Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

Hey gang.

I went busto in April after 2.5 years of professional poker. I had no savings and significant debt. Since then I have fallen right out of the middle class, doing unskilled temp labor in East Texas. I've been flogging agencies since I got here but have managed to work a grand total of 20 hours this month, at about 6.65 per - lots of miscommunication between agency and hirers, interviews / jobs fall through, etc. etc. I have a car note, $2K in credit debt and student loans. Clearly this is unacceptable, and I can't help but feel I'm underutilizing my resources. I know next to nothing about finance, money management, and the world of work. So - how do I get less broke?

I don't really have an end goal. Part of me wants to scrape together about $5K, plus another five or so for savings & expenses, and head back to Southern California & the cardrooms. Another part of me isn't sure that it ever wants to play another hand.

ASSETS:

Young (24), able-bodied. BA, University of Texas, 2004 - History. No criminal record, owns transportation, genius, probably the world's greatest casual conversationalist.

DEBITS: A lifetime of avoidable mistakes and hard knocks have finally managed to push work ethic up to 'mediocre.' Thorny personal & psychological issues. Clueless. Sizeable debt - 10s of Ks in student loans, $2K in credit card debt, $15K car loan.

I'm headed to Atlanta next week to live with friends. I have no idea what I'll do when I get there. I just need money. Let the adviceflood begin.

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

I've never used a temp agency, but pick up a paper and look through the classifieds. If you are willing to do any type of work, you can definitely get hired. Gas stations and fast food are always hiring and you should atleast be able to make enough to pay your bills, while you look for something else.

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

Probably the least attractive option in the history of the universe, but you could pick up a job that pays for [censored] but covers all your overhead. Cruise ships, lodges, etc. Would be a [censored] few months, but at least you'd come out of it with some cash.

Edit: I missed the debt part. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] How do you feel about people trying to kill you in various deserts?

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

If you are such a great talker, the answer is OBV.

Simply take a week and hang out in a bar or restaurant where important people mingle. NETWORK my friend.

Then work your way up the ladder.


Good luck.

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

Alaska has a crab season coming up.

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

cardo,

Wait tables or bartend somewhere busy. The turnover in these places is ridiculous, you can surely find a job that will get you by for a bit while you look for something else. Or see if you can find someone that will let you sell for them (cars?).

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

[ QUOTE ]

Young (24), able-bodied. BA, University of Texas, 2004 - History. No criminal record, owns transportation, genius, probably the world's greatest casual conversationalist.

[/ QUOTE ]

You should tutor arts majors and write term papers for trust fund babies. Initially, you should at least charge $20 or $25/hr, and you can raise this after you build up a reputation.

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

some thoughts in no order:

atleast you are out there trying. shoe's suggestion is good. those type of stores are always hiring and prolly have a turn over rate as high as mcd's. a word of caution, if you arent homicidal/suicidal before working a conveniant store, you may be become such. fast food is always an option. prepare to have your clothes, car, etc forever smell like a french fry. what was your major?

not much advice regarding the student loans. try not to default. $2k credit card debt isnt that bad. can you get more on the card? use it as seed money? ask youself if using the card is better than minimum wage jobs? a 15K car loan sounds steep to me. im sure you dont want to drive a junker but something less expensive may be best the for now.

manage your bankroll better. i understand the love/hate of playing poker. then i look at the help wanted ads. hope it works out. will this be a trip report kind of post?

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

This might be a good time to state preferences, as if I had the right to hold them.

THINGS I HATE:

Sales, customer service. I just can't [censored] deal.

I'm not dealing with food, sorry.

I like industrial / construction work okay, but hooo boy am I bad at it.

I have no experience in anything else other than academia and cards.

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

I have had friends in your exact situation, and frequently bartending and waiting have been the best ways to go. The ideal situation would be to wait at a high turnover place that's fairly expensive. While the actual work itself isn't particularly enjoyable or stimulating, you'll likely meet people, and if you manage to get hired at a good place, you may even make some contacts and find opportunities this way. At minimum you'll have put some nice money in your pocket. I have a friend who guest bartends at a good bar here in NYC one Thursday every month. He told me $300 in cash is a bad night for him, and said he normally makes between $450 and $600.

Fast food/gas station is pretty dismal. I would use those as a last resort.

I'd bartend or wait, get a good night's sleep every night, and then use the daytime to try to figure out a longer term life plan, and then move on to that once you have built up a bit of a nut.

