What was your big break in life ......??

[golfreak12]

It could be financially, romantically, or anything........
I was thinking about this the other day because I started being responsible so late in life yet I'm on the right track for FI.
I didn't get a full time job until 2001 which was right after 9/11 and I was close to 30.
My full time job was a manager at McDonalds and I became GM quick and stayed with that job until 2006. I saved enough money but it wasn't anything special.
My big break was when I quit the Mcdonalds gig and went back to a part time job I was doing during college(I say PT but i average around 30hrs/week).
I thought nothing of it at the time as it was just a part time gig to relieve all the stress at McDonalds but then I started making more and more money and 2014 was my first time ever crossing the $100K/yr mark.
The best part of that job is the flexibility that let me take time off anytime I want and I was traveling quite a bit until I met my wife(whom I met while I was traveling). I told my wife that my big break was not HER because it it wasn't for this job, I would have never been able to meet her.
Sometime I just can't believe that I went from 2006 of having ~$50K to my name to about $500K ten years later.
My plan is to semi-retire in 10 yrs(my wife should be out of school and has a decent job) and I can work as much/less at this job with zero financial responsibility.

[Mississippi Mudstache]

Honestly...being born to white, upper middle class parents in the USA. The likelihood of ending up a complete failure was pretty low solely by virtue of the circumstances of my birth. Besides that, I don't think I had any one "big break" in life.

[Bolshevik Artizan]

my wife is and was my big break in life. Before her, I dated self-obsessed, glamorous women. She has changed my wife with her wisdom, brains, quiet determination and beautiful soul. She is now letting me become the person I always wanted to be. Gushy, but what the hell. Bolshewik.

[Norioch]

Honestly...being born to white, upper middle class parents in the USA. The likelihood of ending up a complete failure was pretty low solely by virtue of the circumstances of my birth. Besides that, I don't think I had any one "big break" in life.

This.

[YK-Phil]

Being fired eight years ago, at age 49 at the height of my career, was a defining moment in my life, that made me rethink my priorities in terms of career, money, and family. On the financial side, I negotiated a nice severance that allowed me to pay off the mortgage, do nothing for one year, and eventually take a carefree (but low-paying job) as a flight attendant. I am back to work in a "real" job, but under my own terms and conditions. I realize that those years as a flight attendant delayed my FIRE by a few years, but I had a real blast and I don't regret anything.

[2Birds1Stone]

Something clicking in my head when I started my first full time job in 2010. I knew I wanted to get out of the 9-5 grind as early as possible. This lead to immersing myself in the topics of finance, investing, budgeting, early retirement, financial independence etc.

My second big break was Jan 1st 2015 I left the retail management world and landed a job in enterprise software sales, where I was able to double my income this year. Cutting my FIRE age from ~50 to ~40 seemingly over night.

[lostamonkey]

I haven't had a big break in life (yet), but I did get lucky to be born into a upper middle class loving family and am a heterosexual male.

[EllieStan]

I don't think I had one. Being broke and having student loans all throughout my 20s made me feel extremely insecure and ''behind'' everybody else. I knew the debts was the first thing that I needed to get rid of in order to sleep at night. As soon as my student income allowed me not to live paycheque to paycheque (ie when I received my ph.d grant), I started paying off the loans aggressively.

Honestly, though, I think the biggest break is yet to come: when I'm debt-free, somewhere in the Spring of 2016. This will be the first time in my adult life that I don't owe money to anyone, and I can start saving aggressively. I hope, through positive reinforcement, that this will improve my life in a way I can't even imagine right now and that I can finally stop worrying about the future all the time.

[Apples]

I'm 24 without any major outstanding accomplishments, so there could still be a big break in my future.  Thus far, it's being born to parents who are responsible with money and took the time to teach me about credit cards, investments, point out how dumb car loans are, and talk about retirement and college savings regularly.  My siblings and I are all stunned to watch friends make terrible money decisions because to us normal looks like our parents, who are responsible.  Also, they were middle class (and upper middle class once I was in h.s. and especially college) white people in small town USA who traveled with us to historic areas and cities to see a bit of the world.  And in late college and my early adult years, I'm learning more every month about how big of a break that really is for me.

[MillenialMustache]

Honestly...being born to white, upper middle class parents in the USA. The likelihood of ending up a complete failure was pretty low solely by virtue of the circumstances of my birth. Besides that, I don't think I had any one "big break" in life.

