Who's retired or semi?

[BruceH]

Just wondering. I ended my career job 11 months ago. Haven't worked since. I plan to do something part time, maybe seasonal.

After 28+ years my employer offered me a nice package to voluntarily be laid off. They wanted to encourage older workers to retire or leave instead of laying off younger workers who cost a whole lot less to employ. I don't officially retire for another 2+ years but I don't have to work again if I don't want to.

It was all great until winter and the rain, then the free time became harder to fill with things to do.

For those who are retired or semi-retired have you gone back to work part time for similar reasons? The big advantage I have is I can wait for a job I want to do.

 

[ancientmariner52]

I'm in a similar position. I 'retired' three years ago, but I still work a few hours every month, if I feel like it, and if the job is interesting. I'm going in tomorrow to solve an emergency for a customer. A few hour's work, we all look like heroes, and I get paid for playing with a few million dollars worth of machine tools. I love it!

 

[JohnSand]

I have worked one day since mid 2010.
I brew, cook, sail, row, paddle, and repair my old car, boats and house. I've had time to sail to Florida and back, Georgia and back, Cape Cod and back. Maine this summer. Want to crew?

 

[MaxStout]

I'm in the "semi" group. I'm self-employed, taking on short-term projects that can last from a few weeks to a few months. Roll off one, go to the next. Except now, I wait a while before going to the next. Work some, take some time off, work some, repeat when necessary...

Not ready to fully retire for a few more years. I still like my work, just want less of it.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I retired at 55 (8 years ago come June). I've "worked" every day since. I'm just not "employed".

I never looked for employment. I figured if I did I probably bring in more with just 1 of my pensions than whoever would be my boss.

 

[ncbrewer]

My career employer was bought by a cut-throat company. Their idea was that if you're still breathing, you haven't given enough. I took early retirement when my blood pressure became life-threatening. I worked part time at an engineering firm for a few years, and then got laid off during the recession. Haven't worked in several years now. It's really good for my brewing. I have lots of time to read. And I don't need a temperature controller for the fermenter because I can check on the swamp cooler and add ice when it needs it. I decided brewing is way better than working - I had it wrong the whole time.

 

[ncbrewer]

Deleted - double post

 

[BruceH]

I have worked one day since mid 2010.
I brew, cook, sail, row, paddle, and repair my old car, boats and house. I've had time to sail to Florida and back, Georgia and back, Cape Cod and back. Maine this summer. Want to crew?

Any plans of sailing to Iceland?

I retired at 55 (8 years ago come June). I've "worked" every day since. I'm just not "employed".

I never looked for employment. I figured if I did I probably bring in more with just 1 of my pensions than whoever would be my boss.

My wife is younger than I am and she still works. I've been doing all the cleaning, cooking, dishes, yard and house upkeep, etc. It doesn't take me too long to keep up with it. 1-2 hours a day.

She is more than happy to go to work and have me be the domestic help. She also says I'm quite a bit more relaxed than I used to be.

 

[Yooper]

My husband is fully retired, for over 8 years. I work extremely part time, since we go south in the winter. I work a few hours in the spring and summer, but maybe a total of 30 hours a year.

We are so busy that Bob says he doesn't know how he ever found time to work! We have so many things we're doing from recreation to gardening, and we're loving it.

 

[homebrewer_99]

My husband is fully retired, for over 8 years. I work extremely part time, since we go south in the winter. I work a few hours in the spring and summer, but maybe a total of 30 hours a year.

We are so busy that Bob says he doesn't know how he ever found time to work! We have so many things we're doing from recreation to gardening, and we're loving it.

Yeah, I've taken up with gardening too. I think I'm pretty good at it while my wife says I'd starve without her.

I lived in Texarkana, TX for 9 months while going to the Engineering and Logistic school at Red River Amy Depot. There's one thing a Texan hates and that's Yankee's with a U-Haul. LOL!

 

[bitteritdown]

Are all of you retired folks collecting a pension? How did you afford retirement?

How do you afford two homes, sail boats, vacations, etc...

To me all that stuff is luxury, maybe just where I find myself but dang it must be a generational thing, I can't envision myself with enough money to retire.

Marriage must be the key... yea that's it... ehhh probably a bad reason to get married.

 

[Beewrangler63]

I retired in 2014 after doing 31 yrs behind bars. (Employed in the correctional field) I had a few hobbies before retirement, but picked up Ham radio, and am now brewing more seriously than I was before retirement. My wife still works and enjoys her job, so I do not mind doing domestic duties.

