Are They Typical?

[Cassius King]

Same here. Know a family on FB who are constantly posting pics of them out doing things. Ballgames, travel, partying, etc. Just last week, on this same FB, they are now posting a GoFundMe post and have a pic of their family on it. Asking friends and family to fund them for a shoulder surgery the husband is having. WTF? You're constantly posting (bragging) on FB about what you're out and about doing, then want to ask people to give you money. I will never get it.

 

[eta2020]

facebook envy

Similar to majority of BMW drivers. (but certainly not all)

 

[LinCella]

Oh, typical. I had a friendship with someone who complained so much about being broke and living on practically nothing and then she told me spent $800 at Nordstrom's. We're no longer friends.

I am also friends (over 40 year friendship) with a gay couple who spend so much money on only high end things and brag about it all over FB. They CAN afford it but it makes me weary to see such shallowness.

 

[tmm99]

Oh, typical. I had a friendship with someone who complained so much about being broke and living on practically nothing and then she told me spent $800 at Nordstrom's. We're no longer friends.



I am also friends (over 40 year friendship) with a gay couple who spend so much money on only high end things and brag about it all over FB. They CAN afford it but it makes me weary to see such shallowness.

Many people are like that. That's the way they can feel their worth - by bragging how much more spending power they have over other people. Shallow is right. And sad.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[2017ish]

I am so glad that I do facebook only when a kid or a sibling says: "I have pictures up for you to look at." (Even though I joined it very soon after it opened up to non-edu addresses, I've never even uploaded a picture of myself.)

And, doubly glad that I don't think I know anyone who fits in these categories. (Or, if I do, I don't notice....)

 

[Danmar]

I think successful FIRE people have usually 2 out 3 skills that make people FI.

1) They are good/exceptional in their job.
2) They are good in investing money.
3) They are good in dealing with people....influencing people.

Skill number 2 is a must . Skill number 1 or 3 will make you lot of money Almost nobody is good in all 3.

The number 2 is also easiest, but requires immense discipline which at least 90% of people lack.

Good at 1 and 2 for sure. Fairly good at 3 but that is hard to self assess. If you put 1 and 3 together you will very likely make a ton of money.

 

[scrabbler1]

I think successful FIRE people have usually 2 out 3 skills that make people FI.

1) They are good/exceptional in their job.
2) They are good in investing money.
3) They are good in dealing with people....influencing people.

Skill number 2 is a must . Skill number 1 or 3 will make you lot of money Almost nobody is good in all 3.

The number 2 is also easiest, but requires immense discipline which at least 90% of people lack.

#1 and #2, yes. As for #3, while I consider myself a loner at heart, I have been able to manipulate and influence people in some special ways to get what I want. At my former job, I used #1 to gain leverage over my bosses to reduce my weekly hours worked (i.e. "semi-retirement") and get a mostly telecommuting deal in the 2000s. Also with #3, simply building up goodwill with others can earn special, favorable treatment.

 

[Theseus]

I think successful FIRE people have usually 2 out 3 skills that make people FI.

1) They are good/exceptional in their job.
2) They are good in investing money.
3) They are good in dealing with people....influencing people.

Skill number 2 is a must . Skill number 1 or 3 will make you lot of money Almost nobody is good in all 3.

The number 2 is also easiest, but requires immense discipline which at least 90% of people lack.

Good at 1 and 2 for sure. Fairly good at 3 but that is hard to self assess. If you put 1 and 3 together you will very likely make a ton of money.

Good way to think about that. Of course if someone fails miserably at #2, they are no further ahead of the curve than the spendthrift beggars.

Agree that self-assessment can be biased, but reflecting on my career, I'd guess I was judged to posses #3, which "hire" authorities used in deciding to promote me to a position with improved benefits that assisted in the implementation of my eventual ER. Over the following decades #1 was judged in the eyes of various others via the annual reviews, etc., but I outlasted those with the bad opinions. And for #2, well sometimes I'm just lucky.

 

[FUEGO]

I've always prided myself on my ability to avoid letting others in the workplace take #2's on me. Sometimes that required wearing a hard hat and a hazmat suit, other times nothing more than quick reflexes and a nimble mind.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Wait, Fuego, you are also the person I famously attribute that you always DID your #2s at work, so you got paid to poop!

 

[Andre1969]

Wait, Fuego, you are also the person I famously attribute that you always DID your #2s at work, so you got paid to poop!

