Financial successful beyond your wildest dreams??

[Ronstar]

It is nice to see the common trait among those who reached FI is the LBYM. That is one thing that is under your control and living so is wisdom in action. The other thing that is nice to see on this thread is none of these folks are dreaming yachts etc. just a simple life. They have their priorities right!!

Although I embrace the LBYM lifestyle as much as most folks here, I have no problem admitting that my wildest dreams in the past have included yachts, etc. I find it odd that some have never had dreams of financial success greater than they currently enjoy.

 

[Meadbh]

I find it odd that some have never had dreams of financial success greater than they currently enjoy.

I didn't say that. I had visions of a fancier house, car and travel. But I have the plebeian version so that's OK.

 

[Ronstar]

I didn't say that. I had visions of a fancier house, car and travel. But I have the plebeian version so that's OK.

Sorry if I misinterpreted what you and others are posting. Nothing wrong with the plebeian version. Personally I think it's ok to dream, or have had dreams, of greater financial success as long as one LBYM's.

 

[bbbamI]

I never could have imagined years ago my net worth would be what it is today.

I still get light headed when I see how well our plan is working thus far.

As for wildest dreams...I have them, but it's not about money.


The Moody Blues- Your Wildest Dreams - YouTube

 

[jflynn4]

By the time I was 35, I decided I wanted to be able to say "***** it" if I wanted to and wasn't having fun anymore. So vacations were local, cars were used, restaurants were chains, and savings were important. I was also lucky enough to be scared out if the market before the big crash and was sitting 100% in cash when things fell thru the floor (strictly luck!)

That all enabled me at 57 to walk when the company I was with was taken over by Megacorp and things became just miserable.

Beyond my wildest dreams? Maybe if those dreams were when I was 34, living in a mobile home, with a bunch of credit card debt. By the time I was 35, it became a goal.

 

[jollystomper]

Being the child of immigrants, FI was beyond in my wildest dreams... growing up my dreams were more like "survive to 18 and get to college so I can get out of this city for a while" . I was just hoping for a slightly better life than my parents did, and for most of my life I measured my dream were more that and so so much an FI target.

Despite all the math stating so, part of me still finds it hard to believe that I am FI, so it still seems a little like a wild dream.

 

[Bestwifeever]

As for wildest dreams...I have them, but it's not about money.

The Moody Blues- Your Wildest Dreams - YouTube

Ditto.

 

[NW-Bound]

I have posted the song "Via con me" (1981) by the suave Paolo Conte for the still romantic at heart. Perhaps it's worth repeating here.

I do not speak Italian; the following translation was found on the Web.

Via con me / Away with me

Via, via, vieni via di qui / Away, away, get away with me
Niente più ti lega a questi luoghi / Nothing more binds you to these places
Neanche questi fiori azzurri / Not even these blue flowers
Via, via, neache questo tempo grigio / Let's get away, not even this grey time
Pieno di musiche e di uomini che ti son piaciuti / Full of musics and people that you liked

It’s wonderful, it’s wonderful, it’s wonderful
Good luck my babe, it’s wonderful,
It’s wonderful, it’s wonderful, I dream of you…
Chips, chips, du-du-du-du-du

Via, via, vieni via con me / Away, away, get away with me
Entra in questo anore buio / Enter this dark love,
Non perderti per niente al mondo / don't get lost for anything in the world
Via, via, non perderti per niente al mondo / Away, away, don't get lost for anything in the world
Lo spettacolo d’arte varia di uno innamorato di te / The art spectacle differs depending on someone who is in love with you

It’s wonderful, it’s wonderful…

Via, via, vieni via con me / Away, away, get away with me
entra in questo amore buio pieno di uomini / Enter this dark love full of people
Cia, via, entra e fatti un bagno caldo / Away, away, enter and take a warm bath
C’è un accappatoio azzurro, fuori piove un mondo freddo / There's a blue bath gown (nearby), it rains a cold world outside

It’s wonderful, it’s wonderful…​

Paolo Conte- Via con me(It's wonderful) - YouTube

 

[Alan]

I didn't say that. I had visions of a fancier house, car and travel. But I have the plebeian version so that's OK.

