Is everyone here lucky or something??

[Cobra9777]

Squirrels aside...

IMO, these articles are not helpful. They validate a sense of hopelessness... "America's middle class knows it's facing a grim retirement, but can't do anything about it." Anyone "struggling" to save for retirement, will read that and at least feel better that they're not the only one, and it's not their fault. It's the "evisceration of defined-benefit pensions" and the "huge decline in home and stock market values." Leading to the "inescapable solution" to expand social security.

Bull. It is their fault. But it's rarely too late to re-group and change course.

What WOULD be helpful are more articles about people who were struggling and then turned it around and retired early. Success stories. Positive, motivational, how-to LBYM stories. Stories that gave hope and a path instead of validating hopelessness.

I realize that negativity sells in the media business. But considering the author is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, I would have expected a little less advocacy, and a little more balance and objectivity.

[SVHoper]

Definitely lucky....

except apparently in TV and sports. Turned on TV last night about the first time since superbowl :-( caught the 6th innings and with 5 KC runs... turned it off... mebe I should try again next year.

[Elbata]

Cobra:

Quote:

I realize that negativity sells in the media business. But considering the author is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, I would have expected a little less advocacy, and a little more balance and objectivity.

You have far more faith in media than I. Status quo rules supreme.

BTW Cobra, don't mean to sound like I'm trolling. I absolutely agree with your comment.

[sengsational]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 I'd like to be lucky enough to limit out on squirrels for the day within the next few weeks.

I didn't know there was a limit. Do you need a squirrel hunting license? No, don't answer that. Of course, unless you want to

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cobra9777 IMO, these articles are not helpful.

I can think of one positive...

If "everyone" believes this to be true, there will be less motivation to start increasing taxes on us "poor" retirees.

[Mulligan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound I do not think a retiree staying home watching TV and taking a walk out in the neighborhood is all that bad. It could be a lot worse, as in other countries.

Yes, I don't think it sounds that bad considering I do them both all the time. And lack of money is not the reason! It certainly beats the hell out of what project I just completed; installing a new floor in a bathroom.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 Please note, there is a BIG difference between 'plan on living until 100', and 'having a plan in case we live to 100'. What you are saying is akin to saying that wearing your seat belt means you plan to get in a crash on that trip, rather than you wear it in case you get in a crash on that trip.

No, I did not say that an 80-year old shouldn't wear seat belts!

I said that she should be driving less at 80, or have a plan to drive less back when she was in the 60s (thinking of my own mother as I write this).

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sengsational ... there will be less motivation to start increasing taxes on us "poor" retirees.

You are counting on luck again.

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sengsational I didn't know there was a limit. Do you need a squirrel hunting license? No, don't answer that. Of course, unless you want to

You need a small game license in just about every state. In my state, the daily bag limit is 5 fox squirrels, 5 pine squirrels, and 2 Abert's squirrels.

[pb4uski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister A common quote, attributed to various people with several variations, is "The harder I work, the luckier I get."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cut-Throat The hardest working people I know are dirt poor with jobs that rarely pay more than $10 an hour, with little chance of ending up on this forum.

I guess that one needs to differentiate hard physical work from long hours and stressful work.

Many low wage earners work in jobs that are physically demanding. For example, DS currently works in a factory and is on his feet eight hours a shift and moving all the time.

By contrast, the work I did was not physically demanding but could be stressful (with lots of work needed to meet important statutory deadlines) and long hours (often late into the night, sometimes into the early morning and occasional all-nighters).

Most low wage workers can leave the job behind after their busy shift ends and not have deadlines hanging over them continually and rarely have to work double-shifts never have to work all-nighters.

[sanfanciscotreat]

I have a buddy who was lucky to get a job as a dishwasher.
Worked his way up to manager.
Then managed a chain of restaurants.
Then owned his own restaurants.
Sold out and is now retired at 50.
Lucky because he was willing to work his A$$ off for thirty years.

[jollystomper]

I feel lucky in the things I could not control (where I was born, my ethnic background, my health, Ivy League schools choosing to accept me, how I started with Megacorp, etc.). But I also took advantage of the situations I was in to work hard, smart, and with discipline, and to appreciate money, but not get greedy about it, and realize that "saving for a rainy day" was important.

