue, itself negligible at this point. I see everything I have created as an extension of memory and legacy; where others have left paintings or books behind as a window into their thoughts, I seek to offer videos filled with information and lessons. If these snippets of my life can continue

being of use to others, I will be forever satisfied. With this looming threat in view I see the assembling of a book as the natural solution to protect my work. I want both my existing followers and those who may stumble upon my content from disparate sources to have a wellspring of knowledge unmolested by potential skullduggery. YouTube could go dark tomorrow, and I would be left with nothing. Sure, I have the videos stored offline, but the viewers and subscribers would be gone, and Economic Invincibility but a footnote in Google archives. The educational movement would have no central pillar of networks, and those hungry for learning would be thrown to a frustrating rut. On the other hand, writing this book allows me to compact the intricacies of my message into a vessel that cannot be as easily cut away or suppressed by the powers that be. After all, once the physical (or digital) pages are in actual hands the only body capable of censoring it is your own mind. In addition, I will always have the ability to update the book as economic tides change and new developments impact the labor market. College degrees for instance might at some point become more of a hassle than they generate in return on investment. A crippled YouTube channel can’t communicate that, particularly if railing against colleges is considered contrary to advertiser interests. Books however are easier to distribute online, and less dependent on the largesse of corrupt corporate funding. Self-publishing platforms abound on the Net, and a plethora of alternative media options can support where they fail. The objective of censorship thus becomes much more difficult for our conniving friends in the political and economic establishment. Beyond this, completing a book allows me to give back to all those who have influenced me and supported the growth of my channel. Throughout my life I have been able to learn a great deal largely due to the provision of sources by others. Every last one of these creators sacrificed time and other opportunities in the name of

bettering others. Whether they conveyed inspiration or simply advice, the lingering impact remains in the works they left behind, even years after they have passed on. For me, the ultimate plan is to help you steer clear of costly mistakes. On my own path I have stumbled in certain areas because the right information was not there orienting me towards triumph. Some might argue such pitfalls are inevitable, but I say that’s total nonsense. Many of the regrets we bear in life stem from decisions that could have easily been done differently. It is merely a question of willpower, or, perhaps just as frequently, knowing better. With this book in hand, my hope is that you will be able to tackle those tremendous mistakes BEFORE they happen. ~ Economic Invincibility

I. What is Economic Invincibility?

A fair question I get consistently pertains to the idea behind my channel’s name, Economic Invincibility. Is it just a catchy title requiring awkward justification? Actually, to be fair, I sometimes think of the old Flash Gordon special called “Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe.” At the end of the pleasantly-corny and decentlyentertaining series, the faithful Dr. Zharkov announces that the adventures will be known as “Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe.” I guess the filmmakers really felt a responsibility to explain the title, though I doubt anyone would have noticed if they failed to. Thankfully, Economic Invincibility is a little more than that. I developed the concept a few years ago after watching a slew of people from various political backgrounds getting shredded financially as a result of something they said. These folks were not unlike the average American; determined, patriotic, and overall wellmeaning, but that meant nothing to the court of public opinion. Whether it came as a passing remark on Facebook or an ill-planned video, the result was a slew of economic terrorism that soon cost them their livelihood – and hurt their families. I’m sure there are more than a handful of people who would reply, “They got what they deserved,” but it’s easy to play that card after the fact. Most people take for granted their privacy on social media and the internet. They assume an employer “Never could, never would,” be possessed to snoop on them, and certainly THAT post in particular cannot go viral. They figure even the folks on their friends list who vehemently disagree with them are not nearly so sadistic as to take screencaps for the editors at Screech Central. Because if you think about it, at the end of the day, we are all Americans. Naïve thoughts aside, there is a real problem with free speech and the rise of technology. Expressing one’s opinion has become so dicey today to the point where even anonymous profiles or authors find themselves being “doxxed” by the power of hacktivists on message boards from the deepest, darkest corners of the web.

People who read horror story articles and muse “Hah! That would never be me!” are the latest victims of digital arrogance. The seductive carnival wagon of total transparency rolls on without a cough or a hiccup to speak of. I’m going to come out and say it now: very little good can spring from this new leviathan. The more restrictive we are with our communication for fear of reprisal, the less trusting we become, and the result is the creation of a society of informants, where folks jockey to see who can outsmart the other to win points of public approval. That’s where Economic Invincibility enters the scene. Back when I was observing these untimely downfalls on the part of folks who simply were too honest, I came to the conclusion that only one remedy could truly be foolproof: becoming immune to their economic and financial terrorism. People can hog the pot all they want, but if you have a personal flush toilet, it doesn’t really matter. Weird metaphor, I know, but it has a purpose ultimately. Only by reaching a level of financial independence can one be rid of the threat which these people pose to individual well-being. If they can’t touch you, it’s much harder for them to hurt you. As a bright person might imagine, financial independence brings with it a motherlode of freedom. While most of us assume we have certain rights under the law, our wonderful age of information has exposed the limits of those protections, as companies will swiftly buckle under public pressure, no matter how ridiculous. A chap who relies only on himself to make a living doesn’t have that problem, as he can just smile and wave while the grapefruit-head miscreants cry about their lack of success. In short, he is impervious to their schemes, or economically invincible. Corny? Maybe a little. But that hardly matters in the real world, because few people are given second chances in the court of public opinion. The mallet falls—likely on your head, and grandma

snorts some Prozac. No one just walks away unscathed unless it’s affordable, and that is precisely the argument behind pursuing economic invincibility.

II. Personal Security To be clear, there is not some magical shot that can immediately right the ship in regards to the pursuit of financial success, but a couple of preliminaries do apply. First of all, get the hell off social media, internet sharing sites, and any remotely similar honeytraps for the fresh and jabbering. It doesn’t matter if you seldom visit or update a lovely profile on these hangouts; simply a presence there poses risks. There is always the possibility of posting something due to being bored, or failing to safeguard intimate discussions through the use of privacy features. Even if the content is sheltered from the public eye, there is still someone looking at it somewhere. Be a good sport and make their workday uninteresting. It’ll pay off in the end. For all the websites that must be used, employ a pseudonym and throwaway email (mail.com and 10-Minute Email are good options). There is no sane reason on earth to be linking a personal email account, which likely includes receipts, bank login info, and a resume, to any political or otherwise unsettling hub. The less others know, the better. Also, keep in mind that at times websites are the subject of major hacking assaults bent on publicizing user information. The Ashley Madison fiasco was just a small sliver of this, but it exposed thousands of people, leading to divorces, firings, and suicide. If you have weird quirks or firm political convictions, best keep them quiet, or attach minimal traces to a name. It usually hurts when the world to be aware.

Online security can also be enhanced by using the right browser. Generally speaking, options like Internet Explorer, Chrome, Bing, Firefox, and Safari are all AIDS. Stick with DuckDuckGo or Brave for everyday searches and Tor Browser to provide extra protections. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is worth considering as well, as it helps mask your IP address, and thus the origin computer where a particular comment or account was birthed. Either opt for a paid one or go with something free like TunnelBear. An easy way to improve anonymity on the web is to make payments using Visa or MasterCard gift cards. These babies can be purchased at almost any Walgreens or department store in cash and redeemed online in amounts ranging from $50-$500. Since the cards are not coded to a specific name, one can put anything down when making a purchase, leaving the address as the main angle for compromise. Opening a PO Box for mail mitigates this latter problem, as they don’t have a direct tab on the house just because you bought a book about passionate butt massage or the morality of drinking Natty Light. Should you insist on maintaining some type of account for commenting on articles or videos, make sure the personal narrative includes some plausible deniability. This means changing the user’s age, not referring to characteristics that can directly be traced back to the everyday ego, and avoiding any direct back-and-forth with other commenters. Remember, you don’t know who is on the other end of that account, or whether they are hoping to make you SAY SOMETHING. Be careful about “trolling “as well. A recent incident involved a South African man masquerading as a woman who submitted an article to Huffington Post calling for white men to lose the vote. Despite the ludicrous premise and limited vetting for the fake persona, the article went up and caused a hailstorm. Rather than owning up to their mistakes, the editors worked to track the fellow down and force him to to lose his job, which he did. All of this

because he was traceable. If you want to trigger people, be smart about it. III. Protecting What You Have Later on in this book I will talk about what to do after reaching an optimum level of success, but financial protection does not start then. A singular mistake made by young people is to assume that being the center of attention must necessarily involve some level of flaunting. It can be anything like bragging about bonus checks, or trying to flash an AMEX card to some audience of Instagram peddlers. Little good can come from this. Most people have limited resources to begin with, and trying to bump them up like some magical golden shower of luxury is immensely stupid. If anything, being needlessly loose with money before becoming successful is a good way to LOSE it all. The “buy everyone a round” guy often becomes the “always has a credit card” dweeb while his friends suffer from Forgotten Wallet Malady and Auto-Indulgence Depletion Syndrome. Should you doubt this, try going out with those amazing friends and suggest they pay for a change. All of a sudden the regular nights will reliably dry up. Moocherism is real. Under the Economic Invincibility mindset, resources are constantly being put to work for YOU. To hell with this fellow traveler and “we are the world” hand crap; at the end of the day, people who join in and chant foolish slogans rarely possess any special virtues that make them irreplaceable. They just follow along like obedient ducks because the newest trend involves some Disney eyes and a message of togetherness. In real life of course the googly eyes of a possum are just waiting for someone to put a hand close enough – have you ever seen the size of their teeth? Not the best route forward.

In order to avoid these savage tag-alongs, structure social life wisely. Get rid of the cheap ass roommates who figure out how to use all the TP, food, electronic devices, and run up large utility bills (which they never have the money for). There are two such types. First, the dude who actually has money but is such a miser that he will attempt to leech off of others so his checking account balance never shifts more than two figures from one week to the next. He probably grew up with parents paying for everything and “hates spending money.” Sounds decent, but he really is refusing to mature into a decent human being, so let the bygones go. The second fellow is actually slightly better in character, because he at least operates with less deception than the first. He is approaching the late twenties with no prospects, a bum job, and parents frequently ready with the bailout check. His brain remains stuck in a repeated cycle of “Getting my shit together maaan,” but every day off must necessarily be dominated by video games and lukewarm beer. He’ll invite everyone out to the bar and forget his wallet each time, but encourage you to buy drinks as he talks up his next plan to “make a move” and turn his life around. If luck serves, he’ll have strong religious beliefs and insist on preaching about morality and decency, but never consider dropping some cash for the endless trough-slurping. Cut him off quickly. You also face the inevitable threat of a relationship partner going after currently-meager finances. Decades of Victorian Age yammering has managed to sink well enough inside the public psyche that men in particular are expected to be mobile coffers for the strong, independent women of the modern day. This practice has become so prominent that mainstream songs by men in love with women speak of them dropping thousands of dollars on shopping sprees, because the size of a wardrobe obviously contributes to her happiness. Setting yourself up in a relationship with anyone who has imbalanced financial expectations is a critical error, regardless of who is being ultraliberal with the others person’s funds. Be sure to insist on equality when it comes to paying for outings, and establish

a principle early on that birthdays are not spend-a-thons. Better yet, if the person in question is a girl who describes herself as a feminist, encourage her to pay for everything. After all, accepting a paid dinner from a man is enforcing radically outdated gender norms and the villainous Patriarchy. Logic triumphs yet again. The expansion category relates to family members who use their relation as an excuse to demand money. While I certainly hope everyone does their best to support close relatives and build positive relationships with them, a visible line should exist. Siblings, parents, cousins, or gerbils who come to you on the regular to squeeze out cash are toxic pits. It’s one thing to step forward if a person has legitimate financial need due to health issues or unforeseen circumstances, but be cautious otherwise. A truly dismal side of the human race includes those who like to guilt their closest blood relations into shelling out cash, or simply buying them things on the basis of their struggles with drugs, alcohol, or pig-headedness. Make sure to identify the substance abusers or freeloaders early on and put an end to their money-grubbing. I guarantee it will not be getting better just because you attempt to brush them off or propose a lesser amount. The mind of the rudderless doofus will never make him feel guilt over such eternal generosity, but he definitely will be back for more whenever the going gets rough, and by that I mean once his supply of cheap cigarettes and bourbon runs dry as a plastic whistle. Hard as it may be, cutting off ties with a family member who is only looking to benefit from your efforts is sometimes the sensible choice to make. One might stop at this point, figuring the EI philosophy means not having any friends or participating in social events. In fairness there is some truth to the observation, though not all the way through. I am a big believer in developing positive relationships that are mutually beneficial and can lead to further success, but the key is finding the RIGHT person. More on this later in the book.

2. Higher Education – Is College Worth It? One thing I repeat time and again is the importance of staying out of debt. Far too often young folks end up cut down at the knees just as they are getting out into the world thanks to foolish decisions which land them in the grinder box. Whether they stem from car purchases, credit card giddiness, or just general wastefulness with money, the outcome is a situation where you become a prisoner of an IOU account, and potentially fail to meet personal goals. Since college debt is so central to this potential downfall, we will tackle it without hesitation. To start, most alert goobers will know how expensive college is, and the limited options available to finance it. Supposing one gets the largest Pell Grant (roughly $5920), they will still pay substantial amounts due to colleges trying to make money. Institutions will jack up the housing and meal costs, as well as tuition itself, which means anyone who does not have a full-ride is probably going to carry debt by the time they graduate. Oh, and God forbid you attend some notquite-Ivy League-but-still-respected institution; time to squash the

piggy. If you must attend college, and I do not necessarily endorse it for everyone—go there with a plan. I had one long before attending; I stuck to it, and do not regret going, although in hindsight the time might have been more productive if used towards other ambitions. College is not for everyone; the people saying otherwise are government-funded mastodons who think young people should be primed for obedient service to the State from day one. I’d like to think we can do a lot better. We can, of course, but is takes strategy, and strategy takes intelligence, which many young people are highly deficient in. For this reason I have outlined the following list of reasons why one should NOT go to college, as the experience will be more detrimental than worthwhile. 1.

You are only academically bright. In other words, you get all A’s in high school by never questioning the material, the mental state of the teacher, or the pedagogical foundations for assignments. In addition, you speak like a diplomat and are terrified of taking a firm position on anything.

2.

Whenever you login to Facebook or turn on CNN, you are immediately caught up in whatever outrage is current. You change the color of your profile picture in solidarity and act like a good internet activist by sharing videos and offering “Thoughts and prayers.”

3.

You are a loyal Democrat or Republican voter.

4.

You attack organized religion in your own country as oppressive, but defend barbaric religions in other countries.

5.

You believe college is free, healthcare is free, and retirement is free, but successful people should pay for it.

6.

You are illiterate in economics but love suggesting that other people should pay higher taxes.

7.

You love using insults like “Fascist,” “Nazi,” and “Racist,” but have no interest in their relevance to a given discussion. Furthermore, you do not know what a Fascist or Nazi truly is.

8.

You have a thesaurus by your side in comment section debates to sound like Hegel on the internet, because at heart you have nothing of substance to contribute.

9.

Your sexuality is the dominant part of your identity, and you refuse to look at anything without such a lens as the basis of observation.

10.

You believe animals are more important than humans, hence you would save a kitten before a baby.

11.

You like to lecture people on racial privilege, but insist you are incapable of expressing racism.

12.

Related to No. 11: You think judging people on the basis of their character is inherently wrong.

13.

You police what other people say in general.

14.

You are a big fan of football or basketball, yet refuse to follow current events or economics.

15.

You have an awful diet and do not workout.

16.

You have a steaming and irrational hatred for the opposite sex.

17.

You intend to spend your time in college attending meaningless protests on taxpayer dime.

18.

You expect to have a job upon graduation, and plan to begin looking for one a couple weeks before walking.

19.

You only read what is assigned in class, and nothing more.

20.

You think regret over a relationship is a valid reason to accuse someone of rape.

21.

Related to No. 20: you take part in courts of public opinion.

22.

Your intended major is a field bent on needless agitation.

23.

You love creating problems, but never solving them.

24.

You have no experience running, or working in a business, but you love lecturing business owners on how they should operate.

25.

You think freedom of association is wrong.

26.

You believe guns should only be in the hands of the police or military, while constantly complaining about brutality on the part of both groups.

27.

You support healthcare being mandated, but whine about paying the tax for it.

28.

You excuse whatever foreign policy blunders are made, as long as it’s your party’s leader making them.

29.

You would pick wild mushrooms and eat them because they are “organic” and “non-GMO.”

30.

You justify rape as long as it is a foreigner or refugee committing it, because “They just don’t understand.”

31.

You support policies that kill wildlife in the name of protecting the environment.

32.

You watch reality T.V.

33.

You are obsessed with using “strong,” or “independent,” to describe yourself or your friends.

34.

You use the aforementioned terms while screaming for more laws and programs to help “Strong and independent” people.

35.

You have no plan for retirement whatsoever.

36.

You like to say “Keep your government hands off my Medicare and Social Security!”

37.

You assume college will teach you how to think.

38.

You look down on blue collar workers, and assume folks without degrees are less intelligent than college students.

39.

You have zero control over your drinking habits.

This list is by no means exhaustive, but it should give an indication of the sort that will do very poorly in college because they begin with the wrong foundations. By this I am not saying people should steer clear of education itself; on the contrary, there remains a huge benefit, but someone who fits the aforementioned characteristics is at high risk of becoming less intelligent as a result of their attendance. College does not teach students how to think; the endemic poison is precisely that. We send off thousands each year to spend tons on the same programs and tell them that without degrees they are incomplete, that absent professors they will become helpless snails in the world’s provisions for non-degree work. As a result, parents empty their pockets of thousands of dollars to get their children into private schools, on top sports teams, and even on the news. The idea is to make their kid succeed above everyone else so they can enter college. Ideally it leads to some toothy-grinned fraternity gremlin working at a consulting firm and laying foundations for an eventual congressional run, while deceiving the people, of course. But it’s not only in electoral politics. What struck me about attending university was the manner in which young people could be morphed into good vessels for establishment purposes. In the realms of student organizations there was already a topical strain of politics capable of the devious nastiness anyone who has worked in the legislature understands. The backstabbing, leadership scheming, and sexual affairs were rampant. Even the “conservative” groups had their own share of margarita-fueled mating and frequent hangovers. I once heard college explained as a place for societal conditioning—and from a socialist, no less. He described the purpose of university as a place to instill obedience in the young populace. From my experience this was brilliantly accurate. Every four years countless students take graduation pictures and go out

into the professional world, many with the implicit understanding that shattering the establishment norm is wholly undesirable. Hence the splendiferous palm-kissing, fellow-betraying, culture of American workplaces, especially corporate offices. You see, college does not typically teach attendees to pursue the truth or reject false theories for their weak underpinnings; classes are structured to outlaw such aspirations, and professors are not meant to be questioned. Whatever is popular becomes adopted as a form of social acceptability, regardless of the merits. For example, I recall sitting in a religion class discussion section focused on feminist liberation theology. The material in question was so laughable that the professor ordered us to not make any judgments or challenge the logic, and simply accept it at face value. I was attacked by a classmate for refusing to participate in the idiocy dripping like unwanted pistachio ice cream off of a waffle cone. This person was not without broad class backing, to be clear. The entire group had been instructed to follow suit, bravely assuring no one violated the holy academic code. So instead of critical thinking we were expected to simply agree the content was worthy of discussion. Sounds like the antithesis of college, right? Unfortunately, it is all too widespread in higher education, with students lapping it up and entering society to spread the same poison, both amidst the workplace and as they raise their children—assuming of course that prospect is not oppressive. The submissive hive mentality lends itself to applications in the real world as well. For instance, before I arrived at school the corrupt and ineffectual president was sacked, on the basis of her failure to meet outlined expectations by the Board of Trustees. In a decent world, we would accept this as a business decision and move on. After all, people are supposed to be hired so they perform, otherwise why pay them a salary? But remember, it is a university we are talking about. Hordes of students and faculty members came out screaming and

handwringing, claiming the move represented a corporate takeover of a school otherwise led by the harmlessness of the State. Signs were drawn up, chants echoed, and crowds massed in front of the board’s meeting place. The media showed up, understandably, and the solidarity vs. corporate bastard message took to the air, even without Lech Walesa’s friendly mustache anywhere to be seen. It took a couple weeks for the inevitable: reinstatement of the president, and a victory for tolerance and progress. Never mind her dismal performance. That is simply an oppressive idea. If this is not alarming because the assumption is it happened at some Podunk school not worth the breadcrumbs on that KFC five piece, think again. It occurred at an institution proud of bragging about its Public Ivy status to no end. The protestors included members of the political right and left, veteran academics, and students of all ages, firmly united with the banner of perverted complacency to serve the popular cause. Do not scoff at the example and assume you are unsusceptible to similar behavior. Often the folks who believe they are enlightened and aware become the same ones who will swiftly capitulate to whatever is the prevailing rage – usually without even knowing it. The easy swill of “going with the flow” quickly replaces individual judgment, leading to a surrender without even the illusion of defiance, all in the name of “fighting the power.” Anyone skeptical of the correlation between such activism and regular politics should look at the trends for young people who follow current affairs. Whenever someone comes along offering more benefits and programs in exchange for votes that shackle them to the government even further, young people say “Yes, please” in record numbers. The proportion willing to endorse candidates who offer freedom and messages of self-reliance are a heck of a bunch lower, even if their mindset jives better with an enlightened worldview.

