Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

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brian2013
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Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by brian2013 »

I'm about a year away from turning 40. My thirties were pretty good to me - i started and stabilized my own business and witnessed the birth of my two beautiful kids, and now I find myself contemplating this "turning point" a little bit. I was just curious what the thoughtful, intelligent folks on this forum might have to teach me about it. Those of you who have already lived through their 40's, or who are in their 40's, what did this decade mean to you? Emotionally, financially, etc., I'm interested in whatever seems significant in your experiences. What did you learn, what do you wish you had done differently, or what do you wish you had known at 40? Did you have any "crisis" experiences? Let's hear it!
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Taylor Larimore
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by Taylor Larimore »

What did you learn, what do you wish you had done differently, or what do you wish you had known at 40?
Brian:

I wish I had known John Bogle and his selfless crusade "to give ordinary investors a fair shake."

Best wishes.
Taylor
"Simplicity is the master key to financial success." -- Jack Bogle
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rob
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by rob »

I'm still pretending that I'm not in the last throws of the 40's :shock: I never found an answer to that aging issue but let me know if you find something, cause my 40's convinced me getting old sux on some fronts :-) I found my 40's the point where assets start growing faster than my contributions... likely just the last decade been good for stocks but it's also annual contributions start becoming a smaller part of the total.

Just keep doing more of the same and start thinking about getting off the treadmill - I never got answers... more a series of questions and some broad brush maybe's that I expect I will have to start getting details around during my 50's. Maybe try to avoid the mid-life crisis thing... or at least buy a used Porsche if you must 8-)
| Rob | Its a dangerous business going out your front door. - J.R.R.Tolkien
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dbCooperAir
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by dbCooperAir »

Life moves so fast thru your 40's when you have kids in the mix, those are the running years for many I bet.

Trying to slow down and smell the roses between running the kids in every direction was/is hard too do.

On the other hand with the kid being active we have meet some great parents at all the practices/games/etc. Sometimes I think we spend more time with the other parents then we do with our family and friends. As the kids are getting older and driving I'm starting to see some of this slipping away.

I did buy a very economical convertible (less than $7,000) at the start of my 40''s. Still have and enjoy that car today. I would do this again.
Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him. | -Dwight D. Eisenhower-
MP173
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by MP173 »

I have heard it said that the 40's are a very good decade overall for people. By then your career should have stabilized. You still have youth on your side, but wisdom is beginning to aggregate. Relationships should be cementing and with that perhaps children. Housing should be a factor.

Now, that being said, that decade doesnt always work out for everyone. We all face "issue" and for me it was the illness of my wife and her death two years later (right in the middle of the 40s for me). Despite that, overall it was a positive decade for me. I could NOT affect that loss, it was completely out of my hands. What I could do is determine how to live my life and that went pretty well.

OP, regardless of what people tell you, youth is still in your corner. There is enough knowledge and wisdom in your corner. Hopefully health is in your corner.

This could be a very good decade if you make good decisions and have good luck.

Ed
chaz
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by chaz »

The 40's was a great time for me. My savings grew as my income rose. Aging not an issue.
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2retire
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by 2retire »

Not really financial related, but be prepared to need glasses to read things. It doesn't matter how great your far vision is, even if it is better than 20/20, as reading doesn't seem to figure into those numbers. The font size and lighting conditions make a big difference in your reading capabilities.

When my eye doctor told me there was nothing wrong with my eyes, I looked at him like he was crazy. I said, "But I can't read.". He said, "You're over 40, that is perfectly normal."

As I told the story to my over 40 friends they all laughed and pulled out their reading glasses. I had never really noticed how prevalent they were. They said I was lucky to have made it as far as I did without needing them.

I think now, I better understand the push for bigger and bigger cell phone screens. As the first smart phone users are starting to age, they are needing those bigger screens to see stuff. I've always mocked large screen cell phones, but now I'm looking at having to get one.

The good news, from a financial standpoint, is that you don't have to spend much on glasses. You can do like my doctor said and run to the supermarket or dollar store and pickup those cheap reading glasses you always see. They more than do the trick. The ones from the dollar store are so cheap you can put a pair at every seat in the house/work/car where you might possibly read something. No need to ever get up to get your glasses.
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by chaz »

2retire wrote:Not really financial related, but be prepared to need glasses to read things. It doesn't matter how great your far vision is, even if it is better than 20/20, as reading doesn't seem to figure into those numbers. The font size and lighting conditions make a big difference in your reading capabilities.

