Homeless IT Guy Lives Off Rewards Points

H

HardOCP News

[H] News
Joined
Dec 31, 1969
Messages
0
If this isn’t a great incentive to hang on to all those reward points, I don’t know what is. In related news, homeless people drive leased BMWs now. :eek:

Now the former frequent flier from his days working in IT and finance is living off those rewards - airline loyalty programs and hotel points. His clothes and everyday supplies packed into his leased BMW, the single Kennedy stays a few nights here, a few nights there, always running the numbers of how many points he will use and trying to stick to a self-imposed $5-a-day food budget.
Click to expand...
 
fairly short story, but that's really hardcore

I hope he finds a job soon, nobody likes to see people lose jobs like that :(
 
Kudos to him. If he can make it on rewards points and $5/day, he deserves some recognition. And a job.
 
Diarrg said:
Kudos to him. If he can make it on rewards points and $5/day, he deserves some recognition. And a job.
Click to expand...

True. Resourcefulness like that shows he's got what it takes...........too bad it won't matter to anyone looking at a resume.
 
If he moves out of the socialist paradise called californication he might be able to make his $$ go farther.
 
Ha ha ha! He just screwed himself. Most people don't realize that reward miles from reimbursed travel count as a taxable benefit. I don't know of anyone who bothers to claim them on their return--nor an auditor who looks for them--but this guy is basically bragging about it. Reneged on his mortgage and collecting unemployment until the six-figure job he 'deserves' falls into his lap. Boo McFrickin' Hoo.
 
srangara said:
Ha ha ha! He just screwed himself. Most people don't realize that reward miles from reimbursed travel count as a taxable benefit. I don't know of anyone who bothers to claim them on their return--nor an auditor who looks for them--but this guy is basically bragging about it. Reneged on his mortgage and collecting unemployment until the six-figure job he 'deserves' falls into his lap. Boo McFrickin' Hoo.
Click to expand...

Ding...... Agreed. Has he even considered taking a 90k job? An 80k job? Has he considered moving elsewhere? And with all that crap he's got in storeage, how about oh, I don't know, SELL it? Does he NEED a BMW? While it's cool he's getting by on his points, and very little money, seems to me that he's got the opion that he's won't take a job beneeth his station....
 
No edit.... And WHY doesn't he have any friends he can crash with? Nobody LIKES to do it, but most people would have some circle of friends that understand and are willing to help out.....
 
I find this article VERY inspiring, kudos to this guy! However, don't you think that, if you're homeless, having a leased BMW is a little too much? Since he's so clever at taking advantage of all those reward points, you'd think by now he'd come up with some way to get a job and some decent apartment for rent... right? :confused:
 
Bohica69 said:
No edit.... And WHY doesn't he have any friends he can crash with? Nobody LIKES to do it, but most people would have some circle of friends that understand and are willing to help out.....
Click to expand...

I'm sure there's a status thing involved. He probably doesn't think he'll be able to land his dream job without pulling up in a Beemer.

Equally possible: His 'friends' can't stand him.
 
Bohica69 said:
No edit.... And WHY doesn't he have any friends he can crash with? Nobody LIKES to do it, but most people would have some circle of friends that understand and are willing to help out.....
Click to expand...

Dunno, I doubt if any of my married friends would be letting me crash at their place for any length of time. But then again, I can't see the unmarried ones having a problem with it.
 
It obviously doesn't sound like he was very good with his money while he was making 6 figures. As for the BMW he is probably stuck in the lease from his previous lifestyle. At $25 + points a day for a hotel he could probably afford to be someones roommate. That's about $750 a month. I don't know about Cali, but here in WA unemployment is enough to survive on if you were making above $50K a year. I wonder if he is just being extremely frugal now to save or still has a bunch of expenses.
 
If he can still live in a hotel he's not homeless. If he's not selling his crap in storage he's not desperate. Homeless is the guy who has nothing and never had the opportunities this guy obviously had. If he's got that many airline miles to live on he was obviously in much better financial position than anyone I know.

