Invest and Stop Working

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIREdreamer Until her death last year my grand mother lived on less than $500 a month, saving almost half of her social security check each month. And her brother lived on even less that that claiming my grandmother was wasting money when she installed central heating in her house. But living in a country that provides its citizens with a wide range of social benefits is definitely an advantage for the people who retire on less. ... So if your not ashamed to play the system, your net income might actually be much higher than $1350. It could actually start to rival the average net income earned by working people with decent qualifications!

Good grief! What were they saving their money for? I guess they were happy enough with what they have, and I am sure that they did not feel deprived. Which shows happiness is just a state of mind.

About the European systems, no wonder so many of them have stagnant economies...

[FIREd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound Good grief! What were they saving their money for? I guess they were happy enough with what they have, and I am sure that they did not feel deprived. Which shows happiness is just a state of mind.

I have no idea what they were saving their money for. They both grew up dirt poor and lived through very tough economic times when they were young. I guess saving money was deeply ingrained in their soul. And by the way, by the time they retired my grand parents weren't poor anymore, their estate was worth several million dollars (mostly RE). But they never looked at it as a piggy bank.
Yet, despite their extreme thriftiness, they were some of the happiest people I have ever known. My grand mother's greatest pleasure was to munch on some strawberries from her garden.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound About the European systems, no wonder so many of them have stagnant economies...

No kidding. But it is the choice they have made for themselves. Sacrifice growth for more income equalities. It seems to work for them and while I do appreciate some aspects of such policy, I also recognize that it encourages free loading and other less appealing human behavior.

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIREdreamer No kidding. But it is the choice they have made for themselves. Sacrifice growth for more income equalities. It seems to work for them and while I do appreciate some aspects of such policy, I also recognize that it encourages free loading and other less appealing human behavior.

My wife's nephew married a Dannish girl. From him, we learned that her family hated their socialist policies. In fact, quite a few of her family members have emigrated to the US. Yet, some surveys on "national happiness" reported that overall, many European countries have happier campers than the US. It has a lot to do with economic security, I am sure. But the Americans do not realize that they can create their own security, like your grandparents and grand uncle have done.

PS. I've probably misread your post. Your relatives were living in Europe, not the US, yes?

[FIREd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound My wife's nephew married a Dannish girl. From him, we learned that her family hated their socialist policies. In fact, quite a few of her family members have emigrated to the US. Yet, some surveys on "national happiness" reported that overall, many European countries have happier campers than the US. It has a lot to do with economic security, I am sure. But the Americans do not realize that they can create their own security, like your grandparents and grand uncle have done. PS. I've probably misread your post. Your relatives were living in Europe, not the US, yes?

Yes my relatives were living/are still living in Europe.

[unclemick]

Ya know - I enjoyed cheap but good in the Louisiana swamp(1993-2005) - but never did buy any bumper stickers for my beater cars or pickups.

'We got it good in Slidell' I figured was a tad over the top.

Is the Terhorst's old blog on visiting Lafayette, LA still on the web?

heh heh heh - I'm retired from 'cheap bastardhood' - mainly due to time in the market and not getting any younger. As mentioned earlier Mr Market in the 90's and being really cheap early in ER really helped - and I've heard vicious rumors - you can't take it with you.

BUT - The Ultimate Cheapskate has joined our forum - so all is not lost! .