> For everyone besides this guy, #3 doesn't actually require that much > money. $20k - $30k buys you time to travel, work on your own projects, > and wait f

> For everyone besides this guy, #3 doesn't actually require that much > money. $20k - $30k buys you time to travel, work on your own projects, > and wait for the right opportunity. I spent 2008 doing this and > I'm pretty satisfied with that decision. Yes, and there are many nice places out there in the world where you can live on even less than that for temporary rentals. A 4 continent around the world ticket costs about $2000 and be sure to pick a good airlines network for the destinations you want. Or just pick two or three places and stay there 4 to 6 months at a time, or longer. You can definitely spend time on your future projects while traveling, many places have free wireless internet. We used to hack on BBS systems, so even 512k Internet can let you do a lot of stuff. If connection stops working, go hiking or canoeing or off to meet a pretty girl/guy/whatever you like. Oh, I second that other advise by inerte: > - Pay some debt close family members have (parents, brothers) Try to minimize the potential emergencies of close ones, you don't need to pay them off completely but get them in a path where they can restore themselves to financial freedom. This is happening a lot already. Beware, don't bail out anybody on mortgage, specially if highly leveraged, they have negative equity, or have interest-only mortgages! There are laws to protect them and your money will get wasted for nothing. Perhaps help them after they file bankruptcy (IANAL.) Whatever you do, have a good time! :)