This.

Funny, I was thinking the same thing when I read the question. Just change upper middle class to blue collar, and it fits. And I am blessed by that.

[mathlete]

Honestly...being born to white, upper middle class parents in the USA. The likelihood of ending up a complete failure was pretty low solely by virtue of the circumstances of my birth. Besides that, I don't think I had any one "big break" in life.

This.

Both parents worked and were involved in my life. I'm also a high IQ person without any major physical or mental issues.

I suppose the circumstances under which I met my current girlfriend were pretty lucky.

[FrogStash]

My big break was having parents that stressed education to the point that my mom, who stayed home to raise my brother and I, worked a job that she hated at a pricey private university so my brother and I could attend nearly free of charge.  I sprinted through and earned a masters degree in 5 years.  I also met my wife while in college so my big break was both financial and romantic.

[zephyr911]

About seven years ago, I was newly divorced for the second time, broke, indebted, depressed, bad at my job and probably about to be unemployed (my entire division was winding down legacy projects and would be laid off within months). Then, my ex-wife called me to let me know she had seen a job listing that I might be interested in.

My ex, who really had no reason to like me, let alone do me a favor, and who had only seen this listing because she hadn't bothered to turn off her email notifications after getting the job she wanted and moving out of state to get away from me, had found what was (at the time) my dream job - overseas, away from everything, making shit-tons of money and totally immersed in the moment at all times. It was the perfect way to push the reset button on my disastrous life.

I rented out my house, found someone to take care of my dog, dove in headfirst, and had one of the best years of my life. Made well into six figures, paid off cars and cards, and piled up enough to take time off with loved ones and check off a whole lot of bucket-list items. It took me another year after getting home to fully stabilize, and my savings were again fairly low, but at least I had worked all the ugly shit out of my system, and my resume' was looking much better. I've been in the same job for five years since then, stashed 250K, and figured out a whole lot of stuff about life and investing. I shudder to think where I'd be if I hadn't gotten that call.

To that, I could add some of the common advantages above. I had some domestic instability growing up, but I always had at least one parent expressing genuine love and concern, encouraging high academic performance and extracurriculars, and pushing me to go to a good college and apply for scholarships. I got my education almost for free, aside from a few hours of work for incidentals, and came out with minimal debt. Due to my grandfather's influence, I did this all with the help of the Air Force, which has never been the perfect environment for me but at least gave me some structure and a steady paycheck while I figured out what I wanted, not to mention forcing me to stay in shape.

SO, all in all - pretty damn lucky. Looking to pay it forward.

[acroy]

Honestly...being born to white, upper middle class parents in the USA. The likelihood of ending up a complete failure was pretty low solely by virtue of the circumstances of my birth. Besides that, I don't think I had any one "big break" in life.

^^this!! And: healthy.
except we were middle-middle class, maybe even lower middle class. Parents had used cars, hand-me-down furniture, kids had to pay for own college education etc. But we lived very comfortably.

[pbkmaine]

My big break was having two guys in my life who loved me unconditionally - my dad and DH. They both believed that I could do absolutely anything I set my mind to and supported me in every way. Dad has been gone for nearly 35 years, and I still miss him every day. DH is sitting a few feet away from me right now, and I cherish him.

[Trudie]

As Warren Buffett would say, "I won the ovarian lottery."  I was born into a middle class family, with educated parents (who were teachers) who saw to it that we got good educations and provided a stable home life with plenty of food on the table and freedom from want (in all material ways).  We lived in decent neighborhoods with above-average public schools.  I was able to get a solid college education, which they largely paid for.  And my dad grew up in a poor farming family so worked his ass off on DIY and rental properties to make some coin on the side.  They pretty consistently demonstrated frugal values and taught me a great deal about investments, and started me with an IRA when I first started making money.  I owe a lot to them.  I honestly hope they don't plan to leave me inheritance... they've already done enough.

[Trudie]

My big break was having two guys in my life who loved me unconditionally - my dad and DH. They both believed that I could do absolutely anything I set my mind to and supported me in every way. Dad has been gone for nearly 35 years, and I still miss him every day. DH is sitting a few feet away from me right now, and I cherish him.

Ya'll are making me weepy.

I'm grateful for my DH too.  We see eye-to-eye on many things and having a peaceful homelife has really made my life.

