07-26-2015, 08:07 AM
Good topic!
I've always been a fairly good saver; however, not always a good investor. When I was your age, I was buying Exxon (pre-ExxonMobil days) through their drip plan. It was a great investment and proved to be very reliable and continued to grow and split and grow. However, I sold that stock and bought my first house at the age of 27, a fixer upper. I spent my late 20's and early 30's fixing the house up. Of course, in between, life happens. Life happens? Yea, the dot com bust, so many funds tank, girls come and go, mom gets diagnosed with emphysema, mom breaks her hip, step-father who I love dearly has one stroke then two weeks later a massive stroke that puts him in a wheelchair, mom breaks her hip AGAIN. Oh and I bail out my parents financially so they don't loos their house? I know, I should have seen a lawyer but I knew if they lost their home it would have killed one of them so I sucked it up and bailed them out cause they mean more then money to me. Then everything settles, right? No, I'm diagnosed with cancer with a 30 percent survival rate, and kicks my ass. Another woman gone, but who steps up to the plate? My parents, my grandmother, my friends...Wait, that's not fair, my at the time gf helped me through everything until I got semi-better then left LOL. I adopt a dog, meet a new woman, fall in love, get engaged, get married upgrade to our forever home and now we're trying for a kid. Uhhhhh ha, life happens. Oh, and before and even during all this I enjoyed having a good time!
I guess my point is, I like investing for the future and seeing our nest egg grow in order to some day be FI. But, I love and appreciate life more, I love and appreciate my family and friends more. The goal is to continue on saving, working and living life, appreciating life because we only get one. It's finding that balance.
As we age, our goals change, our needs or wants change, sometimes circumstances change our goals. It happens.
As far as investing in long term dividend paying growth stocks and two non- dividend paying stocks (MKL and Brk.B) I don't know when enough will be enough. I'll stop working when I'm done. When life tells me to stop.
I've always been a fairly good saver; however, not always a good investor. When I was your age, I was buying Exxon (pre-ExxonMobil days) through their drip plan. It was a great investment and proved to be very reliable and continued to grow and split and grow. However, I sold that stock and bought my first house at the age of 27, a fixer upper. I spent my late 20's and early 30's fixing the house up. Of course, in between, life happens. Life happens? Yea, the dot com bust, so many funds tank, girls come and go, mom gets diagnosed with emphysema, mom breaks her hip, step-father who I love dearly has one stroke then two weeks later a massive stroke that puts him in a wheelchair, mom breaks her hip AGAIN. Oh and I bail out my parents financially so they don't loos their house? I know, I should have seen a lawyer but I knew if they lost their home it would have killed one of them so I sucked it up and bailed them out cause they mean more then money to me. Then everything settles, right? No, I'm diagnosed with cancer with a 30 percent survival rate, and kicks my ass. Another woman gone, but who steps up to the plate? My parents, my grandmother, my friends...Wait, that's not fair, my at the time gf helped me through everything until I got semi-better then left LOL. I adopt a dog, meet a new woman, fall in love, get engaged, get married upgrade to our forever home and now we're trying for a kid. Uhhhhh ha, life happens. Oh, and before and even during all this I enjoyed having a good time!
I guess my point is, I like investing for the future and seeing our nest egg grow in order to some day be FI. But, I love and appreciate life more, I love and appreciate my family and friends more. The goal is to continue on saving, working and living life, appreciating life because we only get one. It's finding that balance.
As we age, our goals change, our needs or wants change, sometimes circumstances change our goals. It happens.
As far as investing in long term dividend paying growth stocks and two non- dividend paying stocks (MKL and Brk.B) I don't know when enough will be enough. I'll stop working when I'm done. When life tells me to stop.