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

[ QUOTE ]
This might be a good time to state preferences, as if I had the right to hold them.

THINGS I HATE:

Sales, customer service. I just can't [censored] deal.

I like industrial / construction work okay, but hooo boy am I bad at it.

I have no experience in anything else other than academia and cards.

[/ QUOTE ]

One of my buddies got his degree in history as well, and took a job w/ a construction company as a 'gopher' for a year. He's now part of management, making ~ 70-80k a year, and due to make 120k+ next year with opportunities of buying the business.

Might be worth lookin into.

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
This might be a good time to state preferences, as if I had the right to hold them.

THINGS I HATE:

Sales, customer service. I just can't [censored] deal.

I like industrial / construction work okay, but hooo boy am I bad at it.

I have no experience in anything else other than academia and cards.

[/ QUOTE ]

One of my buddies got his degree in history as well, and took a job w/ a construction company as a 'gopher' for a year. He's now part of management, making ~ 70-80k a year, and due to make 120k+ next year with opportunities of buying the business.

Might be worth lookin into.

[/ QUOTE ]

Short-term, baby. I just want to get things under control over the next few months. The last thing I want is a career. Our objective is to make it out of this thing without somehow joining the managerial class.

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

Ok I typed out stupid stuff twice and deleted it. I don't think I can help you. My ideas are cracked but they would work for me. You have to figure out what you are capable of giving up and go from there.

I would go live with a relative and sell the car. Then try and consolidate my debit so I don't pay high interest. Then I get a job. Not sure why but very easy for me as I will do anything. I can work at subway. You won't get paid much but you can work 80 hours a week easy. Dam the job I currently do is pretty much the same as working at subway. lol

If I had a choice I would try and get on as an apprentice carpenter. Just my current interest. Try and find something you like. Gl man stop blaming yourself for everything I can go busto also everyone can that is the fun part. Without a little risk it would be boring. You are going to make it.

Sell laptop also.

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

[ QUOTE ]
This might be a good time to state preferences, as if I had the right to hold them.

THINGS I HATE:

Sales, customer service. I just can't [censored] deal.

I like industrial / construction work okay, but hooo boy am I bad at it.

I have no experience in anything else other than academia and cards.

[/ QUOTE ]

Go to a temp agency and see about jobs in data entry. How fast can you type? I believe as long as you can type 40-50 WPM (I can do about 90 so 40-50 all that fast at all really) you can probably get in. It's boring, but it's no sales/customer service and it usually pays well relative to other low-skill entry level jobs.

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

if you were a professional poker player for 2 years, i would imagine that you could make atleast $10/hr online. probably $25. id look to grind some more and pay off your debts which will improve your pysche and then try to find a real job if you want.

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

[ QUOTE ]
if you were a professional poker player for 2 years, i would imagine that you could make atleast $10/hr online. probably $25. id look to grind some more and pay off your debts which will improve your pysche and then try to find a real job if you want.

[/ QUOTE ]

1) I have no money with which to start. Nothing.

2) My confidence, emotional control, psychological stamina & etc. with respect to cards are completely shot. I've been playing on a near-constant state of low-level emotilt since 2006; now the instant somebody raises or floats me I start getting pissed. I think that, at the very least, I need a break.

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

[ QUOTE ]
Wait tables or bartend somewhere busy. The turnover in these places is ridiculous, you can surely find a job that will get you by for a bit while you look for something else.

[/ QUOTE ]

The bar/rest biz can be fun and good $$$ on the right days.

If you need fast cash you might want to consider driving a cab on the weekends. If you know your way around fairly well, and are in a big enough city, you should be able to knock off $400 or $500 only working 20-25 hrs. And most places it's cash under the table too. Often times you don't have to abide by any schedule, leaving you free to come and go as you please.

Getting a cab pemit is usually pretty cheap and easy. Ordinarily it simply requires a chauffeurs license and a record check. And the companies are in the business of leasing cars, so getting hired isn't an issue. Just look at the scumbags that do it.

If you do elect to do it in Atlanta, consider working the airport on Sundays and Mondays also. Business travellers and people returning from vacation can make those nights as good as the party crowd makes Fri & Sat. Plus they are relatively hassle-free customers.