When my eye doctor told me there was nothing wrong with my eyes, I looked at him like he was crazy. I said, "But I can't read.". He said, "You're over 40, that is perfectly normal."

As I told the story to my over 40 friends they all laughed and pulled out their reading glasses. I had never really noticed how prevalent they were. They said I was lucky to have made it as far as I did without needing them.

I think now, I better understand the push for bigger and bigger cell phone screens. As the first smart phone users are starting to age, they are needing those bigger screens to see stuff. I've always mocked large screen cell phones, but now I'm looking at having to get one.

The good news, from a financial standpoint, is that you don't have to spend much on glasses. You can do like my doctor said and run to the supermarket or dollar store and pickup those cheap reading glasses you always see. They more than do the trick. The ones from the dollar store are so cheap you can put a pair at every seat in the house/work/car where you might possibly read something. No need to ever get up to get your glasses.
I have worn glasses since age 9.
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saladdin
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by saladdin »

Fresh into my 40's. Have chosen to not have kids and do not regret one iota. You're not required to have kids.

I now understand "midlife crisis" and now see how dumb I was making fun of those people when I was in my 20s'. Your mind still thinks it's 20 but your body loudly protests.

I get why so many reasonably smart people spend billions a year on weight loss fads or vitamin supplements.

I realize there is nothing wrong with going to bed at 10 on a saturday night.

But the biggest one? I have a better understanding of time. Really grasping the idea of your own mortality is scary. Based upon family history I may only have 20 more years. That truly makes my heart skip a beat. I wake up before 0600 even when I don't have to because I don't want to waste time. I wish I could have learned that earlier in life. The days I wasted sleeping until 1000 just because I was being lazy.
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by teacher5 »

I find this to be an interesting topic, I will follow this.

As I approach 50 I now realize that retirement is coming. At 40 it seemed so far away. I am thankful that I have been preparing (financially) for it. My 40's meant that I came to my senses and stopped blowing too much money and started saving much more. In my 20's and 30's I blew a lot of money, but had a lot of fun. In my 40's I paid my debts off. I consciously put myself in a comfortable position. I have seen many in their late 40's who have not done that. I am now more aware than ever that I made the right decision to educate myself and act on it (retirement planning) in my 20's. I feel very comfortable because of that. I wish I saved more in my 20's and 30's, but I did not. I have tweaked my investments in large part because of what I have read on this forum, and read in books. Yes, I have achieved career stability, another reason for comfort. I had a drastic career change in my early 30's. I spent most of my 30's getting accustomed to the new career, and catching up to how much income I had in my late 20's!

I too have recently picked up a pair of reading glasses, darn print got smaller!
bhsince87
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by bhsince87 »

I've got a few more months left in mine.....

They have been my peak earning years, and I'll be lucky to keep up with inflation from here on out. They've certainly been my peak saving years!

I had my first major health scare at 41. Diagnosed with potential MS. Was partially paralyzed for a few days, and then numb. I also fell and broke my arm two different times. But after 4-5 years of tests and observation, the conclusion is that it was probably some sort of virus.

That put a scare into me. I went on a bit of a spending spree for a few years, but I got that out of my system. Eventually, thinking about potential disability and other health issues actually motivated me to save more. In some areas, there are treatments available for cash that aren't yet covered by insurance. And I thought it might be nice to have options.

This was also the decade when we first broke the $1 million net worth mark. And then $2 million too! And 3 is pretty darn close. If the market cooperates, I might just squeeze that one in during my 40's too! A lot of that is because the power of compounding really started to kick in for me. There are many years now when our investment growth and income exceeds our salaries.

I've got a lot more aches and pains now, and recovery from workouts or injuries takes longer. Got the first gray specks in my beard, and lost a little hair, but I'm fairing a lot better than many in that department. And oh yeah, the reading glasses thing. I've worn glasses or contacts for nearsightedness since I was 10. But I finally started losing my near vision (with the contacts in or the glasses on) a couple years ago. So I've been using reading glasses. Now I'm working up the nerve to get an appointment for bifocals....
Time is what we want most, but what we use worst. William Penn
thenextguy
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by thenextguy »

MP173 wrote:I have heard it said that the 40's are a very good decade overall for people. By then your career should have stabilized. You still have youth on your side, but wisdom is beginning to aggregate.
When I was in my 20s, I had a boss that said as much. I never paid much attention to it because the guy was kind of an a-hole. That said, as I'm approaching 40 I think he might have been right, despite being an a-hole.
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by czeckers »

A little over a year into my 40's. These are the running years for sure. Hair seems more gray with every hair cut. Beginning to get leadership responsibilities at work. Net worth growth beginning to pick up through compounding of investments as well as paying off of student loans and mortgage. Investment growth is almost equal to contributions right now, but the market has been especially kind over the last few years. :D

-K
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by Levett »

What was my major take away from my 40s? That human life is exceedingly fragile.