Jumble it in your head for a second: is it logical for an intelligent and self-driven person like to desire government control of life simply so they feel slightly more comfortable? The very act of attaining knowledge is one of self-reliance and individual drive. Not everyone feels compelled to pick up a book and better themselves. By reading this one you are by default breaking a norm, as most people read fiction, if no books at all. To turn around from erudition and embrace dependency simply means you are regressing back from your achievements without good reason. In addition, some of the stupidest policy proposals have emerged from societies with massive rates of government dependency. When folks are too comfortable and complacent they stop solving problems and begin creating their own. With all that said, is college actually worth it? Conventionally, the answer would be yes. Anyone with a degree had the upper hand in the old days, and you could expect a sizable career in business or the government on that basis. Officers in the military could do their twenty years and sit golden. The bachelor’s degree was an incredible portal of goodness and kind. Times have changed. A tremendous oversupply exists in the higher education economy which threatens to leave the growing number of young people floundering without much in terms of jobs, but plenty of debt. The average amount of indebtedness for a college graduate is over $37,172,[1] or a lot more if you went to a top school and landed right above the aid threshold level. Due to a mixture of problems, the unemployment crisis is becoming greater, with many young people opting for UNPAID internships as a means to break into the workforce, despite their precarious financial situation. To avoid this heart-stopping marshmallow of agony, it’s important to play dirty and ratchet by getting in and out quickly, with minimal debt. The max one should take out in debt for college is $30,000, and that implies you have access to a solid starting career. A mechanical engineer for instance has more justification as he can reasonably start at 60k, even in rural areas where the cost of living is

less-than-crazy. Over his first five years in the workforce he can cut that down while still keeping enough after bills for savings and investments. On the other hand we have “Katie.” She goes to a pricy private college in Washington D.C. and majors in Gender Equality Studies. She proceeds to graduate with $70,000 in debt and goes on to work for a non-profit at $35,000 per year. Her parents are middle class but their belts are not XXL size. They can’t pay down her debt, so she’s stuck living at home for a long time, and that is assuming she doesn’t have to pay for insurance, fuel, or other life expenses. Unfortunately for Katie, she will probably be advised to pursue a master’s degree by her moronic friends. Welcome to common sense America. Katie’s experience is that befalling countless young people nowadays. They are told college is essential—you cannot be hired without it, yet the jobs available pay so little that academics seem worthless. It’s common to blame the university graduate crisis on our transition towards a service-based economy, but the cheese is actually creamier elsewhere. Manufacturing jobs certainly HAVE fled to the Orient and other parts of the world, yet most industries are not in need of college graduates per say; the classification system does more to serve the interests of higher education lobbyists and corporate low-ballers than anyone desperate for a job. I say this because it’s the truth, so map the dot on Google Earth. Modern industries are not well-served by the usual suspects, college graduates with a degree that gives them little more than a priming in their field. Finance and banking for instance require a myriad of different certificates beyond the bachelor’s level that are more advanced in difficulty. Since the trend is in this direction, why do we need college at all? A bright whippersnapper can start as an apprentice or teller and begin working his jolly way up the ladder. Finance degrees in contrast offer limited benefits if they put the holder into substantial debt but require him to pursue industry

certifications as well. The outraged (and multiple degree-holding) sprites will shriek about core concepts and general education, but they are dead wrong. Name a single career which genuinely demands a degree and can not be learned on-the-job. Anything from law to engineering and business are best learned in the thick of things rather than over four years of expensive looting. Ask how many CEOs were hired on the basis of them having an MBA; they either started the company themselves or worked their way up. Credentials did not make or break the deal. Now that we have established who should not go to college, it’s worth noting reasons to attend. 1.

You can afford the luxury.

2.

You understand critical thinking.

3.

You are unafraid of math and science.

4.

You are not an alcoholic.

5.

You wish to be a good steward of whatever money is being paid towards your education, whether it comes from the taxpayers, yourself, or your parents.

6.

The thought of getting less than an A doesn’t make you run to suicide counseling.

7.

You are ok with not conforming to the “in-crowd” when it comes to the truth.

8.

You have tried manual labor at some point.

9.

You do not scoff at those who work, when you do not.

10.

Your solution to everything degree/class/certificate.

11.

You invest in yourself and your future.

is

not

another

12. You care about your community. If it is not already apparent, there remains a limited pool of individuals who will actually stand to benefit from attending university. Given the history of higher education, it is not hard to see why this is. Historically, university was for a select few who could afford it and were capable of excelling. The remaining students would finish school and go into the workforce, at the time comprised of tradesmen, farmers, factory workers, and business employees. Those who did not have money for college would generally read to expand their knowledge, rather than insist on a degree to give them intelligence. Despite the limitations of the time, folks managed to learn even without access to dorms and PowerPoint presentations. In our present day we benefit from a dearth of information through

the internet and libraries, yet society contrives to obsess over degrees, which give little apart from a piece of paper—and usually plenty of debt. There is almost always a better alternative to college, and I say this as a graduate myself. But if one should choose to go, they need a plan, and the mind to enact it.

3. Higher Education – How to Choose a Major One of my proudest achievements with the channel has been the compilation of a series of videos profiling different college majors and discussing the career outlook for related professions. I initially

took it upon myself to create them because I came to the realization based upon my own experience at a respected state school. Although the educational administrators were more than happy to accept money and offer back-pats of the not-quite-patronizing type, they had little to say about economic conditions surrounding particular job fields – or ways to get the jobs themselves. If I asked them for more specifics, they would automatically defer to some bureaucracy in student affairs and return to the miserable crossword puzzle on their desk. Colleges succeed with such gimmicks because we allow them to. Their representatives bank on the relative naiveté of prospective students and the unconditional support of most aloof middle class parents to keep their coffers flowing – and their paychecks on time. So while it is easy enough for them to print out a bulleted list of potential careers for a course of study, when it comes to the actual process of attaining one, young folks are left out utterly in the rain, being promised ridiculous expectations that are far from any semblance of reality. A common tactic is to take salary averages in a given field, irrespective of major choice or college origin, and prop them up so some wide-jawed chick from the boondocks thinks there ain’t nothing else to life. From this we get freshman dreamers boasting about how they will be pulling “minimum six figures” within six months of an International Business degree. Never mind how that number is drawn from guys working as IT contractors, or simply doesn’t exist. After all, who wouldn’t want to hire someone with an amazing personality and cutting-edge diploma? As I alluded earlier, parents are hardly any better. A disproportionate number of moms and dads will answer “Whatever you want, sweetie,” when their teenager announces intentions to pursue a general studies or communications degree, simply because they have been trained to do so. Some vile combination of peer pressure, idiotic parenting books, and lack of brains will cause the bill-footers to keep those checks a-writing merely to avoid being typecast as the nefarious ogres of practicality and reality. “But what if

Danny hates me?” one can hear them say, as their bank account drops precariously close to stoned albino platypus levels of overdraft fees. At this point, only those lucky enough to have access to a wise uncle or certain regions of the internet stand a chance of knowing better than what they are fed, Gerber-style, by the higher educational establishment. In many ways, these young people cannot be blamed for falling into the traps set by the government and private loan providers. From a ripe age they are raised to believe in the sanctity of a college education above nearly any other pursuit – even if the choice of study does not land with good prospects. Students end up caught in a haze of fear that failure to attend college will banish them to a permanent underclass of dim-witted and uneducated bumpkins unworthy of invites to the skyscraper bars of NYC. Thus they are more than willing to add a dollop of excessive debt to their short lifespans in order to feel the orgasmic relief of belonging. While I don’t have to power to intercede on behalf of everyone who is facing down the cat glasses-adorned bridge of a pesky state government android, there are a few tips that can help radically shape things to an advantage. 1.

Forget “admissions counselors” and their underdeveloped high school equivalents. These folks may seem to have fancy personalities, but at their core they lack any genuine understanding of the economy and life outside of a reasonable government pension. It’s easy to gauge this pretty quickly by asking a couple tough questions related to the market, such as, “Which companies specifically give said starting salaries, and how many graduates have they hired from THIS school?” Be sure to ask them for alumni contacts as well. Any school trying to sell a major or graduate program had better have some sort of proof that

their student gremlins have attained success, and not a vague promotion based on their personal opinion. Just because a school is prominent does not mean everything, which is why we find Ivy Leaguers doing unpaid internships as well. The proof is in the LindkedIn. 2.

Interview members of the school departments offering your major, because not all are equal. Avoid emails and try to call or visit professors during office hours even before officially becoming a student. A keen eye can sniff out flaky programs that exist only to service the mere existence of interest. A big flag is a major included in a larger department category at a small school. This likely means less instructors available and limited funding for potential endeavors as a student.

3.

Take a razor’s edge to the curriculum description. Most programs are posted on university websites, with details about suggested completion plans for the major in question. If there are a lot of courses focused on “theory,” it’s a good indication the degree will not adequately prepare the person for work. Furthermore, courses emphasizing outdated concepts like Marxism in anything outside a strictly historical context are generally major league duds. The fair exception to would be for those readers who may live in North Korea.

4.

Particularly for liberal arts majors, be careful about the school choice. While there is still value to be gleaned from the arts and humanities, universities have turned against free expression of ideas in favor censorship and thought control. If certain views are automatically suppressed or ignored on the basis of institutional policy, find some other place to attend. Going to school simply to tow some geriatric academic’s line for a passing grade is an absolute waste of time, even if his perspective is agreeable

5.

Similar to the previous point, investigate student programs or research opportunities in your chosen major’s department before attending. There’s little reason to shell out the clams for a curriculum that is so lean it can scarcely help towards graduate school or certain careers. As one might have guess, it is not in the interests of faculty or admissions representatives to be forthright about prospects at their school. Another student simply means more tuition to patch up the cracks in a watering hull.

6.

Go to the source. If the goal is to become a public relations chick, find someone who works in the field and ask to call or interview them. Take the data that lovely counselor provided from the college brochure and cross-reference it with the actual professional. Chances are, there’s going to be a discrepancy at some point.

7.

Get ahold of some juicy experience. Instead of assuming a particular course of study and job field is the windswept dream, find out if you actually like it. This is far less difficult than one might imagine. For instance, budding politicos can intern in a legislative office while in high school, and those interested in the healthcare field can look at volunteering as an EMT. Even more advanced careers have windows into their daily grinds through documentaries and business tours.

8.

Check out graduation stats. As delectable as a certain major might sound in the mind, things change when another

ten thousand people matriculate with the exact same concentration in that year. It is still possible to find a job, but there will be a lot more competition.

9.

Be realistic. If you are bombing science courses left and right, becoming a doctor outside of television is unlikely. Calling yourself pre-med regardless of the fact is silly. Do not spend money at college simply to keep up appearances.

10.

Don’t shy away from a challenge. Some fields of study may come easier than others, but that is not necessarily a reason to choose them. If the opportunity presents to pursue a major that will require more effort than the alternative, give it serious thought. College is, after all, meant to be a place where the mind is pushed to its limits and forced to face new ideas. No need to run from such boons.

11.

Take the necessary prep courses for the working environment. I have long recommended the following foundation classes for all students, regardless of their primary major. Two statistics courses, two economics and two accounting classes, and a personal finance class. These will help provide a basis from which to succeed in the workplace, and ought to be a basic requirement for everyone. Thanks to the sluggish manner in which universities try and adapt to the changes of the modern world, they are still optional for many students.

I. How to Choose a School – Does Ranking Matter? We have already covered some of the factors relating to school choice in the preceding section, but I want to ensure everyone has a firm idea of the tactics to hone in on for a solid choice of school. To begin, understand that the clash between ranking and price is not always a clean-cut one like many people wish to imply. The answer to this question is somewhat indirect: Yes and No. A superior college name and ranking will always help one shine with some employers, but in of itself the value is limited. A university’s prestige is helpful for the first two years after graduating, during which time it is socially acceptable to label use the label “recent graduate.” Beyond this period experience kicks in violently. If you go to a prominent school and end up in a couple of bum unpaid internships out of college, the staying attraction of the diploma’s issuer will begin to fade rapidly. Conversely, the person who goes to a lower tier school but ends up in a full-time gig sooner has the advantage of experience. The higher-ranking fellow might still have an edge if they have maintained solid relationships with professors and are gunning for graduate school, but otherwise the ranking of a school does little good in the actual whirlwind affair of the working zone. Understandably, the pressure of society to do well pushes a lot of people to go for the top-ranked school simply in order to feel like they are not “failing out” of life. There’s nothing wrong with taking the route of highest achievement, but it should come with several considerations. First off, Cost. Today’s world is far too dangerous to go gallivanting around with over $100,000 in debt simply to feel “in” with the crowd. If a fancier school means coming out with $50,000 or more in IOUs, take a long step back. Life is too short to be juggling bananas just to feel at home on the American Psycho set. We all want to be Paul Allen, at least in theory, but that isn’t exactly sense and sensibility. Spending the rest of your life paying off daddy government or mommy banks seems like a silly price to pay for the benefit of more tinsel on the diploma edge. Simply lay that stuff for

yourself. Thus elite schools are only worthwhile if there is a substantial scholarship or old wrinkly money that will foot the bill. Otherwise look to public institutions or the smaller diamonds where most of the bill covered gets. A couple examples of affordable colleges are as follows: Berea College, Liberty University, and University of the Cumberlands. Liberty for instance provides a significantlydiscounted rate if the student shows evidence of service in a volunteer state defense force, a nice advantage for those wishing to serve their community and save a little bit of cash. One might scoff at lesser schools because of their name or religious affiliation, but both are pretty irrelevant in the actual job market. The most important factor is the REGIONAL accreditation of the school, not national or self-accreditation. Regional accreditation ensures that everyone from employers, to the government, to that conspiracy-peddling nerd from Grand Rapids sees that degree as legitimate. It also helps if the intention is to pursue graduate school at most mainline institutions. In the past I have encountered folks who went to the wrong school for their undergraduate degree and were blacklisted from decent graduate programs, or forced to redo a bachelor’s degree on their road to achievement. Obviously that means a huge waste of time and money, so plan before going. If you do end up attending a high-ranked school, understand what the expectations will be. By this I don’t mean to imply lowerranked schools are easier; on the contrary, they can demand more of students. What actually matters is how one applies themselves there. Prominent schools are renowned for attracting the best and brightest – who go on to realize everyone is roughly at their level on campus. Hence there can be pressure to take on unreasonable loads simply in the name of appearing equal to the folks who are on the next seat. I am all for high achievement, but burnout hardly helps. Try and strike a balance between grades, recreation, and career-related work. Don’t be the chick who goes to suicide

counseling because she got an A- instead of an A (a true story at my school, believe it or not). II. GPA: Does it matter? As far as college is concerned, a certain GPA is needed to get in. This is non-negotiable aside from folks who take advantage of emotional quotas in order to snag a seat. Once accepted, grades take a different turn. For one, a perfect GPA is not going to make or break a career. While it is certainly helpful if the sights are on law, medical, or business school, in of itself the number’s importance is exaggerated. Will an employer refuse to hire because the candidate has a 3.5 instead of a 3.8? Highly unlikely. They’re more inclined to look at the breadth of experience in a work environment, with leadership, and extracurricular activities. The reasoning is that these categories contribute far more to the success of an employee than grades in various classes. Professors are not so much supervisors as they are guides; one can receive a negative grade for not doing well in a class, but they are not being paid to do it. The university needs students to stay in class and pay bills to keep the coffers jangling. Anyone who doubts this should take a look at the grade inflation scandals that hit Ivy League schools some time ago. After people get in the door, they are hardly concerned with how difficult the classes are, so long as those tuition bills stay ripe and fancy. Another factor to keep in mind is the impact which major choice has on GPA. While there are some people who might do it in a breeze, Electrical Engineering is probably going to result in a sub4.0 GPA. That’s fine. As long as the student is competent enough with the material to do a job well, no employer will see a 3.0 on the resume as a red flag. They have an intuitive understanding that electrons are harder to master than the “Sociology of Gender.” Conversely, holding a low GPA with a lighter major like arts and not compensating with a truckload of additional experience can work against you. Everything is relative, so avoid assuming there is an

absolute rule for all situations. The primary reason to maximize GPA is if there are aspirations to attend a specific graduate school in the future. In the case of law school, about 1/3 of the acceptance package rests on past academic performance, so certainly heighten it as much as possible while an undergraduate student. GPA in this case can also help secure partial or full-ride scholarships to lessen the blow of tuition. For certain scholarships the student must apply directly, while others are awarded automatically on the basis of performance in past academic terms. In order to bolster a record towards this goal, use sites like RateMyProfessor or others that may be native to your school. Believe it or not, the professor can easily make or break a grade in a class depending on how obnoxious they are with the assignments required. Some old geezers enjoy nothing more than seeing students struggle due to poorly-worded essay prompts or tests erected with the express intent of lowering the average grade. If there is a choice, do research ahead of time so the transcript stays lovely. I need to stress the following, however: stop fixating on GPA. Holding a 4.0 does not make one superior, or more likely to succeed than another person. An awful lot of young folks spend their time desperately trying to ensure an immaculate average when they could be using that time to gain experience, which matters more in the end. III. How to Fund It Let’s be clear: college is way too expensive in the United States. Despite endless propaganda about affordability, many programs extend far beyond the realistic threshold for the average family, resulting in excessive loan-taking or foregoing of the opportunity altogether. With the exception of some states where public universities are free, students typically end up footing a

substantial part of the bill to attain a degree. The easy answer to this dilemma is “Just get a scholarship LOL.” Nicely said, but not everyone is eligible, nor will they necessarily be the lucky winner. Some scholarships are also setup to disappear if the holder falls below a certain GPA for even one semester (law schools in particular are renowned for this scheme). In the event one doesn’t get a full-ride, there can still be hell to pay providing other aspects of the cost remain ripe for the financial bleeding. Next up is the “apply for FAFSA” crowd. Indeed, a Pell Grant can help cover part of the expense, but it’s not going to do it all, and loans are not always a reasonable alternative. If one loads up on loans – be them public or private – they make themselves a slave to the financial system. Federal loans are slightly better because they are not as zealous about collecting, but they still fall under the same corrupt model. You will spend the next several decades trying to make minimum payments while housing, transportation, healthcare, and family bills stack up. If luck holds you’ll be like Marco Rubio, who as a United States Senator did not finish paying off student loans until his mid-forties.[2] Kind of depressing, particularly for someone so enmeshed in the upper echelons of the government system, which would seem to be immune from such downsides. A further issue with loans is how they can ruin credit. If you have something in the ball park of $50,000 to pay back and start struggling to make payments, credit scores will decline, resulting in a situation where any consolidation loans or future financial goals are held down by the dismal record. It can seem like a tragic spiral and it is, so avoid going into debt as much as possible. If college means assuming substantial debt (more than $30,000), I strongly advise going to work for a company that offers tuition assistance or joining the military. Firms like Starbucks now

allow certain employees to earn a 4-year degree with little or no cost from Arizona State University, a decent public university with diverse online offerings. The military will pay tuition assistance while you are in, give college credits for training in the case of the Air Force, and provide what is essentially a full-ride to college after four years of service (known as the GI Bill). A person might be turned off by the prospect of graduating college later, or being the grisly old guy who skulks around campus impressing everyone with his ferocious intelligence, but there is little reason to feel that way. A gent who works his way through college or serves in the military will be in a stronger financial position than his peers. Four years means plenty of money saved and invested towards retirement or business prospects. In contrast, college graduates tend to matriculate with limited resources and are forced to take on low or unpaid internships to boost their unremarkable experience. Starting in the workplace will give the added benefit of focus. When one learns to discipline themselves in a job environment they increase their own efficiency and develop a strong attitude about fulfilling the requirements inherent to an objective, making college a piece of cake. You will be eons ahead of the college student who, for example, does nothing but volunteer positions and never has to deal with a pay stub getting knifed by the taxman. I met a fellow like this who was supremely arrogant because he had his way paid by his parents; when he got his first full-time job he was a complete lout because he had never taken time to develop those core skills that make a good worker. Should there be a borderline between a bit of debt and total coverage, consider taking on a part-time job while slogging through the college terms. I did this to help fund my own way, and together with some stock market investments I made between the first several years I was able to knock out significant chunks of the program cost. It’s not always fun to have a second job after school, but it won’t be

regretted as the cost comes down. IV. Is STEM Worth It? Ask the aspiring analyst on higher education about his thoughts regarding major choices, you’ll probably get STEM as an answer. For those who don’t know, STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, the subjects supposedly destined to provide a better future than those concerned primarily with arts. A more recent trend has actually incorporated arts with the STEAM abbreviation, but that’s a topic for later. The central argument behind pursuing STEM is that it is higher in demand and the skills are more conducive to success in the workplace. There is certainly some truth to this; someone who is confident with mathematics will have an easier time tackling the problems that inevitably rise as they progress in a career. Managers for instance are often designated the role of dealing with financial reports and sales numbers, even if their background was in Human Resources or Business Administration. STEM majors also tend to have more exposure to information technology systems as part of their study programs, which matches well with modern demands given the growth of database and cloud communication systems. This all sounds marvelous, but it leaves out an important dynamic: specific major choice. Were someone to buy into college propaganda at face value it would seem any major in the STEM category, no matter how theoretical, automatically results in a superior career outcome. As logical people can see, this mentality is ridiculous and self-destructive. Suppose one snags a Biology degree from a state school. Which employers are ready to hire them at $70k with that major? Few, if any. While biology is a fascinating subject, without medical studies or graduate school it’s about on par with Communications in terms of perceived value within the job market. You will certainly come away with a wellspring of knowledge, but the subject itself isn’t making the Federal Reserve rain.