Other than that, you should quit beating yourself up. Your situation isn't that bad at all and you are clearly a [censored] of a lot smarter than most people. You probably should consider unloading the car note though.

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

einstein was a genius. you're just a guy with a big vocab and no self discipline.

but i can sympathize. i'd probably be in the same spot as you if i didn't luck into a really good job at the same exact time i went busto earlier this year.

bartending is your best option it seems. if you don't want to do that you could easily make $25/hour online. get 1k and start playing 50nl like your life depends on it. this is your opportunity to learn to not be lazy.

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

[ QUOTE ]
einstein was a genius. you're just a guy with a big vocab and no self discipline.

[/ QUOTE ]

There's not that much difference between us, really; we're the exact same sort of person. Not that that's relevant at all!

[ QUOTE ]
bartending is your best option it seems. if you don't want to do that you could easily make $25/hour online. get 1k and start playing 50nl like your life depends on it. this is your opportunity to learn to not be lazy.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I tried that whole 'golden moment to get tough and recommit' thing. Then I lost 16 bi at Full Tilt one night, took the rest to Prima, and lost 10 more bi. Spent the rest getting back to Texas. I have nothing.

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

you seriously need to ask some big questions about your life. Why on earth do you just want to float by? It's time to grow up and think about getting a career. try monster.com too. I mean if you haven't even done that, then you don't really want to solve anything and just want some pity.

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

Freerolls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

[ QUOTE ]
you seriously need to ask some big questions about your life. Why on earth do you just want to float by? It's time to grow up and think about getting a career. try monster.com too. I mean if you haven't even done that, then you don't really want to solve anything and just want some pity.

[/ QUOTE ]

I quote from Mr. George Orwell -

"The feeling, 'This is what I came into the world to do. Everything else is uninteresting. I will do this even if it means starvation', which turns men of differing temperaments into scientists, inventors, artists, priests,explorers and revolutionaries - this motif is almost entirely absent..."

He's describing the works of Dickens, but the comment applies equally well to my own life. I am as ignorant of this feeling as a virgin.

I went to school because that's what I was raised to do, and chose history because it was my primary intellectual interest. I had no notion of a career, and my interest in continuing with academia was killed with one meeting for aspirant graduate students.

For the most part, since then, my only work-related goals have been negative - to be the sole caretaker of my own time and interests, and work for no-one, be regimented by no-one, and do what I like, when I like. With the coming of busto that is of course impossible.

Of course I want to solve things, but strictly in the short-term. As far as the further future goes, I really have no better ideas than to get back to what I was doing as soon as possible.

What's your purpose, Zeebs?

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

First sell the car if it's worth more than you owe on it. If it's not, you should still try to get rid of it if you can scrape up the difference - $15k of car debt when you are broke is ridiculous. If you are staying in the city, try to bus it everywhere. If you aren't, buy a beater civic or corolla for like $500, get AAA in case you get stranded, and just never put any money into it.

Then get a job doing temp office work - go through a company like Kelly Services. If you are reasonably proficient with a computer, can touch-type, and have a "business casual" wardrobe, you should easily be able to get temp work paying ~$10/hr. Since you are good with people, you should be able to make friends with the people at the temp place and they'll give you as many hours as you need. The work will range from mind-numbing data-entry to literally being paid to sit at a desk and read a book all day.

Then pay off the credit card debt as quickly as possible and pay off the student loans as slowly as possible (without defaulting, of course). If you are living with your friends rent-free, be a *really* good guest and do way more than your share of cleaning and cooking and such. Also offer to pay for smaller expenses like occasionally buying all the groceries and such - it'll still be way cheaper than paying your own rent. This way they won't mind you living with them for a while and you can get your expenses down to nearly 0.

You should be back on your feet in no time.

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

If you have federal student loans and haven't already done so, consider asking them for a hardship deferral. Unemployment should be a good enough reason. The thing that sucks is that they might want a fee to take your request (they did for me).

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

[ QUOTE ]
Probably the least attractive option in the history of the universe, but you could pick up a job that pays for [censored] but covers all your overhead. Cruise ships, lodges, etc. Would be a [censored] few months, but at least you'd come out of it with some cash.

Edit: I missed the debt part. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] How do you feel about people trying to kill you in various deserts?

[/ QUOTE ]

Cruise ships are actually a pretty good way to make money. Your food etc is taken care of, so your expenses are extremely minimal. You don't need much of a permanent place besides a pillow to park your head a few days a month; most of your time is at sea. People can save up like 30k a year even at the lowly jobs doing this, which is pretty major.

