How are you beating the system? Any system.

[Courtesy Flush]

I posted this same question on Reddit a few weeks ago, and most of the answers I got were about stealing services in one way or another (mostly parking). That's not really what I was asking. Stealing isn't my idea of beating the system. That's just criminal activity.

So I'll ask this group. Are you beating the system? Do you feel like you've cracked the code of life and can you share your secrets?

Before you ask: I'm not really beating the system that much myself. I do save a lot of money by, well... not spending money. But that's no big secret.

Give us your life hacks!

[HopeHoops]

1. With a hammer

Oh wait, did you mean the e-mail system? I guess they'll notice when they find the pieces all over the server room.

[Courtesy Flush]

2. I got a few of those responses on Reddit too. :)

[Courtesy Flush]

3. Oh, and spare me the one about beating your reproductive system... heard it. n/t

[HopeHoops]

5. LOL!

I hadn't thought of that!

[NightWatcher]

4. life hack #1 save money on breakfast...sleep till lunch time

booyah, the bastards at Eggo Inc, arent getting anymore of my money.

[hfojvt]

6. what would count as beating the system?

Finding some way to make $40,000 a year without too much effort? Or finding some way to live in the country on $1500 a year you make from selling spuds at the farmers market?

I always felt that a) doing without things that other people think are necessities like cars and phones and microwaves helped to b) live within my income even when said income was not very large and c) always have a savings account to fall back on.

Of course there are no guarantees since one can always be doing everything right and still get killed by an auto accident, a drive-by shooting or have something like MS, parkinson's or Lou Gehrig's disease dump sixteen tons of excrement onto your life.

I also found it helps to have a dog.

[Courtesy Flush]

7. Kind of like that

It doesn't have to be earth-shaking stuff. And for me, cats are essential.

Don't know if any of this counts as beating the system, but we live in a small town where the cost of living is much lower than it is 20 miles away. When there's an event worth going to, it's just a 20 minute drive.

We also bought an old house that had two garage apartments included. Lots of people told us to convert it back into a garage, but we've done well renting it. We charge a fairly low rent, and we always have people around, which discourages burglars. Also, it helped us pay off our mortgage. Over time, the income from the apartments will have added up to the purchase price of the house.

I can't do without a vehicle, but I have held on to my old Toyota for 11 years now. It was 4 years old when I bought it. Can't get cheaper transportation than that. It's very reliable.

Also, when we paid off our last car, we continued putting the same payments into savings every month, since we had learned to live without the money anyway.

But I was hoping for more creative stuff.

[arbusto_baboso]

8. Since I took up tai chi, I don't care if I beat the system or not.

I'm becoming more and more satisfied with what I have, and what I "have" is much less about stuff and more about people.

I don't know if that counts as beating the system, but it works for me.

[Courtesy Flush]

10. I think that may qualify

Kind of like Buddha defeating pain by eliminating the desire to be pain free. Deep stuff.

[arbusto_baboso]

14. The odd thing is, I started as a way to deal with my anxiety issues without drugs.

It just turned into something larger, and far more beneficial than I imagined it could be.

[hobbit709]

9. A friend of mine set this up about 20 years ago.

He had inherited some money and saved up from a year on a research ship in the Arctic Ocean. He set up a nonprofit foundation-all legal with the IRS and the state of TX. Bought a house down on the coast in the foundation's name. Pays himself a nominal stipend as resident caretaker. Bills are paid by the foundation. All he has to do is publish 2 papers a year in some scientific journal. One year he raised shrimp in a couple of kiddie wading pools in the yard for a project. He ate a lot of shrimp that summer. Since the foundation is tax-exempt he doesn't have to pay any taxes on anything either.

[flvegan]

11. I designed my job such that I could telecommute.

When I was hired, I was hired to create and run an entire department that nobody else had been involved in before. They wanted efficiency and profit and said however I could get that done, I could do.

So I did. I drove 7k miles last year total, even though I do still have a nice office 30 miles away.

[mainegreen]

12. The third vacuum at the car wash? Tap it on the left side. Free vac time!

Booya!

[Courtesy Flush]

15. LOL I beat the system by never washing my car n/t

[La Lioness Priyanka]

13. i am not materialistic.

i think its essentially the best way to beat the system

[The2ndWheel]

16. In a world where GE can tell us to be green

there is no beating the system.

As always, Arthur Jensen from "Network" describes it quite well.

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/MovieSpeeches/moviespeechnetwork4.html

[mike_c]

17. I'm a free republic deep cover mole sowing dissent at that liberal bastion...

...Democrat Underground. Bwahahahaha!

Oh, wait....

:hide:

:rofl:

Actually, on a more serious note, I'm not sure most of us really can BEAT the system, but living simply and within your means seems to be the closest approach. That's what I do whenever I can.