Even with the more rigorous programs you meet some interesting results. I spoke with a gentleman who had attended a top-ranked engineering school and graduated in Electrical Engineering, arguably the most difficult concentration in STEM. He had several key observations to impart from his experience. First, the engineering market was not nearly as good as the school projected. To be clear, he was in a good area with plenty of private and public sector contracting to be found, but the reality was not as ideal. The chap also noted that he felt his engineering courses were too theoretical and lacked applied aspects to prepare him for the working world. He found himself playing catchup to the folks who worked as technicians in his field and regretted not attending trade school instead of university. Pretty strong insights from a STEM major. I attribute the push for STEM to several prevailing factors. The first you have is university admissions offices desperate to meet enrollment quotas. Since young people have started souring on college after seeing the dramatic rise in debt and limited job opportunities, college funding and endowment pots have been threatened. Rather than restructuring programs to make them more effective to a changing workforce, college administrations have dreamt up STEM as a way to draw back uncertain youngsters into the tuition-paying ring. They’ll spit the usual appeal, “Just go into STEM and the sky’s the limit,” not elaborating that the sky in this case refers to the underpaid data center ceiling you are bound to be working under if things proceed. All they have to do is bring more goobers into the mix so universities are not shut down because of limited funding, hence the widening of the STEM category recently to include arts, or STEAM. The other element of ruffian behavior comes from companies. In fairness, some companies do in fact need more STEM employees, but they don’t talk about how for years they have recruited in foreign countries, thus undercutting the American college graduate’s potential. They have also encouraged more students to enter the STEM field because it helps inflate the market for such

degree holders. Rather than having to pick between high salaries they want young people to take it or leave it alongside 200 other applicants. The whole purpose is to rig the market in such a way so they benefit first and foremost, even if their heartfelt appeals seem to disproportionately fall upon the hard-working student in whatever ad campaign or viral commercial the powers that be can dream up. STEM fanfare at colleges suffers from another problem: the mixing of different categories to justify projected increases in demand. For instance, one job market that is cropping up like drugfueled hotcakes is within the data center industry. These hubs helps major companies like Amazon, Visa, Verizon, and Comcast to store and process the ridiculous amount of customer information flowing through their servers on a daily basis. If you’ve ever worked in one or had the opportunity to take a tour, you know they seem to harken back to films from the 1960s, when computers were showcased as massive rectangular blocks with copious wires and lights whirring inexplicably to pursue the same elusive goal. Walking through one can be an almost surreal experience, as the machines are louder and more predominant than the folks inside working on them, so at times you may feel like you exist in an alien world. Why do I bring up data centers and corny science fiction schlock? Because many of the jobs being advertised as participants in the STEM demand bubble are based in these centers, and more still DO NOT require a four-year degree. Get talking to the data technicians and you’ll find some with a degree in their background, but often they are simply folks who worked in a blue collar-esque profession, such as laying fiber optic cable, and got hired on to do a supposed STEM diploma-requiring job. There lies the thundering issue of the STEM craze: it is being promoted using figures for jobs which do not even necessitate the possession of a specific degree. Now, some of you will make the case that it’s worth having a degree anyway in order to move up, but there is questionable support for such positioning. After all, the industry will make do with what it has. The managers you find leading teams in data centers

are typically promoted from the ranks given the currency of experience. When you are dealing with the security and storage of millions of customers’ information you cannot afford to be playing loose with the quality of the employees hired. A person with a fouryear degree is thus attractive as far as the veneer of a resume is concerned, but the moment they prove bungle-worthy vis-à-vis someone without the diploma, the road gets rocky quickly. It’s also silly to advise youngsters to pursue an expensive and draining degree if they would be better off simply going to work for $15 an hour and mastering the art until a more senior position opens. By this I do not mean to imply the market is dead and gone for STEM degrees; on the contrary, there are plenty of positions still available to the aspiring graduate. The point is to recognize that statistics and social pushes are often brought out on the tailcoats of a specific agenda. In this case there are a plethora of reasons why the educational and business establishments want impressionable goobers streaming into colleges on the promise of some perfectly fangled degree. Make sure you are arming yourself with the facts before going on the consent of some inter-menopausal ding-dong who only works in counseling because their music therapy degree did not lead anywhere substantial and the only professional mission remaining in their life is to harness the innocent with slobbering proportions of compounding debt and emotional stress. V. Is a Double Major/Minor Worth It? Given the tidal wave of negativity surrounding economic news and the popular ”lowest-paying majors” lists you’ll find strewn across the internet, it’s understandable that a lot of young folks would inquire about the utility of pursuing a second major or minor while in college. I frequently get questions concerning Major A + Major B and the value of taking them in tandem. Others will list off triple majors, or a herd of minors, seemingly convinced that more concentrations mean a better chance of securing stable employment after

graduation. Here’s a quick piece of advice: in most cases it is entirely unnecessary. You go to college with a plan, and pursue that plan throughout the four years you attend. Slapping on a second concentration rarely, if ever, bolsters your position, because it heightens the likelihood you will be too busy to generate the leadership and work experience so vital to outpacing others in the job market. A bright fellow who majors in Accounting, for example, has the opportunity to use his free time towards the accumulation of internships or fellowships and leadership in some financial or business-related association. He can also cultivate communication skills, and network with the folks who will one day be his colleagues or subordinates, depending on his overall talent and ability to rise up. He might take some elective classes in Fine Arts if that’s something that interests him, but it won’t go past the level of a minor because he does not want to be caught up in a double-time schedule trying to make up for a limited amount of hours to complete an extra helping of college courses. Furthermore, he is more concerned with having a respectable GPA and being well-rounded than becoming an academics-obsessed freak who struggles to make friends and is always going on about their crushing workload of redundant classes. On the reverse side you have the person who decides to double major. While they are great at academics and manage to keep their grades under control, they end up spending the winter and summer terms loaded up on extra courses in order to keep the graduation time in-line and avoid shelling out additional college money. By investing hours into the coursework and using timebudgeting techniques, they end up meeting personal academic goals. Well, at least sort of. Due to this person’s focus on bonus classes and grades, they have sacrificed valuable chunks of time which could be better used to accumulate experience and personal skills related to their chosen job field. They are free to go around trumpeting the “I’m a double major…” introduction, but it does little for them outside whatever limited social circle they constructed in the

school library. It is, after all, difficult to build friendships when you are constantly wrapped up in completing the next series of jam-packed assignment schedules. To make matters worse, the bragging only goes a short distance as the hardcore double and triple major types have either burned out of university altogether or moved on to claim a “JD/MBA” dual degree in their shortsighted quest to gain the affirmation of society and the government. A quick note on dual or double degrees: In most cases, a college will not consider a double major to be a double degree. Thus if you go for Political Science and History your degree will be a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History, not two separate degrees. The second major is only considered a concentration, not a totally different degree. The exception to this rule comes when you pursue one major in arts and the other in science. So if you went after a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a Bachelor of Science in Biology, you would be awarded two degrees. In terms of minors, they are best utilized to explore an area outside your primary major without killing yourself taking extra courses. I normally advise students to go for a more valuable major and take a minor in something they like, but isn’t necessarily in high demand. For example, a clever chick from Connecticut might pursue a degree in Information Technology and take some courses in Criminal Justice on the side to complete a minor. She does not forcibly need a second major to fulfill her creeping interest. VI. Are Double Majors Looked Upon Positively? Since this question comes up frequently, it is worth attacking. Having a double major will not hurt you in your career search (assuming you have been accruing experience while you are in college). That being said, it is not destined to make or break your ability to obtain a position. The farthest your academic accomplishments will go is your resume; after that they are looking for you to sell yourself based on abilities and personality. If you elect

to rant about your double major and triple minor and how that makes you smarter than everyone else to a hiring committee, you will swiftly be shown the door. Arrogance is not exactly the quality set to showcase you as a team player. The main place where a double major might get you second looks is on an application to graduate school with an academic bent in mind. That being said, you are much better off simply pursuing the honors program for your primary major and completing a thesis project; this gives you the opportunity to work one-on-one with professors and contributes to the perception that you are capable of handling graduate-level coursework, which is far more demanding than your run-of-the-mill undergraduate class. Remember, just because you have taken more courses does not mean you are automatically a smarter individual. Most college classes are designed to ensure few people can actually fail, so they are a poor litmus test for intellectual caliber. VII. A Note About Qualifications Obsession Being as we are in the neighborhood of degrees and majors, I need to make a point clear about the modern obsession with qualifications. While degrees do go a certain distance in demonstrating your ability to work under stress and perform in a desired manner, they should not be confused with genuine intelligence or superiority. Sadly, a large swath of young people become paranoid when they reach college and assume they must pile on various degrees or certifications to appear “good enough.” From this you get the insane antics of triple majors, and nervous breakdowns because the stress of it all becomes too much to bear. It’s the cause of lower middle class students going into debt to pursue fangled graduate degrees that will make them less classconscious, even if the resulting salary is a pittance versus the cost. We also get the sneering at individuals who work with their hands from these groups, because apparently a piece of paper issued by the government or some private institution is the sainted construction

material of King Midas himself. If this describes you, put a stop to the rot immediately before you continue with your education. Understand that a degree is simply a piece of paper; it grants no special powers or privileges, and it guarantees no specific job or career. At the simplest level, it is a qualification issued by an institution based upon relatively arbitrary standards. Thousands of other students already have or will complete the exact same classes and tests that you have pushed yourself to secure. They will walk on graduation day and be awarded the very diploma you enjoy trumpeting as if it is divinely-inspired. Other resumes will mirror yours in terms of grade point average, year of matriculation, and chosen concentrations. You are not special. Worst of all, someone had to dole out pricy tuition money in order to justify that heavenly paper rolled up and tied with a ribbon. You PAID to get that degree; it was not awarded strictly on the basis of your particular talents and intellectual ability. I’m sure the spiel comes off as something of a crest-breaker, but it’s deathly important in the modern world. The greater the value you attach to something like a college degree, the more likely you are to make decisions with poor outcomes in life. You don’t want to be one of those folks who goes into insurmountable debt for a liberal arts degree and then pursues law school to feel purpose-driven, simply to believe you are adequate. Your life must ultimately rest with what works for YOU, and not a drinking circle or huddle of strollerpushing moms on the playground. Should Sperry Dinger IV go to NYU Law as a legacy applicant thanks to a donation from his father, you are not obligated to rush out and apply to the same institution simply to keep at his level. You have one life to live, so be wise in your allocation of time and money. VIII. Is a Master’s Degree Worth It? As if regular college queries were not enough, the topic usually collides with graduate school, since society teaches young

folks that the natural progression involves snagging a higher level degree given that a college degree is supposedly “the new high school diploma.” They’ll reach the junior or senior year and start freaking out because the working world is either too scary, or the thought of not having a teacher to report to daily appears like some crazy invention of Willy Wonka’s Tunnel of Dreams. Thus is born the pursuit of graduate school, a process which often leads to even more frustration, and a healthy debt dose. To cut Velveeta with a Milwaukee saw, most graduate degrees are not going to help you progress in a career or attain a better job. They are designed to suck more money out of your pockets while delivering an abstract and often overly-theoretical approach to a topic. Think your History degree is holding you back from getting hired? Now add on a graduate degree in the same topic. You are “overqualified,” as they say, no matter how ridiculous that term sounds when we consider the value that society attaches to higher education. Here are a couple of problems with the graduate degree bonanza: 1.

They are too easy to get. As contradictory as this might sound, it is very simple to grab yourself a cup of masters supreme. Simply find any one of the multitude of online colleges or state institutions offering remote or hybrid programs to the prospective learner. Pay the right fees and you are free to work at your own pace to complete another framed piece of paper for the history books. Just think of the wonderful SNHU, ASU, and UMUC television ads! This ease of gaining a diploma results in an inflation of the degree’s value for everyone. Are you trying to jumpstart a career with some fresh master’s degree? Great, because plenty of other folks in the same market have similar degrees, and thus your value as a prospective employee is substantially lower. You can’t really lay claim to special

status because all of the “team-building” and “dynamic group development” assignments you’ll be doing with fellow degree-mates are kept within a controlled environment, and again, there will be others with the same background. 2.

Beyond that, you’re also paying through the nose to get it. On average graduate school credits cost 4-5 times more than undergraduate equivalents, despite the fact that it’s still basic classwork handed out by an unimpressive “adjunct professor.” Stop and think for a moment; at more elite graduate schools you will be paying upwards of $1500.00 PER CREDIT HOUR. That’s $4500.00 for every class taken. Sound like a brilliant idea? Well, anything for the sake of an advanced degree in some unique subject. After all, one can’t possibly research those topics on their own, or develop leadership skills in the workplace. You MUST have a degree, or failure awaits.

3.

They can POSTPONE earning potential. Let’s break things down for a minute. Suppose a dutiful student attends college between years 18-22, and then elects to pursue a graduate degree. They’ve already spent four years of adult life outside of the workforce, discounting possible paid internships and retail jobs. Now it’s going to be another two years before they enter the market properly. During that timeframe, members of the same graduating class will be seizing jobs, in some cases slated to begin right after receiving their diploma. That means they have two years to shine in a work environment and move up, likely receiving a raise or two. Most importantly, they have secured a spot in the workforce, which is imperative to long-term success. At last you come in, only now the competition is against a new wave of undergraduate students for the same positions available several years earlier. Since you have limited

experience in the field to begin with, the seniority argument doesn’t work, but meanwhile you’ve got a hallowed and advanced degree. You can certainly attempt to ask for a higher starting salary, but providing they have enough undergraduate applicants they will gladly lowball into the same rate. Even worse, they might choose to bill you as overqualified or overambitious, a couple of favorites among those who see the well-educated as a potential threat. Above all that catastrophe, your decision to take a graduate degree has cost two years of salary in the regular workforce, and all the investment contributions have made in that time. It is not realistic to avoid the issue by simply claiming a higher level of leadership ability, as masters holders like to do. Until you have proven that proficiency through actual work experience, the graduate degree is just another trinket that says the person is capable of following orders issued by a teacher. We live in a cruel world. IX. On the Matter of MBAs Make any research into graduate schools and you might hear the phrase, “An MBA’s the golden ticket.” I agree, but the only gold part is the strip of aluminum on the side of the EBT card you’ll be using after pursuing such a degree. Alright, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but in all seriousness, the modern crop of MBA programs are one of the worst investments of time and money a person can make. In this category I am not including Top 20 programs, which actually require experience and solid academic accomplishments to gain acceptance; these babies are well worth the effort because they are greenlights to excellent careers. For example, one gentleman I knew had a $300,000 annual salary offer upon graduating from Harvard Business School. Nothing inherently wrong with that, whether you have lots of debt or none at all.

The real culprits of the MBA scam are any of the massproduced and easily-accessible degrees offered by Podunk universities like free crack to a Philadelphia hooker. These are the programs that require no experience, can be completed all online, or are available to senior undergraduate students as a further way to drain money out of the average, well-meaning goober. They have no ranking worth a diddle of snot, but advertise like the freaking hemorrhoid circus in every place one can imagine. On this point it is hard to fault them, to be fair, because Ivy League Schools have begun putting paid adverts on dating apps like Tinder. THAT is where we are. What one gets out of a low-grade MBA program is an expensive title, and little more. Perhaps you receive something to dollop on the LinkedIn profile or business card as though it is equivalent to DDS, MD, or PhD. Note that this title doesn’t make the person an actual “Master of Business Administration.” There are five and plenty folks who carry around MBAs but couldn’t run a business or even a team without tripping over themselves a thousand times. Due to their limited attributes they end up coasting into some bum government coordinator job where merits are second to the sake of public employment. Of course you cannot really blame them, as graduate programs are by and large enclosed and controlled experiments in a setting with poor applicability to the real business world. You are not coming out of an Outhouse Steakback University MBA program and getting hired straight as a manager; that would be much too easy. The reason is quite simple; nothing in the majestic MBA program goes beyond teaching in the workplace, no matter what the admissions counselor says. Sure, you’ll go through team projects and read about Manager Type X vs. Manager Y, look over charts and tables inspired by the works of Max Weber, and maybe get a whiff of Peter Drucker, but none of that is particularly hard to absorb. Business management is about trial and error. If you are an office supervisor working during busy season and three employees

don’t show up to make their sales calls, whipping out some theory put together by an egghead who has not actually run a business won’t help. You have to go for a solution, which either means bringing in backup, stepping in to fill the gap, or pushing the other employees to triple time. Pie charts aren’t exactly the bomb in this case. The latter problem of instructor background is also an issue. While it is true at some colleges that the faculty is pulled from the business world, a frequent issue comes in the selection of professors holding a DBA, or Doctor of Business Administration. This ridiculous degree is pursued by those interested in studying the theoretical underpinnings of business without necessitating the inclusion of the hardcore mathematics native to an equivalent title in economics. You will rarely find a DBA holder who has actually worked in a business field for an extended period of time, much less run their own firm altogether. Yet that doesn’t stop colleges from hiring them on to teach budding managers about business. All they need is an overpriced Pearson Publishing textbook and the blessing of an allegedly accredited degree. Bullseye. Any fair-minded person should see the hypocrisy in such a system. On the one hand, universities like to preach the value of their programs as a gateway to success in the private sector, but they have no problem hiring people who lack bonafide experience in that very realm. Thus folks unlucky enough to take the plunge with a low-ranked MBA could well end up being taught by an individual who would be more suited to work under them in a business operation than actually take charge like a manager is required to do. The silly degree title becomes a wedge of authority which somehow surpasses the basic requirement of experience to serve as a mentor unto others. But don’t worry, because you can always enroll in the school’s DBA program once it becomes clear that the MBA will not advance your career.

X. What About Law School? I made a video some time ago concerning the value of attending law school in the present day. As expected, a large contingent of angry wannabe or current law students wrote back to savage me for my views, which essentially advised against taking the legal route. While I was unsurprised by the ensuing backlash, it serves as a good illustration of how sold much of the population is on the idea of lawyering for a career. We watch legal dramas, hear about the antics of district attorneys busting the nasty and powerful, and dream of the high-rolling money men on Wall Street. Nothing seems to be wrong with the field, except for everything that is. Much like the MBA, the JD (Juris Doctorate) is worthwhile if it comes from a prominent school, or the candidate has a family so enmeshed in the field that they can expect a job immediately upon graduation. Besides those conditions, one should avoid the path like they would the 6/10 blonde high school cheerleader after Beach Week. To have a little backstory, the degree was initially upgraded to semi-doctoral status in the 1960s as a response to the threat of drafting for the Vietnam War; prior to that it was called a Bachelor of Laws and could be completed directly out of high school, rather than requiring some sort of undergraduate degree as a foundation. Law schools shrewdly recognized how educational deferments would be easier to obtain from the government if their students could lay claim to pursuing an advanced degree, and thus the JD was born. Skip a couple scenes to the present day. There are over 205 law schools approved by the American Bar Association today to issue the JD degree. Ranking has become all but worthless for the mean prospective 1L, because schools have turned law into another mass market product for the young and aspirational. “Get a law degree!” they’ll say, whilst conjuring up images of some clean-cut JAG attorney passionately arguing a criminal case in front of the cameras. This could be you is the underpinning message. So long as one holds such a marvelous piece of paper they will be entrusted to make a difference, something that excited the typical person’s

boring life. The cost is only about another hundred grand or so in debt, which is meaningless because every lawyer starts out making over six figures. Or at least they supposedly all have full-time employment within the first six months, but don’t bother asking where they are employed specifically, because that’s private information. We should start by analyzing the conditions of the legal market. If only a handful of law schools existed, the lawyering field would be fairly enticing to the limited number of folks accepted into those institutions. After all, a smaller supply prevents surplus in the market, which invariably will drive down salaries and suppress opportunities for graduates. Figures from 2014 showed that only about 60 percent of law school graduates had secured full-time gigs. [3] This number is meant to exclude some of the nefarious practices of universities publishing employment statistics, but one can safely assume the dishonestly inherent in law school administrations likely means the number is a lot lower. At any rate, when over forty percent of graduates cannot secure decent employment with what is essentially a doctoral degree, it might be time to take a second look. We should remember how expensive law school is to attend; shelling out $100,000 is not entirely unlikely, especially if you are lucky enough to get one of those schools where the “full-ride” scholarship is designed to expire the moment grades slip, even if but slightly. A good example of this is Regent University, where one of the larger scholarships is predicated on holding a consistent grade point average that few law students can realistically maintain. They have no problem offering the scholarship, but the moment you fall behind, it all comes to a simmering end. One also has to factor in the scum level inherent in certain law school admissions and academics departments. Despite negative trends for attorney employment prospects and the rise of technology undercutting the legal market, schools continue to advertise inaccurate placement rates for their law graduates as an incentive

for future enrollees. A typical scheme is to count temporary or parttime employment as full-time, thus deceiving eager students who think the work opportunities are incredible.[4] You also might notice here how law school professors have insanely high salaries despite the low return on investment for students attending the average law school. I’m not going to argue against the right of schools to pay their faculty well, but if a student is giving away $100,000 for a second degree that will bring in only $50-60k annually to start, it might be cause to scratch heads if the professor is rolling in cheesecake. It’s only right to look at the realities of the profession as well. A great many teenagers believe legal work is primarily about wearing a suit and tie, using a plethora of one-liners, and passionately arguing the client’s case in court for a twenty-minute television clip. Then collect a million dollar paycheck and spend the weekend banging Miami Dolphins cheerleaders. Not exactly. The grain of legal work is exceptionally monotonous and boring, as it requires you to pore over endless (and uninteresting) legal briefs, write up a bland but rather compelling case, and maneuver the court system to help reach a particular outcome. Law school is similarly unremarkable. You will spend long hours, at times upwards of seventy a week, trying to cover enough briefs and cases in order to succeed when it comes to the rat race of law school exams, which are quite different from undergraduate equivalents. The material may seem dry, and at times devoid of any practical meaning where the actual field of law is concerned, but the requirements for graduation remain. It is also probable that you will be precluded from holding a part-time job while class is in session due to the academic demands, which maximizes the likelihood of a larger financial end bill. Finally, we should examine the time side of the equation. Law school takes at least three years if pursued full-time, or four years if done as night school. Some universities offer a compressed, twoyear program including summer sessions, but that means missing out on internship opportunities or clerkships, which will be critical to

securing a decent job upon graduation. So we are left with an academic path that will take at least seven years of life from high school graduation to the seizure of a JD. For some, it’s perfectly reasonable. They love the idea of being a lawyer and do not care how long the process takes. But we need to be real, no matter how painful it might seem. If you do not get into a top-end law school or at least some lower-tier with a robust financial aid package, there is a risk of being the subject CNN’s documentary piece, where a JD holder works as a barista because the legal market is that atrocious. Check out websites like Third Tier Reality if you feel threatened by what I am saying here. There is a high price to pay for being reckless, but doing research in comparison costs little.

XI. And the PhD It’s difficult to gauge the worth of a doctoral degree because the target so often comes down WHO specifically pursues such a path. As most PhD’s will tell say, they went for the highest level of degree because they enjoyed school and desired to continue beyond the normal track of undergraduate or master’s level. If one falls into such a category then the PhD may well be a decent option, but it is critical to understand the preparatory steps before taking a plunge. To start, it is not uncommon for undergraduate students to apply for a PhD directly out of college. This route benefits from having the closest relationships with undergraduate instructors and allowing more time to examine the appropriate application package. You will need to go after student research and teaching opportunities in order to forge a positive relationship with professors and put the foundation stones on a proposal for research. Someone who comes from the professional world will have to rely on gaining such opportunities either in their workplace, where they might be limited, or independently, which poses a significant challenge.