+1

No one in my extended family had ever stayed on beyond age 16 at school, let alone gone to college, got a degree and earned enough to actually buy a house. I think I exceeded my parents' wildest dreams, even before I'd moved to America and paid for them to fly out and visit a few times.

 

[youbet]

I try to remind myself daily that being financially independent is not the same thing as being "independent." Being able to support myself in an American middle class lifestyle through passive investing is a great thing! I love it! But I am totally dependent on the continuity and stability of our society and economy.

 

[free2020]

Being the child of immigrants, FI was beyond in my wildest dreams... growing up my dreams were more like "survive to 18 and get to college so I can get out of this city for a while" . I was just hoping for a slightly better life than my parents did, and for most of my life I measured my dream were more that and so so much an FI target.

Despite all the math stating so, part of me still finds it hard to believe that I am FI, so it still seems a little like a wild dream.

+1

Being a first generation immigrant myself, I feel so lucky and blessed to be FI. Started with a negative net worth of $25000, loans to put myself thru college 25 years ago, it seemed like we were most of the time focused on paying bills. Did save to the max allowed in my 401K's, learned to live on the rest, LBYM, never charged anything to the CC that I could not pay at the EOM. Long story short, it seems like my sense of FI snuck up on us, just like that. I'd like to take credit for the FI but know I'm damn lucky relative to many others. It sure is nice to not worry about Finances but a nice family, great friends makes for much more than FI.

 

[Elbata]

How to become rich immediately - YouTube

An excellent video about wealth.

 

[Walt34]

Although I embrace the LBYM lifestyle as much as most folks here, I have no problem admitting that my wildest dreams in the past have included yachts, etc. I find it odd that some have never had dreams of financial success greater than they currently enjoy.

Sure, yachts and private jets are nice daydreams but I choose decades ago to work in law enforcement. No one goes into that line of work to get rich. Owning a yacht was never a goal.

All I wanted was a middle class lifestyle - decent but not grand home - reliable car and enough money so I could afford a brake job and didn't have to be out in the driveway in the snow doing it like when I was growing up. I have that and then some so I'm happy.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I had very simple dreams, having stepped up to the plate with a couple of strikes, and feel like I hit a home run with how life unfolded vs my siblings. So yes, beyond my modest wildest dreams.

 

[unclemick]

So who is the guy famous for the quote "enough"?

ER'd 20 yrs now, LBYM has got me to the point where I use four dryer sheets(old forum joke) full strength to get the pet lint off my Pendleton shirts.

AND at age 70 I married a girl with her own 401k, pension and house.

A 50 year overnight success.

heh heh heh - but I do miss the 'cheap SOB' days once in a while.

 

[brett]

Like others, I could not have imagined my current net worth 40 years ago.

I have been fortunate. Changed careers and had 30 years of continuous employment that was both enjoyable and lucrative.

 

[MichaelB]

Our wildest dreams were timid and life filled with good fortune. One thing I always felt, however, was I would never make it to retirement, unable to conform for that length of time, and I knew it was my responsibility to provide for that day. When my income jumped and suddenly my peers were all high consumers I chose to save most of the paycheck. That was awkward, only lasted a few years. I was amazed at how much faster my BS bucket filled as the bank account grew.

 

[calmloki]

I never could have imagined years ago my net worth would be what it is today.

I still get light headed when I see how well our plan is working thus far.

As for wildest dreams...I have them, but it's not about money.


The Moody Blues- Your Wildest Dreams - YouTube

Hey! Just saw them last night - well, three of the original members. Mixed feelings about the show, but damn, up there singing and stepping at 72 YO or so - have to give them credit. Always liked their music and lyrics.

The evening before we were out Craigslisting - we looked at some outdoor chaises at a gated community: http://yourresorthome.idxre.com/idx/hotsheets.cfm?cid=12277&hid=3908 The homes were moving well beyond very nice and the entrance walls featured lots of blazing gas parapets, while the gate guard got to stand near a real fireplace with 3' logs keeping the 72 degree weather at bay. One of the darkest housing developments I've ever been in - HOA must have decreed 1/2 nightlight bulb maximums for outside. 10' entrance doors, cobble drives, pressing the doorbell gets you a conversation over radio with the occupant. Reminded me that there are lots of different levels, but we are all people. It was a fine place, but the HOA rules wouldn't work for me at all, quite happy with the place we are in. Didn't get the chaises, we preferred the features of our current ones.

