Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?
This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.
Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
Not sure it’s the dumbest question I’ve ever asked but it is one I’ve never asked in real life (maybe because I’m too embarrassed to ask it, maybe because I’ve never had someone good to ask it to…)
How do you think about maximising your earnings? Asked another way: How do you go about making the most money for the least effort without breaking the law?
One small thing to tack on that normies love to talk about is maximizing credit card/rewards point systems. It's a game you have to play to tread water, and you can get some marginal benefits on top of it if you do it well.
Churning is nowhere near as lucrative as it used to be, but when you're making not a ton of money it's an impactful hobby to start, and then using the correct credit cards for what you spend money on can be multiple thousands a year if you make and spend more.
I've maximized earnings primarily by using my well-off parents' existence to take financial risks other people can't, which have all paid off. A major one was renting a house for ~2.5 years when I moved into another.
I also dabble in class-action suits for fun (the profit is minimal). I'd be comfortable committing minor insurance fraud by falsifying documents and pirating any media that's not available DRM-free.
More options
Context Copy link
The toughest part of your question isn't most money or least effort or even without breaking the law.
It's "you." Who are you? What are your opportunities? What are your skills? What are you willing to devote effort and energy to?
My wife has obvious assets and paths to easy money that I don't, outside of some flexibility on my part. The more tech oriented people on here are going to have paths open to them that I don't, my credentials and connections open up paths to me that they don't have.
And what are your moral and legal compromises? Below @faceh says that he views personal injury law as scuzzy. One might have the same view of PI, or criminal defense, or big corporate firms, or prosecution, or anything. There's always someone who finds what you do morally incorrect.
More options
Context Copy link
Well the way to increase earnings is to get a better paying job or a promotion, there's a whole ecosystem of advice on how to do that.
If you focus more on the 'least effort' part then the answer is usually to put your money in a low-fee stocks & shares index fund, like Vanguard.
The third part, which admittedly wasn't part of your question, is to spend less money. That way you have more to invest or pay off debts.
Can you give us any information about your personal circumstances, goals, abilities etc?
More options
Context Copy link
Sort of depends on what you're comfortable with ethics-wise.
For instance, I didn't go into Personal Injury law even though it promises to be lucrative because the entire area feels scuzzy and designed to take advantage of people at their most vulnerable.
But I found an area that pays well enough (if you put in the work) and doesn't require me to check my principles at the door.
I'd suggest that if you're excluding all other priorities and have lax but not completely discarded ethics, sales is the line of work that will end up providing the earning potential. If you're really good at it, you can move up to selling larger and larger ticket items and thus the commissions you receive will grow proportionally. Once you're at the level of, say, selling yachts to multimillionaires, and you've mastered the craft, I'd suggest that is likely the lowest effort/money ratio of most careers.
More options
Context Copy link
How do I? I don't. Maximizing my earnings isn't a goal of mine and I've never structured my life to maximize them. For anyone that's tolerably well-off monetarily, I would suggest against earnings-maxing in a refined way, it's just not going all that likely to maximize life-satisfaction. I would strongly suggest thinking in terms of tradeoffs rather than extremes.
Say you’re not “tolerably well off monetarily”. What would you say to someone who has generations of poverty (often extreme poverty) in their genes and wants to break that cycle?
If you're in the US, breaking out of generations of poverty boils down to:
That's it. If you do these two things, you will have multiple leadership opportunities and a comfortable living. Every single job I've had, from the crappy to the great, has eventually led to a manager realizing I deserved to be paid more than my peers and given more power and control of my destiny. A server at a mid-tier restaurant in the US makes an insane amount of money relative to the amount of effort and dedication they put into their job. Oilfield workers are famous for high school graduates making enough money that it takes hookers and high-interest car loans to destroy their future. Literally, just show up on time, try hard, and be friendly with your boss.
If you're struggling with the first, I find this book to be 90% excellent advice for people who have not been educated about money from an early age.
More options
Context Copy link
You also said "for the least effort without breaking the law" which implies some sort of shady /r/overwork J2 type thing. I don't think anyone wants to help you with that.
But in terms of maximizing earnings, you can either work harder or do something that is hard.
Work harder. Literally just work more hours. For example, buy a fixer upper house and get roommates. Pay the mortgage with the rent you bring in. Fix up the house. Sell it. You'll make money since rich people want to buy a house that is move-in ready, not needing repair. Another example, you can detail cars for people and charge at least $50/hour. Or, more easily, just find a job that pays overtime and work lots of overtime.
Do something hard. There are tons of high-paying jobs that many people just don't want to do because they suck. For example, accounting. If there's something you don't mind doing that pays well, this can be okay. The big category of high-paying jobs that suck is owning a business. Most people just want to draw a check with zero risk or effort.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link