"All kidding aside, I have been asked by many who see my family enjoying a boat ride. Who did you screw over to get that ride? A good number of the "less fortunate" as Boortz calls em are insanely jealous of others achievements. So it is very easy for an overly ambitious piece of crap politician to play the "soak the rich" card"
Agreed. I'm 32 and not doing too badly - bought a house a few years ago, my fiancee quit her job and goes to school full time, dont live check to check, etc... some of her classmates like to joke with her that she has a "sugar daddy" or people I know have expressed some jealousy...
...but here's what they don't see. The long weeks at a time I spend doing business travel and sleeping in hotel rooms instead of at home. My staying up 23 hour stretches to get a project done for a customer that HAS to get done by a deadline, so I git er done. Having taken only 2 vacation days in the last year and working straight through many weekend, like this one. My sister is one such jealous person - I pay for my fiancees school, and she wants my mom to pay for hers. (my sister is 29 and lives with her boyfriend.) I explained that paying for the person who you're engaged to's school is a grown up thing to do - having your mom pay for it isn't. She's a lib and doesn't get it.
TANSTAAFL
there ain't no such thing as a free lunch.
I recommend "the myth of rich and poor" and "the millionaire next door," 2 excellent books on this subject.
Stay the hell away from "rich dad, poor dad" as the whole book is a made up bunch of crap. It's full of bad advice.
like what? i'm curious to know what you think of as crap and bad advice...
I've read most of "the millionaire next door", and it is a book that should be read by everyone. One of the great things it delineates, among many things, is the fact that it is better to have the right attitude and work ethic than it is too start out with a lot of money and a poor attitude and work ethic. Many people who inherit large amounts of moola but have no understanding of how the moola was made usually end up blowing it
On the other end of the equation, I've seen my house which we bought in March of '04 six times for a total of 4 weeks since August of 2004.
I've been able to bring my wife and children with me, but we spent a year and a half in a small apartment in the downtown part of a city 1000 miles from home. I just got transferred again last week and now we'll do it all over again for at least 3 more months.
I'll make over $100k this year. I've had more money taken out of my check than my hard working father earned this year.
My father dropped out of highschool and raised was a single parent of two toddlers at age 21. He has worked his ass off every day of his life and never took a dollar of public assistance. His attitude toward self reliance is one of the main reasons I'm a young conservative.
We never discuss our finances with our friends. They wouldn't understand the connection between the sacrifices we are making and the income that it produces.