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MarkostheGnostic
Elder



Registered: 12/09/99
Posts: 14,279
Loc: South Florida
Last seen: 3 years, 2 days
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Re: Does money buy happiness? [Re: Icelander]
#18964665 - 10/11/13 03:59 PM (10 years, 3 months ago) |
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It seems utterly insane that I continue to live here at these costs. The roof could be good for 30+ years I'm assured, unless a Category 5 hurricane like Andrew blows through. I bought 'Dimension' shingles rated at 130 mph. A stronger metal roof would've been $50K. But the homeowner's insurance is obscenely expensive. Fortunately we're not in a flood zone, so no flood insurance needed. If we leave Citizens Insurance, which is the default company, they won't take us back, but I just got a flier in the mail for another company, and I'm going to fill it out. I only have until November 22 (the day I moved in 17 years ago, JFK's and Aldous Huxley's death days too, so I can always remember). The weather is finally getting livable down here. Summers are like living on Venus, except for the sulfuric acid atmosphere. It was hotter in the parking lot at the supermarket than it was in equatorial Nigeria when we returned from there in July one year. Besides the melanoma that could've killed me, the basal cell carcinoma last year, and my cataract surgery, someone needs to remind me why I still live in the Sunshine State. Oh yeah, no snow shoveling related heart attacks. But, we have hurricanes, tornadoes, an earthquake in the Gulf a couple years ago, floods, every variety of poisonous snake that lives in North America, the biggest alligators you've ever seen, and some crocodiles and caimans, the biggest constricting snakes you could imagine, 4 foot long iguanas that shit human-sized turds of the palm trees into the pool, raccoons that shit on the pool steps, and the snakes, rats, and frogs that come out of the toilets in your house. We had the latter two.
-------------------- γνῶθι σαὐτόν - Gnothi Seauton - Know Thyself
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Icelander
The Minstrel in the Gallery



Registered: 03/15/05
Posts: 95,368
Loc: underbelly
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Somebodies got to live there.
-------------------- "Don't believe everything you think". -Anom. " All that lives was born to die"-Anom. With much wisdom comes much sorrow, The more knowledge, the more grief. Ecclesiastes circa 350 BC
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MarkostheGnostic
Elder



Registered: 12/09/99
Posts: 14,279
Loc: South Florida
Last seen: 3 years, 2 days
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Re: Does money buy happiness? [Re: Icelander]
#18965288 - 10/11/13 06:52 PM (10 years, 3 months ago) |
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Yeah, 'Swamp Thing.'
-------------------- γνῶθι σαὐτόν - Gnothi Seauton - Know Thyself
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topdog82
Death Spirit



Registered: 07/16/10
Posts: 7,992
Loc: California
Last seen: 5 months, 2 days
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Quote:
MarkostheGnostic said: Yeah man, it's a generational thing. Each new generation seems to be in a place where they begin making the salary that was the top end salary for the preceding generation. Inflation. When I was in high school a Corvette Stingray cost $6000. When I was in college a rich girlfriend had a 2-door Mercedes convertible that cost $10,000 brand new, while my brand new Fiat 850 Spider cost a mere $2400. I bought my house in 1996 for $130,000 and during the real estate 'bubble,' I could've sold it for well over $300,000. Now it can sell for just under $300K. My parents house cost $21,000 in 1955. 30 years later they sold it for $150,00. A couple of years ago it sold for $460,000. Planning. You need to find a career that is marketable, not merely interesting. I stayed in the same position of a school system for almost 30 years but those days are over for your generation. I lucked out with an unexpected windfall of inherited money, but I also saved like a son-of-a-bitch, unlike many of my peers who want to live large but are in pathetically paying positions in education. Now they're looking at taking social security at the earliest time which is a poor choice IMO, but they NEED the money 'cause they didn't plan ahead.
Psychologists have to be business men or women. You have to scramble for insurance company endorsements. You need to 'know' people, and play business games. It's not all about being a helper or growing into sage hood. I'm glad that I don't have to struggle at this point, but I made some grievous errors whir following my bliss. Take counsel from people who are already in the field and are willing to help you. Seek out such counsel, your financial future depends on it, and hence your freedom to choose. And no, I was not in HR. Frankly, I have no idea what the girl actually does every day. I do know that it pays a whole lot better than what I was doing, but I worked from 8:30-3:50, 212 days out of 365.25, and that's what mattered much more than 2-3 weeks of vacation after 15 or 20 years. My brother is a lawyer who makes money in the mid six figures. He works to 9 at night, he's 4 years younger than me but looks 10 years older. He's a fat cat and a jerk, partly by training partly by temperament. We all make our choices. Choose wisely.
1) I def see what you are saying about that now. I think eahc generation learns from theprevious generations lessons/mistakes and then improves on them. Each time getting a little more oppurtunity 2) And yeah. Now it is all startingto make sense. I guess once you start to become money-oriented you start to lose sight of what actually makes you happy and fullfills you
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topdog82
Death Spirit



Registered: 07/16/10
Posts: 7,992
Loc: California
Last seen: 5 months, 2 days
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Re: Does money buy happiness? [Re: topdog82]
#18968345 - 10/12/13 01:39 PM (10 years, 3 months ago) |
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My buddy asked me what I would do if I had a billions dollars. It really got me thinking. I wrote a list of what I would do in life if I hypothtically inherited money:
1) Finish psychology degree 2) Work as a clinical psychologist 3) Buy a house in Santa Cruz or somehwere in calfornia thats very green 4) Meet a woman, get a cute dog (not sure if I wanna get married. But lets assume I do) 5) two kids 6) retire at some point. Lose my myself to hobbies. Meditate. Medicate
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topdog82
Death Spirit



Registered: 07/16/10
Posts: 7,992
Loc: California
Last seen: 5 months, 2 days
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Re: Does money buy happiness? [Re: Spacerific]
#18968348 - 10/12/13 01:39 PM (10 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
Spacerific said: Watch this one a few times, it'll start making sense:
This video is so simple yet so insightful. It really makes you think and put things into perspective
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LunarEclipse
Enlil's Official Story


Registered: 10/31/04
Posts: 21,407
Loc: Building 7
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Re: Does money buy happiness? [Re: topdog82]
#18969080 - 10/12/13 04:55 PM (10 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
topdog82 said: My buddy asked me what I would do if I had a billions dollars. It really got me thinking. I wrote a list of what I would do in life if I hypothtically inherited money:
1) Finish psychology degree 2) Work as a clinical psychologist 3) Buy a house in Santa Cruz or somehwere in calfornia thats very green 4) Meet a woman, get a cute dog (not sure if I wanna get married. But lets assume I do) 5) two kids 6) retire at some point. Lose my myself to hobbies. Meditate. Medicate
1) Requires billions? 2) Really? If you had billions? I'm so sure. 3) Maybe a really really big house 4) You can do this now, better than you will if you are rich. 5) You can do this now, better than you will as a rich person. 6) You can do all this now other than the retirement. Plus I thought you wanted to be a working billionaire.
-------------------- Anxiety is what you make it.
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