Other people's easy money

[moonrambler]

I've been IM'ing for $15K . . . "In an easy and relaxed manner, in a healthy and positive way, I get a sudden influx of $15,000 cash income."

The other day, somebody I vaguely know was awarded disability payments by a federal judge. This woman used to work as a cleaning person and she basically ate herself out of a job. She got so heavy that she couldn't do the work anymore. For the past couple years, she's sat around trying to get disability payments.

She worked at the health care facility my friend Bob's sister works at. Bob and I have been certain she wouldn't get disability. We know other obese people who earn a living. We figured a judge would tell her to get a job.

Instead, the judge told her she'll get a check for $25K for back payments.

For a few minutes, I was SEETHING with rage. I drove to town and I was thinking, "I WORK MY TAIL OFF JUST TO KEEP MY HOUSE OUT OF FORECLOSURE AND ALL THIS CHICK HAS TO DO IS GAIN 400 POUNDS AND THEY WRITE HER A CHECK FOR 25 GRAND!"

I take note of all my reactions to money subjects and I'm thinking there's something important there. I'm guessing people who don't have any problems with money maybe don't care at all about stuff like this. What she does doesn't affect them.

And I certainly don't want to get my sudden influx of $15K through a disability payment.

I don't get it, though. How does LOA fit into this?

[Daffy Duck]

If it makes you feel better (it won't), she'll probably die an early and more painful death. I hope that 25k was worth it! Besides, if she lets herself get obese, she probably doesn't have much respect for herself. In my opinion, people who respect themselves take care of their own health, and those who don't are lacking in some area. Who knows... she could be suffering deeply inside.

There are many ways to manifest money in life. The whole "disability" thing is one of them, but trust me, almost no one ever lived a wonderful abundant life by collecting from disability. You said it took her a couple years, right?

I wouldn't worry about her pennies and I'd just focus on creating your abundance.

[ssandra]

I don´t know much about LoA, but this stood out for me:

Originally Posted by moonrambler

I take note of all my reactions to money subjects and I'm thinking there's something important there. I'm guessing people who don't have any problems with money maybe don't care at all about stuff like this.

I have money problems, yet I don´t care... Not just because I don´t know this person, but simply because there is not a limited supply of money. Just because she got it, doesn´t mean that I cannot get it as well.

Originally Posted by moonrambler

What she does doesn't affect them.

It doesn´t affect you either... you have not one cent less because she gets the 25k.

[moonrambler]

I've been wondering what pushed my button so thoroughly about this.
It's something about getting rewarded for intentionally trying to avoid doing anything productive. Yet if somebody wins the lottery, I don't go into a seething rage.

[Daffy Duck]

Yeah, I think that's a common feeling. I don't think much about the fact that Paris Hilton has all the money she ever needs just for being born into the right family, but I may notice if someone around me is being lazy and yet still being paid as if they were doing their job.

We like the idea of people being rewarded for working hard or contributing to the world. So when someone is rewarded for not contributing, it's like, "Hey! Wait a second here... that's not right!" Unproductive people are rarely rewarded for long though because eventually the truth catches up with them.

It doesn't need to upset us though. It's good to explore why our buttons are pushed if it does.

[moonrambler]

Maybe I actually want what she wanted but she did it much more effectively in a way that I find disreputable.

[Daffy Duck]

Originally Posted by moonrambler

Maybe I actually want what she wanted but she did it much more effectively in a way that I find disreputable.

I guess that depends on how you define effective. Taking a couple of years to make 25k is not very effective, to me. And if everyone did it her way, would we live in a desirable world? Not to me.

[joylangtry]

Originally Posted by moonrambler

Maybe I actually want what she wanted ...

Do you really want to be too fat to work?

Do you want to be viewed with disdain and disgust by the people who know you?

Do you want to be as non-contributory-to-society as this person?



