Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Buying a stock that had been unfairly punished in the recession. It was worth 30x the purchase price a few years later, equivalent to about three years' salary. Best stock pick of my life, which I attribute to 40% good research and 60% great luck.
Resisting job hopping always dreaming of some nirvana earning situation. Sticking with stable jobs that had good benefits and retirement plans even though they had temporary frustrating ups and downs for me personally.
Keeping the long term view with investments and not panicking over the knee jerk fiscal idiocies markets make from day to day. I might not be making top dollar percentages on them but I am not lying awake agonizing over risk either.
Buying the house that satisfies me, not the house that satisfies others.
Not chasing "miracle" schemes. There's no free lunch.
I have a friend I went to college with that I tried like crazy to get to "stick with something" and decades later he is still searching for get rich quick schemes (and he is broke).
You know those jobs that used to advertise in the paper "Looking for 10 people that want to be millionaires in the next 6-12 months".......he fell for every one of those scams rather than the "fortune 500 company looking for entry level employees" type jobs.
Some were decisions, some were luck, some were things we did that we didn't realize the long term consequences. For example, both my husband and i worked for the gov for around 7 years and we will both get a pension. that's not why i took the job but now that we're close to retiring, it's a great perk. i also married a very hard worker with excellent earning potential. of course that's not why i married him but now i am so glad i both loved him and he's a great earner . i also worked FT the entire time we raised our kids. it was often tempting to quit and be a SAHM but we would not be nearly as healthy financially as we are if I had done that.
also, we bought our house and then it went up in value by about 75% the next two years. i'm in an extremely hot real estate market and when we sell, we will make a very healthy profit.
Joining the Air National Guard after my active duty time in the Marine Corps ended. That military retirement pay makes a significant difference. Add in the free healthcare and base access and it's definitely one of the smartest moves I ever made. Bonus is that I was able to travel to over 40 countries while getting paid.
The absolutely WORST thing I ever did, is share my inheritance from my first dead ex-husband, with my 'family' and continue to send money to my nieces and nephews for college. None of these people speak to me now, only because I did not go back to NY for my brother's funeral. They told me I was selfish. In my life, I sent more money to them - than I managed to save for myself. Thus, when I read this forum about investments and the such - I shudder - I should have much more money than I do.
The BEST decision I ever made financially - when I became a stripper and made a ton of money - cash. And... had an absolutely fascinating life.
We sit around in our old age - retirement (?) and can have regrets. Yet, what is life? Experience and wonder. Don't you wish, that IF there were such a thing as reincarnation, you could REMEMBER all this stuff so you wouldn't mess up again? Thus, I can't figure out why there would even be such a thing as reincarnation. (see what I mean about contemplations about worst and best decisions!?!?!) Best wishes to all and Merry Christmas !!!
There is no single thing as it all added up to us being very comfortable in our retirement. Most of all I would say that we slogged through lots of years working that ultimately left DW with a nice pension and me with a big 401k. If OP or anyone is looking for secret sauce, there is none. Just steady work for 30+ years which pays off in the end.
1. Not divorcing in mid-life;
2. Working a full career at a pensionable guv'ment job;
3. Buying my first house in my 20's in a desirable So Cal area, and taking the equity out a few years later and putting it down on a house in my 30's in a VERY desirable So Cal area.
I agree that marrying the right person is key. I got that right. But paying off our mortgage in 15 instead of 30, (in our case) gave us 17 years of more money to save and invest. Also not trading cars every three years. We kept one Volvo for 27 years.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. i also worked FT the entire time we raised our kids. it was often tempting to quit and be a SAHM but we would not be nearly as healthy financially as we are if I had done that. 
