Comments on: The long weekend. https://habitablezone.com/2016/06/25/the-long-weekend/ Fri, 10 Apr 2026 03:45:24 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: ER https://habitablezone.com/2016/06/25/the-long-weekend/#comment-36891 ER Sun, 26 Jun 2016 18:29:56 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=58388#comment-36891 But if you're beating yourself to death, get out, if in any way possible. It will make you crazy and old before your time. Fewer and fewer jobs have pension benefits any more, so my advice may be of little use to others, particularly young folks. Granted, we have no guarantee pensions will be honored, even if you have one, (even government benefits!) There really is no magic bullet. Careers and industries can become obsolete overnight, skills can become useless, savings can be wiped out by inflation or bank failure, stocks by crashes, and FDIC can't be counted on to be there if we need it. Investments are nice, but that's a zero sum game, somebody has to lose, especially if you're postulating the apocalypse. The best you can do is get lucky, hedge your bets, and don't paint yourself into a corner. Just remember, we can't ALL be entrepreneurs or venture capitalists. Some of us actually have to go to work. But if you’re beating yourself to death, get out, if in any way possible. It will make you crazy and old before your time.

Fewer and fewer jobs have pension benefits any more, so my advice may be of little use to others, particularly young folks. Granted, we have no guarantee pensions will be honored, even if you have one, (even government benefits!) There really is no magic bullet. Careers and industries can become obsolete overnight, skills can become useless, savings can be wiped out by inflation or bank failure, stocks by crashes, and FDIC can’t be counted on to be there if we need it. Investments are nice, but that’s a zero sum game, somebody has to lose, especially if you’re postulating the apocalypse.

The best you can do is get lucky, hedge your bets, and don’t paint yourself into a corner. Just remember, we can’t ALL be entrepreneurs or venture capitalists. Some of us actually have to go to work.

]]> By: mcfly https://habitablezone.com/2016/06/25/the-long-weekend/#comment-36890 mcfly Sun, 26 Jun 2016 17:22:23 +0000 https://www.habitablezone.com/?p=58388#comment-36890 I'm still a decade from retirement--gawd willing--but even so, it becomes impossible to ignore the fact that, at some unspecified time, the wheels are going to fall off. Heck, at least one of then has a wobble now. I hope I'm doing something I love when the chassis hits the ground. I’m still a decade from retirement–gawd willing–but even so, it becomes impossible to ignore the fact that, at some unspecified time, the wheels are going to fall off. Heck, at least one of then has a wobble now. I hope I’m doing something I love when the chassis hits the ground.

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