Doctoral hopefuls should also understand what they are getting themselves into. A PhD will take an average of 5-6 years BEYOND the undergraduate level. That means spending many a day in class, taking notes, performing research, writing and defending a dissertation, and doing plenty of reading. On that latter point, expect to be doing an astronomical amount each week, with a hefty workload for the duration of your time as a student. Make sure to recognize too how much more difficult the doctoral classes will be. Just because third and fourth year courses went by with a breeze and 4.0 does not mean it will be the same once you start going for the Doctor title. A noticeable difference is how little they will hold hands when it comes to doing assignments. Should you be the type that did well in school because the teacher explained every step of the way in immaculate detail and proofread each one of your papers before submission, think twice before running for a doctoral degree. It’s not to say you will be unable to adapt, but things move quickly. Do not expect to show up after a comparatively light undergraduate curriculum and masters with some sort of complacent attitude when it comes to studying. A doctoral degree is fundamentally about generating individual content, so a self-driven attitude is paramount. Another factor of note is the type of research you will be doing. I bring this up primarily for individuals who consider a PhD program because they *really* like a specific subject, such as Political Science. If your fascination with PoliSci focuses on horserace politics, news analysts, and presidential debates, it’s better to get out with a BA and pursue careers in network television. There you will be free to mouth off like a talking head while still retaining a decent shot at holding the job. With a PhD it’s a little different. Academic departments are notoriously “political,” haha, and therefore students will be laboring under the auspices of a small group of extremely fragile egos. Your research is also slated to end up in peer-reviewed journals where other academics with eclairs for backbones are tasked with protecting their personal contributions while targeting your own for

criticism. As a result of the environment, you must be VERY careful with anything said or written about in the context of research. You are not going to scribble a dissertation that tries to argue like a writer on Huffington Post or Breitbart. If an academic department gets even the slightest suggestion that you are a loose cannon, it is game over for the career and professorship. In terms of the job market, be sure to understand exactly what a PhD actually is. While in college I encountered a ripe crop of graduate students who were intent on academic positions but had begun to realize their idealized jobs might not be around the corner. Today universities are increasingly relying on adjunct and assistant instructors or lecturers who lack tenure tracks and thus can be booted out the door in case of funding issues. Contrast this with the academia of old, where ancient toadstools could suck up a six figure salary essentially for doing nothing save drearily lecturing on a course curriculum they last bothered to update twenty-five years ago. These dinosaurs used to not be a problem because they had lower lifespans than the bookworms of today, who stretch their existence and position well beyond the scope of a reasonable 30-35 year career. They cannot be “encouraged” to retire, for there rests the path of a discrimination lawsuit. Because universities are unwilling or unable to change the nature of tenure and evaluations, they have migrated to a model of positions about as secure as a strip of bacon around the local Golden Retriever. While this does not mean academic roles are completely worthless to pursue, be aware of the toxic marketplace. For example, a recent job advertisement for a PhD-holding applicant offered $28,000 to work as a lecturer at the University of Illinois – Chicago.[5] You have to remember how colleges propagandize about higher degrees equaling higher starting pay. We’ve all seen those charts suggesting a person with a masters or PhD has astronomical career earning averages versus folks with a basic high school diploma. Sounds great, but in reality doctoral people are often

shafted when it comes to the money department. It works to explain why PhD students are so anxious to jump ship and join non-profits or think tanks where their education will actually be rewarded by a fair salary and upwards movement potential. If a person is going to put in the amount of time and effort required attain an advanced degree, they should at least have an ok opportunity to make a living with it. The downside I need to emphasize again with doctorates is the time loss factor. Expect to spend at least 8-9 years from high school graduation to walking across the stage as a newly-minted doctor. This means that much of the time you will be confined to a university or research area pulling a modest salary versus the average corporate drone. After emerging, in most cases at age 26 or above, you’ll have to make a fresh start in the workplace without the benefit of the compounding salaries folks in a good industry can get if they enter work immediately following college. As with other higher level degrees, holders may suffer from the problem of being perceived as too qualified for a given position. Particularly with doctorates, the academic marvel is viewed as possessing a level of knowledge and ability that can threaten any mainline hiring manager by making them believe this new employee could be gunning for their job. Again, it seems ridiculous to entertain ideas like that considering the premium America places on college education, but in the real economic world things come down to survival, not scraps of paper alone. Going the doctoral direction certainly opens doors, but it must be paired with a clear understanding of the market and possible pitfalls. XII. Which Master’s Degrees ARE Worth It? If I have not angered enough readers with the preceding passage, now’s the time to talk about the graduate degrees which can in fact make a serious different. The main option I have long floated in videos is the Master of Arts in Teaching, commonly referred to as the MAT. I offer this one for the following reason:

schools are badly in need of teachers.[6] The rising level of retirement among baby boomers and an exploding population due to almost limitless immigration of the legal and illegal varieties has forced the hand of school districts. Budget requests are skyrocketing, with some counties in the United States carrying school finances well into the billions, and on the private side things are hardly prettier. With the surge of public school participation there has been an even more alarmed consideration of educational quality on the part of parents, who now will send their children to private academies with annual tuition bills equal to many colleges, simply so that the gerbils get a “better” educational career. In some respects it is laughable, but one can certainly take advantage of the searing demand. MAT programs are normally between 1-2 years if completed after a bachelor’s degree. One can either take one online or through a brick-and-mortar school, the latter being advisable because they will set up a teaching internship to ensure you are prepped for the task of finding an actual job, which will normally require at least some experience. Another option is to look for a college that offers a 4+1 program. Under this system you begin taking graduate education courses during senior year and finish the degree one year after the undergraduate track, thus emerging with a valuable certification to tackle the world of work. The key here is to recognize that an MAT allows a person to sit for the state’s LICENSING test, a critical element. The reason so few degrees are worthwhile anymore is because they boil down to a course of study without any firm professional weapon for use. Claiming a government license means you are free to work in your state (or multiple states), creating a dearth of job opportunities. Should you elect to pursue travel, the MAT can provide a gateway in that direction. A popular trend amongst college graduates is to take a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course and teach English abroad. What most don’t realize is how worthless the basic certificate is. With the flood of Westerners into Europe and East Asia schools have begun to

erect much fiercer standards regarding their teachers. No longer is it enough to simply have a bachelor’s from an American university and a drive-by certificate; now many locations are outright demanding the involving (and costlier) CELTA, or in some cases, a proper teaching license. The primary difference lies in the flexibility the teacher has in terms of career. Whilst a TEFL holder will be restricted to relatively low-paid jobs that can require dubious dealings with foreign governments, licensed teachers can grab solid gigs with expenses paid because they have the backing of an actual educational accrediting body. For instance, teaching positions in Mexico and The Middle East pay $3-4k monthly, not including living expenses paid by the hiring authority in those nations. The caveat is that those jobs require the applicant to hold a teaching license from their country, and preferably a master’s degree. TEFLites on the other hand are stuck with fewer options because their credentials are minimal. Someone might point out the downsides to teaching, and to be fair, they do exist. You have to manage a classroom of critters who may be determined to make life an absolute hell. You will deal with changing regulations that seem to strangle the teacher’s ability to actually impart knowledge to the children or teenagers who have been entrusted to their care. At times it may even feel like your efforts are completely futile in the face of goobers who simply ignore instructions and light the globe on fire. These are valid criticisms, but life is rarely about getting 100 percent all of the time. Since working will naturally draw one apart from time to focus on themselves and personal financial development, I advise jobs that allow you to earn decent money while maximizing free time. Education remains one of those rare career fields where a person can enjoy almost three months off a year with pay, not including vacation. Compensation may not be the highest but it is decent, and the upward potential is respectable. You likely will not get rich on the basis of holding a teaching degree alone, but it does provide a window to concentrate resources on the stuff that matters more to your future as opposed to slogging away for hours on end in some corporate hellhole.

XIII. Finally, How About Trade School? So admittedly, blue collar professions that stem from trade schools are a bit different from traditional college paths, but I maintain the belief that not everyone is wired the same way. Some of us prefer the university route, while others would like to work with their hands and develop a skill. Neither way is necessarily inferior or guaranteed to lead to superior results, so as usual it comes down to the person. The trade family is a broad one, encompassing primary fields like plumbing and electrical work, along with more obscure selections such as oil rig maintenance. Entrance into any of them as a profession can come from simply working in a closely related area or by attending a specific school for instruction and hands-on training. The best trade schools out there will feature a formalized apprenticeship program to help the learning process, and may even pay you to attend classes. Conversely, a less effective approach requires the attendee to pay for everything—including tools – and provides limited opportunities for structured training. I recommend finding a school that pays for attendance (union institutions or spots like the Apprentice School are good bets), because anyone who invests money in a person will want to see positive results, whereas them being paid takes the pressure off. A normal trade apprenticeship will run 1-4 years and allow a student to pick up a combination of college credits and job-related courses which may transfer over to the college side as well. Assuming successful completion, you can sit for the test to attain a Journeyman license, the primary means of attaining solid and lucrative work throughout life. On the other street, simply working in the field on a tangential basis or attending a two-bit trade school can create a situation where you make very little money as a “helper” for years. In the United States everything runs on government permits and approvals, sad as it may seem. Failing to pursue the right

certifications can remand you to a position where do just as much difficult labor as the guy next door – and cap out at $18 per hour. That might seem decent for a young person, but it’s bad once there is a family or higher living expenses to consider. If we look at the statistics,[7] there is a growing demand for tradesmen in the United States and the world at-large. What this means is that the job market will remain considerably well-equipped as things goes forward, providing you attain the proper education and licenses. Opportunities for international contracting also abound, giving the option to go abroad and rake in money at a significantly advanced rate, or under the tax system of an entirely different country. Some folks have benefited from this in the Middle East especially, where certain countries do not tax income at all, whilst offering large levels of compensation to the right skilled tradesmen. Concurrently, one can take advantage of the United States’ tax policies by spending just enough time in the country throughout the year to meet taxation requirements, which allows for the exemption of up to $90,000 or so from taxes.[8] If it all sounds juicy then I have to temper with some other information. As valuable as trades may be, they will expose workers to harsh and sometimes unsafe labor conditions. Few blue collars workers can attest to work environments shrouded by heating and air conditioning, comfortable and ergonomic positions, or healthy vapors. You will work in varied conditions including wind, snow, heat, and freezing cold. Your tasks may require absence from home for long periods of time, perhaps on a ship or oil rig separated from civilization. Expect to encounter plenty aches and pains while completing jobs in cramped and unwelcome situations, and at times get very dirty. The latter point about consequence of working industrial, residential, or exposed to materials and

health is a particularly critical issue. As a in varied environments, whether they be on the side of a road, workers will be chemicals with the capacity to make them

ill and cause substantial health issues down the line. Safety standards certainly have improved over recent years, but it’s worth noting that these changes came in RESPONSE to someone getting injured or killed, not as a preventive measure. It should be obvious then that there remain dangers and health risks which have not yet been addressed with a specific policy due to lack of knowledge or prioritization. You have probably seen those commercials by law firms targeting former chemical plant or rig workers who developed cancers and other diseases as a result of exposure to certain elements in the work environment. Lawyers might be scumbags, but those segments are no joke; many people end up facing negative health outcomes due to the fecklessness or ignorance of their employers, especially in the blue collar sector. To illustrate, the West Virginia mine collapse of 2010 stemmed from the company deliberately attempting to be lax with safety standards, something that ended up costing the lives of twenty-nine people.[9] I don’t mean to scare anyone away from what can be a great career path, but knowing is important. Ideally, you should go into a trade and spend no more than ten years there, working towards becoming a business owner while minding safety guidelines carefully on the job. The money is good, but it certainly is not worth your life.

4. Investing I. How to Start Investing One of the fairest questions I receive is how I managed to build up initial capital in order to foray into the world of investing. Of course having jobs played a central role, but much of my plot actually stems from investing in very small companies that trade at less than a dollar in value: penny stocks. While this field of investing carries with it considerable risk, it also presents a golden opportunity for rewards, if done correctly. The very first penny stock I delved into was a film production company trading at just over thirty cents. Based on my research I poured funds into the shares, held it for less than two weeks, and then sold at a gain of forty-five percent, not bad for small money. I took the plunge because the firm had a respectable history of production and success, not simply as a bet. Now, all stocks are obviously not like this one, but a willingness to take time to study and evaluate can result in similar, if not far better, outcomes for your portfolio. I am not going to throw this information out and then dally fance away with vague nonsense. My success with penny stocks was based largely on careful examination from the sidelines—the majority of it, to be precise. The

fact is, no one magically collapses into investing and comes out with a masterful glisten. Success takes time, and time requires patience. If you can’t wait to understand the process and choose each jockey carefully, get ready to be burnt out and poor sooner than an excitable match. A bright man might ask at this point, how does one deal with risk? It’s a fine question, as the volatile nature of penny stocks also extends into the realm of financial information surrounding these companies. Many offer scant details on their vital statistics, leaving the broader picture like some mad, blind gamble with life savings. If you are just getting into investments, this will seem stridently apparent. There is no one standing by to hold hands in most cases, and it can be tempting to dance right in, unload the bank account, and wait for the lottery moment. Folks who follow this murky road are the first ones in—and the last ones out—of all their gains, of course. You can easily blow thousands with such an attitude. It’s not so much pride, but rather giddiness and greed that goes before an utter, painful fall. Anyone possessing a scintilla of mediocre intelligence should be able to avoid this trap by using a special virtue: patience. Getting started with investing is like learning to walk: you are anxious, challenged, and can see failure at every turn. The key is to limit downside by maximizing the chance of triumph. One can do this by starting out trading on paper. No, that does not mean trading cash, just handling imaginary money to get the hang of it, while avoiding the actual risk. To begin, choose some companies you are interested in (I recommend no more than five), and begin allocating a portfolio by calculating how many shares can be bought using the existing money available, let’s say for simplicity’s sake $5,000. After performing the requisite research by reading financial statements, studying the company’s performance history, and taking into account market headwinds, “invest” the position and plot three, six, and twelve month update points when you will examine the outcome thus far, and decide whether or not to change strategy based on the

results. If you lost big, learn from those mistakes and assess what went wrong for the future. On the other hand, if the take is positive it will prove that success is possible in the stock market, and provide an array of characteristics to look for once real money goes forward. The key point is that a loss in this scenario doesn’t mean you are out of five grand just because some bubblehead’s predictions turned out to be wrong. The need for restraint when it comes to investing also collides with the earlier mention of patience. Most of us have the same problem when it comes to money: we want a lot all the time, but have difficulty doing the hard work to get it. Our greed causes us to gladly put existing assets on the line for the promise of some golden spring in the near future. If that prospect evaporates, we become angry and consider the whole apparatus of investing to be utterly worthless, even though the fault lies almost entirely with us. Sure, some corporations are total scam machines, yet it will come down to your own laziness 99 percent of the time. When one dives into a company on the grounds of vague or hyperbolic news they are simply feeding the smarter men in the market, who could care less about personal failures or empty bank accounts. Blaming “the establishment” thus goes only so far, as they exist largely because of the average guy’s feckless behavior in the realm of personal finance. For all these reasons, investing has to be approached with care. If you cannot wait six months or more to see a return, it’s probably not a good fit. If getting high, wasted, or banging your plussized girlfriend is more important than looking at numbers, you’re not going to like it. If you prefer immediate gratification to slow and steady labor, the story will likely be a crash and burn. It all sounds rough, but I have to be honest. Anyone who walks into the field like some giddy mad chicken will see their eggs in the dumpster before they can say hakuna-freaking-matata. Your job is to avoid that fate by being realistic. Yes, you can get rich. Yes, history does favor the cause. But it doesn’t happen

overnight (at least in most cases).You have to plan, bleed, and work to deflate ridiculous expectations by adopting the right poise. If we take the classic example, someone who invested $1,000 with Warren Buffett in 1964 would have made well over ten million dollars through gains and reinvested dividends over their lifetime.[10] As good as it sounds, very few people are successful under the same lines because they lack the temerity to hold their plot so long in the currents of the market. At the slightest sign of trouble they bolt like a fat dude out of the produce section in Kroeger’s. The outcome is a world where the average gooseberry will piss away a couple grand on the market at one point in their life, then become bitter and resort to just using their 401k along with the hope, far-fetched as it may be, that Social Security will buck them out of a Wal-Mart greeter job once they retire. There has to be a better way, and there is, if we choose to be proactive and patient, two traits this current generation lacks in excess. II. Analysts One of the greatest truths I have learned about investing is to not trust the analysts on 99 percent of what they say. While they will appeal to our best judgment using scam-worthy titles like “MBA” or “CFP,” their mission is to look out for their own interests and the wellbeing of the institution providing them with a paycheck. If you notice, they tend to refer to “Your investment goals” rather than offering the best advice most would expect from someone with their title. The reason for this is quite simple: they are reserving the right to blame the client for any mistakes they make, including market duds, despite charging through the nose for the service. In contrast, major corporations don’t need financial advice on their investment decisions because they have access to insider info only shared between larger players, hence their ability to come out on top while the small fries get squeezed. If you don’t believe insider

trading is proliferate in Corporate America and the government, you might be a bit deluded. These gangsters exercise immense power and influence, using analysts who they compensate to peddle stories advancing their interests. Additionally, it is important to look at the landscape with scale in mind. A hedge fund holds and processes more money each year than a stripper in Fargo, North Dakota. To them a million is effectively digested chicken feed, and the objective is to maximize gains for their very wealthy corporate and individual clients. As a result, they have a vested interest in manipulating the markets towards that aim. When a stock drops as much as 4 percent we may not think that’s tremendous, but if it allows the firm to up holdings at a discount, the value is in their eyes. These short and curt trades are worth millions—even billions—to the hedge fund managers, and thus his lackeys will always be at work. Here’s how they tend to operate: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

You invest in a solid and well-performing dividend stock, and make gradual profits. Some analyst toady releases negative information about the stock in the face of good performance. The other irrational stock holders react harshly to the analyst toady’s news, and the price drops. Mysteriously, the share price pops back up within the next several days. Hint: it’s not because of God’s love.

In this way you stand to lose a lot by listening to the typical analyst. One of the best ways to test this dynamic is to follow a stock which has consistently met quarterly predictions or pays a respectable dividend. Right after earnings I guarantee someone on Yahoo Finance, Seeking Alpha, Motley Fool, or elsewhere will release a hastily-typed piece urging folks to sell. Their posturing for their own position is almost an absolute given when you follow the

trail—particularly in the disclaimer section of the article. Conversely, someone who pumps up a stock for purchase but does not say they have it in their portfolio is likely to be misrepresenting the value of that particular investment. Either they or their employer has a stake and desires to see it surge in order to create a selling opportunity. III. The Great Oil Fiasco A solid illustration of this skullduggery came in the 2014 crude oil bubble. Even as prices were at historic highs and production skyrocketed, major analysts continued telling their followers to grab oil stocks, promising that crude would rise to over two hundred dollars per barrel, turning them into millionaires. Many of these folks had purchased shares in oil companies and ETFs earlier and were simply attempting to maximize their own profits before the bubble finally popped. The evidence of their treachery was visible in the fact that those who failed to get out in time continued to guarantee ridiculous future prices even as oil remained stagnant in the financial shallows. The ones who DID escape in time reverted to buying shares at dirt cheap prices in order to profit next time around. Sadly, as is usually the case, it was consumers and average folks who ended up getting torched by the oil players and their dishonest tactics. Older retirees in particular got burned because they were going into oil stocks with large dividends in order to fund their golden years on the advice of the “oil sector analysts.” As you can tell, the world of financial analysts is a ridiculous minefield of competing interests so muddied that it is often hard to determine anyone’s rightful intentions. Thus any investor should demand more from himself rather than relying on scud-sucking talking heads for the information. If you want to be successful at investing, it will take a willingness to look at financial statements, follow trends, and research market futures. Should all this seem “too

hard and boring maaan,” then stick with a 401k or the rare pension. Furthermore, “I don’t know enough about stocks!” is not a legitimate excuse. By reading this book you are taking a critical first step; the key is to fight on and chase triumph. It’s hard for anyone to be always right—but one sure as hell can avoid being devastatingly wrong. Arm yourself with the facts, and dodge the bullets coming in slow motion. Now, I often hear from folks something attune to the earlier line on stocks being too complicated, or even more common, “The market’s a rigged lottery! You’re better off playing Powerball!” Note that it is rare for the people expressing these views to be wealthy by alternative means. Even a self-made businessman will admit the value of stocks, of which he undoubtedly holds many. The naysayers typically include people betting on their pension plan, which is itself invested in the stock market despite their zealous belief in the state, or unmotivated peepers trapped in low-end retail jobs. Sure, the market doesn’t give any hard cash guarantees, but then again neither do other investments. Even bonds can collapse and lose value, or be outpaced by inflation. The idea that every investment should come without a speckle of risk is inebriated by idiocy and a misunderstanding of economics. You must be willing to take risks in order to gain substantial returns. If such a prospect is too frightening, close this book and stick your savings in a sub-one percent CD. At least there you will feel safe. Instead of blaming Wall Street or the government, we need to address the real problem afoot: lack of awareness. At the most basic level this is not a problem; it only becomes one when used as an excuse. Investing offers a wide and sizzling opportunity, yet there has to be a drive after the apex. Yes, that means poring over financial information and spending less time on porn or football; then again, neither of those things are particularly productive uses of time, so it all evens out in the end. Miss a few games, stop fapping, and suddenly you have more time to improve the financial side of life’s

equation. IV. The Trick of Analysis Suppose one is looking to purchase a new laptop. Being a smart whippersnapper, they will tour different stores and check online, read reviews, and look at specifications. They might further consider the brand, as Apple probably inspires more confidence than “BJ’s Amazing Notebooks.” More than probably the buyer will pay close attention to its rated performance in order to maximize the chance of that computer lasting longer and being worthwhile. A thousand dollar laptop is, after all, not chickenfeed to the average American goober. Investing in companies works much the same way. We take a look at historical performance, consider the existing financials, and examine the prospects for future gains. This information is then leveraged into an informed decision, preferably when the market has gone down. Of course this does not mean you are guaranteed a certain return, or more importantly, within a desired timeframe, but until you try that bank account will remain populated by the shambled zeroes of meager biweekly paychecks and general selfloathing. As to the accusations of rigging, lottery scams, or designs to ensure everyone gets laryngitis, I would point to the simple fact that few real people can corroborate this claim. While there is no question that hedge funds and the state DO manipulate the market in their own ways, it is a bit more complicated. We can obviously point to companies like Enron as examples, but none of these prove the entire system is rigged to screw over the little guy. People who buy certain shares in January, average blokes included, will have more money to their name in December. There is no cynical conspiracy choosing reptilian elites over Dick, Jane, and Clarence when it comes to investing. The greatest conspiracy is actually the willingness of many to lock themselves inside a cage of utter inaction

and piss away their lives by blaming “The System” for their lack of success. If you end up around one of these talkers, run for the Hollywood Hills. While you are trying to find to success they will be sniping left and right like rap stars with no background music. This brings me to a critical point on surrounding yourself with positive influences insofar as the financial realm is concerned. There may be exceptions, but most friends will read less than you do, and often give poor advice. Your friends are the ones advising everyone to apply for an American Express card with a $550 annual fee despite the fact they won’t use it for anything other than Instagram. They’ll be the first to shoot down the idea of investing for reasons already mentioned, and then proceed to suggest you take a bong hit. As one might imagine, they are the wrong collaborators for the next Fortune 500 Company. To succeed, you must manage to sieve out the corrupt strain of negative financial influences that undoubtedly petrify modern life, which are both personal and professional. One the personal side it is easier to get rid of distractions; spend less time with bums, follow sources like Economic Invincibility, and make your own decisions. This may necessitate cutting off friends who have been around for a long time, but promote bad ideas about life. Rough though it may be, moving forward may be impossible until, like The Killers, you “Cut the cord.” It’s on the professional side where things get gnarly, particularly because you will be surrounded by folks encouraging the sociallyacceptable portions of the financial realm. For instance, everyone and their geriatric uncle thinks talking to a financial advisor is good business. They’re wrong as heck with extra rotten chicken on top. Financial advisors are nothing more than paid shills meant to screw you into taking on expensive services while dolling out poor or mediocre advice on the drunken regular. Many of these guys describe themselves as a fiduciary and claim they have an obligation to do what is in the best interest of the client. Sounds nice-and-freakin dandy, but this just gives them an excuse to avoid taking ownership of their errors. They dish out moldy

insight which leaves you in the red with investments, or provide silly suggestions like buying only bonds in the hopes of some majestic result too low in value to bring profit after factoring in inflation. These “experts” also like pretending their title makes them more reliable than the next schlub, yet good luck getting them to admit they are being paid to push shoddy products on clients. Case in bloody point: when I was younger my parents had me meet with the local bank’s “wealth management advisor” to setup Roth IRAs for myself and my brother. We arrived and shuffled into the cramped room to see some wide-grinned fellow in a semi-frumpy Jos. A Bank suit give the rundown on which funds to buy into. He began a tirade mentioning different options, salivating with equal fervor despite them being flagrantly divergent in terms of holdings, payout, and fees. As he went on he let slip that he had a strong recommendation to make, then proceeded to suggest several emerging markets funds. At this point I raised my hand. I had recently read a couple of pieces with scathing analysis of emerging market funds, and I proceeded to question him on the matter. He immediately changed the subject by bringing up another potential fund. About ten minutes later he returned to the emerging markets option, but this time went on a short rant about how horrible it was and why he would never advise a client to invest in that category. This example is a microcosm of the reality surrounding paid financial advisors; they are more than willing to take precious dough, but rarely furnish the due diligence and research we deserve. Thus you can spend a lifetime-and-a-half listening to their insight but still end up too far short of retirement and still poaching a few cents scrubbing toilets in the Wally World Bodega at the tender age of 150. The main issue with these advisors is that they are businessmen first and foremost. They get their paycheck by building a large clientele and bagging monies through fees or commissions, not by making massive returns. Because the market is risky, it is not in their interest to put clients where maximum return is available; a thirty

