Good answers indeed. Ya i do travel a bit, but there's always time for that in the backend of my life. Investing is something I've been taking a hard look at.
Things you coulda wouldashoulda done
- Thread starter skrilla
- Start date
- Status
Two chicks at the same time man.
I was totally gonna respond with that. But I wasn't going to include the picture, so, good thing you handled it.
Preach on dude. Yet another 30 something who got stuck somewhere between responsibility and a fat paycheck. Too many make the mistake of seeing a fat paycheck and thinking it's the end-all. Sure, it's nice but soon becomes your own little prison cell and hinders your inner entrepreneur.
It's hard to crack out of.
I'm only 18, however I plan to never be 'settled'. The very thought of accepting what I have as the end all be all scares me more than death itself. Here's a little story:
My first job was working as a stocker at a produce store. It was a terrible job with even worse pay, however it was my first so I just 'accepted' it. One day my manager was talking to me about his life (more like bitching). He's in his mid 30's with no education other than a HS diploma. He started on a rant about how life is nothing but repetition, and that it involves waking up, going to work, going to sleep. I was 15ish at the time so my views on life were completely different than his. To me it seemed as if he had nothing to look forward to - what was the point of his life? And he wasn't bullshitting either, HIS life was nothing but repetition. But from that day I vowed to never be in the same position as him (cheesy, but true). What he told me impacted me so much that I still remember (and always will) and that it changed the way I looked at life.
So even though I'm young, I hope to never have a major 'coulda should woulda' event in my life. That mostly pertains to settling in 1 place with a 9-5 and nothing to look forward to other than a mediocre at best pay check. Right now my plan is to get this interwebs shit on lock, get a degree (working on it now, first semester almost done), and get the fuck out of Louisiana.
My first job was working as a stocker at a produce store. It was a terrible job with even worse pay, however it was my first so I just 'accepted' it. One day my manager was talking to me about his life (more like bitching). He's in his mid 30's with no education other than a HS diploma. He started on a rant about how life is nothing but repetition, and that it involves waking up, going to work, going to sleep. I was 15ish at the time so my views on life were completely different than his. To me it seemed as if he had nothing to look forward to - what was the point of his life? And he wasn't bullshitting either, HIS life was nothing but repetition. But from that day I vowed to never be in the same position as him (cheesy, but true). What he told me impacted me so much that I still remember (and always will) and that it changed the way I looked at life.
So even though I'm young, I hope to never have a major 'coulda should woulda' event in my life. That mostly pertains to settling in 1 place with a 9-5 and nothing to look forward to other than a mediocre at best pay check. Right now my plan is to get this interwebs shit on lock, get a degree (working on it now, first semester almost done), and get the fuck out of Louisiana.
You meet the wrong girl (or the right girl I guess), and you get caught up, it can be game over pretty quick.
Go read Atlas Shrugged. Remember, it's all about you. Because the moment you stop putting yourself first, your relationships are no longer genuine.
Go read Atlas Shrugged. Remember, it's all about you. Because the moment you stop putting yourself first, your relationships are no longer genuine.
I had a similar such epiphany, if you can call it that. The concept of working a mediocre job coming back to a mediocre home and mediocre wife with a mediocre pay check scares me shitless. What's the point in living? The idea of working a 9-5 job, repeating it day after day... I don't think I could do that, especially after holding the jobs I've held and recognizing I have the ability to avoid what the average person would call the inevitable.
It's a little eerie how similar our situation is.
Actually, they are right, money can't make you happy. But it can help.
People with money still have problems, they still feel lonely, they still can end up purposeless.
The thing that keeps people going is hope, and if your money gives you hope, cool. But you need hope that the next minute, hour or day will be better than now. Once you lose hope, everything goes to shit fast.
Stay portable. if you can't fit everything important you own into the back of a pickup then you don't fucking need it! At your age you need to be able to roll at a moment's notice.
Throw the max that you can tax free into your 401k.
Invest in land.
Stay healthy. If you don't have your health you ain't got shit.
Throw the max that you can tax free into your 401k.
Invest in land.
Stay healthy. If you don't have your health you ain't got shit.
Money makes life easier, but in itself does not make you happy. Unless you are extremely shallow money is a means to an ends, not the end goal itself. If wealth is your goal will you ever be truly content, or will you always desire more?
Not having to worry about money certainly makes it easier to be happy, but that might be because you have loads of it, or it could be that you have no desire or need for it. In many ways I envy the tribesmen in Africa that are happy and content in a society without money.
Back on topic.. If ya want to buy property, maybe check out eastern europe (bulgaria & romania are good investments and easy to buy in), asia or south america... get some travelling in at the same time (and most likely better ROI than the US).
As others mentioned learn some skillz... languages, music, sports, whatever your thing is... If you've got the cash & time learn to fly.
Wish I had created a Roth IRA when I was a teenager. Then at least I could take advantage of the miracle of compound interest during my retirement years.
Don't blow 100% of your paycheck on food and rent and gasoline. Set aside money you get from the next raise and use it for monthly insurance premiums on disability insurance (so you can still get paid after a heart attack or car accident), life insurance (might want to borrow against it later, even if you don't have beneficiaries), and tax advantaged savings. Make it a point to buy things that increase in value.
Ain't that the truth.
I also wish I had stuck with one thing long enough to get good at it. I was always shifting around, trying new things. I never stayed with one thing long enough to get more than a basic understanding.
Most of all, I wish I could go back ten years and tell my younger self to stick with learning PHP/MySQL, because doing so would pay off way better than just getting stuck in a shitty cubicle farm. Instead, I gave up after a few weeks to go chase tail... obviously a far better use of my spare time.
- Status