[FiguringItOut]

Big break?  LOL no such luck for me.

What's the opposite of "big break"?  Whatever that is it was meeting and marring my ex husband.  Financially (among other things) it destroyed me, or rather kept me from building any kind of financial security whatsoever.

[rocketpj]

Born into a good, loving supportive family.  Folks were both teachers - not rich but not poor, good summers of camping and fun.

I never leaned on my folks for anything, but always knew they were there.  I now know what a goddamn fantastic lottery win that actually was (having seen plenty of others who were not so fortunate in the parent sweepstakes).

[irishbear99]

Ok, have to +1 on the whole white, middle class family lottery.

That being said, I've always considered what happened to me 10 years ago to be THE defining moment in my career. I was working in a dead-end job, in a career that I was starting to loathe, for a guy who was in the running for World's Biggest Jerk. I was stressed, having health problems (because of the stress) and generally hating life. Then, on the advice of a mentor, I applied for a 30-day detail in another section of the organization. I had not a single drop of experience in this field, but the supervisor saw something in me and decided to take a chance. Told me in no uncertain terms that if I couldn't hack it, they'd send me back.

I took that 30 days and ran with them. Worked my butt off and impressed them to the point where they wouldn't let me go back to my old office, and since then I've build a career in this new field and been successful beyond my wildest dreams. Now I'm working in a career field I love, making really good money, and have become nationally known in my organization as an expert in my field. None of this would have happened if it wasn't for that one guy a decade ago, who saw potential in me and took a chance.

[Cranky]

Picking good parents.

Not rich, but a stable family who valued education and were financially responsible.

After that, it's just about not screwing up too horribly.

[zinethstache]

I wouldn't call them breaks, but they were major life changers. First I lost my stepdad on a sunday, who was close to my natural father. 2 nights later my natural father went on a drinking binge and suffered a major stroke. I had to pick up the pieces of his irrisponsible life and decided I would NEVER, EVER end up like him. I was 35 at the time. Then a few years later my employer fired my department. They took me and another coworker aside 15 minutes in advance and gave us a quick summary of what was to go down. We were asked to apply for the new manager positions. We both applied and got the jobs. That was great but it set me into motion to build my own income stream outside of a day job. I felt very vulnerable seeing how quickly an employer can deem your position no longer needed.

Today I am FI, not RE'ed yet because of a few big life changing steps to take before heading off in our RV to slow travel the US.

My dad and my employer still make my blood boil, but without those two pivotal events I would not be where I am today. I wish they were "positive" breaks, but sometimes a break comes in a sneaky package, more like a wake up call.

In recent years I've had some health issues severe enough to keep me super focused on my exit strategy. I am looking at RE in less than 2 years unless the housing market tanks (I have get out from under our big-ass home which will be listed in the spring - were rehabbing it now). If I was like my dad and irresponsible, I would quit now without all my ducks in a row. I know I have a sound strategy however and need to see it through to the end before I pull the trigger.

[AZDude]

Getting hired by a start-up company almost four years after I graduated college, and spending those years floating through life without much a plan. Them hiring me led to having a long, successful career.

[Jon_Snow]

Being born to a couple of incredibly successful parents.

Marrying my wife.

And done. ;)

[bittheory]

No college loans.

My parents took out loans and repaid them on my behalf, but still giving me the tax benefits of having them in my name. I have relatives and friends who are 10 years out of school and not even halfway done with paying off their college loans. They've made progress in their careers and purchased homes, cars, etc, but it's still an anchor to their overall financial landscape and net worth.

I feel extremely fortunate to have not only gone to college, but to have done so with no incurring debt. It's why I am working hard now to save for my kids education.

[mozar]

In my whole life? I had emotionally abusive parents, but they noticed me enough to see that I was struggling. They put me in (low cost) private school where I (mostly) thrived.

It gave me the strength to make all the other good decisions in my life, including ignoring all the advice against going to grad school in 2006 (the economy is doing great! there's no need for grad school!). I went to grad school and things have been getting better since then!

Nice thread!

[NV Teacher]

Being born and raised in a family that believed in hard work and getting an education.  My dad was a farmer/carpenter and my mother was a school lunch lady.  They ended up with eight kids and no money so we all had to work to keep the family afloat.  Best life ever.