Recommendation: pay far more attention to your family than to your portfolio for the remainder of your life.

Happy trails.

Lev
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by dgdevil »

It's all about health - mental and physical - as the young men's invincibility cloak begins to lose its strength. Fun things in your 20s and 30s, like (occasional) eating and drinking to excess, start to have consequences. As stated above, vision might slip and aches + pains might mount -- though they are less problematic than the anxiety and paranoia that they trigger. Find a good doctor and get the all-over, including stress test and rectal.

Professionally, well, things can go bad - colleagues and younger folk might become your superiors. Financially, yes, definitely some stability and a feeling that your diligence is paying off. I'm at the halfway mark, starting from scratch in a new creative career as my own boss with little hope of returning to past salary glories. But I have a decent foundation, and I'm exponentially happier at home with no cubicles or bosses or commutes.
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by Crow Hunter »

saladdin wrote:Fresh into my 40's. Have chosen to not have kids and do not regret one iota. You're not required to have kids.

I now understand "midlife crisis" and now see how dumb I was making fun of those people when I was in my 20s'. Your mind still thinks it's 20 but your body loudly protests.

I get why so many reasonably smart people spend billions a year on weight loss fads or vitamin supplements.

I realize there is nothing wrong with going to bed at 10 on a saturday night.

But the biggest one? I have a better understanding of time. Really grasping the idea of your own mortality is scary. Based upon family history I may only have 20 more years. That truly makes my heart skip a beat. I wake up before 0600 even when I don't have to because I don't want to waste time. I wish I could have learned that earlier in life. The days I wasted sleeping until 1000 just because I was being lazy.
Same for me, although I am childless by circumstance rather than choice.

Everything else almost exactly except I go to bed around 9:30 on Sat night.

Losing my Mom in May (at 68) and having lost my Dad 10 yrs ago (at 62) and now having my FIL sick at 65 really brings mortality into perspective to me.

My wife says I am becoming a hypochondriac. :(
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by GerryL »

In my 40s I finally settled down after having spent my 20s and much of my 30s traveling, trying different jobs and finally finishing college and graduate school.

I moved across country, found a job, and bought a house. Then I lost the job and was unemployed for 18 months. (Being unemployed after 40 is really scary.) Eventually found a job that turned into a career with good pay and benefits.

My 40s was also when I finally learned about mutual funds and the importance of low-cost investing. The lessons about indexing came later, but despite the long stint of unemployment, my growing understanding of investing that started in my early 40s helped get me to now: the house I managed to hang on to is now paid off and I am starting retirement.
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by GerryL »

2retire wrote:Not really financial related, but be prepared to need glasses to read things. It doesn't matter how great your far vision is, even if it is better than 20/20, as reading doesn't seem to figure into those numbers. The font size and lighting conditions make a big difference in your reading capabilities.

When my eye doctor told me there was nothing wrong with my eyes, I looked at him like he was crazy. I said, "But I can't read.". He said, "You're over 40, that is perfectly normal."

As I told the story to my over 40 friends they all laughed and pulled out their reading glasses. I had never really noticed how prevalent they were. They said I was lucky to have made it as far as I did without needing them.

I think now, I better understand the push for bigger and bigger cell phone screens. As the first smart phone users are starting to age, they are needing those bigger screens to see stuff. I've always mocked large screen cell phones, but now I'm looking at having to get one.

The good news, from a financial standpoint, is that you don't have to spend much on glasses. You can do like my doctor said and run to the supermarket or dollar store and pickup those cheap reading glasses you always see. They more than do the trick. The ones from the dollar store are so cheap you can put a pair at every seat in the house/work/car where you might possibly read something. No need to ever get up to get your glasses.
I've often said that the real sign of aging is not gray hair. It's not wrinkles. It's "playing the trombone." (Just watch people in stores as they slide cans and labels closer and further from their faces trying to find the sweet spot where they can read the small type.)
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MikeWillRetire
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by MikeWillRetire »

If you have kids, and if you and your spouse work full-time, then your 40's will be a blur. Being 52, I'm actually glad that decade is over. I was busy all the time. Now, one kid in college, and another kid soon to go, I have more time....and it's nice. One other thing. If you have lead a fairly sedentary life with a poor diet, your 40's is the time to change your lifestyle. Hope you enjoy it!
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dbCooperAir
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by dbCooperAir »

2retire wrote:Not really financial related, but be prepared to need glasses to read things. It doesn't matter how great your far vision is, even if it is better than 20/20, as reading doesn't seem to figure into those numbers. The font size and lighting conditions make a big difference in your reading capabilities.

