Figuring out how to enjoy life

[displacedtexan]

Devils Advocate checking in here…. There are presently thousands of Boomers retiring each day with insufficient savings and leaning on inadequate social security. This is a massive problem and a burgeoning systemic economic burden, only getting worse. Most people don’t save enough.

Get a comprehensive financial plan done. Know exactly how much you need to save annually to enjoy retirement the way you want. Once you have met your savings goals each year, then you can spend any excess. But not until then! Save first! Then play.

There are far more Americans wishing they had saved more during their earning years than there are those who wish they had spent more!

Devil's advocate 2.0...

How many of them spent too much money on depreciating toys?

 

[roadrunner]

Do both. Don’t spend all your Life waiting to enjoy retirement. Don’t screw over your retirement enjoying your youth.

Sincerely,
A 25yo with no idea what he’s talking about

Dear 25yo,

Spend the next 10 years becoming financially smart by building assets that generate postive cash flow and passive income. Then spend the rest of your life enjoying life.

Don't be fooled by the trend of a "career" for the next 35 years hoping for a pension or retirement invested in the shell game of the stock market.

Sincerely,

A fool duped into the trend at 25yo

 

[mydogsmonkey]

100% agree with you guys on this. In the past couple years my income has gone up but free time has gone down. Finally realizing I need to consciously make time to do what I enjoy and not just work to provide.

 

[tkhuntsman]

I believe it goes live life to the fullest and keep your eyes on the horizon. That being your future but don't be a slave to the dollar. Try to stay within your means in order to set yourself up for financial success.

 

[Dos Perros]

I'm a balance guy. I work smart/hard enough to keep a good job, sincerely try to do my best when they have my attention, but my family gets my best hours. We are frugal and save a lot relative to our income. We will retire in our mid 50's, hopefully with our health intact. I get my 'me' time, family time, all of it, but not a ton of any of it.

I've said it before that I'm not quite old enough to have accumulated much wisdom, but whoever mentioned that working your ass off to buy expensive toys is stupid is 100% correct. I can't believe the rate of consumption of some people these days. Maybe they have inheritances? Planning on dying early? Insanity to me.

 

[khart_6882]

You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore before you decide to be happy.

Quote from a singer on America’s Got Talent

Good quote but no like button…because I absolutely loathe that show.


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[Ferrulewax]

Dear 25yo,

Spend the bext 10 years becoming financially smart by building assets that generate postive cash flow and passive income. Then spend the rest of your life enjoying life.

Don't be fooled by the trend of a "career" for the next 35 years hoping for a pension or retirement invested in the shell game of the stock market.

Sincerely,

A fool duped into the trend at 25yo

That’s the plan. Bought my first house about two weeks ago (way too much $), but no one knows what the market is going to do and we are tired of renting. My wife and I live on one income and save the second (and max out of each to an IRA). Plan to hopefully build up a stable of rental properties over the next few years. Both nurses so that affords us a decent amount of financial flexibility. Cars are payed for, boat is payed for, still looking for an SUV to pay cash for. We will see…

 

[roosiebull]

Anyway, I would suggest working to need less instead of gather $ to buy more..

rant over.

Zap, that’s no rant, those are words of wisdom.

Even when I was a kid I never had the desire to be monetarily wealthy, I would way rather make enough money to not stress about money and fish and hunt a lot.

I took a good job just over a year ago, and am in a position to move up quickly, but the work is so unsatisfying to me, I have worked on the ocean my whole life besides this past year, and I’m done after April and will be back on the ocean full time starting May first… I like the work, I like the difficulty, and I like the lifestyle… not a great way to get rich in terms of money, but it’s always been enough, and it’s fulfilling work… I have become so accustomed to non stop adventure in life and I can’t trade that for more money.

I do want to work towards needing less, but I don’t need a new pickup every other year, certainly don’t need to drink 7$ coffee every day, as well as a long list of other meaningless stuff… I will always like toys for fishing and hunting, but the bigger ticket items don’t cost much over time, but I don’t need the new model everything every time it comes out… no point in having all of the toys if you have no time to play with them.

I know a lot of people who only care about collecting money, and they can’t comprehend anything else, they almost seem confused by anything else.

I’m pretty fortunate to have a smart wife that’s a much better adult than I am, when I was younger I never had any money saved period, regardless of how much I made, and she has been working on me to be a little more frugal… it’s a slow process but I do see the light of that little tidbit I quoted of yours.

I grew up poor, and I’m glad about that because I have never put a lot of value in money, but there is a happy medium there somewhere. We certainly aren’t wealthy now, but we own a couple homes and drive rigs we like, and I have a couple boats and a big pile of fishing and hunting gear, but now want to cut out payments, maintain what we have, rather than keep buying things we don’t need… it’s kind of an exciting concept and very realistic…

I feel sorry for people who know nothing besides trying to make as much money as they can, but maybe it’s fulfilling to them, but of the many people I know like that, it doesn’t look very fun.

There are those who have both, and kudos to them, but there aren’t a lot of them

 

[Predator_SD]

Devils Advocate checking in here…. There are presently thousands of Boomers retiring each day with insufficient savings and leaning on inadequate social security. This is a massive problem and a burgeoning systemic economic burden, only getting worse. Most people don’t save enough.

Get a comprehensive financial plan done. Know exactly how much you need to save annually to enjoy retirement the way you want. Once you have met your savings goals each year, then you can spend any excess. But not until then! Save first! Then play.

There are far more Americans wishing they had saved more during their earning years than there are those who wish they had spent more!

