Goosebumps

[Mudd]

It's been an interesting month for my family. We have 2 different friends who have fallen behind on their mortgages and one of the homes is being foreclosed, while the other couple is praying theirs sells quickly. We anonymously sent them Grocery Store gift cards to help out, they have no savings whatsoever and one couple has 5 kids.

My wife and I have been working our plan for a couple of years now. My wife just sent me an e-mail with the following commenting on my obsessive number crunching:


"I actually think it's "cute" the way you run numbers (in the legal
running numbers kinda way). I like that you've got the knack for saving
and working our finances the way you do. You truly make it possible for
us to do so many of the wonderful things we can. I can sleep at night
because I know you've got us taken care of and we're not going to end up
out on the street or taking hand outs because we need it to survive.
THANK YOU!"

Gave me goosebumps. A lot of our good fortune is luck and our parents values instilled in us, but a lot of it is sacrifice and hard work. I'm not one to brag or feel excessive pride in owning the right clothes or car, but I feel immense pride and truly blessed knowing that my family is taken care of for now (who knows what tomorrow brings). There really is a lot to be said for LBYM, preparing for the future, and learning to delay(some, not all) gratification until you can truly afford it. Thanks to many of you for giving me great ideas on living/saving/investing over the past year or so.

Now Nords, if I can lose a few pounds so I won't sink the surfboard, and learn to surf all will be perfect

Mudd

 

[SecondCor521]

I am glad for you that your wife appreciates your LBYM and planning. I hope you appreciate her as well for her good qualities.

2Cor521

 

[Nords]

Now Nords, if I can lose a few pounds so I won't sink the surfboard, and learn to surf all will be perfect

Dude, as Buffalo Keaulana would say, you don't need to lose weight-- you just need to buy a bigger longboard.

 

[bow-tie]

Well done Mudd.

Remember that an important aspect for her sake is to make sure she has at least some understanding of how you got there and how you want to proceed. I try to do the same with DW. If I get hit by a bus, I don't want her flying blind...

 

[macdaddy]

You're a lucky guy Mudd...

 

[Mudd]

Bow-tie - Yep we've gone through everything for the hit by bus scenario.

She knows where all the documents are, she knows why were invested the way we are, and she knows she has to wait until after the funeral to start dating George Clooney or Brad Pitt.

Second-Cor- I appreciate her very much. Besides for her lack in taste in men, she's a wonderful person.

Nords- At 245 lbs. I would probably just stand up in a dinghy and call it surfing. Seriously I've never wanted to sky dive or do anything height related, but surfing has always been on my to do in my lifetime list. In fact I used to watch Baywatch in college, JUST for the surfing scenes !

 

[samclem]

Just so everyone knows--the "cheat sheet" I have put away for my wife includes intructions for accessing this board, and a rundown of a few of the regulars here who she should trust for solid advice. Obviously, this is just part of a larger package for her use, but the community here is a great resource, and one that I feel could be a big help to her in her time of delirious celebration confusion.

Has anybody else left a similar note in a bottle?

 

[REWahoo]

Just so everyone knows--the "cheat sheet" I have put away for my wife includes intructions for accessing this board, and a rundown of a few of the regulars here who she should trust for solid advice.

Has anybody else left a similar note in a bottle?

Yes, but knowing DW's disdain for using a computer I don't see her ever getting involved on the board. So I left her instructions on how to log in and asked that she tell ******, *** and ********** *** to $#!% off everyone what happened to me.

 

[brewer12345]

Just so everyone knows--the "cheat sheet" I have put away for my wife includes intructions for accessing this board, and a rundown of a few of the regulars here who she should trust for solid advice. Obviously, this is just part of a larger package for her use, but the community here is a great resource, and one that I feel could be a big help to her in her time of delirious celebration confusion.

Has anybody else left a similar note in a bottle?

That's actually a really, really good idea. I have simple instructions, but adding the board info is probably a good idea.

 

[sailor]

Has anybody else left a similar note in a bottle?

Yup. Excerpt from my "when I croak letter":

Who to notify in addition to family & friends:
...
2. ER Forum, sailor/***** http://early-retirement.org/forums/ I would also trust
(collectively, not a single member) them with financial advice about what to do with
the money. After the life is less hectic and you got a hold of both life insurance
money and Social Security survivor benefits, if you could donate $1k to support this
forum that would be great.
...

 

[Nords]

Nords- At 245 lbs. I would probably just stand up in a dinghy and call it surfing. Seriously I've never wanted to sky dive or do anything height related, but surfing has always been on my to do in my lifetime list. In fact I used to watch Baywatch in college, JUST for the surfing scenes !

Well, for Buffalo's "Big Boy" surfing contest you'd have to gain five pounds to meet the minimum requirements.

I'd recommend starting out with anything 11' or longer, about 23-25" at its widest and probably 3-3.5" thick. If the waves are 4-6 feet then you'd do fine on a 10-footer. And if they get bigger than that you might even step down to a 9'6" like some locals I see at White Plains Beach.

I tried to ride a 6'10" in 10-12 foot waves but I quickly realized, as I peered over the lip into the abyss, that I'm a wimp.

There is a guy at White Plains who surfs his one-seater kayak in the six-footers, but he also (wisely) wears a helmet.