A lot of people really like it too. The work can be hard though.

I get this from friends who have done this before.

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

Be part of an autofold team to qualify for the bonus hands on pokerstars = profit.

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Probably the least attractive option in the history of the universe, but you could pick up a job that pays for [censored] but covers all your overhead. Cruise ships, lodges, etc. Would be a [censored] few months, but at least you'd come out of it with some cash.

Edit: I missed the debt part. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] How do you feel about people trying to kill you in various deserts?

[/ QUOTE ]

Cruise ships are actually a pretty good way to make money. Your food etc is taken care of, so your expenses are extremely minimal. You don't need much of a permanent place besides a pillow to park your head a few days a month; most of your time is at sea. People can save up like 30k a year even at the lowly jobs doing this, which is pretty major.

A lot of people really like it too. The work can be hard though.

I get this from friends who have done this before.

[/ QUOTE ]

Holy [censored], I was about to post this. Learn to dance and then become a dance host on cruise ships.

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Probably the least attractive option in the history of the universe, but you could pick up a job that pays for [censored] but covers all your overhead. Cruise ships, lodges, etc. Would be a [censored] few months, but at least you'd come out of it with some cash.

Edit: I missed the debt part. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] How do you feel about people trying to kill you in various deserts?

[/ QUOTE ]

Cruise ships are actually a pretty good way to make money. Your food etc is taken care of, so your expenses are extremely minimal. You don't need much of a permanent place besides a pillow to park your head a few days a month; most of your time is at sea. People can save up like 30k a year even at the lowly jobs doing this, which is pretty major.

A lot of people really like it too. The work can be hard though.

I get this from friends who have done this before.

[/ QUOTE ]

Holy [censored], I was about to post this. Learn to dance and then become a dance host on cruise ships.

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually I was thinking of dealing on a cruise ship, but that would likely require some certification, or some creative resume embellishment. My sister suggested this some time ago.

I, um, do not dance.

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

Oh, I forgot. [censored] up knees or ankle or something, right?

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

[ QUOTE ]
Oh, I forgot. [censored] up knees or ankle or something, right?

[/ QUOTE ]

My ankle's kinda wacky, but I'm still an active athlete. No, I don't dance b/c it makes me feel very, very ridiculous.

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Oh, I forgot. [censored] up knees or ankle or something, right?

[/ QUOTE ]

My ankle's kinda wacky, but I'm still an active athlete. No, I don't dance b/c it makes me feel very, very ridiculous.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well that's hardly an excuse.

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

Cardo,

Give me a time frame and where exactly you're going to be living and I'll see what I can do.

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

[ QUOTE ]
Cardo,

Give me a time frame and where exactly you're going to be living and I'll see what I can do.

[/ QUOTE ]

[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]!

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

I'm with the "get a skill and find a career" group. Do some reseach online. You've obviously got decent brains. If you took some more loans and did, e.g., a paralegal program, you'd be making 45-60k when you graduated. Hell, maybe an accounting degree or something.

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

[ QUOTE ]
I'm with the "get a skill and find a career" group. Do some reseach online. You've obviously got decent brains. If you took some more loans and did, e.g., a paralegal program, you'd be making 45-60k when you graduated. Hell, maybe an accounting degree or something.

[/ QUOTE ]

These would require work, something Anacardo has explicitly stated he is unwilling to do.

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

Peoples, peoples, homey is just tryin' to make ends meet. Enough w/ this career talk already. Holla.

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

If you don't want to deal with people/sales or have a boss constantly hanging over you here is some things:

1)sperm donation
2)focus groups
3)mystaery shopping
4)online survey/free trail offers
5)extra/promotional work - you can check craigslist/volition for 1-5
6)newspaper delivery - part time hours usually like 1:30-6am and leaves day open for other stuff
7)pizza delivery - heard they get paid cash daily at some places
8)gameshow - longshot but hey somebody gotta win

Re: Prs to be making me less broke? Financial Follies
 

[ QUOTE ]
8)gameshow - longshot but hey somebody gotta win

[/ QUOTE ]

Hell ya! I could see Cardo on Jeopardy!

Trebec: And your Final Jeopardy category is the Aubrey-Maturin series

Cardo: I bet it all! Ship it!