Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 07-12-2007, 11:06 AM   #21
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
jIMOh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: west bloomfield MI
Posts: 2,223
getting married
tasting sam adams for the first time
scoring a goal in a competitive soccer game
working same job for 10 consecutive years (longest job before that was 12 months).
not sure what fifth is...
__________________
Light travels faster than sound. That is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak. One person's stupidity is another person's job security.
jIMOh is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 07-12-2007, 11:32 AM   #22
Moderator Emeritus
CuppaJoe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: At The Cafe
Posts: 6,873
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigritchie View Post

I am not a depressed or suicidal person at all, but many times I have felt sad that I did not cross over then, and go into that utter peace.
I've had a similar experience. It would be interesting to comtemplate which is more freeing: 1) loss of fear of death; 2) reaching FI, or 3) other.

Glad you're still here and posting.
CuppaJoe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-12-2007, 02:00 PM   #23
Moderator Emeritus
W2R's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,472
Quote:
Originally Posted by CuppaJoe View Post
Hi, I'm still new here; what was your topic?
CuppaJoe, I am pretty new too and I'm sorry to say that I am just a scientist (oceanographer), not one of these financial whiz kids that hang out here! I am hoping to study and learn more about personal finance, economics, investing, and similar topics now and even moreso once I attain ER and have more free time available outside of work.
__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.

Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
W2R is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-12-2007, 02:17 PM   #24
Moderator Emeritus
CuppaJoe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: At The Cafe
Posts: 6,873
Quote:
Originally Posted by Want2retire View Post
CuppaJoe, I am pretty new too and I'm sorry to say that I am just a scientist (oceanographer), not one of these financial whiz kids that hang out here! I am hoping to study and learn more about personal finance, economics, investing, and similar topics now and even moreso once I attain ER and have more free time available outside of work.
Want2retire: as I was wondering what you might be into, I thought, oh no, I'm into the softer stuff like drama, art history and film studies (loved "Jaws"!) Yeah, I'm hoping that hanging out here will assure that the 25X rule will work. And want to find a way to think about inflation and taxes on deferred income.
CuppaJoe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-12-2007, 02:45 PM   #25
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
cute fuzzy bunny's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Losing my whump
Posts: 22,708
The five greatest moments...no exact order. Plenty of others are kicking around but I think this is my five.

Holding my son for the first time. Scared so much I could have wet myself and not realized it. Seeing my wife give birth to him and feeling the intense protectiveness and nurturing seep out in ever increasing daily doses was the most incredible thing I think I'll ever experience. I'm a little boys dad. Wow. I still cant believe it.

Getting past a fairly miserable first 23 years of life, and getting off a set of rails that would have ended with being a nonperson in a nonlife. Homelessness, suicides, abuses, severe illnesses, disconnected family members...its all in there. I was in debt, substance addicted, had a bad crowd of friends, and was likely to either land in jail or be persistently unemployed. I pulled myself up by the bootstraps, quit the bad stuff and bad people, got a couple of extra jobs, dug myself out of debt, got my career straightened out, and went from there. I remember the day I decided to change everything, and that was a very defining moment. I spent some time in the last few months digging up all the people I hung out with back then. Dead, jailed, overweight functional alcoholics, stagnant lives, single room apartments, smatterings of children and spouses. But i'm not one of them and I easily could and should have been. At the same time, I cant shake the feeling that I should have stayed and helped them somehow.

Meeting and marrying my wife. I'm a pain in the ass with a bunch of odd foibles and hairballs, she knows it, I know it, and she loves me anyhow. Eight good years. Heres to 80 more.

Gaining financial independence. Sure, showing up for my last day of work in a hawaiian shirt and in flip-flops and making my boss take me to the local sports bar and buy me beers before signing the papers and getting a couple of six figure separation checks was nice. But the day I ran the numbers and realized that pretty soon I wasnt going to be financially dependent on anyone or anything in the future...that was a great moment. For months I thought it was all wrong. A mistake or some sort of dream. The feeling once I realized that it was all real was indescribable.

Lastly, a reinvention. While things were going well for me in my early 30's, I just felt like I was in a rut. I owned a nice house, had a nice car, a good job, a lot of stuff going on. But I wasnt happy. Maybe too many vestigal remnants of my old so-called life. Driving past the old haunts, seeing the old people. I decided to change everything. On a lark I quit my job, sold my stuff, and got in my car with a few boxes of stuff and about $20k I'd saved. Drove cross country to california to hang out with an old ladyfriend who was going to school in the SF area. Through a weird set of circumstances mostly guided by good friends and people that I'd treated well over the years, I got a great job that provided me with the above mentioned financial independence. Found new things that I was good at doing and enjoyed. Met new people. Saw a lot of new places. About halfway through the drive across the country...right about the time i was done talking to myself and eventually arguing with myself...I realized I'd cut all my ties and was a completely different person. An exceptional defining moment.