I try to learn new things on a daily basis. As of late I have become a gadget geek with an internet reporting home weather station, and I also have an antenna mounted with my ham radio antennas, that allow me to live track aircraft within a 250 mile radius of my home and then provide that data to an outfit call Flightaware. When time allows, we enjoy long distance train travel and primitive camping.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Are all of you retired folks collecting a pension? How did you afford retirement?

How do you afford two homes, sail boats, vacations, etc...

To me all that stuff is luxury, maybe just where I find myself but dang it must be a generational thing, I can't envision myself with enough money to retire.

Marriage must be the key... yea that's it... ehhh probably a bad reason to get married.

You have to make a plan and try your best to meet it or exceed it when you can.

I won't go into the boring details. Even though I really liked my career and all the travel (15-21 weeks on the road a year), my decision to retire was easy: I had been (and still am) completely debt-free for a couple of years before retiring, put a lot of money away, paid into 2 pension funds for 37 years and wanted to retire at 55. I had everything lined up properly.

I trained 4 guys for over 2 years to take over for me. Two quit and one took another position. The one who stayed has done well. One good thing I had going is I didn't define myself by my career. Just like a stewardess as the passengers are deplaning: Bye-Bye...

 

[bitteritdown]

You have to make a plan and try your best to meet it or exceed it when you can.

I won't go into the boring details. Even though I really liked my career and all the travel (15-21 weeks on the road a year), my decision to retire was easy: I had been (and still am) completely debt-free for a couple of years before retiring, put a lot of money away, paid into 2 pension funds for 37 years and wanted to retire at 55. I had everything lined up properly.

I trained 4 guys for over 2 years to take over for me. Two quit and one took another position. The one who stayed has done well. One good thing I had going is I didn't define myself by my career. Just like a stewardess as the passengers are deplaning: Bye-Bye...

You seem to have made a salary capable of sustaining your desires. How many have that luxury?

 

[kh54s10]

If I could retire, I would have no problem keeping myself busy. If I didn't need to earn money, I would not work!!!

 

[homebrewer_99]

You seem to have made a salary capable of sustaining your desires. How many have that luxury?

IMO, EVERYONE has the SAME OPPORTUNITIES...they either don't realize it or just don't take advantage of them when they come.

IMO, most people are poor because they made POOR decisions. The first one was when they dropped out of high school. They doomed themselves to a life of minimum wage jobs for which they barely qualify. I know because I was a HS dropout too. It took some time, but I smartened up and worked on a GED and later earned a degree.

To an employer a degree means YOU'RE TRAINABLE. Any idiot can take out the trash or flip burgers.

I made myself. I PLANNED my life. I realized what I wanted, found out what I needed to do to get there...and I did it. I didn't just "let life happen" to me.

 

[Yooper]

Are all of you retired folks collecting a pension? How did you afford retirement?

How do you afford two homes, sail boats, vacations, etc...

To me all that stuff is luxury, maybe just where I find myself but dang it must be a generational thing, I can't envision myself with enough money to retire.

Marriage must be the key... yea that's it... ehhh probably a bad reason to get married.

For me and my husband, we both are very frugal. We knew we didn't want to work until 67 years old, and so we have always lived pretty "plain". Bought a house we could afford, with no mortgage after a couple of years. Sure, we could have bought a bigger and prettier place, but I didn't want to pay for a house for 20 or more years and have nothing except a house. Same with cars- no car payments and I drove junk for years and years. No high end food or restaurants, because we eat better at home anyway. And so on.

We lived on under $35,000 a year, and often quite a bit less than that. We spent far less than we earned. I didn't get a smartphone until I was over 50, and even now there is no satellite dish or netflix, etc. We never stop at places like Starbucks or anything else. It sounds terrible but it really isn't, and it's healthier anyway to prepare your own fresh food and garden and things.

It took discipline but I knew the reward would be great in the end, due to the miracle of compounding and putting away money for retirement from about age 22.

It's about deciding what's important to you.

My daughter is the exact opposite. She actually makes good money, but has nothing. She has beautiful nails and clothes and hair, and so do her kids, but she has not learned to be disciplined and goes out for lunches and dinners and drive throughs and buys things randomly. She's actually said, "I don't know where my money goes!" And that's the key. Decide what's important to you, and make a plan and stick to it.

