Re ques of what to say to people who ask about your money origins:
I have been using this already, and I have been surprised but excited at how well it works, for me AND the questioner. I have used it in casual friend/family conversations, brief aquaintence encounters, and business/financial/
It has worked GREAT:
The gist I convey now is that I'm about to start working w humanitarian projects, and that I will have a salary. (We're just waiting for funding to come through.)
I might phrase it "I'm about to start (or after exchange appt, "I just started") working for a trust that funds large & small humanitarian projects." (Later, simply "I work for a trust that funds humanitarian projects".)
If appropriate to the specific conversation, I would then be prepared to say I draw a salary for work (scouting these projects?). (I WILL be working for a trust that funds humanitarian projects, and I will have a salary. All true, and concise.)
Mostly though so far I have been surprised that everyone stops their questioning after my initial comment w a positive enthusiastic response ("Oh, how great! Wow, that sounds like fulfilling work.", etc.), and doesn't dig for further financial details, but instead might share about a local charity they like, or a cause they love supporting. (Which is cool, because they then become a resource for me scouting potential projects, causes I hadn't thought about, etc.)
It's actually been amazing the perfection of this response. The working people aren't looking down on you for being a lazy trust fund baby, the desperate lower income aren't trying to schmooze your good graces in hopes of getting access to your resources (gold digger or fair weather friend or criminals or drugaddict relative, etc.), the professionals respect your respectable vocation (philanthropic AND financially stable), the rich would also see it this way, without feeling threatened for position. Extended family & friends views it as you earning your $, so is less apt to go down the money grab & resentment cycle. With children & teens, neices/nephews, etc., it quells the concern of them being a security breach, if this is all they are repeating. Re criminals, it leaves vague how much money you actually have, plus skews it as a less profitable profession for those hunting for money. The masses associate working w a humanitarian cause as a more low income job, and the rich associate it as something rich philanthropists fo. Either way, w either group, you are blending in to the perceived normalcy without being a target.
I have been testing this everywhere and the results w any group or personality-type has been fabulous!
It's not only neutralizing potential problems, it has actually opened up something highly positive. I get to talk freely to everyone, but about PROJECTS. It turns the "What do I do?" conversation from financial details to PROJECTS (while satisfying the general curiosity people have to label you, place you in a class, get the gist of your standing & lifestyle, etc.). Then, I can fully engage & receive the value someone else has to offer around project ideas & topics. People that I can now talk to further (re project-related topics) as I move through this interesting process ahead.
~ islandwave8
PS - For those of you not particularly saavy re talking about the world of finances, the trust (that you work for as stated above) could have been started by a rich individual, a big int'l company, etc. The people who started it are irrelevant. (Re you being nervous about fielding questions re this trust you work for.) SOMEBODY alloted a bunch of $$ to be used for humanitarian purposes. (The trust spells out what it does or is for when it's created. There are a jillion dif kinds of trusts. They are just legal agreements to do something specific w the $ in them.) As someone working for the trust, you wouldn't really need to know any details beyond just your job. If it makes you feel more comfortable/confident, in your mind substitute the word "organization" or "company" instead of "trust". People who are more financially educated will know what you mean when you say "trust". If you feel like the person you're talking to won't, you could use org or company instead (although not technically accurate, unless you actually do set up that entity with your finacial advisors).
Investopedia (search that online) has definitions of basic financial terms if you are just starting out learning this vocabulary. Great for after meeting w advisors if feel overwhelmed at not knowing their terminology.