I don't deny anyone a living but don't expect me to cry for a "homeless" person who still has their BMW and Big screen TV.
 
BTW, the leased BMW reminded me of something...

Fun_with_Dick_and_Jane_1.jpg

"It's a leased" :D
 
DooKey said:
If he moves out of the socialist paradise called californication he might be able to make his $$ go farther.
Click to expand...

QTF, if I lost a job the first thing I'd do is move out of California. I'm sure there's other places that need IT people. But after thinking about it I hope these people do stay in Cali, I'm going to be starting out in IT and I'm going to be needing a job. The big difference between me and people like this guy is I'm willing to move.
 
DooKey said:
If he moves out of the socialist paradise called californication he might be able to make his $$ go farther.
Click to expand...

Doesn't sound very "socialist" when losing your job means losing your home. If it was like this where I live, I would have been found dead, frozen to death many years ago.

Instead, despite having been unemployed for a long time, I'm able to study and do practical training without worrying about where I will sleep tonight or where to find food.
 
jwalk6 said:
If he can still live in a hotel he's not homeless.
Click to expand...

He's not paying full price. He pays $750 a month which is substandard for living in Brooklyn and I could imagine being even worse in certain parts of California. Thanks to his reward point subsidy by staying in a hotel he avoids some of the time costs of renting an apartment such as keeping part of your room clean and cooking up food.
 
Why doesn't this guy just get a job...any job.

FWIW:

I'm in my mid 40's
20 years military (retired)
BA - English

I got a job two years ago working for a local auto-recycler (aka Junk Yard). Most fun (not the best paying) job I've ever had. Some people refuse to work outside of their "field of expertise" and complain there are no jobs.
 
For those complaining about the BMW, I'm guessing he had the BMW BEFORE he lost his job. You can't just turn a lease in half way and be free and clear of any financial responsibility because you don't have a job.
 
ICOM said:
Why doesn't this guy just get a job...any job.

FWIW:

I'm in my mid 40's
20 years military (retired)
BA - English

I got a job two years ago working for a local auto-recycler (aka Junk Yard). Most fun (not the best paying) job I've ever had. Some people refuse to work outside of their "field of expertise" and complain there are no jobs.
Click to expand...

My thoughts as well. You don't go 18 months without finding a job you can do. He probably could have gotten a low paying tech support job at Dell or somesuch and worked his way up the ranks in those same 18 months. Even if not, he could still keep an ongoing search for a higher paying job if he wanted to.

Unemployment benefits are supposed to be a safety net for those that genuinely need it. It's not a support group for people with a far too great sense of entitlement expecting a six figure job to fall in their lap.

I mean, the guy is trying to sell himself off as resourceful. Living off reward points and unemployment checks for 18 months while waiting to get lucky simply isn't it.
 
It doesn't actually say he is only willing to take over 100,000, that's just the journalists spin.

Equally it is quite difficult to get a job at a lower level. I was in a similar situation after 9/11 and it took me months to find a new job (and then 5 years to get back to where I was). When you're hiring you don't tend to take the overqualified people as they'll have less interest in the work and are basically doing it as a placeholder for finding a better job. Companies don't like that.

He probably should look in to changing sectors though now, he might get a job based on the press coverage but if he doesn't he'll have been out of the sector too long.
 
lol I would never make it in Cali, I pay under $1000.00 per month for all my bills.(Rent,Cable,ISP,Phone and Power/water)
 
Just as a side note 100k in California is not that much. As a single guy making over 100K he is giving the state and fed around 45% of his salary. Plus, since the says he used to own a home, his house would have cost a minimum of $450k, probably more since he would have bought it during the boom. As to not getting a job, unemployment pays $450 a week, but you can focus all of your time on finding another job. If you got a low paying job, you would have to find someone who was willing to hire you, knowing that you will only stay with them till you found a higher paying job. I spent months at one point looking for work and couldn't find anyone that would take me because I was overqualified, underselling your resume is harder than it sounds. He is probably better of consulting than looking for another 9-5 job, although consulting can be hard because you have to learn how to pimp yourself.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top