mcgorski

Comments:

• Jonathan, a backyard bonfire of old docs is a good opportunity to get everyone together and enjoy some company. Your observations from when you were 19 are funny. I don’t regret opportunities I didn’t pursue or investments that went sideways, but I definitely went through a period of regret for those times I wasn’t kind or was a know it all. Forgive yourself. As we are all a work in progress, I suspect we all go through that to some degree. In some respects, it can be a good thing to share with our kids we haven’t been perfect.

  Post: Turned Upside Down

  Link to comment from October 5, 2024

• Everyone has their treasures, hobbies,etc. we really shouldn’t be tut-tutting others for what they spend their money on if they budgeted properly.

  Post: Truth is Often Stranger Than Fiction

  Link to comment from October 2, 2024

• I think there’s two forces at play here in US culture that we touch on here at Humble Dollar, but don’t really get their due. One is that the US is a sales driven culture rife with hucksterism. Sell, sell, sell and buy, buy,buy. You see it with our restaurants (it’s why plates of food are so large here compared to the rest of the world) and You see it in housing. The average person isn’t buying more than one house, so how do you get more money out of them? Easy - Sell a bigger house. Same with dinner entrees. Never mind the health issues from eating too much or the financial jam from too much house. Which brings me to the second force - lack of personal financial education. I speak from personal experience on this and I assume it’s the reason many of us are here. i think these twin forces are really the common thread over the decades regardless of any sociodemographic changes.

  Post: How did it all work for us? Why not now?

  Link to comment from September 27, 2024

• Well said, Ed. When my son began Plebe summer at the US Naval Academy last year, we were so caught up in the transition and supporting him With letters from home,etc that we never had a chance to acknowledge that things would never be the same again. It took a few months before it hit me like a brick. Very sad, but it gets better.

  Post: Savoring the Moments

  Link to comment from September 25, 2024

• "Who are you going to believe, me or your own eyes?" -Groucho Marx

  Post: Jabs Anyone?

  Link to comment from September 24, 2024

• I can second this, both my wife and have both gotten COVID post travel on separate trips since July. My next trip in three weeks I’ll be back to wearing an n95 in the airport and on the plane. Better than having to deal with another COVID bout.

  Post: Jabs Anyone?

  Link to comment from September 23, 2024

• I think these are two sides of the same coin. What’s missing here is having the knowledge and wherewithal to know that one can, indeed, get going saving and investing even with minimal income. People are emotional beings. They spend on themselves and enjoy comfort food because it makes them feel better, regardless of income. During those times they feel lonely or distress, probably even more so, would be my guess. I certainly have. But my point is that once I crossed that threshold of knowledge about saving and investing, and more importantly believed in it, there was no turning back. But it can be hard. Add to that that the retail financial industry does not make it easy on a new investor - this is by design, I believe, to get people to invest in sub optimal products.

  Post: We can’t control what others do and we can’t stop misfortune from striking. But we can control our own actions. Those who are financially prudent will most likely enjoy success, even if events don’t always go their way.

  Link to comment from September 13, 2024

• Great topic, one that really highlights the diversity of geographies and cultures we enjoy in the United States. My absolute favorite would be Hawaii, specifically Maui, but Kona (big Island) or Oahu are pretty close. Why? I just fell in love with the non-humid, fresh air, surf and greenery. If you’ve never been, it will take your breath away first time you go. The smell of orchids in the air, the Kona coffee, the fresh fruit and seafood. Best thing is to rent a car and drive your self around - the beaches are obvious for snorkeling and surfing, but the road to Hana in Maui is very much part of the experience. My family and I have been multiple times and even toyed with the idea of retiring there, but realized it can be isolating.

  Post: First Place by Jonathan Clements

  Link to comment from September 6, 2024

• Agree. It starts at home, but anyone can be a positive influence on a young person’s life, just by telling them to keep trying and not to quit. I don’t think people realize how corrosive they can be with their negativity.

  Post: Quinn is fascinated – and a bit frightened- by the misinformation, irresponsibility, envy, and selfishness expressed by many people – is it real?

  Link to comment from August 7, 2024

• It’s interesting. I grew up ‘working poor’ and am familiar with the mentality that is behind some of these types of comments. It can be difficult to reconcile investing, inflation and your own autonomy with the reality surrounding you in a poor neighborhood. The attitude is you’ll never make it out, so why try? Honestly, I now think some people don’t want you to make it out because it says more about their personal choices and reinforces their negativity. I knew education was important so my ticket out was the funding the state of NY provided to attend SUNY. I really only saw how cynical the area I grew up in had made me once I left and someone pointed it out to me. They were right and it made me reconsider where it had come from - that changed me going forward.

  Post: Quinn is fascinated – and a bit frightened- by the misinformation, irresponsibility, envy, and selfishness expressed by many people – is it real?

  Link to comment from August 7, 2024