Well, this got longer and shorter and longer again. Hope it was worth the read.
__________________
Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.
cute fuzzy bunny is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-12-2007, 03:40 PM   #26
Full time employment: Posting here.
MikeD's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Leesburg, VA
Posts: 904
I don't have greatest moments, as such. I have greatest transistions or accomplishments, plus one good luck incident.

1. Being married to my wife.
2. Realizing that I could change my attitude from a poor one to a good one at age 19 and then doing it.
3. Finishing a BS in Comp Sci at a hard school.
4. Getting a house in the country like we wanted.
5. Getting a literally life-saving kidney/pancreas transplant.

Mike D.
MikeD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-12-2007, 03:49 PM   #27
Gone but not forgotten
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Sarasota,fl.
Posts: 11,447
[quote

Well, this got longer and shorter and longer again. Hope it was worth the read.[/quote]


It was a great read !!
Moemg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-12-2007, 03:53 PM   #28
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: No. California
Posts: 1,858
1. Buying out my ex-husband's share in our house and getting my first mortgage in my name alone.

2. Delivering my children.
3. Getting my black belt in Tae Kwon do at the age of 43.
4. Buying my current house paying cash.
5. Leaving the work force.
KB is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-12-2007, 04:07 PM   #29
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
TromboneAl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 12,880
1. Marrying wife
2. Retiring
3. Getting news of receiving stipend for graduate school
4. Moving out of the city
5. Finding out that DW's brain tumor operation was successful, and that it was unlikely to come back.

The birth of our daughter was easily the worst of my life, since there were complications during birth. Although everything turned out OK, she was rushed to the ICU, and one nurse said she might have brain damage. Had to wait to find out and keep DW blissfully unaware of what was going on.
__________________
Al
TromboneAl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-13-2007, 03:00 AM   #30
Recycles dryer sheets
Linney's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 321
1. Realizing in high school that I had self-determination, that I had some control over the direction of my life
2. Getting a Bachelor's degree -- it took 8 long years since I worked full-time and part-time to finance it myself
3. Being hooked up to a wireless mike and speaking to a room full of industry analysts, learning that I was capable of handling large public presentations
4. Finally understanding why my first marriage failed and realizing that I could marry again, with a greater chance for success next time
5. Finding a second soul mate -- thought I'd used up my one chance

--Linney
Linney is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 07-13-2007, 06:12 AM   #31
Moderator Emeritus
Rich_by_the_Bay's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 8,827
I've enjoyed this thread. When I try to figure out what's on my top 5 list of course the usual family milestones shine through. But mostly, my "top moments" are small, almost routine happenings often shared with the DW or others, but also alone.

Things like that lingering cup of coffee and the paper on a Sunday morning. Or watching my kids discipline my grandkids, using the same words DW and I used to use. Or hearing your g-kids call you Grampa ("Boppa" in my case, for reasons unknown to me). Amazing motorcycle rides when I lived in Arizona; more recently discovering a great campground to RV to. A 2 hour dinner and bottle of wine with the DW on a Wednesday night (remembering that I still w*rk long hours). Poker games with friends. A student I taught decades ago approaching me at a conference with stories of success and a "thank you."

Guess I'm more of a "small pleasures" type. Don't know how that bodes for FIRE but I'm not too worried.
__________________
Rich
San Francisco Area
ESR'd March 2010. FIRE'd January 2011.

As if you didn't know..If the above message contains medical content, it's NOT intended as advice, and may not be accurate, applicable or sufficient. Don't rely on it for any purpose. Consult your own doctor for all medical advice.
Rich_by_the_Bay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-13-2007, 06:49 AM   #32
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Dawg52's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Central MS/Orange Beach, AL
Posts: 9,067
1) age 18 - Hole in one #1
2) age 42 - Hole in one #2
3) age 52 - Retirement
4) age 52 - Hole in one #3
5) n/a - Waiting on Hole in one #4
__________________
Retired 3/31/2007@52
Investing style: Full time wuss.
Dawg52 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-13-2007, 07:52 AM   #33
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
FinanceDude's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,483
Here's Mine:

1)birth of both boys
2)marriage
3)reconciling with my brother after a 20 year feud
4)Being at the Drake Relays, and running in a 1600 meter relay with the "big boys"
5)Singing with our men's chorus at Carnegie Hall

Probably leaving a few out.........
__________________
Consult with your own advisor or representative. My thoughts should not be construed as investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results (love that one).......:)


This Thread is USELESS without pics.........:)
FinanceDude is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-13-2007, 02:20 PM   #34
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Dawg52's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Central MS/Orange Beach, AL
Posts: 9,067
Quote:
Originally Posted by FinanceDude View Post
Here's Mine:

1)birth of both boys
2)marriage
3)reconciling with my brother after a 20 year feud
4)Being at the Drake Relays, and running in a 1600 meter relay with the "big boys"
5)Singing with our men's chorus at Carnegie Hall

Probably leaving a few out.........
Wow, must have been a serious feud to last that long. Be glad you did. Never know when your time is up.
__________________
Retired 3/31/2007@52
Investing style: Full time wuss.
Dawg52 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-13-2007, 02:38 PM   #35
Moderator Emeritus
CuppaJoe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: At The Cafe
Posts: 6,873
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dawg52 View Post
Wow, must have been a serious feud to last that long. Be glad you did. Never know when your time is up.
My (and my sister's) "feud" with my brother lasted 23 years until his death in '03; but really started years before that. Is that a long time? My dad (English/German) thought it (difficult relationships) had something to do with the Sicilian side of the family! I don't really regret not having a good relationship with bro, he was a very volitile person, not much fun. But I did offer to be a bone marrow donor for him as I didn't want him to have to ask; however that never came to be. Having broken off with bro might actually be on the pleasant side of my equation.
CuppaJoe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-13-2007, 06:23 PM   #36
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 11,401
1. Saving a life for the first time
2. Buying a house
3. Paying off the mortgage less than 2 years later
4. Being sworn in as a Canadian citizen
5. Realizing I was FI
Meadbh is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-13-2007, 06:41 PM   #37
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 377
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rich_in_Tampa View Post
I've enjoyed this thread. When I try to figure out what's on my top 5 list of course the usual family milestones shine through. But mostly, my "top moments" are small, almost routine happenings often shared with the DW or others, but also alone.

Things like that lingering cup of coffee and the paper on a Sunday morning. Or watching my kids discipline my grandkids, using the same words DW and I used to use. Or hearing your g-kids call you Grampa ("Boppa" in my case, for reasons unknown to me). Amazing motorcycle rides when I lived in Arizona; more recently discovering a great campground to RV to. A 2 hour dinner and bottle of wine with the DW on a Wednesday night (remembering that I still w*rk long hours). Poker games with friends. A student I taught decades ago approaching me at a conference with stories of success and a "thank you."

Guess I'm more of a "small pleasures" type. Don't know how that bodes for FIRE but I'm not too worried.
Rich for me, I think ER is all about the small pleasures, without the stress of working.

I cannot wait in a couple of months to have a cup of coffee watching the sun rise on a beach, and just exhale, and put the last decade of utter sacrifice behind me.
Bigritchie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-13-2007, 07:29 PM   #38
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
cute fuzzy bunny's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Losing my whump
Posts: 22,708
Ugh, family feuds. My in laws are just chock full of them. My MIL "made up" with one section that had been on the doo-doo list for over a decade, so another section wont talk to her for that major transgression.

I finally got sick of scheduling stuff around the boundary lines and played peacemaker. "If you ever want to see your grandson/nephew/whatever, ever again, you'll show up for the dang holiday meals all at the same time, talk nice to each other, and you can go back to hating each other on the way home".
__________________
Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.
cute fuzzy bunny is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-13-2007, 07:53 PM   #39
Moderator
simple girl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 4,021
Wow, what a tough question to answer. Here's what comes to mind first.

1) When my husband (fiance at the time), after carrying me piggy-back for a long time on a long night hike (because my flip-flops broke)...announced to me that he would do anything for me, including dying for me. And it was a full moon, too. Yep, I'm still deeply in love, now 16 years later. Sorry for the sappy stuff, I'm a hopeless romantic.

2) Finishing my last exam in PT school.

3) Witnessing a moon halo (Rings Around The Moon) with my husband while returning on a boat from kayaking hongs in Phang Na Bay in Thailand.

4) The moment I realized in my 20's (after several years of deep soul-searching) that there is indeed a higher power, which to me has presented itself to me through each individual that has touched my life.

5) I don't think it's happenned yet!
__________________
simple girl
less stuff, more time

(55, married; Mr. Simple Girl, 59. FIRED 12/31/19!)
simple girl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-13-2007, 08:05 PM   #40
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 192
Quote:
Originally Posted by jIMOh View Post
getting married
tasting sam adams for the first time
My friend, someone needs to give you a real beer . . .

Niko is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Fed employee life insurance ats5g FIRE and Money 2 10-10-2006 10:44 PM
What to do when you can't get life insurance? LRAO FIRE and Money 8 09-21-2006 10:10 AM
term life recommendations Rich_by_the_Bay FIRE and Money 9 08-24-2006 08:50 AM
Life insurance change ferco Other topics 6 02-14-2006 11:09 AM
What to do with Met Life Ins. Policy Adventuregirl FIRE and Money 6 02-04-2006 05:50 AM

» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:49 AM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.