eeyore1954
Philosopher
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This also doesn't seem right because he doesn't work a traditional day job and now has a car. Although then again some cities have evening meetings.
James Robertson's remarkable commute
- Thread starter GlennB
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This also doesn't seem right because he doesn't work a traditional day job and now has a car. Although then again some cities have evening meetings.
casebro
Penultimate Amazing
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Maybe he is not as stupid as he sounded through the rest of the thread.
Rolfe
Adult human female
He works afternoon/evening shifts. 2 pm to 10 pm. Nobody said what time the meeting was. Oh, an evening meeting. Some people are awfully suspicious.
And you know, maybe he didn't want to go to the meeting. Doesn't sound like it would have been his thing.
And you know, maybe he didn't want to go to the meeting. Doesn't sound like it would have been his thing.
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From the story:
He would have been window dressing at a giant public event. Probably smart to stay away, and "I gotta work" is more tactful than "Not in a million years."
Not to digress too far, but annuities are widely considered a bad investment for most people. The purchase fees and commissions are usually high, surrender fees (if available at all) are high, there usually is no index to inflation, and the money is basically gone forever. If you die young your heirs might get some of the principal back (sometimes), but not any growth. If you have an emergency you can't touch the principal. A conservative blend of stock and bond mutual funds and ETFs should generate the same or better returns without the shortcomings. In his particular case, it might be smart to live off the donations as long as he can and put as much of his salary as legally allowed into a tax-deferred 401K and IRA.
http://www.edelmanfinancial.com/radio/november-23-2013/the-trouble-with-annuities
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I had to look up "bidie-in." Clever word.
http://caledonianmercury.com/2010/03/06/useful-scots-word-bidie-in/002876
But it certainly does sound like something very weird was going on there, especially if the guy's housemates were scaring him.
Rolfe
Adult human female
Well, that's why he should get proper financial advice (which I gather is happening) and not pay any attention to me!
eeyore1954
Philosopher
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Not that I am recommending it for this man but the advantage of an annuity is also that you cannot easily touch it. I have too many times seen (and maybe been guilty of it myself) people come into some money, feel they are rich and it can go away pretty quick.
eeyore1954
Philosopher
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Problem is there will be "advisers" swooping in like vultures because his situation is so published. Hopefully he will have the same type of resolve with his money that he appears to with getting to work.
I wonder whether these funding appeals should set a cap on donations, whereafter the surplus goes to general funding of good causes.
I suspect that what this man really needed was a 2nd-hand runabout, well serviced and with some backup funds for repairs, insurance and the like.
Now he has a new Ford Taurus, plenty of spare money and was being threatened by folks thinking he's dripping money. I wonder how his workmates feel about him now?
Unintended consequences? It wouldn't surprise me to see this end badly.
I suspect that what this man really needed was a 2nd-hand runabout, well serviced and with some backup funds for repairs, insurance and the like.
Now he has a new Ford Taurus, plenty of spare money and was being threatened by folks thinking he's dripping money. I wonder how his workmates feel about him now?
Unintended consequences? It wouldn't surprise me to see this end badly.
I think the problem with that is that people who might happily give money for a specific purpose won't be enthusiastic about donating money at all if they think it might go to some unspecified "good causes," and who would control the money and decide who gets it? But the sites could certainly just lock out donations after a certain level is reached. You ask for five grand? When you hit, say, ten, the "donate" button would stop working.
I sure hope not. But his life has already changed, and the police are helping him hide.
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Manopolus
Metaphorical Anomaly
People used to think I was crazy when I rode my bike 5 miles (one way) to work and back. That actually wasn't too bad from my perspective... I actually sort of enjoyed the ride. No one offered me a car or a bunch of money or even a ride though (not that I really even wanted them to). I'm sort of weirdly uncertain as to whether throwing money at him is the appropriate response to this story. Don't get m wrong -- I'm not un-empathetic -- I just question the practice. I sort of feel that trying to work towards a society where this sort of thing doesn't happen would be more appropriate than trying to patch up the blemish.
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That's an easy ride in good weather and traffic conditions, maybe faster than public transportation. There are probably many thousands of people across the country who do that routinely. This guy was walking 21 miles every day, sometimes through piled snow. The plan was to buy him a used car. It doesn't sound like anybody actually planned to give him a third of a million bucks, and it's already causing him problems.
Rolfe
Adult human female
That's why I thought an annuity might be the answer. Tie up the capital, give him a regular top-up income, and let him fade back into obscurity. He doesn't seem to have close family he'd want to leave the capital to if he died prematurely.