percent gain is unattractive to them because it could just as easily be a thirty percent loss—and thus one less client. This explains their penchant for bonds, low growth stocks, or annuities. If they can maintain a 2-3 percent annual growth rate on average they know the vast sprawl of people will settle and open their wallets—because at least they get something. Never mind the service fees which eat way at money over time, because at least the number is green. That’s total mediocrity on steroids. You don’t want to spend life barely accumulating, and then work for twenty years more once you retire because there is no other option; you have to win. So the fair question remains: how exactly DO you win? I have already noted my experience with penny stocks, which can be exceptionally lucrative if pursued with the right strategy. Only problem is, they take a great deal of time to trade safely for the typical fellow. You must follow them closely, comb through online sources, and be ready to pull the trigger at any moment. That might work for someone in college or with a home-based employer, yet the normal 9-5er is ill-suited for success in the penny stock domain. Because of this dilemma I advise most people to concentrate on consistent, long-term investments that can gradually eliminate their need to work. These are hardly “Sit on a toilet and hatch a golden egg” ideas, but keeping the faith can lead to the ultimate goal we going for: economic invincibility. The investments in question are stable, dividend-providing shares that allow people to incrementally grow their plot while experiencing moderate or large gains on the whole. To illustrate, suppose Big Box Company A is trading at forty dollars a share and pays out a 1 percent dividend, that is, forty cents. You study the company and determine it has good prospects, as well as a healthy balance sheet, and proceed to purchase 100 shares. The cost basis is $4,000, plus the brokerage fee (usually 5-7 bucks, if not zero). After the first year, you have received forty dollars in dividends, which are reinvested in the same company. Depending on

the performance, you can afford to purchase one share after the first year, which increases the haul by forty cents. As more shares are purchased, you will be able to seize further stakes through the dividend each year, which in turn brings greater revenue. The key is a constantly-increasing investment over the long term to make you wealthy through a gradual strategy. Providing the stock goes up, the return can be calculated including the dividend, so a stock which gains 15 percent over 12 months plus a 5 percent dividend has actually brought in 20 percent during that period. Not too shabby for parking money in one place. I will say clearly that not all dividend stocks are equal, and often those paying large dividends should be handled with added care, because they can sometimes be traps that will take you for a ride. Many of the oil stocks fall into this category, especially during periods when crude is very high. Companies will sometimes provide dividends as a mask for poor performance or cyclical intrigue; the key is to exercise due diligence and ensure understanding of the industry. A company that is issuing large dividends while carrying substantial debt is an example where you are better off taking second or third looks before agreeing to sock money into the hopeful aquifer. Having covered the bases of penny stocks and dividend investing, I want to examine the option of ETFs and Index Funds. For those who don’t know, they are basically outlets comprised of multiple funds and divergent stocks or bonds that you buy shares of collectively. Some yield dividends as well, yet the core grants a slightly safer option because it goes into the market average as a whole rather than resting hopes on a single stock, giving added protection if one or more go down at the same time. Index Funds shine by giving less expensive exposure to the calamities of any individual stock; including bankruptcy, poor quarterly results, and market stupidity. Invariably, and with common luck when you first get into stocks, there will be periods of frequent,

serialized selling by the outraged automatons benching on retirement. By putting money in index funds you mitigate the effects such firesales can create by sticking to the average of larger stocks. I typically advocate the use of index funds for the plurality of a portfolio, or greater if your job limits ready access to the market’s trends. For instance, someone on deployment with the military overseas holding multiple individual stocks or penny options may not be such a good idea. They have little control, especially if there is limited access to the internet during the day, and thus less time to keep abreast of market changes, so a more secure option is preferable to high volatility. With funds like the S&P 500 you can get a reasonable average return each year, and go upwards from there. Potential targets include Fidelity funds like FHLC, FNCL, FMAT, and FDIS. In addition, there are index funds focused on the economies of others countries which you can follow to seek out growth potential and gains. Some examples include EWZ (Brazil), EWI (Italy), and EWW (Mexico). The main disadvantages of index funds include lower average return potential and higher entry costs. An individual stock can be purchased for a certain figure and offers the opportunity for large returns with somewhat elevated risk. An index fund will average out according to the performance of its constituent stocks, and the market as a whole. It is thus important to consider the difference in possible return. Getting 40 percent in one year on a stock is realistic; the same on an Index Fund? Not as likely. Be sure to avoid high fee structures as well. A good target is between 0.03-0.08 percent on the fund. If it gets up to the 0.50-1.2 percent range, you probably want to stay away. V. 401ks I would like to turn towards the matter of sponsored retirement plans. I mentioned earlier that it is not enough to just invest in a 401k for the future. Certain individuals evade this problem by getting pensions from their employers, something almost non-existent in the

private sector. Older people who got government jobs in the seventies and eighties can look forward to healthy retirement. My favorite example would be a police chief from Los Angeles who retired with a $152,000 annual pension and took on a new public sector job in San Francisco with a $316,000 salary.[11] The doting little gremlins who worked as hospital administrators in the same state walked away with as much $150,000 in pension plus lump payments of $900,000.[12] That’s Cali, or at least that was. The days of generous pensions and gushing state money pots are coming to an end because they are not seen as sustainable. It was easy when most individuals died before sixty due to injuries, genetics, or disease. Many of these programs were initially established in an era when chain-smoking had social cred. Today, people live longer and healthier. Actually, I take the latter back; it’s simply that technology allows people to preserve their existence, no matter how fat or unhealthy they may be. Means-testing studies shows how unstable these programs are, and hence the rise of cutbacks. In the State of Virginia, for instance, the final pension after thirty years went from 50 percent of one’s highest three-year salary to around 40 percent, and now rests closer to 25 percent. When we consider that not everyone will end up making six figures, that eventual cushion looks a lot smaller than the cost of living. Times have changed. The clincher is this: be prepared for the simmering fallout. Poor planning or laziness means a bad result. It’s accurate to say someone is unlikely to have enough money to retire on a 401k alone. Dropping $18,000 into the account every year at a five percent match will leave you with over $550,000, but that assumes everyone has the ability to put so much in the storage tank. Since people usually start between $35k and $50k at their first job, assuming a trajectory of thirty years, it’s doubtful you can do that for the first 5-10 due to living expenses and family demands. My calculation does not include market gains, as these

are not guaranteed year after year. That’s why when someone says we can count on an average 7-12 percent return each year, they have no idea what they’re talking about. Markets go up and down. Banking on any single upsurge to be consistent is like assuming spiders aren’t gonna eat the humans trapped in their web. Just not happening. The real reason to get a 401k is the benefit it holds in terms of taxation and income. To start, traditional 401k deductions are taxfree until you withdraw them in retirement. Simple enough, but it can also dramatically lower tax burdens. If you make $40,000 annually and stick $3,000 in the retirement account, it gets knocked down to the 12 percent tax bracket from the 22 percent that applies front-andcenter to a salary. That’s a serious deferment of taxes for merely using common sense. While it is true that taxes will be due upon distributing the funds in retirement, the anticipation is you will have LESS income at that time, and hence a lower tax rate. Alternatively, there is a Roth IRA, which requires one to pay taxes on the income put in, but then makes it tax-free once distributed in their sixties. This may be the better option for millennials, as the projections are that we will be forced to work longer[13] than our generational predecessors due to traditional retirement options drying up and become less lucrative. A second and critical reason to utilize the 401k is the fact that it often provides further income. When one contributes to a 401k, the company will typically match a certain percentage, usually between 3-6 percent. This is extra money you will otherwise never receive from an employer, because they only provide it to incentivize retirement planning. Five percent on $40,000 annually is 1000 bucks, and over thirty years, $30,000 – assuming one only contributes that amount, of course. Even if it seems like a small sum, the participant is still being paid extra for thinking ahead, so there are few reasons not to take on the opportunity, unless cash is tight.

I also want to note that everyone should squeeze all the money out of their employer while it’s still possible. According to some recent data,[14] companies are on the warpath against such traditional benefits, with many axing them completely to boost their thinning profits. As the next generation enters the workforce they may face the prospect of 1 or even zero percent matching on their retirement accounts, undermining the cause of additional income, and consequently, saving. Therefore it is wise to enroll and benefit it’s too late. For those who unaware, 401ks are usually invested in one or more index funds through a financial service paid for by the employer. Such trading services have multiple options and allow the participant to allocate percentages of their monthly contributions based upon individual objectives. Some funds are specifically targeted for a projected retirement date and become increasingly more cautious the closer you get to those (hopefully) golden years. Something to be mindful of is the nature of base contribution rates and default fund allocation. First off, how much gets saved will largely be controlled by the percentage allocated in the program’s default settings. For this reason is imperative to speak to the financial service your employer offers and ask for the maximum contribution, or at least enough so you receive the full employer match. Otherwise it is possible to go a while and miss out on important income due to being unaware. Furthermore, make sure to understand what funds you are sticking money into. At one employer I found my default setting was a 100 percent bonds fund where the average return clocked in at 1.5 percent over five years. Comparatively, the U.S. Stock fund had taken in an average of over 10 percent each year. None of these numbers can be taken for granted, but 1.5 percent is curmudgeon tier, and by curmudgeon I mean a ninety-six year old greeting folks at Wally World for a whopping 11 bucks an hour (not a bad rate for greeting, if only you were a bit younger).

In terms of allocation choices, I cannot give guarantees, but only point to what I did. When you’re a spring peeper, putting the funds into a stock-heavy concentration makes sense because there is time to deal with the ups and downs. I personally would place a small percentage in bonds, as well as some in a metals ETF. For the stocks side, focus on funds with large, trusted brands rather than volatile foreign options being touted by the financial firm’s eggheads. Most of these people are being paid to preach opinions on the matter and cannot be trusted. Foreign stocks can also be much harder to study on account of their countries of origin, where reporting rules may be less stringent than we are used to in the United States. As always, be sure to research, read, and observe. Never assume anyone has your best interests in mind. VI. Mortgage Notes Perhaps less well-known than other possibilities, mortgage notes are nonetheless a fairly popular place for people to place their money for a long-term, passive return. To participate, you buy a mortgage note of as little as $25.00 and proceed to take charge as the lender, assuming the risk of the loan for its duration, or until selling it to someone else. In return for the trouble you are paid a certain percentage interest rate on a monthly basis, similar in nature to a Savings Bond. Sites like Lending Club claim users can achieve a return of 4-6 percent annually with these individual paychecks, depending on the note in question. Two primary downsides exist for those investing in mortgage notes; for starters, there is the risk of losing money if the person defaults on the loan or refuses to repay it. While legal action is a recourse, the cost of an attorney could easily dwarf the amount remaining on the loan, so beware. Furthermore, many states have laws restricting investors in mortgage notes on the basis of their annual income, so if you are below the threshold they might not be an option.

VII. Real Estate One of the classic investing concepts is real estate, which involves buying, selling, or renting property as a means to generate income, be it during the bulk of life or as a support strategy for retirement. It can involve residential properties such as apartments, or commercial options like malls and storefronts. In each case, the goal is to develop and sustain streams of income that do not rely on a fixed schedule of the salaryman’s world. While opportunities abound in a time period when the Millennials and Generation Z are approaching their prime earning years, there are some risks to consider when it comes to real estate. To begin, the rise of the internet has left many malls to the fate of ghost towns as shopping shifts to the digital realm. This may put a damper on commercial real estate unless the focus goes towards projects like data centers, which help support the information behemoth required to keep sales numbers flying. On the other hand, residential offers decent opportunities, particularly if you are seeking to become a landlord and use the rent payments to pay off the property’s mortgage. It is critical to note however that real estate is not designed for everyone. It is possible to run and grab a real estate license in a few weeks, but that does not mean you will be good at selling, or the property ownership saga. Landlords will explain how they deal with repair issues, tenants who miss rent payments, and possible damage when individuals vacate a unit (or get forced out). Although leases carry contingency clauses to address these very problems, they are not always easy to enforce, particularly if tenants up and run. You also have to be careful to not become sympathetic towards those who desire to live in your properties, as they will work that emotional magpie to the fullest extent in order to bleed things dry before fleeing. For these reasons, only go into the landlord realm if you are willing to be hard-nosed towards clients when it comes to the terms of an agreement. Strict leases and zero tolerance policies are the only way to avoid sinking

money into a property that is being disrespected by tenants left and right. On a quick note, exposure to real estate can be found by using REITS, or Real Estate Investment Trusts. These funds invest in projects and properties to provide long-term returns or passive income. Some options include the FREL and VNQ trusts, or services like Fundrise and Realty Mogul. VIII. Cryptocurrency You have probably heard a news story or two about the maniacal rage surrounding digital “cryptocurrencies” in our modern times. These mediums of exchange are “mined” on computers using complex blockchain algorithms and have become popular for their independence (at least so far) from centralized banking institutions, as well as the convenience of carrying a digital wallet. A key factor to the appeal is that a finite number of coins are designed to be generated through mining, so the currency cannot be devalued through the printing of additional bills, as the Federal Reserve has done to the United States Dollar for years now. I am new to investing in cryptocurrency myself, but have tested the waters in order to determine if it might be a good option to generate capital. My first piece of advice is to exercise ten times more caution with digital currencies than you would even with normal stock investments (that means a lot). Cryptocurrency is both a new concept and one fraught with the risks of the “There’s no downside!” mentality. While some folks have made millions already by riding the Bitcoin wave from its infancy to five-figure grandeur, the searchlights are now out in force. More people are flooding into the digital market, and new coins are being developed, adding layers of confusion about which versions have a decent life of appreciation ahead of them. Insane price fluctuations are a daily feature in the crypto markets, and the myriad of self-proclaimed “experts” on YouTube simply spout off mere speculation without any hard supporting data. In fairness, one cannot blame them when there is so little information to be had; after all, cryptocurrencies are not publicly-traded stocks with financial

statements, but a new and secretive technology that has yet to find its way to maturity, or deal with the brunt of government regulation. They are still growing, and investors must learn to partake effectively. Should you elect to invest in crypto, I would advise using play money, and taking a long-term view on profits. The dust will probably settle in a few years, leaving the dominant coins to become further integrated into our everyday lives. Some of the household names today will be standing strong, while others may not be around at all. Don’t jump in thinking it’ll be a quick millionaire stack and then paradise; Bitcoin grew over a number of years, so any up-andcoming feller may have to do the same. If you’re looking to start trading, CoinBase is an imperfect yet widely-utilized platform which supports some cryptocurrencies. It works in partnership with GDAX and can be used to send crypto funds to other sites like Binance to buy less prominent coins. Because cryptocurrency is a valued target of scammers and hackers, take extra precautions when setting up accounts. Most of these websites will require two-factor authentication to login; do not sell yourself short on this front. Also, learn how to create a wallet on the computer and take no chances with people nearby. The last thing you want is to be the guy who loses money because his laptop is unlocked. Just remember: no one is going to be sorrier if that money evaporates into thin air. IX. Online Business Probably the greatest boon granted to the millennial and Generation Z populations was the internet. Prior to its proliferation, most businesses had to rely strictly on methods of advertising that could be time-consuming and costly, all while offering only limited guarantees that success could be reached. Thanks to the rise of the web, we have the opportunity to create a solid entrepreneurial investment with minimal risk to the bottom line.

It’s easy to dismiss the suggestion by pointing to the myriad examples of “change your life” businessmen operating on YouTube, but in reality, the field is wide open for taking. An online business cuts out most of the overhead associated with running a storefront or office, such as rent, licenses, and utilities. You can base the operation out of a bedroom instead, writing off some of the costs as a business expense. In addition, depending on the company’s nature, one can use existing services to avoid having much inventory in the living space. A clothing designer for instance can upload his graphics to a site like CafePress or Zazzle and distribute items that way, instead of handling shipping and processing individually. I highly suggest pursuing this lead with great zeal. While you might think nothing of it today, generating even a bit of revenue from the web over time can turn it into something entirely different. That has been my story, and I believe it will be one of greatest liberators of otherwise financially vulnerable millennials and Generation Z participants.

5. Lifestyle I. Minimalism As much as debt avoidance and investing are part of the pathway to success, the way you live in other areas can also contribute to that mission. On this point I need to discuss the concept of minimalism. We’ve all heard the term thrown around by life coaches or financial gurus before, but unfortunately they tend to fall into one of two major camps. First, you have the chums who advocate a minimalist lifestyle whilst living to the max themselves. These are the dudes who film YouTube videos in exotic locations and drop money on absolutely pointless expressions of wealth, despite teaching their followers to be consumers on an “as-needed” basis. They love to sing the praises of frugality and cost reduction, but you can tell pretty soon that these are not values embodied by their own lifestyles and behavior. Minimalism is simply a fancy word they did not invent which bolsters whatever flabby credibility life has agreed to award them. The second group takes the minimalism label in a separate direction. In this case they are neither financially successful nor particularly good at managing their own affairs, but they use the minimalist philosophy to JUSTIFY the limited success native to them. A good example is the guy who dismisses traveling around the world in favor camping or road trips in his country of origin. He’ll attempt to argue that he is smarter for doing this because it saves money, but in reality he simply cannot afford to gallivant off and have an adventure in some distant land. Now, admitting this shortcoming means invalidating much of the lifestyle he is desperate to push on other people, so it is far easier to persuade the weak human mind that a shortage is actually some kind of marvelous blessing. Beware of such attitudes in the world. You will find few folks in life who are clearly willing to concede that their ability to achieve a goal or milestone may in fact be limited. Instead, they draw out a

tremendous passion to twist, undermine, and delay the dawning reality everyone else recognizes. If we fail to tread lightly, it is easy to be sucked into a similar approach to life and money based on the charisma of such promoters. My view of minimalism is somewhat different. While I will freely acknowledge the importance of reducing debt holdings and living below your means, I caution against taking imbalanced actions from that point. You do not want to become the person so wrapped up in conserving money that you can never have a romantic life, buy anything of quality, or move up in the world. When minimalism is taken to the degree it often is, the natural results involve these highly undesirable road humps. II. The Debt Complex In all the years leading up to my initiation of Economic Invincibility as a project, I was struck by the helplessness of people when it comes to the question of debt management. Although everyone is anxious to get a job, and more than happy to spend money they do not have, they usually become agape when presented with the issue of mounting bills and liabilities. Given the world’s state of affairs, it’s not hard to see why. Society revolves around perpetual consumerism, where the blessings of capitalism allow even the poorest of souls to live a respectable life as they down the cheap swill of whatever products are easily marketed without limit due to the simple benefit of credit cards. To be clear, there is nothing inherently wrong with this brilliant expansion of wealth and technology; rather, we need to appreciate how the lull of easy credit combined with social media exacerbates debt problems. The nineteen-year-old boy wants a brand new Mustang to impress the girls, so he gets himself immersed in a high interest rate plan and struggles to make a beachhead in life. A girl blows thousands on beauty school, only to discover she does not want to work in the profession. In more serious circumstances,

people are overrun by old bills they cannot control. Debt can steadily expand, bogging people down and making it harder for them to get anywhere in life. Each paycheck is automatically absorbed by the waiting bill, discouraging the purpose of work for most people. There can be no doubt that the lending system is designed to fool with the little guy, who is swirled into unfortunate rates that hurt down the road. Despite this fact, the solution is not to hand away responsibility. You are a human being capable of self-education. To abandon all responsibility in the name of laziness is truly pathetic for a human being. We can do better, and by damn we must do better. The trap needs stamping out before it works to pollute our culture any longer. The best way to avoid becoming one of these statistics is to utilize basic principles of necessity. Do not use credit cards liberally; limit the wallet to one or two and avoid making major purchases with them. Seems like common sense, but in today’s gimme culture all too often I meet folks who appear to think they should buy a brand new television or computer and slap that on the laterbase. What they really need is a lobotomy—and a swift kick up the britches. Not only are such expenses almost entirely pointless; they also quickly diminish in value and generally take away from individual productivity. A sixty-inch screen isn’t really doing much for personal development, unless of course it is used for video editing. The box becomes just another luxury item few people can afford but still buy because “Every man’s house is his castle.” But we are not living in the Middle Ages, when you could just banish annoying tax collectors. The bills come, they decimate the credit score, and goobers are slapped with high APR fees while that bangbox collects dust and becomes totally sellable, for one-third of the original price. Throw that money into an investment or small business, and there is at least a chance of generating more income. With that television you are simply being a miserable slug, and hurting finances for the

long run. To expand this point I really want to have a poster done up in the style of Uncle Sam, only here it’s uncle EI, and I want you to stop being a spring chicken when it comes to debt. I want you to stop letting your ego get in the way of common sense. I want you to be smart. If it is not already obvious, I’m here to drop the bling bang: never buy a new car, and never get into debt for the same reason. This should be obvious, but clearly it is not. The sweet seduction of vanity causes many a young American to forgo common sense in order to sweep around the corner and impress the flavor of the moment, whether gay, straight, chemical, or vegetable. Such folks will rumble forth and take a forty thousand dollar loan at seventeen percent because “I’m gonna impress them, LOL.” You need to be better than that. A new car only gives momentary style, loses value immediately, and leaves the “owner” on the line for a large car payment. Even if it comes with a warranty they still stand to be caught in a lucid whirlpool of charges long after the transmission fails and their girlfriend has run off with a pachyderm from Sola Selew. To top it off, all we need is another American invasion of the Middle East, and you are looking at over two hundred dollars a month just to keep that bucket of bolts from being thirsty. Not a sexy picture. Since I can relate to the youthful desires for something hot and fast, I would recommend folks take a look at getting a bike instead of some monster truck or car. Motorcycles are cheaper, easier to maintain, and they burn a lot less than the Hemi being carting around with a fat positive loan payment. You can still get away with cosplaying as some smoking thing while not sacrificing the critical years meant for saving and investment. The added benefit is that few people are knowledgeable about motorcycles like they are with cars, hence it’s much easier to pass off a simple crotch rocket as something else. So you can tell the obnoxious rubbernecker or ditzy crush that the bike is a modified Harley Davidson 6000, when in

fact things are less fancy. Ah, the joys of youth! III. Credit Cards Having discussed loans previously, it’s now time to cover the marvelous world of credit cards. At the age of eighteen, and perhaps even before that point, you will begin receiving offers for some sort of credit card, many of them touting preapproval on the mere basis of existing as a human being. If you have not been already advised by a family member or friend to exercise caution, it can be tempting to go all-in and run with this newfound “free money” until Pluto is classified as a planet again. This is usually a bad choice. The sorry illusion of endless credit is an easy way to end up in some spider hole with a twentythousand dollar weight on your head. Like with loans, the holder gets hit with interest for not paying on time, and the misery of seeing paychecks evaporate like steam before they can be enjoyed. In case you’re wondering, it does not get better. For all these reasons, the realm of credit cards must be approached with exquisite and calculated deftness. To begin, avoid any sort of credit card that has an annual fee, whether initially or once the second year comes around. While these charges are usually no more than a hundred dollars each, they set things up on the wrong footing for credit card usage. You are, after all, getting a card which allows use of SOMEONE ELSE’s money. You don’t own the line of credit, and failing to pay means getting walloped right in the kisser by the beautiful APR rates pushed through banks and card companies. In plainer terms, there is a high risk of giving those wretched creatures an opportunity to take even more money. Why then would anyone PAY for the chance to have this happen? I get that odd financial fetishes abound in our dramatic new world, but giving people money for no reason should be reserved for the MegaMillions machine. IV. Paying on Time

Because credit cards start from the position of being a danger to personal finances, self-protection is paramount. To start, establish automatic payments for all cards by entering bank account information on the credit card websites; this will allow your account to be drafted for a certain amount (I suggest the full balance) on a specific monthly date. That way it is certain the money is removed and paid on time, as opposed to relying on a physical check at the ATM that can be improperly processed, or not delivered. There will also be an electronic record that the payment was made in case some tomfoolery emerges on the part of the bank or company. That said, automatic payments do carry their own set of risks. For one, you have to make sure the company does not accidentally or deliberately delete payment information. I experienced this with Bank of America on several occasions. Despite having my bank’s information securely stored online and ready for payments, I ended up finding my “Pay From” account deleted, causing me to miss a payment due date. One can avoid such a pitfall by aggressively monitoring accounts and verifying receipt of payment confirmation emails. I recommend logging in at least once a week to check the status of all cards, the various balances, and any planned payments there might be. As a side note, some credit card companies will not process an automatic payment if you have already made a payment in that same billing cycle. Suppose we decide to clear out a balance of $50.00 during the second week of the month, but end up spending another $75.00 before the automatic payment due date on the final day of the cycle. These companies will not authorize the automatic payment because they record the previous payment as being the only one required. You can get around this by making another payment manually, but awareness is the crucial factor.

