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Having a house is not in everybody's dreams. You could save money for traveling instead, explore the word, live cheap and have little responsibilities. Why be tied up to a house, family, kids, school, work! Life is more than that and if you have a chance to enjoy the other part of living, I would do that.
That sounds like exactly the kind of life for me!!!
Mmmmm… I love red wine and I would kill for a glass of merlot right about now btw! hehe
Funny, my wife was telling me last night that a lady at here work asked her what her and I do at night (lady knows we don't have kids/grandkids or family living anywhere near us). She told her, "my husband generally has supper ready when I get home, we eat and watch tv and or on the computer the rest of the evening (til 10PM) Yes, a VERY laidback during-the-week lifestyle that we both love. To say the least, the lady was sort of shocked since she has kids.......and is much younger than we are!
I've done those awful things (what some folks would consider aweful) at work, but when it comes right down to it.......I really kicked a** at work and got the job done and done right! Guess that comes from my previous military training/experience.
We have some very nice things that we wanted and (we think) deserved. But, can we really afford some of these nice things, WELL..............we do our best.
My work ethic is great... until its time to go home :P If OT is on the table, I can extend it a bit. I value my "leisure time" greatly. I'd rather be with my family than make OT. But if the company needs it, then I do it.
At my previous job, my work ethic was poor. I was fresh-out from college with my BS and MS and thought I was hotsh*t. I was given the grunt work (which I realize now is normal in my field). I detested the work I was given. I also worked on a team filled with experienced professionals (15+ years) who wanted little input from a rookie.
After busting my hump for 2 years, my compensation was very poor for my production and my education. I coasted the next 3 years until I left that position and cashed-in on my experience at another company that gave me a nearly 66% pay increase. Yeah, I was underpaid (or maybe overpaid now).
I found that feeling valued helped me maintain my work ethic at this new company. Instead of just being another cog in the machine, I drive the machine. It is far easier to do one's job like that.
Is this a great country or what? Anything you want to be, anything you want to do or not do it is yours for the taking. An awesome place and time to live, isn't it?
You and I are opposites. Over the past 45 years I've collected exactly one single unemployment check and that was in January, 1973 for $63. Other than that I've always worked.
I've owned two companies over 45 years, I have had some years I have enjoyed a six figure income and in 1986 I earned over $100k in 1986 dollars which back then was a lot of money. My family and I lived very well well.
Unlike you I chose a different path to my happiness and that was working 12 to 14 hour days Monday through Friday, 6 to 12 hours on Saturday and sneaking into work for a few hours on Sunday while the family often went to church without me.
I owned a nice family airplane, we took at least two vacations per year one of them always being a Bahamas cruise in winter. My 12 year old daughter had a report to do on a national park, she picked Olympic National Park so we flew out as a family and spent a week where she did her report. She got an A on it and we had a good time.
Every two or three years the wife and I would get a new car of our choice. My favorite was the Chevy suburban that could hold 8 people comfortably and got 10 mpg.
This was my lifestyle and I worked hard to maintain it. My hardest working years were between 1980 and 2000 where I believe you could count the number of weeks I didn't work at least 50 hours on the fingers of two hands. Funny now but back then I considered 50 hours as a big time goof off week. My wife often enough reminds me for 20 years I was the classic workaholic and I was.
Computers was the worst thing to happen. If I woke up at 3:00 AM I would go do my office den where I would work for two or three hours before the family got up and I left to start my day.
More than once I stayed up all night. There were projects I worked on where I worked 36 hours straight with the only break was to take a shower and change clothes. For 20 years I am sure I had the equivalent of two full time jobs. I am not crying, not asking for any sympathy and I don't regret what I did I am just telling you what I did to bring me happiness.
You, as a free American and as is your full right, selected a different path to happiness. It is one of very little effort dong as little work as you possibly can and still get by. You should be proud (you really should, I am not mocking or making fun of you) you are dong it your way!
Wow!
All this said do me one favor will you? If you ever end up poor, destitute, homeless or unable to afford health insurance for medical care don't look to me through our social network systems to pay your bills. Can you do this? As my wife and I pass you panhandling at the airport on our way to a 10 day cruise in January don't grumble how the rich are keeping the poor man down, how the system is unfair and capitalism is evil and wrong.
Because I have always worked the way I do I can afford the $1,500/month health insurance premium for me and my family. I feel paying this is important for my families protection and if it took two full times jobs for me to be able to afford it two jobs is what I would do. You, on the other hand, obviously don't feel it is important and it is your right to feel that way. Being a free country you don't even have to buy the insurance if you don't want to but if don't do me a favor and don't come to me demanding I pay for your health needs because it is somehow your right that I do so.
When my wife and I retire on a $50,000 annual income without working while you retire on a social security check of $883, food stamps and a part time job as a WalMart greeter do me a favor and don't whine how "the system" is so unfair to the working man such as yourself. You think you can do that?
Do we have a deal?
LMAO You wrong for that. Ms.VanillaGorilla is straightforward about letting you know she doesn't want to better herself; that she's content with mediocrity. If that's what she wants, that's her right. I don't agree, but who am I to judge?
Well, another way of putting it is that I don't belong to a union...
Lazy people do.
Really? Then try driving a school bus and tell me that again will ya? While I am not overly fond of the union I was with-I busted my tail every day at work. It does take someone very special to turn their backs on 60+ kids in a moving vehicle.
I went back to college at the age of 30. I had two small kids at the time. Had number three half way through college. I have found I am now extremely obsessive to have details done correctly. My job I am super attentive to details, failure is NOT an option and I will put forth all effort to get it done right the first time. Even when I went back to driving a school bus after being home with the kids for 11 years-I found it still true that I wouldn't do things half way there either. Nor is this new job I despise-I still give 110%, because that just me and my make up now-far different than a newbie out of high school/college drop out the first go around. I guess I like to prove that I am not stupid, nor anything like the bus driver in Forrest Gump.
Having a house is not in everybody's dreams. You could save money for traveling instead, explore the word, live cheap and have little responsibilities. Why be tied up to a house, family, kids, school, work! Life is more than that and if you have a chance to enjoy the other part of living, I would do that.
+1. Not everyone wants a house, nice cars, a spouse, two kids, and climbing the corporate ladder. Although it does seem to be the commonly accepted wisdom here in the US that without those, you cannot be happy or successful.
I know several people in their late 30s (admittedly single) who work their butts off during the summer working construction and then take off all winter and travel around chasing storms to ski powder. And they are VERY happy.
I know another person (in his late 30s as well) who works a desk job (finance) for 4 or 5 years, and then takes off traveling the world for the next 2 or 3 years (he's on his second world trip right now, somewhere in Kazakhstan as of last week). It is obviously easier to do without a child, but a couple I know with a child also does something similar.
I chose a somewhat middle road in terms of work-life balance. I work full-time, but also live in a mountain/ski town. When there's work to be done, I get it done without fail. But I also manage to get out and ski powder days, go biking and hiking during the week. At this point, I don't really care for more money or promotion; I'd rather take more time off. In fact, next year we're planning to take 3 months of unpaid leave next year and go live/travel in Europe.
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