By doing that then, I can travel now and have plenty of freedom. It's still not a luxurious retirement, but it's pretty awesome and I'm very happy with where I am. The small day-to-day sacrifices I made are worth it now.

 

[BruceH]

Are all of you retired folks collecting a pension? How did you afford retirement?

How do you afford two homes, sail boats, vacations, etc...

To me all that stuff is luxury, maybe just where I find myself but dang it must be a generational thing, I can't envision myself with enough money to retire.

Marriage must be the key... yea that's it... ehhh probably a bad reason to get married.

There is no big secret to it. Don't carry a credit card balance, (it took me many years to figure that out and then many more to get rid of all the balances), keep the same vehicle for as long as you can, don't eat out too often, etc. I didn't really figure out money management until about 18 years ago. Prior to that I worked a whole lot of overtime and had little to show for it.

I kept working a job that I had grown tired of. Stayed on because of a pension and the need to support my family. It required loads of OT at times with no days off for weeks at a time.

My 4 years in the Air Force helped me get the job. I had to move 1600 miles to take it. The main reason I took the job was because of the pension. Even in my 20's I knew I wanted to be able to retire.

I would say that I've been blessed. Still though, I had to do the footwork.

I'm not living a life of luxury but I'm not hurting either.

It's never too late to start planning.

 

[jimmayhugh]

I retired July of 2017. I got a small pension from my 10 years as a Court Marshal which covers our medical insurance with some left over, and since I also had 30 "good" years with Social Security, I was exempted from the "windfall" reduction (don't get me started on that... ).

I now work part-time, about 10-20 hours a week as a Court Marshal for the Judge that gave me my original job as a Bailiff. At home, I brew and tinker with my hardware and software design (I was a Hardware /Software designer for 30 years, and have a decent 401(k) from that.)

 

[JohnSand]

Are all of you retired folks collecting a pension? How did you afford retirement?

How do you afford two homes, sail boats, vacations, etc...

To me all that stuff is luxury, maybe just where I find myself but dang it must be a generational thing, I can't envision myself with enough money to retire.

Marriage must be the key... yea that's it... ehhh probably a bad reason to get married.

I am on a pension. Uniformed service appealed to me, an early retirement is an option.
I also have been thrifty. I never drove a new car, I bought all but one for less than $1200 each. I never carried a credit card balance, I took only two loans in my life: a small college loan and a mortgage. I never took a travel vacation (except my honeymoon) until I was over 40. Even now, I live in a modest house, fix everything myself. I love my boat, she's beautiful and seaworthy. She's also 50 years old. I'm the captain, mechanic, carpenter, rigger, painter etc. I miss the other half of my salary, I could have nicer things if I still worked. But I'm not getting younger, and I didn't want to get too old to sail at sea.
None of this is meant as criticism of those who choose to live differently. Count your blessings, I do.

 

[Yooper]

You seem to have made a salary capable of sustaining your desires. How many have that luxury?

I think many people could have that luxury- but it means minimizing your “desires”. My freedom was my desire, and I have that. I don’t have a fancy car, house, clothes, etc. I never desired that, because I wanted more out of life. My freedom is worth more than anything I could have bought with a loan or a credit card. I didn’t need much- and still don’t. Some people pay $100/month for cable or satellite, for example. I don’t have Netflix, or any other things that I call luxuries.

I don’t buy new clothes, I don’t have a new car, and I don’t have any debt. My “luxury” has been not indulging in luxuries my whole life. My needs are basic and simple, and my wants are few.

 

[Wash1]

Kinda embarrassed to say it. Finished college, then 35+ years flying...7 with the Navy, then 29 with a growing airline that has (had) a really good retirement plan. Got really tired of traveling and retired as soon as I could (I'm a homebody...just ask SWMBO). I don't have time to be bored as I have toooooo many hobbies. Home renovation (shared with my wife of 40+ yrs who comes up with all the projects), old cars, beer brewing, model trains, and woodworking in the garage. Oh, plus my BIL whom I get along with very well and I have started raising beef cattle on their family's land. As I said, don't have time to be bored.

Here's something Michele (better half) and I put together with scraps from the other floors in the house (we've replaced most of them) and some tile we bought. Total cost-- $300.00

It definitely keeps us busy.

 

[TheDudeLebowski]

I have worked one day since mid 2010.
I brew, cook, sail, row, paddle, and repair my old car, boats and house. I've had time to sail to Florida and back, Georgia and back, Cape Cod and back. Maine this summer. Want to crew?