When my eye doctor told me there was nothing wrong with my eyes, I looked at him like he was crazy. I said, "But I can't read.". He said, "You're over 40, that is perfectly normal."
This is so true, then you toss that "you can't teach an old dog new tricks" deal and for whatever reason you can never find a pair of glasses. I must have 20 pairs of the dam things laying around, about 2 per room seems to be the right number. Each year it gets worse and you need to up the power so now you have 3 pair in each room.
Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him. | -Dwight D. Eisenhower-
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by Grt2bOutdoors »

chaz wrote:
2retire wrote:Not really financial related, but be prepared to need glasses to read things. It doesn't matter how great your far vision is, even if it is better than 20/20, as reading doesn't seem to figure into those numbers. The font size and lighting conditions make a big difference in your reading capabilities.

When my eye doctor told me there was nothing wrong with my eyes, I looked at him like he was crazy. I said, "But I can't read.". He said, "You're over 40, that is perfectly normal."

As I told the story to my over 40 friends they all laughed and pulled out their reading glasses. I had never really noticed how prevalent they were. They said I was lucky to have made it as far as I did without needing them.

I think now, I better understand the push for bigger and bigger cell phone screens. As the first smart phone users are starting to age, they are needing those bigger screens to see stuff. I've always mocked large screen cell phones, but now I'm looking at having to get one.

The good news, from a financial standpoint, is that you don't have to spend much on glasses. You can do like my doctor said and run to the supermarket or dollar store and pickup those cheap reading glasses you always see. They more than do the trick. The ones from the dollar store are so cheap you can put a pair at every seat in the house/work/car where you might possibly read something. No need to ever get up to get your glasses.
I have worn glasses since age 9.
Same here. Putting up with the "4 eyes" comments built character and cemented the bullies reputations. Can't undo stupid.
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Louis Winthorpe III
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by Louis Winthorpe III »

I love everything about my life right now except for the fact that I now need reading glasses.
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by flyingaway »

40's was very tough. I worked crazily in my early 40's to get to the top of my academic career, paid off house and my elder son's Ivy League college education, and did not have time to learn anything about investment and retirement until I was 48.
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by staythecourse »

I was just thinking about this in the car ride into work today. I am 38 and wondering what the next decade has in store.

I do agree with the glasses. BTW, anyone else complain how hard it is to read the menus in restaurants nowadays. Either I am older or the print is smaller or the lighting is too dim at many nice restaurants. I am assuming it is probably I am older. Our friends are mostly in their early to mid 30's make fun of me.

Just curious from those who have gone through it how do you get the energy to run after your kids? Mine is 2 yrs. old and every year she gets more active and I feel less active. I think this will be my biggest social challenge in trying to keep up with the kid and likely another in the future.

Love to hear more advice about how to balance family time, spouse time, and work and not go nuts.

Good luck.
"The stock market [fluctuation], therefore, is noise. A giant distraction from the business of investing.” | -Jack Bogle
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by Grt2bOutdoors »

It's not over yet, just getting warmed up!. Enjoy every morning, afternoon and evening. Life is so fragile, seeing the older generation passing on is hard because your next! I want to spend less time on the computer (including here :) ) and more with family. Reading glasses, ah yes, was told I'll be a candidate for them or bi-focals at some point in the near future - I'm becoming my father! Have been told by my older friends to slow down, I'm moving too fast - my response has been I'm trying to get it all in before there is no more time. Maybe that is my midlife crisis - checking things off the list earlier instead of later (maybe being downtown on 9/11 turned on a switch). Financially speaking, a lot more stable than I was in my 20's and 30's, finally starting to see some real traction and momentum, though if the market goes south it could easily go downhill too. Career? well the economy threw a bit of a monkey wrench into that, at the time I thought I'd be moving into management those plans have been derailed or slowed by folks delaying retirement, lower attrition - basically folks immobilized by fear, including that of top management. Health? - take good care of yourself when you're young as a lot of it is cumulative and it will catch up with you, just a matter of time. Something's can not be avoided with time, got to roll with it - medicine has advanced as has technology unfortunately so have the costs :annoyed , be grateful if you are told instead of wondering why something is "off", it will give you options when you likely had none before. Don't take anything for granted! especially your family (close and distant) and friends. You have a choice - you enter the world with a clean slate, you can leave it with better, the same or worse off. Your choice!
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by rjm_cali »