[chardog]

WHAT KIND OF PERSON MY DAD WAS.   My dad would say his big break was when he met my mom.  He exemplified "Badassity" and instilled it in me decades before I had the pleasure of discovering MMM.  He was a poor war refugee who came to the US not knowing English and with no applicable work experience.  He learned a new language and trade and worked extremely hard all his life.  He showed me how to be industrious and how to build or fix anything (usually with what you already had around the house).  Just today I fixed a broken tire mount on his old '87 Dodge van which I inherited and I thought about him the whole time.

[chardog]

Being born and raised in a family that believed in hard work and getting an education.  My dad was a farmer/carpenter and my mother was a school lunch lady.  They ended up with eight kids and no money so we all had to work to keep the family afloat.  Best life ever.

Awesome.  One thing I love about MMM is the great perspective so many have.  Yes money is important in order to meet your basic needs, but after that, it can't buy happiness.

[One Noisy Cat]

Great parents.
Great Health
Not living in eras where the bubonic plague was killing at least one-third of the population.

In some ways the best thing outside those was when I had about six months left in my enlistment and I was volunteered to come in one weekend to work with the reservists drilling. One of them decided to give me a sales pitch on the benefits of joining (extra money, not throwing away the eight years active service I had, pension at 60). He convinced me.

[zephyr911]

my wife is and was my big break in life. Before her, I dated self-obsessed, glamorous women. She has changed my wife with her wisdom, brains, quiet determination and beautiful soul. She is now letting me become the person I always wanted to be. Gushy, but what the hell. Bolshewik.

Awwww.

[Dr. Pepper]

Lots of breaks, growing up in a stable household with both parents despite living in poverty, getting an academic scholarship that paid for my entire college, getting into medical school , marrying the right person, getting into a good residency. A lot to be thankful for, and I don't ever forget what I started from, which was nothing.

[Sailor Sam]

sometimes a break comes in a sneaky package, more like a wake up call.

Agree! When I was 24 my most beloved girlfriend ejected me from her life. On bended knee, I offered up my still beating heart to her, but the cruel Fury stomped it into ribbons with her pointy fucking shoes. It was a very thorough evisceration. Much pain. Much anger. Great hopelessness. I took Melville at his word, and ran away to sea. I'm long over Miss High Heels, but the working on the ocean has pretty much defined my life ever since.


   

[patrickza]

I had many, but there are two which stand out.

The first was leaving my first job after they offered me a lousy increase. I used that time to go away with my girlfriend on an epic break, which was all possible because I had decent FU money (http://investorchallenge.co.za/f-you-money/). After that, I had a short ICQ (who remembers that!) conversation with a friend that led to a job in a different city at double my previous pay.

That then was the catalyst to my second big break. Using my now doubled up salary, I could afford to fly to the other city where my GF lived quite often. It was on one of these flights that a simple conversation with a couple on the flight led to interviews and finally my dream job. The money started out a little lower, but eventually overtook the high paying job I gave up to get my dream one.

[steveo]

I think meeting my wife and then getting married and having kids. The second will be retiring.

[ArcadeStache]

I guess my big break, like many others here, is being born into a good family. My parents could be hard on me and probably screwed me up a little, and they were not well off financially. However, they taught  me good values and the importance of hard work and financial responsibility.

[okobrien]

I haven't had a big break in life (yet), but I did get lucky to be born into a upper middle class loving family and am a heterosexual male.

What? o.O?
Either you think it's a big break to not be gay, which would be really fucked up. Or I don't understand what possible relevance this could have to the topic at hand.

If all the people who said they were lucky to be white is ok why isn't it ok to say being straight is an advantage too? Be honest with yourself here. Being gay puts you at a disadvantage in society.

[mancityfan]

A few:

1. Meeting and marrying my wife. Best friend, who also has great money instincts!

2. Moving to the USA from UK in 1980s. I took a job as a nurse on an AIDS unit. Scary, invigorating, fascinating. A great experience. I grew to love the US and have become a citizen. More opportunity here IMHO.

3. Changing careers to teaching from nursing. For all the problems in public education I do enjoy the kids and am in a very good school.

[zephyr911]

I haven't had a big break in life (yet), but I did get lucky to be born into a upper middle class loving family and am a heterosexual male.

What? o.O?
Either you think it's a big break to not be gay, which would be really fucked up. Or I don't understand what possible relevance this could have to the topic at hand.

You appear to have jumped to the conclusion that he was claiming that made him better.