Where do I send my resume?

I like to vacation in Maine but I'm usually land locked. I'm sure you have plenty of ideas boat access only but if you're into seafood especially oyster check out the Damariscotta River entering the Atlantic. Plenty of beautiful inlets and oyster farms. There's lobster and oyster shacks on the side or the road/river with wine and dine all day. Oxbow Brewery isn't that far inland. Beer is pretty good. A little pricier but spending the whole day drinking and eating is a good day.

http://www.gliddenpoint.com

 

[JohnSand]

Thanks. If you really think you want to join the crew on this or future cruises, send me a pm.

 

[Yooper]

Thanks. If you really think you want to join the crew on this or future cruises, send me a pm.

I think that life sounds great! I'm jealous.

 

[day_trippr]

I got fed up of working for nitwits in 2007 and simply quit (considering I started my EE career in 1973 and pretty much worked for nitwits from the jump, it was waaay past time). The last year as a captive I was the sole engineer for the company, the other 106 people in product development having been laid off 18 months prior.
I could have actually retired - we were in good shape either way - but I just wanted a few years off line to do things I had wanted to do and think about work in the future. Spent three years rehabilitating all the family properties, doing a lot of fly fishing in New England and the Bahamas, playing with the grandkids and brewing beer.

Late 2010 I was running out of rehab projects and started thinking of contract work. Serendipitously I was soon contacted by someone who used to work for me at HP who was looking for someone to help start up a flash memory based product line (think SSDs of pretty much every form-factor and performance spec imaginable) by doing all the design work - and not a heck of a lot else.

That suited me just fine. Aside from my protege, a couple of his underlings, and the company president, I didn't have to deal with people. Just knock out one design after another. And that situation has continued to this day. My commute is about 20 seconds from the kitchen coffee machine to my office, I can blast tunes, step out onto the deck if the day is nice to ponder decisions that need some thinkin' time, and generally have a pretty darned pleasant day doing something I've always loved to do.

While there's an endless amount of possible designs to take on (it's a huge broad market), there are stretches that every project is suddenly critical and on a short time line, and success has led to even more interest from some Big Effin' Companies, I can throttle the workload when I need a break - and with reasonable notice can bail for a couple of weeks and hit a Caribbean island for a recharge.

Right now I honestly have no idea when I'll actually retire. Just like an old fire horse there's no doubt inertia wants me to just keep doing what I'm doing, but at the same time I find myself thinking what else I might be doing.

The future remains an unseen mystery...

Cheers!

 

[BruceH]

If I could retire, I would have no problem keeping myself busy. If I didn't need to earn money, I would not work!!!

I used to say this same exact thing.

All the way until my 40's I didn't mind being out in the winter rain but something happened in the last 10 years, it just seems colder and wetter than it used to.

Maybe that's why so many retired people around here go to Arizona for the winter.

 

[kh54s10]

I used to say this same exact thing.

All the way until my 40's I didn't mind being out in the winter rain but something happened in the last 10 years, it just seems colder and wetter than it used to.

Maybe that's why so many retired people around here go to Arizona for the winter.

It doesn't have to be something outdoors to keep me busy.

In fact until recently I lived in Rhode Island and did very little outside from Mid December to late March or April. Now I live in Florida (3rd go round) and don't expect to do much outdoors from late April until November. Too cold up north and too hot down south.

 

[grampamark]

I'm 67 and semi-retired. I'm a grain farmer and I can't really retire until there's someone to replace me. My son helps me, but he also has a small livestock operation of his own, and he and his wife own a business in the small town about 25 miles south of our farm. They also have two teenage sons who are involved in a lot of school activities, which requires a lot of travel in a large, sparsely populated state like Montana.

My oldest grandson graduates high school in a couple of months and would like to come back to the farm after attending college; maybe after pursuing a different career for a few years. So, I'm going to have to continue farming, at least from about April through October, for the next five years, maybe a bit longer. Our farm is about average size for our area, which makes it just large enough that one person can't do it all.