V. How Many Cards is Enough? This is a popular question that ultimately comes down to the individual person. In theory you can have as many credit cards as possible and face no significant problems providing spending is limited and they are paid off on time. Plenty of folks follow this path and enjoy the benefits (or social clout) of being able to flash a bespectacled wallet packed with plastic joy. The primary advantage is variety and the ability to swing multiple benefits without limitations from a single card, so the guy with several cashback cards can maximize his return throughout the year. Joe Credit might keep the Discover It, Chase Freedom, and Blue Cash Preferred in his pocket, allowing him to snag high rates of cashback no matter what time of year he is in, hence boosting the value of the plastic zoo. While Joe’s approach might seem appealing, there are other factors to consider. For starters, the more cards one has, the harder they are to manage. Do you really want some massive fold-out wallet containing twenty-some sliders when it’s just as easy to have a few? Seems like a small issue, but that means a bunch of different accounts to oversee, pay off on the regular, and keep safe. There is also the increased probability that you spend more with the justification of spreading it out over different cards. Most of us would look at $2,000 on a single card as a tad bit excessive, but once it gets broken down across an array of payment options, the balances don’t appear frightening. You’ve got the money, and are dang sure ready to spend it. Having countless cards also opens a window to security threats. Every account is hackable, but when one has many it could take longer to detect fraud if the provider has not already done so. It’s also possible to lose one or more cards, creating a big hassle, particularly if you don’t quickly realize why the wallet has become marginally lighter. The big guns will laugh this off as tripe, but they never admit to doing anything wrong. My advice to young folks in

particular is to limit the total number of cards, and stay out of trouble. VI. How To Get Your First Card It is all well to talk about credit cards and their wiles, but you might be curious about how one gets a plastic passport. There are two simple ways to move forward in this regard. For one, have get established as an authorized user by someone who already has a credit card, such as your parents. This allows for the utilization of that card and building of a spending record without needing previous credit history. The obvious downside is that you assume the trends of the person who owns the account itself. If they do poorly and fail to pay on time, or blow the line of credit, there is a risk of getting shafted with a smack on the credit score monitor. On the flip side, you can choose to get a secured card. These lemon lilies are issued by banks or credit card companies and permit the applicant to put forward a certain amount of money (say $300.00) to serve as an initial credit limit. They borrow from themselves when paying with the card and reimburse when making the monthly payments. In essence you build your credit score from scratch without the company having to risk anything on a fresh face in the financial world. Bear in mind the potential cost involved; while traditional credit card companies may offer a secured account for free, many banks like to tack on monthly fees in order to squeeze more drops out of the young wallet. My advice is to sign up for a secured card and hold it for 5-6 months before pursuing a regular credit card. You want to stress reliability and create a long enough pattern of credit history so future card approvals will not come as a major difficulty. In my own case, I went from a bank secured card to the Discover It in roughly that amount of time. Although it did cost me eighteen bucks in fees, the program allowed me to graduate into the normal credit league without the hassles of limited history. In hindsight, I could have gone directly to Discover for a secured card and avoided those fees whilst

collecting a bit of cashback along the way. Just remember: you do not have to live too long in the secured world, just enough to get a record and then move on to greater accounts. Ultimately, the benefit of a secured card is that it teaches the holder to value their own money. If they don’t pay off the card, only one person is cheated, and their credit score goes down. No one of sound mind wants to see themselves screwed over, so the solution is pretty simple. VII. What Sort of Cards Should You Get? There is no set rule for this topic, but I like to suggest a trio model that can help cover different areas of life. First off, a solid cashback card that allows you to get either a consistent rate on all categories or rotating options throughout the year. Some cards offer 5 percent during various 3-month quarters of the year, but with separate focuses. The user might enjoy the return on restaurants during one quarter, online shopping the next, and gas or transportation costs after that, although there typically will be caps on how much can be accrued overall. The cards usually give 1 percent back on other non-quarter categories, so you still benefit even if that particular purchase doesn’t fit the bill. As an alternative, go with a cashback card that provides something like 2 percent on all purchases regardless of the location or category. Neither one is astronomically better than the other, so it all comes down to personal preference. Next, I suggest keeping a card that relates specifically to someplace you shop regularly. This could be Costco, a gas station, or a retail store. This card might get used a little less than the first one, but it allows one to swoop in on deals over time and save money. A gas card can cut down on how much is spent annually at the pump, especially when paired with other promotions issued by the company. As an example, the Exxon Mobil credit card can be paired with the Rewards+ loyalty program to cut down on your bill at the station. Combining these various methods can be a bit timeconsuming, but saving money is absolutely worth the effort.

Remember, probably 30 or so percent of your paycheck is going to taxes, so why in the name of fried Kreme Krispies would anyone waste money needlessly beyond that? The final (and most optional) card I suggest getting is a travel rewards card. We might find this in the form of an airline rewards offering, or one of the general reward versions provided by banks and regular credit card companies. Should you be someone who likes to globetrot, or simply travel around the country, these cards can generate a reservoir of points which shave off or at times entirely cover the cost of flights, hotels, and recreational activities. As an example, the Bank of America Travel Rewards Card allows users to earn 1.5 points for every dollar spent on purchases in general, but maximizes the redemption value when it is employed towards travel. Thus you can use the card for everyday expenditures but redeem it later when trying to get away. VIII. How Credit Scores Work Now we get to the bland stuff: how credit cards impact the future. It’s possible you have heard people extolling the virtues of paying for everything in cash, including large purchases like homes, because doing so avoids the debt spiral. Generally speaking they are absolutely right, but rarely will people have enough money socked away to go for these purchases when they seem appropriate, and the only other realistic alternative is to co-sign with a parent, or take on a fat interest rate when borrowing. I will go ahead and dismiss the first possibility because not everyone has parents willing to lend a hand – or even able too. Debt and low credit scores are regrettably common among the current generation, so the mom and dad bailout cannot be guaranteed. That’s where a credit card can be extremely valuable, assuming it is used responsibly. Your credit score is a number drawn from historical financial activity such as loans, leases, and credit card accounts. The longer an account is open and in good standing, the

stronger your credit will appear, increasing the chance of getting approved for a new car (please don’t do this) or house (only in some circumstances). In contrast, a person with no credit history or only a limited amount is less likely to be given a loan, or may be faced with an exceptionally higher down payment. A credit score is calculated by taking into account the length of time accounts have been open, the record of paying on time, and the amount of credit utilized each month. Put more simply, if you have a line of credit of $1,000 and spend $200 in a month, the utilization rate would be 20 percent. Unfortunately, this number is already too high. The optimum place to keep credit utilization is between 0-9 percent, or only slightly higher. Should one elect to blow the line of credit in a single month, even if it is paid on time, the likely result will be a lower score. The tricky part is, if you open multiple credit card accounts the line of credit is calculated as one aggregate number, so the utilization rate comes out of that grander total. You thus have to spend a little more to meet the idealized utilization rate or that credit score might take a hit. Sounds ridiculous, right? That’s the lovely system promoted by credit card companies and bank leeches. IX. Things To Put On Your Credit Card Just because you have a credit card does not mean it ought to be used all the time. Whenever possible, pay in cash or utilize a bankissued debit card. This will keep spending under control and prevent hidden bills from stacking on various credit accounts. Should you choose to pay with a credit card, stick to the following categories: -

Groceries Gasoline or other transportation Recreational activities Travel Bills that don’t tack on a convenience fee for paying with your card.

On the other hand, be obnoxiously cautious when it comes to things like rent or car payments. The former would appear to be a no-brainer at first glance; if a rent payment is anything substantial, why not earn a little in cashback or rewards by sticking it over the plastic wagon? Simply put, because it means running the risk of being charged extra. Not only can the size of a rent payment blow your credit limit (particularly if it’s out of only a few cards), hurting the overall score and potentially creating interest charges. There is also the damning element of online transaction fees which companies enjoy gobbling up for their own benefit. Despite the prevalence of credit cards everywhere in business today, a large portion of management companies continue to insist that users pay a “convenience fee” of 2-3 percent as a condition of paying with a plastic, even if it is a debit card. In contrast, the direct draft of a bank account is not so costly, even though it remains roughly the same thing. Obviously if one is paying with their card to get a baseline 1 percent in cashback or rewards and the company is charging 2 percent to pay, they’ll end up LOSING money by going the credit route. It’s a maddening system, but that’s what you get in the wonderful United States. Paying for cars on credit of any sort (card or loan) is yet another atrocious idea. People might be peppered with offers for dealership-specific card or special rates on the basis of holding a specific account. Keep away from them like the plague. The last thing to do is get caught up in a hyperactive circus of interest charges and perpetual misery. Feel free to reference my segment on buying vehicles, but the underlying notion is that car new car purchases are a very bad idea. Get a decent used car and drive it until it breaks down. Wasting money on a fancy set of wheels that will cost in payments and repair bills is a very bad idea.

6. Health

One of the central components of economic invincibility concerns the observation of good health habits. I went through a period during and after college when I neglected this, and paid the merry (and expensive) price. Throughout America today, millions of people are making the same error and rewarding themselves with expensive medical fees which they might have avoided by taking better steps in terms of diet and exercise. I include this section because personal health is largely inseparable from financial security in the long run. If you play McDonalds Roulette with your body now, the result is weakness and poverty later on. It’s not hard to stumble upon people who may have a decent job or career and are financially secure, but still roll around with a merciless paunch and little to no exercise. The feller working hard for his pension will lament how he cannot wait to retire—all while eating fast food or frozen delicacies on the regular. He justifies it based on the stress of the job, but what good is it to settle down with a pension or 401k only to have a heart attack or something worse within five years? Herein lies the importance of making health invincible: it allows work and financial planning to be worth all the effort. Think about getting a cavity. Your mother probably warned of this threat as a kid, but you laughed and chomped on some Skittles. Once you start paying for personal expenses however, and are yet lost in the college student approach of dieting, the bill comes in. With many insurance companies, a cavity filling can run well over a hundred bucks, and God forbid there is more than one of those beauties. It’s not cheap, so be aware. In other aspects of health the same can be true. Maintaining a poor diet could lead to something like a diabetes, a costly and perhaps deadly condition. Overusing prescription medicine or basic antihistamines can screw up your stomach lining and create expensive specialist treatment charges, even when taken according to the manufacturer’s recommended dosage. The important point to stress is how dangerous health problems can be for those of us looking to build our finances, even at

a relatively small age. We often assume the provision of a grace period of twenty to thirty years for our personal health before things get bad, and thus make very poor decisions in every facet related to it. Young people today eat poorly, fail to get enough exercise, and many avoid purchasing health insurance to save money despite their pleasant excitability over the Affordable Care Act. But the moment disaster strikes, they begin trying to patch up the bad habit hole left by mashing their head into the deck of the “free and easy down the river I go” boat. Just to clarify, if you believe a single-payer health system will automatically solve the problems related to healthcare costs overnight, think again. Whilst it is true that general care costs would likely come down in price under such a system, you definitely stand to pay for it. Tabulated figures suggest the average American’s tax bill would go up to fund “Medicare for All,” and employer taxes would increase as well.[15] In addition, young people inevitably end up shouldering responsibility for the weak and unhealthy under government welfare models. There is no solution that puts us in a position with immaculate coverage sans the price; you will pay, so the best thing to do is focus on ways to stay healthy. I will not be a dunderhead and say ALL health issues can be avoided; in truth, they cannot. However, it is wholly possible to strengthen the immune system and general health by following several basic principles of care. The following list is a valuable suggestion, but make sure to consult with your doctor before doing anything disruptive or drastic where they are concerned. First off, limit your intake of fast foods for reasons of health and money. It might seem like nothing, but the quarter pounder with cheese bought each workday for lunch because “I want a hot meal maaan!” throws needless grease and trans fats into your diet. The numerous Mountain Dews, chocolate milks, or energy drinks added in with the “I’m tired” excuse, or because a sweet tooth must be satisfied, do no favors for health. Sugary drinks can actually be

worse because they are the hardest to get rid of. Think for a second: it’s pretty easy to remove solid foods from your mouth simply by brushing and flossing. Liquids on the other hand will sink into the gums and make it difficult to remove using traditional cleaning methods. The sugar deposits located beneath your teeth begin to corrode the enamel and lead to cavities or, if neglected, potentially life-threatening diseases. I did not appreciate this until I learned of a fellow who actually developed cancer from his wayward cavity, and sadly passed away. Despite these frontal dangers surrounding personal health, some folks still consume unhealthy amounts of soda and juice each week, while maintaining a liberal policy of brushing and flossing (maybe) weekly. While I am no certified nutritionist, I can make basic connections between what we eat and our health status. When you read into the fine print, it’s not exactly enlivening. Anyone who wants to take control of their financial situation has to first take care of their personal health. The two categories are forcefully tied and cannot be neglected at the expense of the other. If you go about avoiding basic rules of dieting and personal hygiene, the result will be a bobblehead shopping for triple XL and crying over seventeen chins. It’s worth taking a second to tally the cost of work food splurging for an individual budget. Let us say you enjoy a morning coffee on the way to work. Five dollars. Perhaps a pastry along with it. Two dollars. For lunch you head to Greasy Greg’s fast food joint and pick out some vittles. Nine dollars. This is no credit card commercial; it’s your brain on daily expenditures for “energy food.” In one day you dropped sixteen bucks on this miserable gluttony. In a year that’s $3,840 smackers bleeding from the paycheck. For the belly, just to get through the workday. Holy anorexic checking account.

Because the objections will likely be raised, I should say that no one saves money by maintaining a poor diet. People peddle this garbage by pointing to the cost of bottled water versus soda in Coke machines. In their tightly-restricted minds, the lesser demand of water means there is some sinister conspiracy to make them drink sugary sodas. What they don’t get is the broader picture. It is far cheaper to buy natural foods and prepare your own meals than running around with a credit card in hand and a gut craving for Wendy’s. Take it from someone who spent nearly a year subsisting primarily on frozen food. With this approach my weekly grocery bill was easily double what it became after I switched to healthier foods. I also had a tendency to buy more, because, in the eyes of the young microwave chef, convenience is the Fountain of Youth. When I at last reverted to an organic diet heavy in greens, and darted away from the ready-made category of the grocery store, the results were instantly striking. I spent less each week, felt phenomenally better, and possessed greater energy than before. I also found I was satisfied with less food, which is usually a good thing when you are trying to keep trim. The sad truth is, modern American society will condemn me for saying such things. Not only do throes of confused people promote obesity as being acceptable: they actually uphold it as a virtue. Women in particular are encouraged to develop oversized and unhealthy waistlines—while those who criticize the lifestyle can be forced from their jobs due to “hate speech.” A basic principle such as healthy living has now been corrupted and turned into the bane of all humanity. That is the fundamental underpinning of our time, and a grim factor by all accounts. As an individual existing inside the tepid pool of the mainstream you have little means to protection against these hostilities; merely practicing a healthy lifestyle is enough to attract the scrutiny of the public square—or even severe financial repercussions. It is for this reason that every rational person must strive to keep their physical well-being far and removed from the proverbial slop currently passing as average.

I should make a quick note on exercise here: while I do not advocate bodybuilding for everyone, maintaining a regular workout routine is critical alongside dieting. Too many folks assume they can take the easy way out when it comes to exercise. They will either do it lightly and continue to gorge on food, or cut back on intake while hiding from even the mildest treadmills setting. Both will lead to poor results and once you inevitably relapse, undesirable weight gain. There is no simple fix when it comes to keeping yourself healthy. It is hard to pin down a specific plan for everyone given obvious physical differences, but I like to go by a basic model most anyone can work towards. Fifty push-ups, fifty sit-ups, fifty pull-ups, and a 1.5 mile walk or run every single day. This is not flawless, but anyone who maintains the regimen together with dieting will find themselves in better shape than before. There is one final point to illustrate on the topic of physical fitness. We live in a world that is increasingly unstable and more dangerous. Terrorist attacks have become the norm, financial downturn is always around the corner, and public authorities can be trusted less than ever before to safeguard what is true and just. When confronted by such risks the average munchkin has an answer read: I’ll get ready tomorrow, whether it’s working out, building wealth, or achieving the basic goals of survival. In a truly destructive scenario, these fat hogs will be the first to lose because they are fundamentally incapable of taking care of themselves. If you fail to strive in times where abundance dominates, you will decay during times of scarcity. To conclude the section, never follow a regimen or plan merely for the sake of vanity. Folks who take this route tend to put themselves in worse situations by following diets and exercise patterns that are fundamentally unhelpful, especially if they fail to maintain the physical portion as time goes on. In addition, shooting up on steroids and supplements without the requisite exercise is only going to expand one thing: your waistline.

I. Successful Living Philosophy No matter how much money you manage to accumulate (or are born with) during this quick sashay on Earth, it will never bring happiness unless accompanied by a sense of virtue. A millionaire can buy a Lamborghini, but unless he finds enjoyment from it for himself, he will have nothing. The serialized dramatization of the rich life is in fact grossly misleading, as evidenced by the countless downward spirals taken by those with too much money for their own good, and nothing to live for. One of my favorite philosophical books on life is The Importance of Living by Lin Yutang. I enjoy the book’s approach because it challenges readers to find meaning and satisfaction in everyday things—without the monotonous tomfoolery of modern selfhelp books. Yutang outlines an approach to living that is concurrently simple and radically complex, turning small tidbits of human existence into certifiable matters of consideration. He discusses these elements followed by the phrase “Ah! Is this not happiness?” including everything from ridding oneself of a pest to sitting alone and reading in peace and comfort. I appreciate the immediacy of the message, and have applied aspects of it within my own life to great results. I bring up Yutang to illustrate a critical point in the human experience: happiness is largely dependent on one’s approach to the world. Let’s assume for a second you are the supreme commander of Instagram, with constant inputs from followers, living in exotic places, surrounded by beautiful people, and swimming in alcohol and money. To some, this might be the center of joy on earth; in the eyes of the person portraying it, much less so. They know better than the audience how much everything revolves around a murky illusion which must be maintained to avoid status decline. How often can they really enjoy a private moment, or the intimacy those with no fame have naturally? Is any part of their life reserved for themselves and their own aspirations, or have they lost those treasures in the

swirl of popularity? There can be no doubt that relationships and a following are both terrific factors contributing to success; many businesses or jobs you are engaged with requires such savviness, so to disregard it would be naïve folly. I am more concerned on a personal and social level with the invaluable ingredient of recognizing one’s own selfworth, which can truly boost happiness in life by giving every day a firm purpose. The Instagram denizens receive adulation directly from their followers, and thus their satisfaction is largely contingent on that. If the girl used to fifty thousand likes for her belfie shots drops to a measly two hundred per pic, her confidence and ego will be violently shattered. Her entire self-conception is rooted in constant adulation from the internet, from the knowledge that an untold number of folks cherish her images and drool over what skin she showcases. But the internet could be shut down in a flash, social media networks rendered useless, and that entire project would be effectively void, all because it relies on the input of other people. Individuals who value themselves above all vanity and applause are the happiest, precisely because they do not share this hampering ball and chain. They can be content with solitude, and most of all, they are pleased with themselves. As the wise Copt advises in the Manuscript Found In Accra, “Those who do not know solitude can never know themselves.” Think about it for a minute. You can spend all the time in the world around others, but without time to reflect there is a risk of becoming some nubile tube in the rapids, closely pledged to the popular norm because life lacks the time to question, or to study. You never take time to hear yourself think, because all too often you are hearing the words of others. For this reason I strongly endorse the embrace of a certain measure of balance and solitude in the pursuit of success. The truth

remains that your own self can often provide some of the best advice available based upon valid observations and study. Friends, particularly those in the same age bracket, tend to offer worthless guidance liable to send things sprawling in a heartbeat. Older sources are better, albeit steeped in the bias of the past, where finances in key were very different. Those who wear white collars and carry professional designations like CPA, CFA, or JD are more often than not empty gremlins dedicated to the transfer of what assets you have into their own coffers. II. Learning To Think The perverse reality of life is that most people simply repeat what they hear from others, such as friends, and then pass it on as their own material. There exists precious little originality in our time despite the constant refrain to “Be yourself,” and “Listen to your heart.” Both slogans explain why we have such massive rates of obesity, and everyone conforms to the same interests, including a gross (lack of) preparation for the future. You can dedicate a lifetime to absorbing the views of such goobers, and still end up snuffed by the unbearable stupidity of it all. Thus paying careful attention to a social circle, curmudgeon elders, or the self-described pragmatic progressive in class is typically a waste of time. It is far preferable to establish proper foundations by empowering yourself. I like to use a self-development model to achieve this goal. To begin, you must read and become knowledgeable on a variety of different topics. Forget the oft-repeated clamor that specialization should be the focus. As Heinlein noted,[16] “no human should allow themselves to be conditioned by the vapidity of focusing on one particular element. We are all capable of being scholar and soldier, artist and technician, fanatic and rational. It is merely the corrupt needs of the elite which are employed to further the cause of order. If the average person could use his head, much of this power would be obliterated overnight because we would be awakened.” The simple

acts of graduating secondary school, attending college, getting stuck in the 9-5, and watching football feed the garrulous objectives of those with power and influence. They create mediums to influence and sedate folks who might otherwise hold them accountable. It’s a relatively simple truth, but one few seem to understand. What if we did not waste hours following the same team’s jersey, or get wasted each weekend? Cut out either practice and you have millions who would have more time to read, expand their minds, and gradually expose the injustices of the world. Rather than pick between the dualist depravity of the red and blue political parties we would turn to figures more representative of virtue, and not those fueled by whichever corrupt interest chooses to come forth. Think of college campuses for a moment. Millions attend these centers of supposed enlightenment and spend their time drinking, abusing drugs, and hooking up with other “free spirits” whenever they are not enraptured by the boring lull of modern education. Since most higher education classes are skewed towards the lowest common denominator, the dumbest and least capable students, much of the experience becomes a practice in memorizing bits for some exam or paper, and then becoming totally hammered. Critical thinking is rarely applied to demand more from the young mind, but every professor sets up class so it is difficult to question anything he or she says. As a result, it is rare for students to challenge their instructor on any of what they preach, and even less common for them to engage with intelligent debates. I distinctly remember in multiple college classes being taught not to make any judgments about the material; this struck me as flagrant insanity. The same progressives who would sing praises about those who challenged organized religion for controlling thought now turned around to restrict any criticism of their own beliefs and tracts. It’s certainly an article of dismay, but luckily we can use it to explain the tepid trends of society, particularly amongst young people. Supposedly enlightened and highly-educated people still vote for the

