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Location: Formerly Pleasanton Ca, now in Marietta Ga
10,348 posts, read 8,564,711 times
Reputation: 16689
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eddiehaskell
What did I divulge? My utility bills...that I’m retired? Everybody knows that. What my home cost is public record.
If it’s public record what’s the problem? Who here even knows your address? You outlined not just your utility bills, but other amounts you spend. You touted you paid cash for your home,so that says something about your financial position. You also mentioned your house tripled in value, again divulging your financial position with the gain.
You started up a thread a while back about buying a rental duplex in North Carolina that you would pay all cash for at $160k . Again giving out more financial info about yourself.
You said you had a girlfriend who paid for half the living expenses, more info you’re giving out. I’ve seen posts on what you like to do with your time (like playing basketball) and revealing your approximate age.
You’ve already revealed a lot of info on yourself in pieces all over this forum.
Now when people ask how you got your start you don’t want to reveal it? It’s almost like you’re embarrassed how you got it ( frivolous lawsuit or something? )or you think people will think less of you after proclaiming how you retired early but there are holes in the story.
If you wanted to stay anonymous you’re kind of beyond that.
This is just so ridiculous and off base. Just not true at all. I swear, people just make stuff up! He talks about how much he spends right on his blog, for heaven's sake! Something like 55k a year, and they typically live in lower cost of living countries (mostly Taiwan, which has high rent but offset by low healthcare costs and no need for a car). That's just one example that easily proves how you're just shooting from the hip.
And when, oh when, will people let go of the notion that the only way to contribute positively to society is through a job????? Gawd we've become so programmed. SOOOOOOOOOOOOO. PROGRAMMED!!!!!!!!!!!
I read the article and the blog.
He talks about not having a car, not having this or that, etc., and how little he spends.
People who are able-bodied and in their prime working years should work.
If it’s public record what’s the problem? Who here even knows your address? You outlined not just your utility bills, but other amounts you spend. You touted you paid cash for your home,so that says something about your financial position. You also mentioned your house tripled in value, again divulging your financial position with the gain.
You started up a thread a while back about buying a rental duplex in North Carolina that you would pay all cash for at $160k . Again giving out more financial info about yourself.
You said you had a girlfriend who paid for half the living expenses, more info you’re giving out. I’ve seen posts on what you like to do with your time (like playing basketball) and revealing your approximate age.
You’ve already revealed a lot of info on yourself in pieces all over this forum.
Now when people ask how you got your start you don’t want to reveal it? It’s almost like you’re embarrassed how you got it ( frivolous lawsuit or something? )or you think people will think less of you after proclaiming how you retired early but there are holes in the story.
If you wanted to stay anonymous you’re kind of beyond that.
I feel comfortable saying I paid cash for my home. I doubt anyone truly cares. My house tripling in value is basically public record too...anyone can look up an address on Zillow and get a ballpark value.
Point is - individuals post on these forums and each individual controls what they want and don’t want to divulge about their personal lives. No one has any responsibility to answer any question they don’t want to. If you want to know specifics - ask! If someone doesn’t answer your question - move on.
I’ve had gf’s that pay their fair share of the bills - again generalized information which is common amoung most couples. Heck, if you want to get technical maybe I made a post about using Charmin toilet paper...perhaps you could use that information to get a bead on my finances.
I didn't get the memo that we have to contribute to society.
Well, I actually appreciate the fact that people think it's a moral imperative that we do. We have enough people who don't give a cr*p about anyone but themselves.
At the same time, this moral imperative of contributing has really been warped beyond all recognition. A lot of what many people consider to be contributing to society is often the exact opposite, IMO.
Yeah, there are plenty of ways to contribute to society that don’t involve a job...where often your contribution is limited by what your bosses have you doing to maximize profits. Heck, do something like respite foster care that allows you to mentor at-risk children while getting a little compensation for your time.
Yes, absolutely. I've said often that some of the world's most important work goes unpaid (or is low paying.)
By one way to thinking, our “contribution to society” is reflected in our paychecks. Those who contribute more, earn more, and vice versa. This is because the market decides was is or is not valuable, what is or is not rare and irreplaceable, and offers remuneration accordingly.