My long range goal has been to retire by age 70. With that in mind, my wife (who retired after 28 years as an elementary school teacher 7 years ago) and I had been planning to find a place less remote than our farm in which to spend our remaining years. The farm is truly in the middle of nowhere. Closest grocery store is 25 miles away; closest healthcare facility is 70 miles away. The directions to our place include the words "...after the pavement ends..." and the roads are, shall we say, indifferently maintained. When we have a particularly bad winter (which we have this year) going anyplace, whether an emergency or not, may not be an option. Where we live is not for those who aren't more self reliant than the average 21st Century American. I've spent the last 40+ years plowing out or pulling out of the ditch my elderly neighbors who stubbornly refused to "leave God's country". I wasn't going to be That Guy. So, we had decided that, when the time came, we would look for a house or condo in Billings, the largest city in the state. Our daughter and her family have lived there for 15 years and we liked the city and the convenience of not having to drive for 150 miles to make the round trip to the nearest "real" grocery store.

Two and a half years ago, my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. She began her treatment at Billings Clinic (part of the Mayo Clinic system) and stayed with our daughter. When her cancer spread, necessitating more aggressive treatment, it became apparent that it might be a good time to move up our timeline for finding a place in the city.

Long story short, we found a small house 5 blocks from our daughter's place. We closed 2 years ago this month and my wife spent the remainder of 2016 in Billings. I commuted 250 miles each way, pretty much every week. My wife completed her last round of treatment just over a year ago and has been cancer free since. We've spent about 10 days a month in the city for the last year or so. We've been here since the end of January and won't return to the farm for another 2 weeks or when the snow finally melts (which might be a lot longer than that).

We like the city. Vonnie still has to go back to the docs for frequent follow up visits; being in town cuts down on a lot of travel. She's also a quilter and there are half a dozen fabric stores here. There is a really good LHBS and an Ace Hardware which also sells brewing supplies and equipment. Problem is, our house is small, and I haven't worked out a good solution for a suitable brewing space. Now that the weather is milder, the garage is an option, so the next time I go home, I'm going to bring a spare burner and a seldom used 5 gal kettle and do some small batch BIAB in the garage.

One last thought-fruck cancer. Cancer should get cancer and die.

 

[JohnSand]

An interesting and different account, thanks for sharing.
I'm glad your wife is doing well, I wish her continued health.

 

[nobadays]

Retired August 2015 at 60... missed the 55 goal! Put in 16 years as a Public works director/City Administrator for a small community - the public employees pension was/is great(and the first wife wasn't smart enough to take a share of it even when I offered it during the divorce.) then went into business as a consultant to lots of small communities/non-profits/counties/etc and socked away all the money we could into IRAs. During the working years did as many have said, lived frugally, no credit card balances and got the home paid off...NO NEW CARS... Now with my liberal pension, and a monthly check from an annuity we bought with a "windfall" 30 years ago we are setting pretty. Won't draw the SS until 67 at least. What most people spend on their mortgage each month we put in a travel account and are seeing the world! (Writing this from a hostel in Puerto Natales, Chile! after spending 8 days hiking the O Circuit in Torres Del Paine!)

I/We spend our days gardening, hiking, working out at the gym, home maintence/remodeling, and of course making beer and wine.... and drinking said beverages!

Loving retirement and no intentions of working again for myself or anyone else! For those with years to go...re-read this thread and take the advice. Financial security in your old age doesn't just happen, make a plan and stick to it.

 

[Murphys_Law]

I’m a financial advisor...I want to print this thread and share it with all my prospects! (I’m not really going to do that).

Love to read about all of you who put together a plan with goals and achieved those goals!

 

[Yooper]

I’m a financial advisor...I want to print this thread and share it with all my prospects! (I’m not really going to do that).

Love to read about all of you who put together a plan with goals and achieved those goals!

I think it's very hard for many people who think "it's only $4 for this latte" and watch TV where they are told they deserve it. They earned it- buy a new razor/toaster/pressure cooker/whatever!

I plan on having 35-40 years in retirement. Living frugally for 30 years was not all that difficult when you look at the huge payoff. Unfortunately my own daughter lives paycheck to paycheck, but makes more money than I ever did. She has nice clothes and lots of TV programs, and super fast internet- and gets plenty of lattes- but she is one car repair away from not being able to survive. My own daughter! She has no ability to put off the small immediate gratification of that treat for the longer goal. Too many people are like that, and wonder why they can't get ahead.

 

[JohnSand]

Well, Yooper, I understand. My older boys are pretty thrifty, and I believe they have good savings.
My younger two much less so, but both their natural parents like nice things, and I got to them late.
They all work hard, which is a great asset.
Murphy, I'd love to say that I planned my future, but I didn't. Both of my parents were depression children, and learned to stretch a dollar. My dad did very well in the early '70s, but overspent and went bankrupt. We really struggled after that, it gave me a real aversion to debt. If I had to change one financial decision, I would have put money into IRAs as soon as possible. My friends who did now have two homes.
But of my regrets in life, career and finance don't make the list.