Democrat and Republican system. Students allow themselves to get wasted and refuse to follow current events beyond what they read on social media or in the New York Times. The decent people of our world are kept dormant by alcohol and politics so the establishment remains safe. Rinse and repeat. I probably run the risk of being accused of promoting politics over clear-mindedness here, yet only a moron would say they are unconnected, If one elects to spend time avoiding current events in favor any number of different fantasylands: sports, video games, or drinking, they are contributing to the greater problem. No excuses conjured up by the resentful and offended can change what lies directly in front of our eyes. There is clearly an effort being employed to subjugate the minds of young and old people so nothing can disrupt the syndicate. A great example which lends itself to this observation was the ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993. The treaty was backed by both major political parties and establishment interests, with the intent of freeing up restrictions that might stymie outsourcing. Dubbed “free trade,” it melded well with the convictions of Reagan Republicans, as well as the growing neoliberal population in the Democratic Party. Bill Clinton, supposedly representing the “liberal” alternative to George Bush Senior, wholeheartedly supported it. His wife pushed and helped promulgate the movement as well. Within a short clump of years, the damage was done. Thousands of jobs were lost, wages declined, and Americans became poorer. The classic union employment model leftists liked to cheer on was almost completely eradicated. Big businesses smiled at the devilish success of their sortie. It’s easy to stop here and blame the establishment, corporations, or “the media” for what went down. That represents 100 percent laziness from concentrate, with lots of pulp. Blame for NAFTA goes to the popular norm. The good middle and working class goobers who did exactly as they were told. In the 1992

presidential election they threw out the warnings of several prominent voices in favor the red-blue swamp of Dems and GOP. Eighty percent of the voters, tens of millions in total, cast their papers for death sentences. Less than 20 percent chose at least the reasonably-bearable choice, Ross Perot. Once again, the football watchers, six pack drinkers, and “good patriotic Americans” sold their country down the river. It was not for lack of information, nor options —but simply because the average person is a lazy and unmotivated slug willing to do only enough so their meager place is protected from upheaval. For most people it is a truckload easier to plaster their face with the mutterings of a cheesy smile and rag on about how their team is doing while freedom and nationhood are quietly extinguished. It is simpler to get stoned or hook up than face reality, even though the wholeness of human experience shows us fighting is the path our ancestors had to take—or die trying. Our weak and obese culture of comfort is the issue. Fast forward to the modern day, and the picture is not much prettier. After decades of supporting the same corrupt interests at the ballot box and in the economy, we still are in no better a position. What’s truly disappointing is that the proliferation of facts has never been stronger than in today’s age. Most people carry a smartphone with them at all times. Apps and the internet have replace, slow perusing of classic reference materials. You can Google a question and be given the answer after one click. Education requires no brick and mortar building—only an internet connection. Despite all this seemingly wonderful content, we are left muttering in a sumptuous void where young people continue to support Democrats and Republicans, refuse to value anything they receive without charges, and prime themselves to serve the same exploitive system post-graduation. If statistics are bothersome, approach one of your friends and quiz them on the positions of the candidates they are backing in a given election, or ask them to explain the categories of taxes taken from their own pay stub. I guarantee most will be clueless. Approaches of random people for

video surveys have shown this to be exceptionally true, even on college campuses. California and New York seem to be among the worst offenders for whatever reason. What should be obvious by this point is the worthlessness of most people you will encounter in life. The reality holds that the average munchkin is more than willing to sacrifice freedom not for security, but the double-wide sofa, a keg of beer, and whatever jersey-flavored mastodons currently lead the football bracket. You MUST do better. For your own sake as well as mine. We cannot continue this lurid spiral into obscurity simply to sate the shortsighted ambitions that our impulse receptors treasure so much. It is our responsibility to stand up and embrace a new model which can liberate both ourselves and those around us; a system that maximizes freedom. That model is Economic Invincibility. First for individuals, and then for society at-large.

7. Getting a Job Because it is invariably linked to education, let us discuss the wonderful process of getting a job today. Whenever I talk to struggling recent graduates who claim to be unemployable, they tend to fall into one of three categories: the “only online” applicants, the

dream job believers, and the prolific procrastinators. The first group is the easiest to fix. They believe securing a position has everything to do with submitting resumes online by using Indeed, Craigslist, or 9Gag. All great sites, to be sure, but do any of them give more than a periwinkle in a lake’s chance? That’s an extra thick and cheesy NO. When filing online you are making a molecule in a sea of bubbles. The chance of being contacted while using this method is splendiferously low. Human eyes will likely never see your application, and thus the Burger King career awaits. Conventional advice implores one to copy the job description into their resume, but that alone is no guarantee. If you want a job then call, email, and show up somewhere to meet the manager. Use social media like Facebook or LinkedIn to garner their profile and interests. Just remember, employers today are doing the exact same to you, so playing the game doesn’t hurt one bit. For instance, say Stacy graduated from Ohio State University and presumably likes the Buckeyes team. Even if nothing else is known, assume she loves them and bring it up tacitly in conversation. Small mentions go a long way, especially with female managers. Don’t forget: they don’t care what you know until they know you care. In addition, do not stop at submitting whatever common app is available. Attend job fairs, go to the office, and make excuses to talk to managers outside of the application process. People are more likely to trust if they are on a firsthand basis, even for a brief time. This also diminishes the need to market as much in the interview, and your friend will probably talk things up to other managers due to the preexisting association. One of the best ways to meet such individuals is at church. People scoff at the idea if they are not religious, but you don’t even have to be. Church groups help melt barriers by assuming a certain camaraderie between people based on spiritual agreement. Churches also tend to relax streams of dialog between people, which can provide added advantage when attempting to secure a job.

Keep in mind that a job hunt is about competition like pretty much everything else. If you have some dream thing in your crosshairs, only to drop everything and tickle the target, a different strategy might be needed. Success requires the maximizing of potential by assuring that all competitors are left behind. Because most of them will not make the effort, you hold a substantial advantage and get bumped into a smaller pool of favorites. From there it’s possible to continue an asymmetrical strategy against the magnificent gorgon by slowly breaking down its defenses. Next we have the dream on! believers. This group is actually worse than the last because it remains the least active. These are the folks who whine about not being able to secure employment and bash “The System,” while in fact turning down positions or never applying. If prompted with certain job suggestions they will reply, “Oh God, I could never do THAT job!” In other words, it is the dream job or bust for these young, and generally carefree, minions. Here’s a little piece of advice: the world offers no gold for arrogant gobblers. Your prime objective is to make as much money possible quickly, and avoid the pitfalls created by our wonderfully rational elders in the financial system. End of story. Anyone who peddles the “Only do what you love” mantra is bound to see themselves working some crappy retail job with three masters degrees and the unforgiveable birthday spankings of student loans. Who’s smarter now? To be clear, flexibility is important. You cannot emerge into the modern economy and assume Yogi Bear has predestined a job in one particular field related to your major, or the lucid dreams you had while shot up on an E. Dream jobs are in limited supply, so waiting for some magical jet of providence means risking a long stretch at the Macy’s checkout, arguing with some “Can I speak to the manager?” psycho about how many of the same coupons she can use to fund her toddler’s professional photography hobby. (Hot tip: never, ever, agree with those marvelous creatures).

Flexibility matters because it provides more money than dreams, and those funds allow a person to pursue their purpose. People who speak out against this approach typically end up as some dejected and bitter soul trying to validate their life with two ounces of pot. You certainly don’t want to end up bankrupt just because that fortune cookie sounded edgy, hence the importance of securing steady employment quickly, rather than moping around. Even if your first position is no place for a career, it will give an abundance of experience (and some sort of salary) to propel you forward. Money is not about vanity here, but progress. The nuggets who wait 3-4 years after graduation working odd jobs and then go back to university for a masters are symptomatic of this problem: if life gives them lemons, they decide to grow prunes. A full-time job gives experience, an important element, regardless of the field. In today’s wonderful world, you can’t get a job without experience, but you need experience to get a job. What’s demonstrably worse would be waiting several years to even begin, because it lessens the value of your portfolio. Say Timmy Reynolds goes to a flagship school and gets good grades, along with a couple of internships. Upon graduation he decides to take a break from the grind and work retail for a year so he can continue to bang his high school girlfriend, but it quickly turns into two. His status as a recent graduate is significantly less enticing now because the novelty wears off. He’s no longer that budding omelet filled with joy and onions; his older and fatter face breathes delinquency from responsibility and a lack of ambition. He may be intelligent and certainly does not lack education, but there are so many younger and equally promising candidates available. Timmy seems unable to get his objectives sorted out. He’s just an over-educated Sales Associate trying to spin his resume so it sounds as impressive as average. Employers are going to see right through that outer layer and at best he’ll get some underpaid position. But no matter, because at least he’s doing what he loves, and love is the most important thing.

Another key disadvantage with postponing ascension to regular employment is the risk entailed by being a part-time employee. While there is more freedom to plot about other opportunities so long as you possess temporary employment, expect to be at the mercy of the benefits-free world of modern companies. Want to max out your 401k? Sorry, you’re a part-timer without enough hours accrued. In other cases, there will be no such benefit at all, leaving people trapped in a horrible crevice without retirement. What remains arguably worse is the lack of insurance. Parttime healthcare plans are notoriously expensive, with many not functioning to cover basic costs generated by illnesses. And good luck if you or a family member has a critical disease such as cancer; prepare to get into truckloads of debt simply to pay the deductible not covered by your ruddy plan. A health savings account remains an option, yet under such a program you need to build up enough for it to matter, which can be precluded by an earlier diagnosis. Some folks will advocate living off of vegetable mimosas and NOT purchasing insurance at all. Their logic is that young people in particular are healthy enough that they do not need continuous health coverage. I love this idea, but it carries two significant risks: first, you develop an illness out of the blue that requires advanced care, and second, the government has the ability to fine individuals who admit to having no healthcare coverage on their tax return. Note: this latter problem has been solved as of 2017 with the new administration, but do not expect it to remain that way forever. The first point is the more critical one. I don’t mean to jinx you, but cancer isn’t always something that afflicts senior citizens. Being hit by a drunk driver or getting an aggressive disease cannot always be anticipated. There is a chance that during early days in the workforce something will make you unwell, and perhaps sooner than initially believed. Then what? You end up emptying the bank account and going into debt for all the expensive treatments and drugs the doctor will greedily hand out to fund his fortnightly trips to Cancun,

where an exotic seniorita does what his wife has no interest in. The clincher is simple: get insurance. Even a scrappy plan is going to make things much better off until you are financially secure in the United States. People who say otherwise are either trying to impress their own slobby lifestyles upon the world, or more than likely, have no clue themselves. Our final group of misfits are the serial procrastinators. In their case, everything is perfectly aligned. They have the major, perhaps even some experience, and spent thousands on a degree. Now without warning they are gonna stop and stare, but never wonder why they’re here or there. Nothing is preventing them from securing decent work except some sort of mental blockage they cannot explain or analyze themselves. All the time and effort will then go to waste over several years after college. For instance, a former coworker of mine invested several years working retail while pushing himself through college for computer science and cyber-security. Because he had little background in the field, the process stretched for years and cost him well into the thousands. Graduation came, and he said he would take a few months off before going into the IT workforce. That was four years ago. Today, the same guy who spent time and money getting a technical degree still pitters along at less than thirteen dollars per hour, waiting for the moment when the Sugarland Express runs in to rescue him from the death-infused scent of shoe shopper socks. Last time I was in contact he admitted he felt “comfortable” in retail, and had no plans to move on with a more substantial career. Of course he could change his mind down the road, but the issue remains: degree value declines rapidly the longer you stay out of the professional workforce, particularly in the technology field, where stuff changes yearly. Given his usual machinations, I would be surprised if he did anything more than stock shoes and provide customer service from now on out to forever. Procrastination on getting a job is not acceptable behavior. Unless you have a severe disability, there are few reasonable

excuses. Can’t get that dream job in Buttscratcher, Georgia? Move elsewhere. Look for something different. The world is not going to hand out prosperity because you sit on your tushy and grumble like a cross pineapple. You gotta be bad. You gotta be bold. And you have to be flexible. Sure, gerbils who come from old money can afford to spelunk themselves perpetually and live off trust funds, but that probably doesn’t apply here. The cause is different, and the modern world is replete with hazards to navigate. There is no benefit to being too protracted in dealings with life. I. Internships I know I have been throwing around the internship word quite a bit, but it all comes towards a central purpose: gaining experience without breaking the bank. Every few months we hear about lawsuits concerning interns who worked long hours – sometimes over forty – all for not a nick of pay. Companies will defend these practices by arguing they are giving EXPERIENCE, when in fact you’ll be answering phones and updating excel sheets as a charity worker. Unpaid internships are the cynical solution to corporate staffing needs: they cannot provide you real work experience because that will merit pay, but they still want the menial jobs completed, so it’s all a one-way gravy train down the URBANKEMPTY canal. You slave away in a pressed shirt and tie under the auspices of a great opportunity, and the employer promises the possibility of a job or recommendation letter after a 3-6 month period. Never mind that one could be earning more money at minimum wage working the 7-11 counter, and probably learn business operations better at the same time. It’s all about the experience. In case you don’t already know, I am a firm advocate against accepting any sort of unpaid or volunteer internships, unless they fall within strict guidelines which the applicant enforces. Such aspects include a limited workweek and some kind of stipend to cover the costs of food and transportation, or at least the price of laundering shirts and ties in order to appear “business professional” at all times. Furthermore, one must get a concrete picture of just what will be

happening day-to-day. Whenever a company puts up vague job descriptions concerning “client support,” or “administrative tasks,” the applicant should expect long days in front of a computer screen, taking the occasional call for some carbon copy message book and assembling documents that other staffers can’t be bothered with. You will basically be the service drone, daring and debonair in that unflinching love for whatever boring and meaningless job the “intern supervisor” assigns. On the other side, good internships incorporate one of several important elements. Right off the bat, you should face clear expectations in terms of work and deadlines. This means weekly or bi-weekly tasks that are completed either individually, or alongside other interns in the office. An element of leadership must also be involved. If they actually need interns around, then they will spell out a challenging project to be researched and pursued towards an end goal. This task will be structured to help develop valuable skills applicable in other environments. II. The Jobbing Process It’s worth taking a moment to discuss how to go about getting that initial job. The preponderance of modern advice suggests that one submit a resume online, wait for the interview, and sell themselves to the handful of bald white dudes sitting across the table. Not completely inaccurate, but that marketing process is often presented in a vague manner. Open a job hunting manual and you’ll hear about “Selling yourself,” and “Making yourself seem invaluable.” Great. Now how exactly might one do this? I mentioned before the importance of proper communication while job-hunting. Phones, faxes, and in-person are always superior to email or texting. In the event that a hiring honcho suggests communicating by SMS or email only, it’s usually a bad sign. Once you have established a profile with the company and broken past whatever philandering entry process they have hooked

up, it’s time to go for the jugular. As in jogging. In front of them. Literally. Just kidding. That is what you are bound to hear from one of those job books. They’ll suggest being hyperactive and energetic, zipping around the room to grab a glance at the interview questions prematurely, much like the rest of their life experience. They encourage constant smiling, and giving some edgy handshake to show uniqueness. Or asking for a business card and tearing it in half so the hiring manager gets off on some macro-sexual domination angle. Unless the hiring panel is made up of sorority chicks, none of these ideas are very useful. Excessive smiles and bouncing around on the chair makes you seem unhinged. If someone questions or turns down an applicant because they don’t tremble and paste grins on their faces like an idiot, the job is likely at a Mickey Donalds playground. In a finer sense, don’t bother with people who expect ridiculous modifications of behavior unrelated to the seriousness of the job; they’re only doing it because they view applicants as potential threats to be controlled. As far as Tai Chi goes, the firm handshake absolutely matters. So does what you wear. Some imbeciles think being “chill” is all it takes, so guys should wear shirt dresses revealing only one leg shaved, together with flip-flops. Snort. Looking professional is key, because it establishes a line of communication with the manager that is non-verbal. The guy with the polo can look ok, but the dude with a full suit always blows him out of the water, at least at first appearance. It’s just for one bloody setting, not the entire job. You do a great disservice by making no effort to play the part desired, even if it comes off as overdressed in some situations. III. Interview Tips Once the interview commences, try a different strategy from the “Wave around your aunt’s metal vibrator and smile maniacally”

approach. Keep your mouth shut. Yeah, I know it’s revolutionary. The key is to delimit interactions and boost your profile as a worker. Contrary to what we hear strewn across the internet nowadays, being a loudmouth is not considered a virtue in prospective applicants. Don’t go in and rehash everything on the face of the earth (the resume) to “keep them enthralled.” A big talker is unattractive because they are almost always less- productive than focused employees, and burn time up filling space. Managers prefer to hire doers, as they will be far more effective long-term. A lot of lazy hiring managers will start dialogs by saying, “Tell me about yourself.” It’s a monumentally stupid request that has little to do with the job at hand, but lack of preparation can see you floundering or being loquacious, thus costing interview points. Break into the conversation with a quick introduction that establishes you as a dedicated individual concentrated on specific goals. Illustrate how the job will assist with that path and build upon the assets already possessed. Avoid being languid about details or endless lists concerning the jobs previously worked; that’s what the resume is for. The goal is to be succinct whilst emphasizing the value you provide to them. You could say, “I am twenty-two years old, I graduated from Partytown University, and I’m looking for an opportunity to build on my interest in public service, towards my eventual goal of becoming a [insert dream job]. My intention is to serve as the spearhead providing excellent client service for the company and our community.” At this point, shut up. Let them take in the message and ready for questions. Always provide positive and amplifying information to whatever question they put forth. If the cynical interviewer puts forward a curveball about experience, reroute the path into an argument for how it’s actually beneficial. Never concede they are right about noticing weaknesses in your resume. In the event they whine about you being too quiet or some other form of nonsense, make clear the value of calm and methodological decision-making, and proceed to explain the benefits for their

company. Never, for the love of God, puppies, and KFC, badmouth an ex-employer, your family, or anyone else. The most important part of an interview is one frequently gotten wrong by participants. If you guessed the question period, that’s absolutely correct. By this we are not concerned with the House of Commons; rather, it’s the part of the show when they ask if you have any questions. The proper answer is not “No, I don’t have any.” To do this signals laziness and lack of desire for the job. You need to communicate interest not simply for the position, but also in THEM. Before getting to this point, toss them a question about the company’s history, or the successive hiring steps. Avoid questions that suggest you have not paid attention to the guidelines sent by HR. The chief element is a short and sweet wrap-up that establishes you as a bit above a droid, and capable of laboring for their objectives. Here we reach the crowning point: the most important question an interviewee can put forward. When they ask if there are any other questions, posit the following: “If you don’t mind me asking, how did you all start working here?” This one is a goldmine. You’ll likely see some looks of surprise, maybe a verbal confirmation of sorts, and you’ll stick in their mind like glue. The question is unique and holds the following advantages: 1. 2. 3.

4.

They’ve probably never heard it before. It catches them off guard, giving you a break from the interview. In a couple seconds you can turn the tables and take control of the interaction. You look assertive without appearing standoffish, and now they are answering your questions. People LOVE talking about themselves, so it’s hard to imagine someone refusing, unless of course their background is classified.

5.

They don’t care what you know until they know you care.