I can remember my 40's going by in a flash ! It was then I finally started to get my finances on track and saved some money. Sadly most of it got burnt in a business venture I got into just ahead of the recession (market timing!) but hey ho I survived - many didn't (financially).

I would say that my late 40's was when I started to wonder about what I wanted from life. I began to realise I didn't need all the toys (well apart from the old 911 I bought) and that perhaps a lifetime of wage servitude was not something I wanted. I started a business and despite the financial issues I would still not have had it any other way. I won't go back to that kind of corporate grind again.

I do wish I'd had also learnt about investing though. I had a final salary company pension scheme (and still do) and state (UK)pension so why would I bother reading all those documents about pension investments ? I picked the fund that had the best title - and I'm not joking...

I'm in my late 50's now <gasp - how did that happen> . My father died a few years ago and my mother is inevitably on a similar path. As I read somewhere when your parents die you get pulled to the top of the mountain. Somewhere you never thought you'd be and really don't want to be. Then you really start wondering about what matters in life. Money matters but only in terms of the security it buys you and your loved ones. Work - only in so much as it provides a framework and it had better be something you enjoy doing.

So now ? Your 40's will whizz by and then you'll be on a glidepath to retirement - getting sorted financially means you can make decisions about when you want that landing to be and what kind of car you want to pick up from the car park. It can also inform any career decision you might want to make as you head into your 50's. One of my friends after a lifetime in healthcare (supplier side) has decided to take up wooden boat building. I moved from the UK to the US to get married and have yet to decide what I will do. Both major life changes but hey - to quote the youngsters - YOLO.

P.S You need to have lots of pairs of reading glasses. You can be pretty sure that when you want them you''ll have left them in the car. Or you'll have forgotten where you left them..
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dbCooperAir
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by dbCooperAir »

staythecourse wrote: Just curious from those who have gone through it how do you get the energy to run after your kids? Mine is 2 yrs. old and every year she gets more active and I feel less active. I think this will be my biggest social challenge in trying to keep up with the kid and likely another in the future.
Good luck.
Some how you just find the energy, I'm not really sure I can put a finger on it. Could be why I'm more tired now than before, have not slept for last 10 years, I'm sure its not from getting older :wink:

The biggest blur years for me seemed to be the younger kid school years. I recall many of the 0-5 year old kid times but those middle school years just a blur. Now with the kids in High School life it starting to become more clear again.

I enjoyed those 2 year old times, I loved those years, so much fun. You need to tell the world to stop and just enjoy those 2 year old moments. When I see a new family with a 9 month old it brings back a flurry of memories. I know understand more so why parents want to be grandparents, something I picked up in my 40's.

staythecourse wrote: Love to hear more advice about how to balance family time, spouse time, and work and not go nuts.
Good luck.
I think you have the answer already. Don't go nuts at work and you will find a balance!
Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him. | -Dwight D. Eisenhower-
bhsince87
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by bhsince87 »

staythecourse wrote: BTW, anyone else complain how hard it is to read the menus in restaurants nowadays. Either I am older or the print is smaller or the lighting is too dim at many nice restaurants.
A solution I've found for reading menus with my 49 year old eyes: I use a lighted magnifying "lens" app on my smartphone!

The app I use is free, but limited to 3X magnification. That's plenty for menus. I think I can pay a couple bucks to upgrade to 8X.
Time is what we want most, but what we use worst. William Penn
gouldnm
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by gouldnm »

The first part of my forties was a particularly despressing time because my husband went through a mid-life crisis that resulted in the collapse of our marriage. We had been together for 18 years and it was completely unexpected.

He had reached the peak of his career as was super successful. But then he couldn't handle the pressure and started acting out in some really destructive ways. I had no choice but to leave him. We didn't have kids--I don't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. It made my life a lot less complicated, but maybe I wouldn't have been so lonely. It was really difficult to meet people because most of my peers had kids, although now (in my early 50's), everybody's kids seem to have left home, so suddenly, people are available again.