By a contrary way of thinking, markets reward quite often the wrong kind of behavior, and even besides right-or-wrong, remuneration is a sort of lottery, where many play, most lose a little bit, and a lucky few win enormously.
Which of the above is correct? I struggle to agree that an elementary-school teacher earning $35K/year contributes less to society, than an administrator earning $140K. Nevertheless, the administrator did something right, and it can’t all be crass manipulation.
In the case of a professional who retires early, the sentiment is, evidently, that said professional received extensive specialized training, with the objective of applying that training to some substantive task, be it medicine or mathematics or software-development. If retirement means ceasing full-time professional activity, then this cessation is a loss for society, for the professional’s talents and education are no longer applied towards some productive end. It may be, that having reached some point in one’s career, one was already unproductive, say as some cartoon of the bumbling and clueless boss; or, even in retirement, one continues to volunteer, to teach at a community college or whatever. Then the issue’s moot. But what if a senior pharmaceutical researcher abandons at age 40 the quest for curing cancer, and spends the remainder of his life fly-fishing, skiing and sampling wines? Here, I think, one could make the argument that something is lost.
In the particular case of engineers, the argument could be advanced, that these are book-smart people who generally lack a holistic understanding or soft-skills. And I say this as an engineer myself! Engineers have something of the precocious-child in them, even at age 50. They need to be managed by a firm, steady hand… told what to do, disciplined, incentivized. An engineer left to his/her own devices is the metaphorical dog without a master, who goes feral. In this narrative, the engineer is the ultimate corporate servant, who should be rewarded handsomely while serving, who spends a lifetime working, dying with peaceful smile of dedication at his desk.
Great nuance, as usual. But what I object to is this extremely narrow, black and white thinking that having a job = contributing to society. If people can't see the numerous glaring, real-world exceptions to that kind of thinking, I wonder what planet they're living on.
He talks about not having a car, not having this or that, etc., and how little he spends.
People who are able-bodied and in their prime working years should work.
But he IS working....just not at some stupid, corporate job he doesn't care about. He works at things HE cares about. I think he used to work at Microsoft. I think there's plenty of evidence they've done their share of evil in the world (despite the mainstream media love for Bill Gates, which is naive, at best, IMO). Why anyone would think working at some big corporation is contributing to the world is just beyond me. I think raising his kid with his wife is A LOT more important.
But he IS working....just not at some stupid, corporate job he doesn't care about. He works at things HE cares about. I think he used to work at Microsoft. I think there's plenty of evidence they've done their share of evil in the world (despite the mainstream media love for Bill Gates, which is naive, at best, IMO). Why anyone would think working at some big corporation is contributing to the world is just beyond me. I think raising his kid with his wife is A LOT more important.
I don’t work in a large corporation; I don’t care for them. I work in a small firm for pay. I serve on numerous not-for-profit boards for no pay, generally because I am asked to (because I have a skill that those boards need).
The guy in the article does neither. He seems to be on a near-permanent vacation.
I could deal with him being on a near-permanent vacation if he had enough money to invest in his child. Will he be able and willing to spend $250,000 to send his child to a top-tier college? If he worked, he could.
Plenty of nonprofits could benefit from his engineering skills. He isn’t volunteering those skills, either.
What if every 30-year old quit working and instead went on vacation? The economy would tank and all of us would be worse off.
I don’t work in a large corporation; I don’t care for them. I work in a small firm for pay. I serve on numerous not-for-profit boards for no pay, generally because I am asked to (because I have a skill that those boards need).
The guy in the article does neither. He seems to be on a near-permanent vacation.
I could deal with him being on a near-permanent vacation if he had enough money to invest in his child. Will he be able and willing to spend $250,000 to send his child to a top-tier college? If he worked, he could.
Plenty of nonprofits could benefit from his engineering skills. He isn’t volunteering those skills, either.
What if every 30-year old quit working and instead went on vacation? The economy would tank and all of us would be worse off.
I’m sure your life could be picked apart because you certainly doing all that you can to give back
I’m sure your life could be picked apart because you certainly doing all that you can to give back
I’m far from perfect and I welcome criticism.
But at least I work and volunteer my time.
I didn’t have kids who I keep in near-poverty out of my own laziness.
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