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My older brother worked for BNR for decades. He was 50 something when they gave him two choices: except a golden handshake and early retirement or get fired. I felt sorry for him as computer companies don't high people of that age. He ended up working as a pack boy in a local grocery store.
A while after that a joke e-mail went around my office. If you had 25 dollars should you invest it in BNR stock or buy a case of beer. The answer was buy the beer because the return on the empties will be worth more than the stock. At that time it did not make sense. But it wasn't long before BNR folded their tent.
The people that were still working there got nothing, although they may have worked there for decades. So my brother was somewhat lucky because at least he got a pension from them, although he had to wait until he was 65 to collect it.
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When our son was at Cornell in the nineties they did a similar study Budweiser Beer versus having invested in Enron . they had on paper invested $ 25.000 and after 4 years (and drinking all the beer ! ) they came ahead in selling the empty aluminum cans versus the selling the worthless Enron stock. My motto is : be an investor and not a speculator and you will do VERY well in the long run.
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My oldest brother won a scholarship and became a corporate lawyer. Bright guy but played the stock market. He and his wife now live in the basement of their daughter's home.
I am the third born of a family of 9 children. My dad could not afford to send me to university, but I did manage to attend a technical collage for a year with money I earned working in a bowling alley.
I worked in a paper mill after that. Because of my electrical courses I ended up with a very well paying job as an electrical power house operator. So I stayed for 3 years to save the money for the rest of my tuition and books.
Unfortunately after working and being use to having spending money, drinking beer, chasing women, and riding motorcycles (The road to he** one of my riding buddies Chumley used to say.) I could not focus on my studies. Luckily the collage had a long waiting list for students, so I was able to get my tuition and books money back.
The only thing I could find was a Clerk 1 job in the Federal Government. It payed less in 2 weeks than I earned in a week at the paper mill. But I did not want a shift work job in a noisy and dangerous work place. Fortunately over the years I worked my way up the pay scale in the government and have retired with a good pension. My wife was also a Civil Servant and has a good pension and a free medical plan that covers us both for life.
You never know was route your life is going to take. I use to envy my older brothers with their university educations and well paying jobs. But now I am sure they feel that I am the lucky one. I have nice home, beautiful wife, money in the bank, and I still get to ride motorcycles!
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(04-12-2019, 01:14 AM)Nortoon_imp Wrote: My oldest brother won a scholarship and became a corporate lawyer. Bright guy but played the stock market. He and his wife now live in the basement of their daughter's home.
I am the third born of a family of 9 children. My dad could not afford to send me to university, but I did manage to attend a technical collage for a year with money I earned working in a bowling alley.
I worked in a paper mill after that. Because of my electrical courses I ended up with a very well paying job as an electrical power house operator. So I stayed for 3 years to save the money for the rest of my tuition and books.
Unfortunately after working and being use to having spending money, drinking beer, chasing women, and riding motorcycles (The road to he** one of my riding buddies Chumley used to say.) I could not focus on my studies. Luckily the collage had a long waiting list for students, so I was able to get my tuition and books money back.
The only thing I could find was a Clerk 1 job in the Federal Government. It payed less in 2 weeks than I earned in a week at the paper mill. But I did not want a shift work job in a noisy and dangerous work place. Fortunately over the years I worked my way up the pay scale in the government and have retired with a good pension. My wife was also a Civil Servant and has a good pension and a free medical plan that covers us both for life.
You never know was route your life is going to take. I use to envy my older brothers with their university educations and well paying jobs. But now I am sure they feel that I am the lucky one. I have nice home, beautiful wife, money in the bank, and I still get to ride motorcycles!
An envious life indeed.
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(04-12-2019, 01:14 AM)Nortoon_imp Wrote: My oldest brother won a scholarship and became a corporate lawyer. Bright guy but played the stock market. He and his wife now live in the basement of their daughter's home.
I am the third born of a family of 9 children. My dad could not afford to send me to university, but I did manage to attend a technical collage for a year with money I earned working in a bowling alley.
I worked in a paper mill after that. Because of my electrical courses I ended up with a very well paying job as an electrical power house operator. So I stayed for 3 years to save the money for the rest of my tuition and books.
Unfortunately after working and being use to having spending money, drinking beer, chasing women, and riding motorcycles (The road to he** one of my riding buddies Chumley used to say.) I could not focus on my studies. Luckily the collage had a long waiting list for students, so I was able to get my tuition and books money back.
The only thing I could find was a Clerk 1 job in the Federal Government. It payed less in 2 weeks than I earned in a week at the paper mill. But I did not want a shift work job in a noisy and dangerous work place. Fortunately over the years I worked my way up the pay scale in the government and have retired with a good pension. My wife was also a Civil Servant and has a good pension and a free medical plan that covers us both for life.
You never know was route your life is going to take. I use to envy my older brothers with their university educations and well paying jobs. But now I am sure they feel that I am the lucky one. I have nice home, beautiful wife, money in the bank, and I still get to ride motorcycles!
That is one dedicated wife.
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That would indeed be discouraging after a lifetime of effort. At least they had someone to fall back on.
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You make your choices and take your chances.
Funny how things can turn out.
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(04-12-2019, 01:10 PM)Rboe_imp Wrote: You make your choices and take your chances.
Funny how things can turn out.
Many times folks in-the-moment don't consider concerns from people who care about them. Often it is after-the-fact that it would have been maybe a productive exercise. We are all guilty at one time or many of knowing it all.
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(04-12-2019, 01:14 AM)Nortoon_imp Wrote: My oldest brother won a scholarship and became a corporate lawyer. Bright guy but played the stock market. He and his wife now live in the basement of their daughter's home.
I am the third born of a family of 9 children. My dad could not afford to send me to university, but I did manage to attend a technical collage for a year with money I earned working in a bowling alley.
I worked in a paper mill after that. Because of my electrical courses I ended up with a very well paying job as an electrical power house operator. So I stayed for 3 years to save the money for the rest of my tuition and books.
Unfortunately after working and being use to having spending money, drinking beer, chasing women, and riding motorcycles (The road to he** one of my riding buddies Chumley used to say.) I could not focus on my studies. Luckily the collage had a long waiting list for students, so I was able to get my tuition and books money back.
The only thing I could find was a Clerk 1 job in the Federal Government. It payed less in 2 weeks than I earned in a week at the paper mill. But I did not want a shift work job in a noisy and dangerous work place. Fortunately over the years I worked my way up the pay scale in the government and have retired with a good pension. My wife was also a Civil Servant and has a good pension and a free medical plan that covers us both for life.
You never know was route your life is going to take. I use to envy my older brothers with their university educations and well paying jobs. But now I am sure they feel that I am the lucky one. I have nice home, beautiful wife, money in the bank, and I still get to ride motorcycles!
i am 32 and thought of retirement financials scare me .
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Work every day, save some of every paycheck, and don't spend yourself foolishly into an abyss is my best advice.Oh yea, don't get a divorce.
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