I cannot guarantee success, but I’ve spoken to enough hiring managers to know they are impressed and quite grateful for such a query—at least far more than some miscreant ranting about all the ingredients on the resume in front of them. An interview is ultimately a rite of passage, a formality to prove you are more than a typed and bulleted piece of Times New Roman. The problem is, too many people assume the opposite, that they are expected to prove themselves by endlessly blubbering about the content of their resumes. All this accomplishes is to make you appear empty and boring to the tired, capitulating eyelids across the table. When taken it as a whole, one of the best ways to approach the job-hunting process is to make it so there’s not fretting about every waking moment. I have seen people become flustered by the prospect of finding a role when they have little to be worried about. A job is, as I mentioned previously, your portal to other things. It’s important to secure one, keep it, and that’s about all. Obsessing over employment is a good way to run crazy onto the Dr. Phil set. Think of it as a stepping stone instead of a precious ruby. No one in their right jewels wants to spend twenty years cooped up in an office with a tie and collecting paychecks from someone else. You’ve got one life to live, but presently lack the freedom to live it. Short excursions on the weekend are not what it’s all about, but rather the liberty to do whatever want without constant trepidations of the workforce. So slow down, take a lustful breath, and don’t worry. Your employer should be nothing more than another spigot from which you draw water in the desert until the plumbing system gets installed. We all need income, yes, but only as a means of sustaining life while investing to build a business idea. Never plan to retire from any employer as the only way out, and always assume that job could be lost at any time. Build and maintain a reserve fund of six months in

case that livelihood is lost. Banking on your boss is a bad strategy, and a sign of vulnerability. You can’t get rich from a paycheck alone, but absolutely use paychecks to help yourself get rich. One further note: please do not stay in a job where you are stressed out, unable to rest, or otherwise miserable. You may not love your employer, but at bear minimum they should be tolerable. If every minute is hell because of harsh superiors, the work environment, or acid-dropping gnomes living between the cubicles, go ahead and look elsewhere. Long-term, base emotional and physical health will outweigh the fact that you’re collecting a pittance and dropping money on beer for the weekend. You’ll become a depressed lemming making it one day at a time and using vacation to drink it all away. As much as you may like alcohol, such living is not conducive to a sustainable and happy existence. IV. Surviving the Workplace While dealing with the demands of a job until attaining more money, be sure to understand a basic strategy to help navigate the work environment. This can be summarized as Relationships, Resourcefulness, and Recognition. Jumping on the first, being successful with relationships is critical to triumph in the American workplace. One ought to be friends with everyone within the workplace, but to only the level of acquaintances. By this I don’t mean drinking or partying with co-workers; simply have pleasant interactions with them. If you are less sociable, start out with the “Hello, how’s it going?” stuff and move on from there. You need not charm them, simply be polite and cordial It’s important to emphasize the balancing of affection expressed towards people in the workplace. Never be the person who compliments another individual or offers them further attention than others, unless they are a superior. The goal should be to remain neutral with everyone, and not take up residence as some sort of opinionated bumpkin who mouths off and disrupts an office’s clichés

or set of feelings. People often get tossed in the HR wood chipper for the simple fact that they talk too much when silence and subterfuge would have been more ideal. The smartest folks become information brokers in a work setting: trusted enough to be talked and chatted with, but not loudmouthed to the point where it causes trouble. Being in such a position also protects the individual by keeping their ears abreast to whatever gossip is filling the office. You certainly don’t want to be the subject or trafficker of gossip, but hearing it can save your skin by making things more predictable. A major component of Relationships is, wait for it… relationships. Or, at the very least, understanding how to navigate around them successfully. The mistake made by a lot of guys is to assume laziness is acceptable when it comes to dating. We gravitate towards the co-worker chick for the simple fact that she is close by and work gives us an excuse to talk. Forget visiting the Starbucks lass every afternoon and flirting with her in line; screw enrolling in a thrusting class to grant more options; the girl you clock in and out with is so much better as a target. So…you take her out. Things go well, but then there is a nasty fight, or even worse, a breakup. Or the biological imperative causes you to find someone else on the side, but you don’t want to quit that job because the money is good. Thanks to that irrational totem pole betwixt your legs there are now several challenges: first, the radical unease of seeing that person on a regular basis, right after having an emotional or physical tussle with them. The bigger problem emerges once you are forced to wear stilettoes lined with fortune cookie shells whilst navigating the office space. One word out of line or any misunderstood comments means the cleaners for that sorry hide— and HR has truckloads of bleach. If your ex-twister partner is bitter or vindictive, you will be finished before that languid detergent has a chance, and I’m not talking about Tide—just the generic stuff.

Relationships with co-workers can compromise other areas of a career as well. Looking for a promotion? Too bad, cause they can use it against you in the hiring process, especially if their next lover is a competitor or supervisor. Ready to move on? Good luck with a sexual harassment complaint on the record, and God forbid it makes a path into the courts – then you can enjoy the Craigslist-only work life. The short of it holds that dating co-workers is absolutely not worth the potential risk of losing your job, or worse, getting marked with the legal stamp of degeneracy. The more the world becomes dominated by emotionalism, the less leeway one will have to escape indictment by the courts of Human Resources, even if their only fault was taking her out to paradise island a couple times. As an addendum, this applying more to heterosexual men, do well to avoid or counteract the perception that you show more courtesy or attention to particular female employees. You want to compliment the new secretary? Better be sure to also throw some daises at the pleasantly plump Queen of Hearts also part of the office staff. A general rule is to never shower praise on a chick who is less advanced in age with an older one in earshot. I made this mistake when I complimented a twenty-something in range of a fortyplus lady. The latter angrily whiplashed by complaining I had never given her the exact same compliment, even though I had given praise her way many times before. Herein rests the danger of being sweet or flirtatious with women at work: you are liable to create further conflict by making the mistake of opening trap around the wrong person. Never assume that just because you discretely give her favors outside of work the information won’t somehow get back to the office. Women are violently jealous of any sweet or romantic gestures targeted towards other females, and will react viciously to those who offer them. If you doubt me, try walking through the mall with a girl on the arm and behave as couples normally do. The single women you pass— identifiable by their usual same-sex company—will snarl and look with grease-lined envy at what they are missing. Even a married or otherwise coupled woman who does not get the exact same

attention from her beau will respond in coarse fashion to the pleasure she wants so fervently but cannot seem to attain. After establishing a firm reticence towards on-the-job relationships, it’s key to develop the second element: Resourcefulness. This portion concerns the importance of becoming a company asset, and thus preserving the job as long as necessary. In previous years you might work like a dog and constantly brownnose to get ahead. Since such behavior can actually hurt promotion potential, it is best avoided. Because you too must play the game, it’s worth understanding how to make the best approach. To begin, make it difficult to be replaced by being reliable, on time, and efficient. This does not necessarily mean act as the office workhorse; in today’s business world taking such a route can result in a transformation into the loyal slave passed up for advancement simply because you are too useful in an existing post. Learn the tools of the trade and minimize the time spent asking for advice. If it’s necessary to write stuff down to remember it, go ahead. It is far better to do that than end up asking frequent questions to a dismayed superior. Realize that today companies are trying to cut left and right. Consultants are coming in and swinging the scythe. Being the guy who needs assistance often isn’t going to play well. When it comes to office politics, remain neutral whilst dignifying yourself equally to the sides that matter. Never stick your nose into a needless conflict as a white knight, and in general keep that snapper shut. Young men in particular are easily damaged in the workplace for failing to remain silent. Babbling without a good reason can lead to trouble, even if the person in conversation is supposedly a friend or confident at work, and there is no excuse for it. Learn to zip up and minimize conversation. Your goal should also be to leave work quickly by becoming financially independent. In point, stay away from conversations that drag that objective into a mud pile of waste. Say co-worker Bob approaches you to ask about the pigskin championship game last

night. You might like sports. You might even love pig skin. It’s possible that you also like Bob. Guess what? No one cares. His insignificant fifteen minute rant is only going to disrupt the day and potentially cause a late stay. Plenty of jobs already cater to make employees unofficially start early—hence there is no solid reason to be charitable. Steer clear of time-burning conversations for goodness’ sake. The same rule applies to managers and supervisors; if they are talk-bots, avoid them while completing work objectives. Take the long way around cubicles or speed walk when they are occupied. Use email as a preferred means of communication and do not get entangled in phone calls whenever possible. If you work with a load of social butterflies, strive to separate from the conversations by acting bland or busy, like an annoyed George Constanza. We all know how to kill a vibe. With football, just make a statement that is ignorant or completely off key. As soon as Bob realizes you have little competence in sports, he’ll back off. In truth, you might be the biggest pigskin fan, but it’s still a good thing. One of the worst aspects of co-workers is their ability to distract from the responsibilities at hand, thus undermining image in front of a manager or supervisor, who may believe you are dragging feet. Resourcefulness further impacts your worth as an employee. In order to be successful it is important to determine precisely what your superiors want, and chase it down aggressively. If specifically assigned to a project, complete it carefully and in advance, while dismissing talkative offers of help. People who are not on the line for something will naturally work slower and exert for lesser standards than you are known for. They hold limited liability if the outcome is subpar. No matter what, never subdivide into groups for an individual project and assume it will be completed adequately. You must belabor to protect that plot at all costs, which means ignoring those who can easily ruin things.

A good way to tackle the resourcefulness side of things is to lockdown whatever tasks are absolutely critical and finish them promptly, thus freeing up time to close down the remaining demands and become available. No, this doesn’t mean being a total drone; just use common sense. Do you really want to be given tasks to do? Probably not. Preempting the issue heightens the likelihood of being assigned a preferable task rather than the grunt work that will otherwise be issued. The reason for this has to do with basic human nature. When you ask a supervisor for permission to handle specific jobs, their normal inclination is to say yes. After all, the request reveals some of the most desirable benefits in an employee: selfmotivation and industriousness. It’s difficult for them to turn down an offer to work more, so the die rolls favorably. Should the job offer overtime, such an approach will put you first in line for the extra smackers. Finally, it’s worth discussing Recognition. To the average tater this might include awards, certificates, or congratulations. While these are somewhat relevant, the category has more to do with ensuring supervisors know what YOU personally bring to the company. Suppose one is a stellar worker, constantly trying to find areas of improvement and looking for extra ways to be productive throughout the shift. Sounds great, but you also happen to be quiet and self-driven. Despite putting in considerable effort on the regular, there is a risk of being designated as the reliable mule who will always do right, but still get passed up for certain promotions and raises. The reason is pretty simple: there is no communication. While some managers are perceptive enough to seek out and find individual successes, those with a dominant or extroverted personality may forget you exist because of limited check-ins. As lazy as it sounds, most people will not remember someone’s efforts unless forcibly shown. Instead of simply completing an additional task, for example, go to the supervisor and specifically ASK to complete it. If they say yes, knock it out and then TELL them. Should it be appropriate, throw together an email and inform; a written

record can work wonders for memory, as well as evaluations. A simple rule to appreciate is that nothing happened unless it is was written down or in some other way memorialized. The same principle applies critically when you are being told to do something that seems to clash with company practice or policy. Supervisors may direct subordinates verbally in such situations because they know there is plausible deniability should things turn lemony. A person can claim they said one thing, but their defense will be that they did not, or the communication was unclear. Even if it becomes necessary ask straight up, that’s better than cowering in weakness as you attempt to justify the act to Human Resources or other authorities, particularly when it concerns potentially unethical behavior. In these cases, written confirmation can be a life saver. Do not assume anyone is benevolent or honest; when their job is on the line your head is going to be dunked in order to give them a stepping stone towards fresh air. Unless you happen to be the pre-Jason Momoa Aquaman, and that’s quite undesirable. On a legal level, there needs to be some permanent record for evidence to be strong. Emails work best because they are normally tied to a person’s work account, and cannot be completely deleted. Once an email is submitted it becomes a permanent copy, and the only way to prevent dissemination is if you are some high-up government official pleading the Fifth. Getting an order by email also protects against diverging instructions from supervisors. If commands deviate radically depending on who is speaking, demand a digital copy, and make the request over email as well. Some managers will try to evade the issue by talking directly to the worker. Simply refuse and explain how different commands have come down the line. Any resistance at this point should be met by action from higher management. There is no reason to risk a position in the name of convenience for disorganized superiors. Protect yourself before any superior.

Using email has an added benefit when it comes to the protection of promises for wages or promotions. As an example, during my teens I was once promised a slight hourly increase in pay which amounted to about fifty dollars more per week. Chickenfeed, I know, in principle it matters. At the time I was receiving checks by direct deposit but never chose to order pay stubs. This went on for a few months until I quit and received a concluding statement listing my pay as being the rate I had before getting the promised raise. Upon calling corporate I discovered they had never input the hourly bump even though the store manager and HR managers confirmed everything in person. While it was my fault for not checking, they failed to keep their word precisely because there was no accountability. If I had gotten it in writing, there would have been the basis for legal action, but otherwise, I could only claim “Someone said,” and that’s about pointless in a court of law. Something to be learned early on in a work career is that no one should be trusted. It doesn’t matter friendly they are, or the fact that you get along in the office. At the end of the day, the passing comment made months ago will come back when the rascal wants the same promotion, or less competition for brown-nosing. I have personally seen co-workers take vicious potshots at fellow employees in front of a supervisor, specifically to bolster their own standing. These same folks would hang around their targets otherwise and act completely normal—like good friends forever. It illustrates the corrupt behavior of certain people, sure, but that’s no reason to let your guard down. The baiting smile of “a great guy” at work can just as easily be a mask for the flashy switchblade he has stashed in his purse. What’s worse is that the most dishonest people will typically be the fiercest in their animosity towards anyone who suggests otherwise. Because liars are naturally self-conscious and guilty, they use every moment to impress their supposed decency by vilifying anyone else around them, and boosting their own profile. If you notice someone talks themselves up a great deal, there’s a good chance they are just waiting for an opportunity to chuck someone

under the asphalt paver. Your ultimate friend is YOU. Trust no one else and do well at work.

V. Relationships We have already covered work relationships, but the problems don’t end there. Economic Invincibility is about making good decisions with money and with having healthy personal relationships. I admit going in that there will be something of a male bias underpinning this discussion, but much of the content could be well applied in reverse to our female peers. Ideally, relationships should emphasize stability, sound decisions, and responsibility. To start, I know we all have a biological drive. Men and women want to bang, and some people want to become pregnant. It is a phenomenal reality that we do ourselves harm by ignoring; evolution has more hold over us than most people think. Nonetheless, we possess something most other mammals do not: rationality. We can use smarts to resist or reject segments of our nature when they become destructive. No one is forced to whore around or become parent to countless illegitimate kids. You make a conscious decision and must bear the consequences of that behavior. Except in the case of rape, no one compels you to have sex or impregnate anyone, so using biology as an excuse is rather stupid. The critical thing to appreciate in relationships is the need for stability. I mention this in a book concerning finance for the simple reason that both are immeasurably combined when you face up against the facts. A single guy who avoids the black widow nest of messy relationships is stable. The committed couple who love their children more than their base instincts are stable. Over time, both will end up much better off than those who opt for unhinged romantic lives. The people who choose to favor reproductive organs over their brains are bound to be worse off down the line than the ones who utilize restraint, even when it is unappealing.

Picture this: Johnny Suave has a way with women. He bags, packs, and dropships more than the typical chap will in a given lifetime. Johnny’s lifestyle is somewhat costly, but he has gotten good at making women pay, and besides, he rolls with seventy-five grand a year. Not too shabby. He has his own apartment along with a luxury car and motorcycle. You could say he has it pretty good. Then disaster strikes. Johnny mistakenly asks out THAT girl. The one who is into violent sex—and immense self-loathing. He pulls his regular shebang, collects the pretty dice, and forgets about her. A month later, he’s being questioned by police. Apparently Ms. Congeniality was a bit niftier than he thought: she put the post on Tumblr, and it went viral. Now his name is linked to sexual assault, and his job is on the line. Adding to that, he may face the courts and possible prison time, or the sex offender registry. Don’t say it’s too extreme, for the very same has already happened. Men are particularly at risk to these snares because society assumes women cannot be predators under the auspices of the #metoo movement. Threats of rape claims can be used to pin a fellow into an undesirable marriage or financial extortion. You can easily be Johnny, no matter how fiercely the claims of sleekness and smoothness may rise. There is always going to be someone with more credibility in the eyes of the police, leaving you on the verge of potential jail time, or at least job losses. The short of it is this: choose relationships carefully, no matter how minor they are. Keep proof of contact and consent with you at all times. Better yet, only have relations with individuals you know and trust, so you’re not caught red-faced with a despicable person and pay the ultimate price. An additional threat to your financial plot comes in the form of the little man who shows up at the party uninvited. Estimates from the CDC suggest as many as 110 million Americans have some form of a sexually transmitted disease.[17] For those who don’t know, treatment for these diseases can be long-lasting and have ties to more serious issues like cancer.[18] We should keep in mind that now is the time of birth control and unprotected sex, hookup culture, and

the accompanying encouragement from dating apps. The number of sexual partners for each person has also risen dramatically, meaning virgin marriage is becoming a thing of times long since remanded to memory. Sexual experimentation is mainstream as well, with same and opposite sex partners a brilliant show of creation that carries seemingly no serious consequences for the participants. All appears well. Bringing up these facts can get you called nasty things by the outraged and deluded, but that doesn’t change their validity. To put it simply: does placing the appendage used for reproduction and urination inside one’s mouth sounds particularly sanitary? Most honest folks would say no. Now let’s imagine the same person does this activity frequently, and uses multiple partners, many of whom they have only known for a few hours. Any better? Before mounting the steed of self-righteousness, take a moment to examine your own life. Do you use recreational drugs, drink regularly, and live in a promiscuous manner? If the answer is yes, do not insist you are impervious to potential infection. A lot of people make the mistake of assuming all is well simply because “That will never happen to ME.” Everyone seems to have that mentality until it does. Perhaps the most familiar financial conundrum stemming from relationships is divorce, which has made legal marriage a considerable risk. Less well-know is the influence of cohabitation on the same category. In some states, living with a person for a number of years is treated the same way as a marriage contract, leaving the subject vulnerable court action upon separation. Depending on the laws of the particular state of residence, a person might end up losing fifty percent or more of all assets upon divorcing. For a guy making $100,000, that means handing $50k to a cause much less greater than the government—and then paying the state after that. Given how stringent laws have become on the issue it is not advisable to take an indifferent view. While countless couples tie the knot based on a fantastical idea of love and physical attraction when they are

young, many become tired and bitter after a time, proceeding to take each other to the legal cleaners. Besides basing things off of failure (you are going to get tired of the same body, and both gremlins will get old), it often puts another group of people at risk: children. I have seen numerous instances where kids became the casualties of petty disagreements stemming from “You’re always working,” or “She gained a few pounds.” Obviously attraction is important, but men and women are sold a tub of lies about incredible marriages in which neither will age nor become wrinkly. When they are proven wrong it’s glee for the courts—and gloom for the kids. I don’t mean this as a treatise against all divorce, but we would all be better off if couples accepted the dark years of their marriages as a partnership to assure the success of their children and their financial well-being. Apart from cases of serious abuse, people acting like adults can save muddy sagas by simply putting kids first. Ideally, no one should want kids growing up being passed around between parents and exposed to the awkwardness of step-families. This can be avoided this by exercising a little humility and putting them ahead these supposed “irreconcilable differences,” which bring down relationships. If the enduring prospects are not clear before a move in or the ceremony, take more time. Pig-headedness is not a good excuse for poor judgment, nor is a capacity to lust after things. If nothing else, at least stronger relationships would bankrupt the divorce industry, and taking money away from slimy lawyers is usually a good thing. I’m sure this section comes off as preachy, and I don’t intend it to be, but some facts are difficult to scrub. In general, the average income folks who pursue messy and unstable relationships are those who end up poorer—or more susceptible to disease. The same people dislike any sort of oversight to their behavior because they “Can’t stand being judged.” That’s perfectly fine, but remember the

point of this book is to help you evade mishaps in life. I personally have little interest in defending legal marriage or postulating some higher way of living when it comes to relationships. That’s a project for someone else. What I can tell you is how many individuals I have met – mostly men – who saw much of their financial agenda decimated by divorce or complicated breakups. One in particular had to start over at age 40, when he previously would have been set. You cannot realistically plan against everything in life when it comes to relationships. Regardless of gender, every person is vulnerable to the basic ides of human nature; they can lie, cheat, and steal, no matter who they are. There are no idealized angels or unicorns that can preserve us absolutely from such outcomes. It is all about rolling the dice. That said, there is a way to limit the effects of it all by planning carefully and limiting yourself to the individuals least likely to turn crabby down the road. At times it means sacrificing part of the human drive, which is hardly the end of the world. Better to be simple and secure than wild and running from the financial police.

8. Where to Go When You’re There A question I sometimes receive in the course of explaining the dynamics surrounding success is “What comes next?” It seems pointless at first, but for many people being wealthy or distinguished is little more than a pipe dream. We can all imagine the nice car, the tropical vacations, or even walking arm-in-arm with several supermodels. But what else is there? You can only visit the beach so many times, and speeding in a sports car doesn’t work so well, at least on most American roads where cops are aplenty. Models are nice, but how much different are they from the rest after a couple goes? The truth is, there exists a much higher calling. Less glamour about it, for sure, but with tremendous personal satisfaction. Once you are successful, go put forward an opinion, and become a mentor and leader. The first aspect lies at the very heart of Economic Invincibility. You want to exercise free speech in a way that curses the ability of society to muzzle you. Be outspoken, be controversial, and fight for the rights of those being silenced by the media. Refuse to back down and constantly make a point of mocking the ones who seek to do away with freedom of expression. If possible, donate funds to support those being savaged financially for not betraying

their conscience by caving to public pressure. The stronger the backlash against the claws trying to dictate social acceptability, the better our ability will be to move ahead and endorse a freer and fairer society. Next, find people in person or using a media platform and serve as their mentor. The problem with the modern world is how corrupted it has become in regard to education of the next generation. Young people are brought up to reject freedom, embrace dependency, and become indebted to the State or global corporations. Few counselors or college professors are honest about the conditions of the modern economy, leading to poor decisionmaking on the part of the less-experienced. You can stop this by breaking the mold. Put in some research to showcase the shortcomings of countless college degrees. Educate youth in the ways of the entrepreneur, and encourage innovation. Finally, use available resources to become a leader. It can be tempting to sit back and drop out whenever someone has attained status, or be bitter and desire nothing more than to see others fail. This is the chief issue plaguing our current culture: a cycle of malevolence damages those trying to be succeed, and causes them to hate the successful. The ones who manage well in their quest to shatter the cigar-stained ceilings are then trained as negative purveyors who inflict similar vitriol on the next wave of potential ladder-climbers, and the carnival moves on. Instead, I encourage everyone who has experienced even a modicum of success to reach out and help someone else. The better united we are, the richer we will be, and as people find financial independence under the banner of Economic Invincibility we shall progress evermore steadily towards a world where the interests of the corrupt and disreputable are reigned in. None of the underlying principles are exclusive to a world of fantasy; if the men and women of today can channel their resources and talents, for the sake of unity, then the people of tomorrow will not have to labor under the

undesirable trappings of this age. I would just note in closing how the existence of allies can prove immeasurably advantageous in the cause of protecting your own plot. Even as a financially independent person you can be targeted by society for public destruction. The views and values worked for throughout life can be swept aside by torrents of vicious words and government actions. While you remain free officially, speech will be controlled and spirits held at bay. Fellow voices can cut through all this fog and deliver justice. When those pesky screams are responded by fierce opposition, the assumed relevance they possess fades quickly, and you make headway with fine ideas. Since the entirety of their position is reliant upon the belief that no other opinion should be tolerated, the mere presence of a challenge serves to undermine and unmake their sense of righteousness.

9. Conclusion I hope this book has been valuable in your quest to pursue a rewarding and desirable career. While it is brief, everything works by design. A fundamental issue with most financial and “self-help” books is their overreliance on fluff and marshmallow content to push a veritably simple message. In this case, I’m skipping all that nonsense so you can avoid debt and make money to be free, not just to enjoy hobbies, but also to SPEAK YOUR MIND without fearing economic repercussions. We are, after all, at our best when we live to express our beliefs, rather than cowering in a corner for

the sake of a few dollars more. Think of every prominent person in history who has done good for others; if they were too afraid of the societal and economic banhammers we would not even know their name. Each voice has a purpose, and we should strive to ensure that none are silenced. With that said, I acknowledge we are all students in the continuous throes of learning including myself. If you come across information or a topic that should be incorporated into this text, I encourage you to contact me on my channel or at the following email address: [email protected]. I am always up to the task of revising things, particularly when it relates to the enduring success and triumph of a person’s educational legacy. My intention is to never stop learning, and I trust anyone reading this to hold me accountable in the name of that very cause.

About the Author Martin Goldberg is a fantastic guy with big ideas who has also written Six Months In A Van, How To Suck At Business, and Ass Culture. When he is not occupied with educational projects and making the internet a better place, he enjoys reading and cooking. You can find him somewhere on a Florida beach, searching for a cringey song.

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