What was your greatest epiphany?

WWDog said:
Summer living on a farm that we rented the house in Kansas. I was the youngest of three boys. Middle brother got bored and decided he wanted to play stratego. I didn't want to play. My brother hounded me for several hours to play the game. I finally said OK. We set up the board and my brother had the first move. For my first move I told my brother that I couldn't move and lost the game since I couldn't make a move. I put all my mines across the front which are stationary and can't move. So I lost the game on the first move. My brother didn't bug me to play a game ever again.
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That is a hoot! :facepalm:
 
Around 1985 or so and just starting to invest, it occurred to me during a walk to send money to Vanguard with every paycheck. At first it was with checks and deposit slips via USPS, later on through Vanguards web site. Almost 40 years later and still investing.
 
That the world is fundamentally irrational with rational bits within it rather than fundemantelly rational with irrational bits in it.
 
I was very fortunate to land a decent job with great benefits at the age of 19. There was an older gentleman that I worked with was an investment guru in my eyes. I was lucky he took the time to explain the basics of investing and the benefits in the long term benefits of it. I mirrored his moves for many years at a much smaller scale of course. Fast forward I retired in 2015 at 53.
 
Most of my early life was spent trying to get to (or past) a certain age. At 5, I could start school. At 12 I could ride my bike virtually any place in town. At 16 I could get a DL. At 21 I could drink. I found myself living in the future and not enjoying the now. Oddly, I still struggle with that but I'm much better than I was as a kid.

I think the epiphany came at around age 23. I realized just how quickly life was passing by. I've condensed the feeling I had as follows:

Those of us fortunate enough will reach old age. What is surprising is just how quickly that happens. YMMV
 
Car-Guy said:
Yep, I figured the labor was about 4k to do my house too... However they were eight of them working as contractors for the company that did the work... I'm sure the company took a good bit of that 4k (at least half or maybe even more) I once did my roof by myself, years ago... Never again...
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Yeah, 1099 employees. No benefits, SS or healthcare. Simple abuse of the system. I've seen it my entire work life. I just hope one of those uninsured guys doesn't fall off my roof. Suddenly the guy you hired doesn't have any responsibility either. Epiphany maybe not. But just one thing more to consider.
 
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We pay a lot more taxes while DH has his sideline consulting business than when we fully retire. LLCs require medicare and SS on both sides and a prepay for next year's taxes.
 
On the darker side, I came to realize what a thin veneer of civilization really exits over us homo sapiens. For example, the neighbor on neighbor lethal violence in places like Rwanda, Bosnia, and Tulsa. More recently, the senseless civilian killings in Ukraine. It seems like given the opportunity, we are a murderous species.
 
foxfirev5 said:
Yeah, 1099 employees. No benefits, SS or healthcare. Simple abuse of the system. I've seen it my entire work life. I just hope one of those uninsured guys doesn't fall off my roof. Suddenly the guy you hired doesn't have any responsibility either. Epiphany maybe not. But just one thing more to consider.
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I used a well known/established company and got it in writing that they were liable for any injuries or damage. Fortunately all went well. Those guys worked hard, non stop and did a great job.
 
A few years ago I the lyrics “I am older than I once was but I am younger than that now” finally made sense to me. Basically the more wisdom I have I discover the less I really know. (YMMV).
 
I guess I really do have a female brain. This was one of my theme songs;


Yeah, just want to have as much fun as possible - :)
 
My greatest epiphany was when I did our first retirement budget / plan in our fifties and realized we already had enough to retire.
 
daylatedollarshort said:
My greatest epiphany was when I did our first retirement budget / plan in our fifties and realized we already had enough to retire.
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Similar story here, except that instead of planning to retire in my early 50s, I realized when I was in my early 40s that I could retire at 45.
 
Scubamax said:
A few years ago I the lyrics “I am older than I once was but I am younger than that now” finally made sense to me. Basically the more wisdom I have I discover the less I really know. (YMMV).
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"Ah, but I was so much older then I'm younger than that now."
Bob Dylan.
 
daylatedollarshort said:
My greatest epiphany was when I did our first retirement budget / plan in our fifties and realized we already had enough to retire.
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You reminded me of a similar one of my own. From the very beginning of my 26 years at MegaCorp I expected it to be a short-term thing. I figured I'd be laid off in some corporate buy-out, merger, down-sizing, "right-sizing," shut-down, bankruptcy or other event. I'd survived quite a few of them when one day I realized:

"I might still be here when I hit my retirement date!"

I ran some numbers and it looked possible. About 3-4 years out I started a countdown clock. I did OMY to be sure, and the rest is history.
 
scrabbler1 said:
Similar story here, except that instead of planning to retire in my early 50s, I realized when I was in my early 40s that I could retire at 45.
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I should have run the numbers sooner, like you did. But this was before ER was a big thing, except for an article here and there in Kiplingers and those people often moved to another country. When I did start running the numbers I found the Consumer Expenditure Survey and realized our retirement income as it stood was pretty favorable compared to the averages for retirees in the survey.
 
travelover said:
On the darker side, I came to realize what a thin veneer of civilization really exits over us homo sapiens. For example, the neighbor on neighbor lethal violence in places like Rwanda, Bosnia, and Tulsa. More recently, the senseless civilian killings in Ukraine. It seems like given the opportunity, we are a murderous species.
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Proven time and again no matter how much we think we aren’t.
 
I’m a look forward person. I was always striving for the next step in my career. When opportunities would come up I would weigh the pros and cons of going after the opportunity and taking it if offered. If I could live with the con and really wanted the position I always thought well if it doesn’t work out I’ll go on to the next opportunity.
Around age 53-54 I realized I didn’t have as much time left to correct any big mistakes I may make. My mind started shifting to looking at retirement instead of career growth.
 
^^^^ Exact same for me. I’ve been semi-fired and am liking the new normal of leisurely mornings, a little work helping clients in the afternoon, a walk, then dinner. Not sure it’s an epiphany but I like it.
 
That it’s possible to legally choose your date of death if you are willing to go through the process and travel to Switzerland, even if you aren’t expected to die within six months.

While I like living now and hope to have decades more of an enjoyable life, this is a huge relief to me. If I ever get diagnosed with a debilitating, incurable disease, the US “death with dignity” laws would likely still involve years of deterioration and suffering. Maybe this will change in time, but I am grateful there is another option on the table.
 
I can't recall when I had this revelation, maybe 20-25 years ago.

It occurred to me that the only reason most people have an interest in you is a business one. In other words, if there's no money to be made or personal gain of some type, most people are, basically, disinterested in you.

omni
 
Scuba said:
That it’s possible to legally choose your date of death if you are willing to go through the process and travel to Switzerland, even if you aren’t expected to die within six months.

While I like living now and hope to have decades more of an enjoyable life, this is a huge relief to me. If I ever get diagnosed with a debilitating, incurable disease, the US “death with dignity” laws would likely still involve years of deterioration and suffering. Maybe this will change in time, but I am grateful there is another option on the table.
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We seem to have more compassion for our "pets" in the US.
 
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Two (related) epiphanies:

Self-confidence... It doesn't come to you; you need to proclaim it for yourself.

That, and also realizing when faced with life's seemingly big hurdles, whether getting married, having kids, building a house, opening a business, etc... reminding yourself that "millions of people before me have done this, certainly I can too!"
 
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