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Lost Opportunity Video
Old 01-21-2017, 11:20 AM   #1
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Lost Opportunity Video

It's a sobering wake-up call for many and this lady feels it more then most. But at least I learned about the "Latte factor."

55, unemployed and faking normal: One woman's story of barely scraping by | PBS NewsHour
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Old 01-21-2017, 11:38 AM   #2
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There are all kinds of people. My parents went through the Depression, and WWII where there were ration cards.
They drilled into me: "Waste not want not", "A penny saved is a penny earned" both in words and by example.
It helped that they were never rich, sometimes poor.

I took it to heart and always made sure to stash away some for the future, my sibling didn't and whenever a spare $1 would appear, it was spent.

Now, I'm RE, and comfortable. My sibling is scraping by wondering how to find more money.
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Old 01-21-2017, 12:29 PM   #3
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The stories of Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Elon Musk etc gleam over the far more common occurrence of business failings. When people take the chance at great riches as this lady did, when it fails there seems to be an inability to adjust to the lifestyle a failed chance at riches makes possible.

That there is discrimination against older people is undeniable, however any report uses Teresa Ghilarducci as an expert, makes me doubt everything in the video.
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Old 01-21-2017, 12:54 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by Tekward View Post
It's a sobering wake-up call for many and this lady feels it more then most. But at least I learned about the "Latte factor."

55, unemployed and faking normal: One woman's story of barely scraping by | PBS NewsHour
I can see many points along her story line/chronology in the video where I would have recognized that I couldn't keep up the "visuals" and I would be immediately living in a trailer and eating baloney sandwiches until things got back on track.

Too many people aren't willing to make changes in their perceived-entitled lifestyle when the warning signs are plainly visible (from the outside).
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Old 01-21-2017, 03:21 PM   #5
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This woman had a business mimicking Pier 1 Imports that failed. Now she needs to put the stuff in her home up for sale on E-bay or Craigslist. If she had price tags visible on all her home furnishings, the video would have been more effective.
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Old 01-21-2017, 08:04 PM   #6
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This woman had a business mimicking Pier 1 Imports that failed. Now she needs to put the stuff in her home up for sale on E-bay or Craigslist. If she had price tags visible on all her home furnishings, the video would have been more effective.


I live in the same area and I know of a dozen folks that have similar stuff for sale but they do it as a sideline, at flea markets and on the web in addition to a regular job mostly because they love the stuff they're selling. It seems like she went all in and tried to grow too fast. I know lots of folks in her position working retail jobs too but why should she? She seems to be doing ok but no margin for error whatsoever. Some folks are more comfortable living that way than I would be.
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Old 01-21-2017, 08:06 PM   #7
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The stories of Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Elon Musk etc gleam over the far more common occurrence of business failings. When people take the chance at great riches as this lady did, when it fails there seems to be an inability to adjust to the lifestyle a failed chance at riches makes possible.

That there is discrimination against older people is undeniable, however any report uses Teresa Ghilarducci as an expert, makes me doubt everything in the video.


I think she's in all of them!
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Old 01-22-2017, 12:18 PM   #8
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I can see many points along her story line/chronology in the video where I would have recognized that I couldn't keep up the "visuals" and I would be immediately living in a trailer and eating baloney sandwiches until things got back on track.

Too many people aren't willing to make changes in their perceived-entitled lifestyle when the warning signs are plainly visible (from the outside).
+1

DW has a 62 year old BIL who has spent his adult life attempting to keep up appearances. Insists on leasing high end Mercedes to impress "clients", i.e. people he tries to con into signing on to another of his multi-level marketing scams, none of which have ever panned out. DW asked her sister - who has supported this guy's sorry a$$ for over 20 years - why he won't go out and get a job. Her reply: Oh, he could never work for someone else (work being the operative word). Finally, she's wised up and is beginning divorce proceedings.
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Old 01-22-2017, 01:43 PM   #9
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+1

DW has a 62 year old BIL who has spent his adult life attempting to keep up appearances. Insists on leasing high end Mercedes to impress "clients", i.e. people he tries to con into signing on to another of his multi-level marketing scams, none of which have ever panned out. DW asked her sister - who has supported this guy's sorry a$$ for over 20 years - why he won't go out and get a job. Her reply: Oh, he could never work for someone else (work being the operative word). Finally, she's wised up and is beginning divorce proceedings.
It's funny how some people think it's beneath themselves to work for someone else, but it's not beneath them to let someone else support them...
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Old 01-22-2017, 02:12 PM   #10
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+1

DW has a 62 year old BIL who has spent his adult life attempting to keep up appearances. Insists on leasing high end Mercedes to impress "clients", i.e. people he tries to con into signing on to another of his multi-level marketing scams, none of which have ever panned out. DW asked her sister - who has supported this guy's sorry a$$ for over 20 years - why he won't go out and get a job. Her reply: Oh, he could never work for someone else (work being the operative word). Finally, she's wised up and is beginning divorce proceedings.
Yep! I have 2 "ex" BIL's. Both were "too smart" to work for bosses. And, both were Mama's boys, where Mom always supported them emotionally. Both leaned on Sis's for $$ (who eventually were wiped out financially). Thankfully, both bums are now out of the family.
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Old 01-22-2017, 02:18 PM   #11
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It's funny how some people think it's beneath themselves to work for someone else, but it's not beneath them to let someone else support them...
....yeah - at the same time it was also never beneath this guy to denigrate those who do work for others by referring to them pejoratively as, "Joe lunchbox". I just hope that DW's sister - a hard working individual - doesn't end up getting the shaft in a divorce settlement by having to provide this jerk with spousal support.
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Old 01-22-2017, 09:07 PM   #12
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She sure doesn't seem particularly distressed by any of this. Look at her nails and hair, anyone think these are cheap? I know lots of people who eat out almost all the time, buy good clothes, and figure the future will handle itself somehow. I poor mouth always, at least if the topic of support comes up and I can't completely avoid speaking. Dating, I was always poor. If she wouldn't give me a spin without money somehow being as issue, I didn't need her.

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Old 01-22-2017, 09:40 PM   #13
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She might have done better having a day job and a single online store with low overhead as a side line. If the store took off she could have quit her day job. And if it didn't she would still have the day job.
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Old 01-22-2017, 10:46 PM   #14
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If I had made $200,000 per year like she did, I could have retired even Earlier !!!
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Old 01-23-2017, 08:10 AM   #15
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OMG!!!! I finally realized what I am!!!

A "Clothing minimalist"!!!! I live alone, and if anyone could see how I dress around the house, well, let's just say it AIN"T high fashion!!!!

As long as it's clean, I'm OK....Tee shirts and shorts and white ankle socks-that's my day to day uniform even in winter!!!
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