 

[Danmar]

I don't remember having dreams about success when I was young. Pretty much focused on day to day of education and career. Basically broke at age 42 because of terrible divorce. Between age 42 and 56 an incredible confluence of luck and hard work exceeded any thing I could have reasonably dreamed for. I won't bore you with the details but we have a wonderfully well funded retirement as well as good health. Very lucky indeed. Dreams do change as you get wealthier though and sometimes I think it would be nice to have a 125 ft yacht and a private jet to get to it.

 

[Alan]

Bill Watterson has a nice strip on financial dreams

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Our wildest success has been realizing that the first time we got serious about ER and started to run the numbers we were already there, and actually had been for some time. We just had to cut our expenses to live a more middle class life.

It still seems a bit surreal. One of the first things we did was go to an art museum on a free library pass and see a traveling exhibit with treasures from India. We took our lunch in back pack and ate it at park. This was on a week day when our former co-workers were all at work. It was a fun day and we knew then that this was going to be pretty cool.

We still work at home on hobby businesses but we are FI without the extra income.

 

[Brett_Cameron]

When I got out of college I told my family I was going to retire at 55 and I did despite a divorce that cost me 40% of my savings 14 years ago and huge costs incurred by both wives, one who had an inability to handle money and the current one having to massive medical expenses. I have been very, very fortunate.

 

[Major Tom]

In other words, does a predilection towards LBYM and FI/RE translate to a higher chance of financial success? I would assume it must.

I have always been concerned with wanting to ensure basic comforts for myself, at the very least, rather than maximize my standard of living. The priority in my mind has been to ensure I was comfortable if things hit the fan, and that is pretty much how it has worked out. In that sense, I have achieved financial success, though my material standard of living is below middle-class.

If I hadn't been laid off 5 years ago, I would have continued working, resulting in a bigger stash. However, after stopping work, I began to realize that my motivation to re-invent myself in order to keep working wasn't that strong. I was content to accept a lower standard of living in return for being able to do what I want, when I want. Kitties and coffee in my pajamas every weekday morning at 11am anybody?

I haven't achieved a high material standard of living in ER, but I have achieved financial stability. It's not the kind of "bling" that many associate with success, but it works for me.

 

[NW-Bound]

... sometimes I think it would be nice to have a 125 ft yacht and a private jet to get to it.

and a chopper to go from the nearest airport to the helipad on the yacht.

I never dreamt that I would be rich enough for a yacht. I was just dreaming about being a decamillionaire, and that would not be enough for a yacht.

However, that would be enough for a nice home on the shore of "Braindead" Island, opposite the bay from the Seattle skyline, which I could watch while sipping my hot coffee, or a 50-yr old cognac depending on the mood. And if I felt like it, I would row my canoe (no yacht here!) out to check on my crab trap.

I do not see myself getting there, but I no longer care. When one gets sick, he realizes that health trumps everything else, even if he has to camp out in a state park in New Mexico with his RV.

 

[FIREd]

Maybe more than I expected when I was in High School - I had a tough time figuring out how to scrape up enough money for a car back then. But I'm certainly not successful beyond my wildest dreams. My dreams involve jets, yachts, Bentleys, private islands, ranches, etc and I'm nowhere near that level.

Sure, I dreamt of those things when I was younger. But I think it was day dreaming rather than an actual vision for my own future.

I grew up in a small farming/logging community, and that's what I best relate to. People in my family have low key lifestyles, even the ones that are quite wealthy. They drive small cars and live in small houses. They fly economy or better yet enjoy RVing. And while I rubbed elbows with affluent city kids throughout my education, I never really fitted in that crowd. So I would feel quite out of place in the jet-setting world. Visions of my own future were always modest and I think I exceeded my own expectations. I was the first one in my family to go to college. I emigrated to the US at age 23 with $3,000 to my name and became a millionaire 13 years later. I retired early (in my 30's), a luxury unheard of where I come from. And while I can't sustain a jet-setting lifestyle, my standard of living is very plush compared to that of my family and friends. So I consider myself a success, but it's all relative. Had I come from a wealthy family, I might not be so proud of my accomplishments.