A tale of sadness and woe, with lessons to be learned?

[infromsea]

I spend a few hours a week counseling vets.

I recently met with a vet who retired from the reserves.

He's been laid off and is looking for work. He asked my opinion on certifications and for networking connections.

We spoke for some time and he admitted that things are about to get VERY tight around his house if he doesn't find work soon. 

This is someone who has been successful, was a high rank, and has probably cleared a large sum of income in his time (he's a bit older and may be having trouble finding work due to ageism).

This put into sharp relief how valuable this FIRE mentality truly is. Pete says it all the time, it's not about the RE, it's about having OPTIONS and freedoms in life. How much less valuable are the big house, the nice cars, the fancy clothes etc. when things turn south a bit and life gets a little tight?

This meeting re-affirmed several of my life decisions over the last few years and, once again illustrated the value of living/working towards a FIRE lifestyle, I'm willing to continue living "tight" now and not having to be overly worried about the possibility of that "down the road" (old Dave says it well, live like no-one else now so later, you can live like no-one else...). I'm not perfect at this WOL but I've been given a bit of a booster shot to push me on down the path a bit.

Cheers!

Tim

[SunnyDays]

I agree that there is a BIG lesson to be learned from this type of situation, unfortunately some people just still don't seem to get it.  I took on a roommate 6 months ago that was coming from another province to live closer to a relative, because she had developed health issues, couldn't live alone and was basically being supported by other family who she didn't get along with.  She's in her 50s and has worked all her life, reporting to me that she had never earned less than 100K a year for the past 15 years, so 1.5 million just in that time.  Clearly she spent it all, and now here she is earning maybe 20K after taxes, as her health issue prevent her from working full time.  Has she learned not to waste money?  Of course not.  She buys all organic food at a rate about 50 - 100% above regular groceries, spends about $80 a month on fast food, and buys her dog pricey treats.  She also leaves lights on ALL THE DAMN TIME, uses tons of water and has to have the heat AND A/C cranked up because we wouldn't want to be uncomfortable.  The utilities are on my dime of course, since her rent is all-inclusive, but I have no doubt that this will continue once she moves into her own place.  And that brings up the point that she can't afford to move, even though I've told her she only has 6 months left, because she can't afford her own place and not many people want to host a dog.  So, yeah, no options.  I don't know how she sleeps at night, I'd be scared shitless to be so desperate.

[infromsea]

I don't know how she sleeps at night, I'd be scared shitless to be so desperate.

I am constantly amazed at how powerful the mind is and how good we can become at deluding ourselves.

I was at the CPA today and was expecting a scolding since we REALLY messed up with-holdings last year and only had about half the deductions taken out over the year (not a big deal, we have cash to pay it and the penalties turn out to not be scary).

He told me that he has clients that do the same thing (only have 1/2 of total with-holdings taken out over the year) and then they file extensions, not because they are trying to stiff-arm the government, but because they just don't want to "deal with it right now" and he knows, like clockwork, which clients will do this, and when they'll actually take action to correct it.... Humans... can't live with them...