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Rags to Rich stories ...
Old 01-31-2014, 10:32 PM   #1
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Rags to Rich stories ...

Would love to hear your own rags to rich stories. It'd be inspiring for others dreaming of FIRE. It's your chance to boast .
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Old 02-01-2014, 08:02 AM   #2
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You go first
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Old 02-01-2014, 08:07 AM   #3
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Would love to hear your own rags to rich stories. It'd be inspiring for others dreaming of FIRE. It's your chance to boast .
I never made it to riches, but I remember heating cans of beans up on a steam radiator in a run down flat.
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Old 02-01-2014, 08:31 AM   #4
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Still wearing rags...
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...not doing anything of true substance...
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Old 02-01-2014, 08:48 AM   #5
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Still wearing rags...
Yep, me too. I like my old jeans and tee shirts. Don't think I'd be mistaken for homeless, yet.

In regard to things we used did to survive. The one that comes to mind was lunches. For a couple of years DW and I would pack braunschweiger and onion sandwiches for lunch. Neither one of us really liked it, but it was the cheapest thing we could find to eat. Haven't had any since that time, maybe a roll might find its way home. It might be a eye - opener.
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Old 02-01-2014, 08:54 AM   #6
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Started with nothing. Still got most of it left.
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Old 02-01-2014, 08:59 AM   #7
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CTO for a startup in 1995, employee #3. By 1999 my share was close to 5 million based on what we received in mezzanine financing. After the .com bubble burst I sold my stock for 200k.

Riches to rags.
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Old 02-01-2014, 09:01 AM   #8
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As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster...
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Old 02-01-2014, 11:00 AM   #9
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I never made it to riches, but I remember heating cans of beans up on a steam radiator in a run down flat.
I remember "cooking" Cup o' Noodles with hot tap water
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Old 02-01-2014, 11:04 AM   #10
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I suspect most of the stories on here would be-

-Learned a useful skill/trade/profession/etc.
-W#rked hard
-LBYM
-Disciplined savings
-Invested well
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Old 02-01-2014, 11:06 AM   #11
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Would love to hear your own rags to rich stories. It'd be inspiring for others dreaming of FIRE. It's your chance to boast .
You're not writing a book/article, by any chance, are you?
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Old 02-01-2014, 11:17 AM   #12
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When I were a kid, there were a hundred and fifty of us living in t' shoebox in t' middle o' road..................................
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Rags to Rich stories ...
Old 02-01-2014, 11:17 AM   #13
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Started with nothing. Still got most of it left.

We actually have twice as much nothing.
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Old 02-01-2014, 11:36 AM   #14
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Would love to hear your own rags to rich stories. It'd be inspiring for others dreaming of FIRE. It's your chance to boast .

I have moved up the wealth distribution curve, but "rich"always seems to be "twice what I have".
Not all that wear rags find riches, but for those who do, it seems to be a three generations cycle.

http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/...10803095618608
https://www.corpmagazine.com/special...ree-generation


I don't expect to pass on wealth to a second generation, having no kids, and I never received any myself. Someone or group will get my remainder.

The problem I see with the first generation up the latter is; the spending down of assets made during a life of building up, feels like failure for a reward. Need to figure this part out during my retirement.
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Old 02-01-2014, 11:49 AM   #15
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This post may be deleted, proves I have fat fingers
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Old 02-01-2014, 11:59 AM   #16
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When I were a kid, there were a hundred and fifty of us living in t' shoebox in t' middle o' road..................................

Looooxureeee!

-ERD50
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Old 02-01-2014, 12:15 PM   #17
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We know lots couples our age with similar jobs who have significant job and money worries, so I think the bottom line really for us just has to be a LBYM lifestyle.

We have close friends (people we met outside of work) who also retired early and probably made half of what a lot of our former co-workers made, so the difference really is not so much in what they made in income but what they saved from what they made. The people who had modest incomes retired to a resort area and spend all their free time on travel, clubs and volunteer work. Many of the former co-workers who made more are still working, hate their jobs, and are worried about getting outsourced.
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Old 02-01-2014, 12:29 PM   #18
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Old 02-01-2014, 12:48 PM   #19
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As a kid we were so poor, only the boys had anything to play with.
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Old 02-01-2014, 01:12 PM   #20
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As a kid we were so poor, only the boys had anything to play with.
What? You didn't share with the girls?
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