 

[Murphys_Law]

I think it's very hard for many people who think "it's only $4 for this latte" and watch TV where they are told they deserve it. They earned it- buy a new razor/toaster/pressure cooker/whatever!

I plan on having 35-40 years in retirement. Living frugally for 30 years was not all that difficult when you look at the huge payoff. Unfortunately my own daughter lives paycheck to paycheck, but makes more money than I ever did. She has nice clothes and lots of TV programs, and super fast internet- and gets plenty of lattes- but she is one car repair away from not being able to survive. My own daughter! She has no ability to put off the small immediate gratification of that treat for the longer goal. Too many people are like that, and wonder why they can't get ahead.

That is all too common, I’m afraid. You should see the look on people’s faces when you tell them, “congratulations, you will have to work until you are 95 and you will have $3.45 to your name...if you’re lucky!”

It’s amazing what a little planning and self discipline can do and how much you can achieve! And the old adage holds true: let your money work for you, don’t work for your money.

If I can say just one thing on this thread - for anyone reading this and jealous of the people who have retired and don’t think you can...yes you can! Just make a damn plan, track progress regularly, and make adjustments as necessary.

Ok, off my soap box! [emoji1]

 

[Murphys_Law]

Well, Yooper, I understand. My older boys are pretty thrifty, and I believe they have good savings.
My younger two much less so, but both their natural parents like nice things, and I got to them late.
They all work hard, which is a great asset.
Murphy, I'd love to say that I planned my future, but I didn't. Both of my parents were depression children, and learned to stretch a dollar. My dad did very well in the early '70s, but overspent and went bankrupt. We really struggled after that, it gave me a real aversion to debt. If I had to change one financial decision, I would have put money into IRAs as soon as possible. My friends who did now have two homes.
But of my regrets in life, career and finance don't make the list.

...and max out any company retirement plan when you have that option! Be mindful of how the money is invested. Too many people set up a plan and don’t rebalance - ever. Don’t do that!

 

[homebrewer_99]

These are a few of the issues I addressed that really helped me in retirement planning. They are not in any particular order. I will also try to NOT go into detail and just highlight the points:

1. NEVER live beyond your means.
2. Learn the difference between a NEED and a WANT. If your NEEDS are not met/paid (living expenses, necesseties)...you can't afford a WANT.
3. Pay off ALL of your credit cards IN FULL every month. I haven't paid interest or a fee on a credit card in 30 years. It's like getting an interest-free loan...every month.
4. If you have to make large purchases (washer/dryer, living room furniture, fridge, etc., look for a 12 months Same As Cash (SAC) deals. When the total bill is added up divide it by 11 (not 12). Paying it off early equals an interest-free loan.
5. At 3-5 years from your "anticipated" retirement date estimate how much income you will be bringing in AT retirement...and LEARN to live off of THAT. Two things happen by doing this. 1. You find out IF you are financially ready and can survive comfortably into retirement. And 2. Everything you do not spent from your current salary can be used to build up your nest egg or better yet...PAY OFF ALL OF YOUR DEBT. Debt comes with interest charges. Once you get debt-free...STAY THAT WAY.

Good luck.

 

[MaxStout]

I think it's very hard for many people who think "it's only $4 for this latte" and watch TV where they are told they deserve it. They earned it- buy a new razor/toaster/pressure cooker/whatever!

I plan on having 35-40 years in retirement. Living frugally for 30 years was not all that difficult when you look at the huge payoff. Unfortunately my own daughter lives paycheck to paycheck, but makes more money than I ever did. She has nice clothes and lots of TV programs, and super fast internet- and gets plenty of lattes- but she is one car repair away from not being able to survive. My own daughter! She has no ability to put off the small immediate gratification of that treat for the longer goal. Too many people are like that, and wonder why they can't get ahead.

I have two brothers like that. No matter how much they earn, they burn through it. Like the parable of the ant and the grasshopper, they are the grasshoppers. One has a shed full of classic cars and motorcycles, the other has rooms full of electronics. And they barely make the rent. After our parents passed away last year, I was the executor of the estate. My brothers hounded me for their shares (which weren't very large), thinking those few thousand would save the day.