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Through the Decades...Thanks Fundalarm & MFO!

beebee
edited July 2015 in Off-Topic
I'm trying to pull back from the day to day decisions I focus on a lot here at MFO and think more in terms of decades of time with this thread.

A good life I hope offers me eight or nine of these decades (age 80 - 90). Generally speaking, my first two decades were spent developing my mind, body and spirit. If financial resources were needed they mainly were provided by others. Most of my accumulated resources (savings or gifts) I spent as quickly as I set them aside. This dynamic of "spending all I have" continued well into my second decade (age 20). But somewhere between the start of my third decade (age 18 - 25) and it's end (age 26-30) I begin to develop personal & financial independence. By the start of my fourth decade (age 31), I was divorced caring for 2 kids, a dog and a mortgage. Most kids don't leave home much before thirty these days. I counted my blessings and persevered.

Looking out over the next three decades, "life happened". I worked and played "overtime" and sleep when I could "find the time". Earnings, as I mentioned earlier, were used to enjoy "life". Somewhere in my thirties I made plans to set aside some of these earnings to enjoy "retirement". Many in their thirties and forties ignore this step (or can't afford it) so even if they don't "live to work" they must "work to live" and often for a lot longer than those who can put some earning aside. I made a decision...well, hundreds of decisions, to spend less and save a little of what I earned.

Putting earnings aside was a huge challenge, but an even bigger challenge was deciding, "where to put earnings?". I was pretty good at saving at an early age, but not prepared to make good investment decisions. I am still attempting to learn and better decide where to allocate these savings. Somewhere at the start of this I found FundAlarm and now its sibling MFO. I'm sure there are hundred more like me who are doing the same today as I did decades ago. Knowledge is power and MFO is one of the best resources I have found.

Just wanted to extend a "thank you" to David and his staff and to this discussion board for sharing your experiences, knowledge and wisdom here. I really believe it has guided me towards becoming a better investor as a result of the hundreds of threads, links, and comments offered daily by the MFO community.

Thanks all!

Comments

  • MarkMark
    edited July 2015
    +++ to infinity and beyond.

    Way to grind it out Bee. That alone is success in my book.
  • Old_JoeOld_Joe
    Well and truly said, bee. Nice!
  • CharlesCharles
    Congratulations Bee. Thanks for sharing ... this great post and all your contributions to the board. You're a big reason I keep coming back. Take good care. c
  • hank
    edited July 2015
    Great post bee. Would be futile of me to attempt to add anything.

    & Thanks
  • expatsp
    Great post, Bee. You sound like a great person too, in this and lots of your other posts too.
  • BrianW
    @bee: It's amazing that for all the differences we perceive, so many things are the same. Thanks for a wonderful post which hauntingly parallels my own thoughts. I don't know about you, but I'm often confronted by the thought of 'what If I had seen the light sooner'. I concur, thanks to all at MFO.
  • Sven
    Always enjoy your thoughtful posts and discussion. Thank you for sharing your story.
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