Quote:I personally am on the plus side of 50.  Kids tend to [BAD WORD REMOVED] me off when they get on my lawn, and they listen to noise that they call "music".  I could go on but I don't want to get political.

 

In my 20's I thought I knew so much only to later find out that what I knew and thought just wasn't so.  I got married and had some children which started changing me.  I suddenly had to be responsible and had to provide for my family.  I was into "pop culture" quite a bit and it was important to me and my young bride to be up on the "latest" regarding style and media.

 

In my 30's it was "all about fun" which meant buying toys, traveling, etc.  We had our home and could afford newer vehicles as well as the latest "gadgets" which included a gaming system (first generation Nintendo if I remember right) as well as a home computer.  Home PC's and the internet were in their infancy at the time.

 

In my mid-to-late 30's and into my 40's I started to think forward about retirement and the future.  I aggressively started paying off what debts that I had and started really aggressively saving and investing money.

 

I sit here now in my 50's still saving money and contemplating retirement.  Television shows don't really interest me much, and I spend a lot more time reading, learning and teaching my grandson things.  "Pop culture" isn't really my thing, and I've kind of "slowed down" in a way.  It's gotten to the point to where I pay somebody to do tasks that I normally would have done myself such as painting my house or mowing the lawn.

 

The one big piece of advice that I would give younger folks is to try to stay out of debt as much as possible and save/invest money.  It's a good feeling to go to a car dealership to purchase a new vehicle and simply write a check for it.  It's a great feeling not having a mortgage payment or any credit card bills.  It's also a great feeling knowing that I can do whatever I want and can live a good life without being dependent on a paycheck.