Then you have a heart attack at 55 and never see retirement.

 

[FLATHEAD]

Then you have a heart attack at 55 and never see retirement.

I worked with a guy that died @ 65, never saw a day of retirement.
Another that had a 40 year career. They gave him a "retirement party",
he came to it in a wheelchair and I dont think he knew where he was.
Sad that some people's life revolves around their careers.
Just does not compute for me.

 

[Dos Perros]

Some people do nothing but work, but, they're not posting here, which maybe makes this thread moot.

 

[Gutshot007]

You cannot put a dollar sign on good health . Some problems are self induced , others not . Good health is an underated blessing until someone looses it . Try to be a good steward with your finances and bless others when you can .

 

[roosiebull]

Some people do nothing but work, but, they're not posting here, which maybe makes this thread moot.

You have a valid point, haha

 

[Marble]

My beautiful wife taught me a good life lesson. If you wait until you have the time and money to go and do what you want to do in life. You probably won't get there.
Seems to me anyhows that when I'm working extra n have extra bucks, no time. Or time n need the bucks to live on. It's kinda endless.
Hey make the time. And the memories. Only got one chance man.

I like it when this topic comes up.

As a two-time cancer survivor, at 46 years old, I live my life knowing there isn't always a next time. Time to me is more valuable than money, but sometimes you need money to have the time.

I will not pass up hunting seasons. Iwill not miss important things/events with my kids and family, and I will always help friends when they need it.

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[Mule3006Elk]

I work normal hours and almost always turn down OT for this reason. More to life than work but you have to work. I don't mind mind working, don't love it either, but almost never more than 40 hours/week. Once the kids are out of the house I plan on dropping to 30 hours/week. But I already have 3-4 days off most weeks so I have a good work/life balance as it is. I have learned that I get grumpy, at times angry, if my work/life balance swings more toward the work side. Working too much just doesn't make me happy.

 

[Carpet Capital Shyster]

I had the chance to go with my mom and dad to Italy to see my cousin get married back in 2018. The trip was expensive but my parents offered to pay for the flights for myself and my wife and two kids leaving us to just pay for lodging and food. My wife simply couldn’t get off work. She’s in healthcare and there was nothing she could do. I was going to go by myself or take the kids but at the time, I put way too much stock in my professional reputation and worried about taking two full weeks off of court; especially with a new boss. Plus, I had the biggest trial of my life coming up. I stupidly decided not to go and put work first. To make up for it we planned on taking a trip with my parents to England and other parts of Europe the following year as my mother had always wanted to see the UK and I knew I would not have nearly as serious a caseload. Traveling to Europe with her whole family was one of mom’s dreams and honestly, one of mine too.
Fast forward to the following year and my mother came down with cancer and endured treatments and surgery thus canceling the trip of a lifetime with mom and dad. The following year, Covid hit and once more, no trip. 2021 rolled around and my mom’s cancer came back for the third time. After over a year of treatment, my mother passed away in October. We never go to take that trip together. I don’t have a lot of regrets in life but I will regret not splurging on the time off and going to Italy with my parents until the day I die. I think about it several times a week and it gets me really down. Don’t neglect saving for retirement but splurge on the money and time. Take the trips and make the memories with your loved ones. You never know what life has in store and best laid plans sometimes do not come to fruition.

 

[tony]

I retired from job 1 at 51. Took up job 2 for something to do and live off job 2’s money, and put job 1s money in savings (invest, etc). I can tell job 2 to piss off any day I want.
I know I shouldn’t be shocked but the amount of people I know and or work with that are broke and zero cents in the bank is insane. I work with a gal turned 30 and announces weekly that she is broke, her paycheck is spent. Husband is “disabled” and draws a check, sits around and smokes pot all day for his “pain” from his time as a navy ranger seal spec ops killer. Nobody’s ever a cook in the service.
This girls parents help her with her bills, did I mention she’s a nurse and makes a good wage. I guess GI joes money goes to dope, Cheetos and Taco Bell.
And while I could stand to loose 10-15 pounds, I walk daily, sometimes twice with my dog, bike ride. The amount of fat people, young fat people, little fat kids Is off the charts.

Health insurance is going to be a big issue sooner than later. The working man can’t afford or is working just for insurance. While his tax money is paying for free health care for millions of lazy fat dead beats can’t last.

I never really traveled much prior to my present relationship. Been on 2 cruises, to Mexico, up and down the east coast and out west. Checked off about 40 national parks and sites so far. Getting ready for a 3 week adventure May through June out west again. Planning a Europe trip next year with her.

Been said many times, simple diet changes and walk a little a day or few days a week is wonderful.
Save at least 10% of your pay, don’t live off credit cards, buy a house you can afford, drop the smokes and watch the alcohol.

 

[Pony Soldier]

I gave up a steady gov't job, with all the frustration and insanity that goes with it, for less wages, more freedom and hunting every year. I chose less to get more. Many of you will have made infinitly more money than I can imagine.

On my meager wages I raised two kids, paid off a ranch, and hunted most of every elk season for 50 years. No regrets!

 

[Nykki]

I worked construction and the oil patch as a equipment mechanic. Most of my career was spent doing 60-84 hr weeks. We maxed out the wife's state retirement plans and lived off my income. Now we're both retired and can do whatever we want within reason. But even working as much as I did I very seldom missed moose season unless I was on the slope or overseas, got to have priorities.

 

[TheGrayRider]

You can always make more money but you cannot make more time.