I'm pretty sure he just meant the field is not quite level, as much as we'd like it to be.

[2ndTimer]

Have had three so far:

1.  Being born to white, educated parents
2.  While randomly picking a college major (Dietetics, for Heaven's sake) I stumbled into my first Chemistry class and fell desperately in love with science.
3.  That weird, stinky guy in my graduate Thermo class turned out to be the best spouse on the planet.

It was luck every step of the way.  The only virtue I can claim is being able to recognize a good thing when it handed to me.

[wenchsenior]

sometimes a break comes in a sneaky package, more like a wake up call.

Agree!
 

Also agree! Apart from my fortunate birth to a white middle class US family, my biggest break came, strangely, from something that initially seemed terribly traumatizing.

One of my best childhood friends lost her father very young. Her mom remained single for years while we grew up, but started dating a (very cool) man seriously when we entered high school. But then the horror!...he convinced my friend's mother to move across the country to Tucson, which was a city he loved. NO! I was traumatized by the separation.  But, a couple years passed by, and after a life changing visit, I decided to apply to college there and room for a while with my friend. This was important because I was an insecure kid, who would likely have never left my own city without the safety net of a best friend and 'alternate' family being present. Also, I had never considered living anywhere substantially different than home.

I moved out to Tucson, fell in love with the desert, started college, picked a major, met my future husband within a few months, and life started with a vengeance. Pretty much everything since is a direct result of Richard's influence on the family of my friend. Pretty cool!

[lostamonkey]

I haven't had a big break in life (yet), but I did get lucky to be born into a upper middle class loving family and am a heterosexual male.

What? o.O?
Either you think it's a big break to not be gay, which would be really fucked up. Or I don't understand what possible relevance this could have to the topic at hand.

If all the people who said they were lucky to be white is ok why isn't it ok to say being straight is an advantage too? Be honest with yourself here. Being gay puts you at a disadvantage in society.

I think being gay or straight is not a choice. I am glad that I was born straight because straight people still have many advantages in modern society. I don't feel that there is anything wrong with being gay though.

[Debts_of_Despair]

Getting a well paying job in my early twenties right out of college.  Yes, there were smaller breaks that led up to this one but this was the biggest.  Also factor in that I got the job slightly before the 2008 crash.

[Gone Fishing]

A=Pe^rt

[purple monkey]

Finding MMM.
I have changed so much in the last two years and have learned an incredible amount about money, life, and retirement.
Thank you all.
I bow to your collective wisdom!

[GuitarStv]

Honestly...being born to white, upper middle class parents in the USA. The likelihood of ending up a complete failure was pretty low solely by virtue of the circumstances of my birth. Besides that, I don't think I had any one "big break" in life.

This.

+1

I was born pretty lucky, and have had a combination of work/minor fortunate events end up in my favor to get me where I am today.  Can't really think of a single thing that totally changed my life though.

[CowboyAndIndian]

Multiple big breaks

• Being born in a family which valued education (with two Masters, I am the least educated)
• Migrating to the US
• Going into software in 1988, when it was not a high paying

[Daisy]

Great parents.

My dad taught me persistence, financial matters, patience, unconditional love. He is a self made man.

My mom taught me frugality, cooking, responsibility, unconditional love.

But most of all they decided to leave Cuba and move to the US where I was born. My life would have royally sucked being born in Cuba from the stories I hear of people living there and those that recently left.

[BlueHouse]

Being told repeatedly (and believing) that I can do anything that I set my mind to, meant that when opportunities arose, I said yes and jumped at the chance before I even had a chance to think about how I wasn't experienced or knowledgeable or smart enough.  I rarely had to overcome objections because I accepted challenging assignments before I really thought about them too much. 

I've had a number of breaks throughout the years.  My biggest break was when a previous employer got too big for its britches and decided to threaten it's client (where I worked) by saying it may decide not to renew it's contract.  It was using my work as a bargaining chip to bring on other less experienced people and the people didn't cut it at the client, so they kept getting released.  My boss took it personally and made a threat.  The client came to me and asked what would happen if my employer didn't renew and I told them don't worry, that would be stupid and if worse came to worst, I'd make sure they were taken care of.  They jumped on that as an opportunity to get rid of the company but keep me on and asked if I was set up as a business to support them.  I told them "No, but I could be within a week". 

The rest is history. 

[The Pigeon]

My collarbone. Ouch.