Philosopher's Stone: Science Fiction

Turns out the Philosopher's Stone was a terrible catch-22, which I could have told anybody who asked. How do you make a lot of money, infallibly? Well, live a long time and keep it in savings, something where it returns a little every year. How do you get the best life-extension technology? Well, be rich. So I figured that out pretty young, watching the old men who sat in bars and wasted away their days in drink and reminiscing and complaining about how the dole wasn't enough to live on anymore, and hadn't they pitched into taxes their whole working lives and what was this for a reward? I saved. I saved so much that bums who lived in cardboard boxes felt sorry for me when they saw how I lived. And by the time I was old enough to need tech, I was wealthy enough to afford it. Barely. I could--

Inspiration: "Philosopher's Stone"
Story Potential: low
Notes: There's something there, in the connections between the philosopher's stone, wealth, and immortality--but this ain't it.