Generic ER:  Any takers?

Re: Generic ER:  Any takers?

living a $40,000-$50,000 lifestyle, which is NOT BAD.

The median household income in the US was $43,000 in 2000.
 
Re: Generic ER:  Any takers?

And if your house is paid off you feel a whole lot richer than $40k!!! :)
 
I hope this is germane.

I am not "immune" to ego. I recognize and control mine. Big difference. Take today for example (keep
in mind that at one time I could just buy about
whatever I wanted).

I owned a "beater" riidng lawn mower. That's okay but this one was so bad I swore I would not use it another year. So, I ran an ad and sold it for $250. Then, I went to an auction and bought it's twin for $125. Then, today
I saw the same basic mower parked along the highway
with a sign "FREE". I ran home and got my pickup,
found a guy to help me load it and hauled it home for spare parts.

This is a metaphor for my ER life (as opposed to my
former swilling martinis at the country club life). :)

JG
 
I hope this is germane.




This is a metaphor for my ER life (as opposed to my
former swilling martinis at the country club life).  :)

JG

JG: I have read other quotes about your country club life. Just curious. I know you don"t play golf. In Calif., belonging to a country club (If entire family plays golf), it can be a very inexpensive way to play. Without playing golf, what's the reason you joined a country club?
Initial fee"s to join out here, are minimum of $30,000, plus monthly fees. The up-front costs are supply and demand, and depending on the growth of the area, it is usually returned back with a good return.
I am the only one in family that plays golf, so joining a country club didn't make sense to me, as I was only interested in golf priveleges.
As I stated, just curious, because I have heard other folks talking about joining "country clubs" (mostly from the mid-west), that didn't play golf. I guess I'm missing something, as the golf priveleges are the only thing that would have appeal to me.
Generally, the monthly dues are about $300.00 a month, but that includes golf priveleges for entire family.
 
I am not "immune" to ego.  I recognize and control mine.  Big difference.
JG
I guess "immune" was a poor word to use, not meant to be a dig. I agree that controlling ego is the key..like the quote from Socrates (and others) pointing out that poverty is an excess of desire for (rather than a paucity of) posessions.

Now health insurance, thats a different category..kind of like shoes, usually not essential, until confronted with a steaming pile of life. :)
 
Interesting thread folks -- thanks to all...

Not to bring back the morbid section, but to those whose "exit strategy" involves swallowing a gun, may I gently suggest that you give a thought to those who might find you?

Some time back an older fellow with cancer asked his wife to go to the store for him -- dialed 911 after she left -- and told the dispatcher he was going to kill himself and could she please send someone over to find him before his wife returned.

The means of death was a shotgun in the mouth, the "someone" they sent over was my brother, and even after 20 years as a cop he says he NEVER saw anything so horrible as what he found and will NEVER be able to get that picture out of his mind's eye.

Just a thought...

Caroline
 
Hello Caroline! Good point. However, I would submit
for your consideration that watching a loved one
vegetating over 20 years would be much much worse. The "Hemingway" exit is quick and messy,
but everyone gets to move on, after things are hosed
down and repainted :) Besides, for those of us who are control freaks, it's important to have control over
our departure.

Enough of that........................

Hey, let's get th to send in some more pancake
bunnies and stuff :)

JG
 
Hello back, Mr. Galt!

You'll get no argument from me on the unpleasantness of watching a loved one die over 20 years -- watching a complete stranger like Terri Schivo die was bad enough.

I also agree with you that one wants to be in control at the end.

It's ONLY the mess I'm worried about -- bad enough for my brother to find the guy with his head exploded, but what if his wife had forgotten something on her way to the store and turned back?

Where is the illustrious Dr. K when we need him, durnit!?
 
I was having dinner with friends about 2 weeks ago
and opined that some day Dr. Kervokian would be
considered a "pioneer". One of my companions
said she thought he should get The Nobel Prize.
Maybe so............

JG
 
This is mostly for Jarhead as I missed his question about
my former "country club life".

It is true I no longer play golf and when I did I never belonged to a country club.
Since giving up the game (1975) I have belonged to
three (3) different private country clubs, all in the rural midwest (none at present). We had a "social" membership, which as the name implies allowed us all
the perks and bennies except for the golf (pool, tennus, special events, dining/bar, etc.). And, there is no doubt it was a better class of people than you would normally find at the public courses (speaking generally here).
I don't recall the exact numbers, but the cost was very
minimal if you normally did any eating out and socializing at all.
If I was sufficiently motivated, I'll bet I could work in into our meager budget, even today.

JG
 
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