I grew up with family and friends in the same "luck" that I had. Some have done even better than me, some have done a lot worse.

[kombat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 supermarket chicken is loaded with salmonella and campylobacter, pork carries trichinosis and a virus wiped out enough piglets to impact pork supply, and Gawd knows what is in feedlot beef (I can imagine).

Sure. That's why we cook it. Problem solved.

[Cut-Throat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sanfanciscotreat I have a buddy who was lucky to get a job as a dishwasher. Worked his way up to manager. Then managed a chain of restaurants. Then owned his own restaurants. Sold out and is now retired at 50. Lucky because he was willing to work his A$$ off for thirty years.

This a similar story that I have heard repeated many times over the years. You are very fortunate to have actually known someone that made this dream 'come true'.

While I am sure that your buddy did work his ass off, I am sure he was born with some god given talents and maybe to a home that nurtured him well. And maybe he had some great employees.

The only problem that I have with stories like this, is that there is an implication that everyone else in the chain of restaurants that he ended up owning, that did not retire at 50, were Lazy Asses. Or that the statistic that restaurants are the largest business failure in the U.S. - With 9 out of 10 failure rate in the first few years. It would be pretty arrogant to to assume that these failures were because the entrepreneurs were just not working hard enough.

[ArkTinkerer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 You need a small game license in just about every state. In my state, the daily bag limit is 5 fox squirrels, 5 pine squirrels, and 2 Abert's squirrels.

Arkansas is all just one license. Gets you deer/turkey/bear and small game. Deer/turkey/bear you get tags with your license. Squirrel/rabbit/most birds are part of the license as well but there are daily limits. Elk require a special tag/permit and there are drawings for those. Waterfowl/migratory birds require a special stamp and fees due to federal laws. Trapping is allowed but to sell the pelts requires a commercial license.

We only have fox and gray squirrel here. Plenty of raccoons or skunks for your hat though!

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kombat Sure. That's why we cook it. Problem solved.

Ditto for game.

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArkTinkerer Arkansas is all just one license. Gets you deer/turkey/bear and small game. Deer/turkey/bear you get tags with your license. Squirrel/rabbit/most birds are part of the license as well but there are daily limits. Elk require a special tag/permit and there are drawings for those. Waterfowl/migratory birds require a special stamp and fees due to federal laws. Trapping is allowed but to sell the pelts requires a commercial license. We only have fox and gray squirrel here. Plenty of raccoons or skunks for your hat though!

All big game and turkey tags are lottery system here, aside from OTC elk tags. I got hosed in this year's lottery and got a low percentage tag that will likely test my cold weather endurance (December and January in a windy canyon with elevations of 8,000 feet and up).

[redduck]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sanfanciscotreat I have a buddy who was lucky to get a job as a dishwasher. Worked his way up to manager. Then managed a chain of restaurants. Then owned his own restaurants. Sold out and is now retired at 50. Lucky because he was willing to work his A$$ off for thirty years.

Not to take anything away from your friend, but luck played a huge part in his being able to retire at 50. I've known district managers who have worked for their companies 25-30 years and were let go when a larger company bought their company. Work ethic had nothing to do with their being fired. So, without some good luck your friend could have worked his way up to manager and then all of a sudden found himself applying for a job as an assistant manager at a Denny's.

[marko]

Quote:

Originally Posted by redduck Not to take anything away from your friend, but luck played a huge part in his being able to retire at 50. I've known district managers who have worked for their companies 25-30 years and were let go when a larger company bought their company. Work ethic had nothing to do with their being fired. So, without some good luck your friend could have worked his way up to manager and then all of a sudden found himself applying for a job as an assistant manager at a Denny's.

Maybe he was lucky that he didn't spend all his money as fast as he made it. Or was he smart?

Larger companies buyout smaller ones every day and there are always the 50 year olds with 30+ years there (yes, I was one!).

I don't consider myself lucky...I was shrewd enough to spend most of my life LBYM, invested well and saved.
When the end came, all my associates who spent it as fast as they made it (and who'd mock me for LBYM) were crying...I was on a beach in Hawaii.

[HFWR]

Or something...

[dtbach]

However, LBYM has nothing to do with "luck" and everything to do with discipline and willpower. And that is how the great majority of those on this board got to where they are.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum