how are you doing with that psychologically

also, how would you describe your approach to applying, interviewing, etc.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5891090&forum_id=2).#50056106)

The resume was a painful experience to create because it involved semi-honest self-reflection on my past. This pain means that I don't wish to revisit it to revise it, despite its ineffectiveness. Using this resume, I first started networking and applying to a group of aspirational positions, did not get called back, and then to a group of less aspirational positions, and finally anything in my field that I could get. No response to any of that and I mostly spend my days indulging in petty online hatred of minorities and gays.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5891090&forum_id=2).#50056138)

with it being so long you may need a story about why you've been out of work for so long. but it sounds like there is some avoidance you could address. obviously that doesn't mean you'll get a job. but whatever is blocking you from making your resume effective deserves to be said plainly. at least to yourself.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5891090&forum_id=2).#50056158)

People hear $280k and imagine depletion because they are projecting their own $6k/month consumption function onto somebody else’s balance sheet.

Coupon arrives. Maturities arrive. Consumption stays low.

So again: why would I run out of money?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5891090&forum_id=2).#50056247)

i've taken on almost no new work since the start of this year and my nominal "net worth" is actually higher than it was at the start of the year because of "the market." i don't even pay attention to it anymore because it's all made up anyway; there's no actual "way to tell" how "you're really doing, objectively"

i spent a couple years working really hard and i got taxed so much that it made me permanently ragequit "work." still have a bad taste in my mouth and i doubt it will ever go away. you are a fucking cuckold if you work for a living in the USA, straight up, no way around it, it's undeniable

if and when i do start working full time again it will be doing something primarily for the social aspect and not for the remuneration tax cattle aspect

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5891090&forum_id=2).#50056128)

Im in full agreement with you. I just earned a lot of tax free money on a deployment and now that im home i have zero motivation to stay employed. My boss offered to get me a raise from corporate and I said not to worry about it

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5891090&forum_id=2).#50056216)

if you're a bachelor, lmao. fuck that

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5891090&forum_id=2).#50056262)

As of August 7, 2026, Treasury bill yields are roughly in the 3.6–4.0% range, depending on maturity.

On $280,000, that means approximately:

Yield Annual interest Monthly

2% $5,600 $467

3% $8,400 $700

4% $11,200 $933

5% $14,000 $1,167

So if you could genuinely keep your total spending around $800–$1,000/month, the mathematics become surprisingly interesting.

The important part: your lifestyle

Suppose you had:

a modest used trailer

very little/no rent or mortgage

inexpensive campsite or dispersed camping arrangements

an older, reliable vehicle

minimal possessions

inexpensive food

no children/dependents

no significant debt

relatively modest entertainment/travel

careful control of insurance and healthcare costs

You could potentially construct a lifestyle around $10,000–$14,000/year.

For perspective, the 2026 federal poverty guideline for one person in the contiguous U.S. is $15,960/year.

At a 4% yield, $280k produces about $11,200/year before tax. That's not enough to support a conventional American lifestyle, but it is remarkably close to supporting an extremely austere one.

But there's a huge catch

I would not interpret this as:

"$280k in Treasuries = I never need to work again."

Because Treasury yields won't necessarily stay at 4%.

Imagine rates eventually fall to 2%. Your $280k then produces only $5,600/year. At 1%, only $2,800.

And if you're spending the interest rather than reinvesting it, inflation gradually erodes your purchasing power. After 20–30 years, $1,000/month won't buy what it does today.

There's also the much bigger wildcard: healthcare.

One serious medical event, major dental work, vehicle replacement, trailer repair, or a period where you can't live cheaply could blow up a $10k/year budget.

Where I think it gets genuinely interesting

If the objective were:

“I want to maximize my chances of never having a conventional job again.”

rather than:

“I want to retire comfortably at 30/40/50.”

then $280k is actually a meaningful amount of capital.

You could treat the portfolio as a floor beneath your life, rather than as a conventional retirement account.

For example, imagine:

$280k portfolio

→ live on ~$12k/year

→ earn ~$10–11k/year in interest at today's rates

→ occasionally spend some principal

→ maintain an emergency reserve

→ occasionally earn a few thousand dollars from odd jobs, seasonal work, online work, etc.

That is a very different proposition from needing a $50k/year retirement income.

And there's an important psychological advantage: you wouldn't necessarily need to earn enough to support yourself. You'd only need to earn enough to prevent the portfolio from deteriorating too quickly.

Even something like $3,000–5,000 of income per year could dramatically improve the sustainability of the arrangement.

You could potentially work a few weeks/months per year rather than having a career.

I'd think about the $280k in three buckets

1. Permanent capital — ~$200k

Try very hard not to spend this.

2. Housing/vehicle/emergency reserve — ~$50k

Trailer, vehicle, repairs, healthcare deductibles, unexpected expenses, etc.

3. Cash/short-term Treasury reserve — ~$30k

Living expenses for several years and flexibility during bad periods.

Then you'd design your life around keeping annual spending extremely low.

The most important thing wouldn't actually be squeezing an extra 0.5% out of the Treasuries.

It would be getting your recurring expenses as close to zero as possible.

One particularly important consideration

If you're talking about living in the U.S., I'd investigate the legal/cost side of the trailer lifestyle very carefully.

“Living in a trailer” can mean anything from:

paying $700/month for an RV park,

to $300/month for a long-term campsite,

to moving between public lands,

to owning land and parking there,

to various forms of boondocking.

Those produce radically different financial outcomes.

If you can eliminate $700/month of housing expense, you've effectively created $8,400/year of additional income without earning a penny.

That's enormous relative to a $280k portfolio.

My rough verdict

I'd put it this way:

$280k + conventional lifestyle: No, probably not enough to confidently never work again.

$280k + extremely frugal trailer lifestyle + no dependents + good health: Yes, possibly, and it isn't a crazy idea.

$280k + $10–12k annual spending + willingness to occasionally earn money: Quite plausible.

$280k + $20k+ annual spending + never earning another dollar: Much more precarious.

The most powerful version of the plan would actually be to make “never having to work” the goal, rather than “never working.” If you have $280k behind you, you might only need occasional $2k–$5k bursts of income to keep the machine running.

If you want, I can also run a 30/40/50-year simulation of $280k in Treasuries at different interest rates and annual spending levels (e.g. $8k, $10k, $12k, $15k, $18k), including inflation, and show you roughly what lifestyle would make this viable.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5891090&forum_id=2).#50056281)