LOL, I confess, I've done that. Although my logic was always that I'd rather put the flushes on their water bill, than mine!

 

[FUEGO]

Wait, Fuego, you are also the person I famously attribute that you always DID your #2s at work, so you got paid to poop!

So true. So, so true. But it wasn't on anyone else. Just the broken toilets that usually flushed (but not always) or a port a john.

Andre's got me beat though. I never considered how much water I was saving.

Now that I think about it, toilet paper and electricity for the fan and all that air freshener saved all add up. This might be #4 in the list of key traits of early retirees.

 

[Shanky]

Some grasshoppers spend all they earn, and they enjoy every minute of it, without worries of the future, then they are truly blessed. Some people like that are the most generous I know. I have difficulty comprehending their lack of worry about the future, but I am jealous of it.

On the other side of the spectrum, are those ants who triple check everything, worry about every possible contingency and are never truly free to enjoy the present. They die with plenty of money, but have missed out on living. Most of us are between those two extremes.

 

[Walt34]

Wait, Fuego, you are also the person I famously attribute that you always DID your #2s at work, so you got paid to poop!

There are legions of stories about that. One is that I stopped in a fire station to use the facilities there. Shift work can really mess up your innards for a while. While there I received a call for a personal injury car accident about two blocks from the fire house but due to um, slow processing, I was last out of the fire house. Arriving on the scene I was told that there were no injuries but "They'd had one trapped in the fire house...."

 

[Sarah in SC]

Good one, Walt! I think this must be a peculiar man trait, because most women hate to use bathrooms other than their own for that sort of business!

 

[ejman]

I think successful FIRE people have usually 2 out 3 skills that make people FI.

1) They are good/exceptional in their job.
2) They are good in investing money.
3) They are good in dealing with people....influencing people.

Skill number 2 is a must . Skill number 1 or 3 will make you lot of money Almost nobody is good in all 3.

The number 2 is also easiest, but requires immense discipline which at least 90% of people lack.

Been fortunate to have pretty good function with #1 and #2's. Never found the proper orifice for #3...

 

[FUEGO]

Good one, Walt! I think this must be a peculiar man trait, because most women hate to use bathrooms other than their own for that sort of business!

Well, when you spend more time at work than you do at home, it's easy to think of your porcelain at work as if it were your own.

 

[jjquantz]

...

Andre's got me beat though. I never considered how much water I was saving.

...

When I got my first water bill after retiring my first thought was that a leak must have developed somewhere. After some reflection and calculation, I realized that my increased time at home probably doubled the number of flushes and, with increased exercising, also added a few more showers per week. When the second post-retirement bill came in with exactly the same numbers, I realized that we had redefined normal.

 

[FUEGO]

When I got my first water bill after retiring my first thought was that a leak must have developed somewhere. After some reflection and calculation, I realized that my increased time at home probably doubled the number of flushes and, with increased exercising, also added a few more showers per week. When the second post-retirement bill came in with exactly the same numbers, I realized that we had redefined normal.

Not working = don't have to shower as often (unless you're working out of course!). Not working also equals less laundry (no works clothes). My reduced shower frequency and laundry demand is offset by increased flushing at home, so it's about a net of zero from what I can tell.

 

[rodi]

Good one, Walt! I think this must be a peculiar man trait, because most women hate to use bathrooms other than their own for that sort of business!

Two thoughts on this (as the only woman in my household)...

1) Home toilet advantage. (Travel really takes me a while to adjust.)

2) Men just take longer. I think the same muscles used for childbirth speed up the process for women.

 

[Meadbh]

Well, this thread has really gone in the toilet!

 

[NW-Bound]

Just as the OP asked, "Are They Typical?", most threads typically end up like this.

 

[Nemo2]

Well, this thread has really gone in the toilet!

I was thinking of a somewhat crasser poecilonym.

 

[Meadbh]

I was thinking of a somewhat crasser poecilonym.

Thank you, I just learnt a new word. Now I'll just have to practice spelling it.

 

[BBQ-Nut]

When I got my first water bill after retiring my first thought was that a leak must have developed somewhere. After some reflection and calculation, I realized that my increased time at home probably doubled the number of flushes and, with increased exercising, also added a few more showers per week. When the second post-retirement bill came in with exactly the same numbers, I realized that we had redefined normal.

You could use the following rhyme to save some money on flushes:
"If it's yellow - let it mellow
If it's brown - flush it down"