Now I could make a whole lot more judgments about this person whom I have never met, but I won't. I will speculate that in order to maintain this disability status, she will not be able to party a lot, go on a cruise, vacation around the world, etc... I imagine that she can't be very comfortable in her skin, either. She probably won't be going on a shopping spree for new clothes, though who knows?

If I offered you $15k to do that to yourself, would you say, "you bet" and go for it?

Where LOA comes into it: Money is only energy. She has matched the energy of cheating, doing something desperate and working a system. Personally, I think the price she paid was too high.

Don't forget that it's what we do with our lives that demonstrates who we are and what we are about. Hang in there, and just try to enjoy yourself, and appreciate the good efforts and positive action you are taking toward your goal.

Joy

[ns123]

Here is a guaranteed way for you to get 15K. Keep working your tail off and save your money. Eventually, you will get 15K if you save enough of your money. The trick is to find out where you can save your pennies...

Not to say I think you are irresponsible with your money... because I don't even know you. But anecdotally, I know of several people who end up in bad financial situations because of their own bad decisions. One guys is up to his neck in debt, but he bought himself an xbox, several $60 xbox games, and frequently buys those $1.50 cokes at gas stations. If he just bought himself a $1 two liter and refilled reusable bottles, over time, he would save a lot of money. He also treated himself to a $500 vacation which he says he deserves, but cannot pay his $300 credit card bill. He tells me the same thing you just said - I work my tail off to pay my bills and so and so gets whatnot.

I'm not saying this is you, but maybe your unhealthy view of money (and resentment of others getting it) has a lot more to do with your own decisions about money. I know it is in this dude's case... and I can name 4 others just like him.

[dirtyhive]

Moonrambler,

You are upset because you feel, deep down inside, that a person ought to EARN their money (and I couldn't agree more). You don't hate her for being rich, or for being fat. You hate her for having the sheer audacity to seriously try to get sponsored for being worthless. But most of all, you hate the fact that the world doesn't seem to have punished her for her laziness; if anything, it is rewarding it.

But think about this. What if I said to you, "Hey Moonrambler, I'm gonna give you $1,000,000 right now, cash in hand, because I don't want to you to have to work another day in your life!", how would you feel?

Let's say your first reaction is "thank you!", and you take it. You're a millionaire! What a stroke of luck!

But when you go to bed that night, and you're thinking about it, don't you feel a bit... crap about it? That you didn't earn it? That there are people working their asses off to keep a roof over their heads, and you got given a fat sack of cash just for being the luckiest idiot in town?

What I'm saying is... don't be jealous of the fat girl. She has something that you wouldn't want. It would make you miserable. Deep down, I believe that you need to feel like you earn everything you have (and that's a great and noble drive). Keep doing what you're doing. It's all you need.

[moonrambler]

Originally Posted by joylangtry

If I offered you $15k to do that to yourself, would you say, "you bet" and go for it?

There's no amount of money that would make me want to do that. I realize I was zeroing in on the big check, without looking at the big picture. I was thinking that she's getting a bunch of money for doing nothing . . . but she did have to give up a lot to get it. For instance, she can hardly even walk.

Originally Posted by ns123

Not to say I think you are irresponsible with your money... because I don't even know you. But anecdotally, I know of several people who end up in bad financial situations because of their own bad decisions. One guys is up to his neck in debt, but he bought himself an xbox, several $60 xbox games, and frequently buys those $1.50 cokes at gas stations. If he just bought himself a $1 two liter and refilled reusable bottles, over time, he would save a lot of money. He also treated himself to a $500 vacation which he says he deserves, but cannot pay his $300 credit card bill. He tells me the same thing you just said - I work my tail off to pay my bills and so and so gets whatnot.

I'm not saying this is you, but maybe your unhealthy view of money (and resentment of others getting it) has a lot more to do with your own decisions about money. I know it is in this dude's case... and I can name 4 others just like him.

Yep, that's pretty much the situation I created, and what I've been working to change.

