Quote:
Originally Posted by Vegas69
Great stuff Greg. 
My twenties was filled with great income and more THINGS than anyone needs in a lifetime. I really think if the booming economy would've happened in my 30's I would've made some different decisions. I made many good ones but pissed away more money than I care to think about.  Had one hell of a time so I have no regrets.
Now, in my mid thirties, I'm thinking exactly the opposite. I have clients that are exactly as your describe. 60-70 years old with two nickels to rub together. They have a distinct look of desperation in their eyes. Most of us have to work a lot harder to make a buck and to me that should really open your eyes. How long do you want to keep breaking your back to sustain your lifestyle? Make the changs now. The older you get, the harder financial independence will be before you're to old to give a damn.
I like your comment about percieved wealth. You can still have nice things if you buy used and right.
Your Mother in law is a prime example of why I said you many never regret paying off your home. She's got a fixed income and virtually no bills. Where's the risk? I bet she sleeps like a baby. |
I've preached many times -- about controlling the expenses -- then you don't need as much income if you don't have much outgo!!
Where most go awry is that they wait too long to start on their saving/investing. Then -- unless there's a super lucky event... they're just so far behind the curve they can never catch up.
Then there's the attitude that I run into all the time where people have just given up... or say to me... "well... I don't have 10 grand to invest". No - and they never will - because you don't save 10 grand at a whack -- you save $50 bucks a week and eventually you have $2 grand... and so on.
I've really come to the conclusion that it's MIND SET not income levels or even luck.
When I was in business --- I'd pitch a deal to a dealer here in Seattle and the guy would say to me --- well... if I could have 4 colors in that trailer load instead of 3 you have a deal. Okay then! Dude - let's rock and roll! Same deal pitched to a dealer in Portland - and the guy would stare down at his feet and say... Gee... I could never do anything like that.
Yep! You're right buddy - because you have a failure attitude! They have a plan to fail not a plan to succeed. I used to call Portland the "welfare attitude" -- they always let someone else taste all the success. Seattle dealers had the "can do" attitude -- they would rise to the challenge and tackle it head on. It's why I moved from Portland to Seattle in 1984... It was all about the attitude.