Originally Posted by dirtyhive

Moonrambler,

You are upset because you feel, deep down inside, that a person ought to EARN their money (and I couldn't agree more). You don't hate her for being rich, or for being fat. You hate her for having the sheer audacity to seriously try to get sponsored for being worthless. But most of all, you hate the fact that the world doesn't seem to have punished her for her laziness; if anything, it is rewarding it.

But think about this. What if I said to you, "Hey Moonrambler, I'm gonna give you $1,000,000 right now, cash in hand, because I don't want to you to have to work another day in your life!", how would you feel?

Let's say your first reaction is "thank you!", and you take it. You're a millionaire! What a stroke of luck!

But when you go to bed that night, and you're thinking about it, don't you feel a bit... crap about it? That you didn't earn it? That there are people working their asses off to keep a roof over their heads, and you got given a fat sack of cash just for being the luckiest idiot in town?

What I'm saying is... don't be jealous of the fat girl. She has something that you wouldn't want. It would make you miserable. Deep down, I believe that you need to feel like you earn everything you have (and that's a great and noble drive). Keep doing what you're doing. It's all you need.

The thing is, though, I don't get mad when I hear about somebody winning the lottery. There was something particular about this situation that pushed my buttons. I think it's like you said -- being rewarded for being lazy. If she'd have won the lottery, I might have been irritated, wondering, where's the fairness in that?! But not angry. Lottery just seems like luck, not intentionally trying to cheat the system.

I think, though, that she and I have something in common. I also wanted to circumvent the system with easy money, so I got it on credit. Now I'm stuck having to pay all this credit back. And I'm tired of working as hard as I do when all I get out of it is paying back credit. So when I see her getting rewarded for not working at all, it ticked me off.

I've got mixed feelings on earning money versus winning it. I'd be real happy to win a big pile of money. But on the other hand, I know what you mean, that it seems like it would be even cooler to earn it. I just wish I would earn lots more of it lots faster.

This is enlightening

[dirtyhive]

Yeah, but when you enter the lottery, it's basically gambling. You pay for the lottery ticket, see? Here in the UK, our national lottery costs £1 a ticket. I worked out that the odds of winning are over fourteen million to one. Would you bet on a horse at odds of 14,000,000-1? But I guess that's besides the point. People who enter the lottery, or bet on a horse, put money up that they're prepared to lose (and trust me, on the national lottery, the odds are very much in favour of you losing your £1!). They assume risk in exchange for the price of the ticket. It's a system you have to buy into.

I wonder if this girl has annoyed you by literally getting money for nothing. She hasn't risked anything, she hasn't tried to do ANYTHING to legitimately get the money through work OR luck and has instead opted to be professionally useless - at whose expense? Taxpayers, I wonder?

[ns123]

Originally Posted by moonrambler

Yep, that's pretty much the situation I created, and what I've been working to change.

Wow, good on you for taking responsibility! This is the first step in becoming a powerful creator of your life... taking responsibility! I congratulate you and I have much faith that you have 100% power within you to change this! I look forward to your next post that is entitled: "I IM'ed for 15K and after 3 months, I've been able to save it!"

[ssandra]

Originally Posted by moonrambler

Now I'm stuck having to pay all this credit back. And I'm tired of working as hard as I do when all I get out of it is paying back credit.

What helped me feel better about all the money that i have to pay back is not seeing it as money that I am paying back, but actually backwards saving for my education/life experience (my debts come from a failed business).

Although I will in the future do no such thing as backwards saving, it does make me look at my debt in a different way. It is not money that I am trowing away, I am spending it on learning experience.

You maybe have bought stuff with the credit, and now you are backwards saving for it. Just remember when you make the payments and the savings how much you enjoyed having that stuff when you first bought it. If you are not happy about the stuff, then also consider the learning experience.

I'm guessing a good collage education would cost around 15k. You got this learning experience for the same amount, just a lot faster then 4 years..