Eventually I did meet my second husband and my life stabilized. But I don't think I'll ever forgive my first husband for completely disrupting my life right when everything seemed to be finally coming together.

I didn't know anything about investing, but fortunately, I had already been putting the maximum into my 401K, and I already had an account with Vanguard. This was before I knew anything about Bogleheads. When I started to learn about investing (in my mid 40's) I found out that I was already doing everything right! Call it dumb luck.
frugalprof
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by frugalprof »

I'm 47 and the father of three, ages 8, 6, and 4. My two boys love to wrestle with me when I come home (at the same time of course). How I wish I were still in my late twenties and early thirties! Still, life is very good. We have our finances in place. My wife is eight years younger, so she has more energy than I do.

One thing that is a bit of a bummer...the sex drive is not what it used to be! Perhaps having three young kids has helped put a damper on that!
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by investingdad »

I'm 41 and we have two elementary aged kids. Very busy with soccer as both of them play. Remarkable how much I enjoy taking them to practice and games, though it makes our evenings VERY hectic. I've thought to myself many, many times as I'm walking them off the field after practice how much I'm going to look back on those nights sitting on the sidelines freezing my butt off and MISS doing it. So I'm soaking it all up right now.

The side benefit, which I've mentioned on here, is that watching them compete has motivated me to start playing tennis again after a long hiatus. I rediscovered my enthusiasm for the game and found that I can still compete at a solid level.

My wife's career is pretty stable, fortunate because she earns more than I do. My career is very likely going to be in a severe state of flux sometime over the next few weeks due to corporate re-structuring. I'm on the fence about taking some serious time off and staying home with the kids for awhile. The only thing is, our portfolio is *this* close to reaching critical mass and becoming self sustaining if we continue to nurture it for another 7 or 8 years. That and I I gain a lot of satisfaction out of contributing professionally to an employer, more than just the money side, which means I'll probably go nuts if I'm home for an extended period.

Paradoxically, during my early career when I was all about earning money and not about the satisfaction, it was really easy to find engineering jobs but none of them paid that well. Now that I'm mid career, I'm less about the money and more about the satisfaction of participating in a project...and this is when I'm being challenged with career stability. :oops:

Thank goodness I was a Boglehead all the way back to my 20s, makes things easier now.

I'll have to resurrect this thread in 9 years and advise how the 40s ended up going for me. I'm confident everything will work its way out just fine. :D
flyingaway
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by flyingaway »

Levett wrote:What was my major take away from my 40s? That human life is exceedingly fragile.

Recommendation: pay far more attention to your family than to your portfolio for the remainder of your life.

Happy trails.

Lev
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HermosaSurfer
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by HermosaSurfer »

I'm on the second half of my 40s and it has been a good run. My experience mirrors those posted above; first health scare, savings swing more than contributions, shuttling children, close-up vision failing, and good work stride. As someone who has been religious LBYM prior, I'm also reducing my intense focus on finances and loosening my frugality a bit. Still keeping housing and transportation in line, but I don't fret about getting the best deal as much as I used to. The game is less important than enjoying life (but still fun).

Wishing everyone here a happy life.
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by placeholder »

In my early 40s I completed a college degree and started a new profession as a software engineer then bought a house so maybe 40s are the new 20s.
leonard
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by leonard »

You will finally learn what you should have been doing all along.

"I wish that I knew what I know now, when I was younger...." will definitely take on new meaning.
Leonard | | Market Timing: Do you seriously think you can predict the future? What else do the voices tell you? | | If employees weren't taking jobs with bad 401k's, bad 401k's wouldn't exist.
persimmon_tree
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by persimmon_tree »

During my 40's, I became my Mom's best friend, through her:
cataract surgery which allow her to see much better than before,
a minor fall with disk compression,
a short bout of shingles, still painful (thanks to her doctor recommended taking shingles vaccine several years back).

Now seeing her youngest granddaughter (my niece) applying to college(s).
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beyou
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by beyou »

50 here. In summary, this decade could vary based on your earlier choices.
Single no plans for kids, could start to think about retirement if you did things right !
Married with kids, this is a decade to work hard and save for the coming expenses
(college, medical, retirement), yet someone manage to spend time with your family.
Kids grew up in my 40s, and now at 50, one left for college, other on the way.
I was very lucky to make changes so I could balance spending time with them,
yet provide sufficiently for them. One does not make up for the other, have to find the right balance.
Easier said than done.
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Sunny Sarkar
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by Sunny Sarkar »

I'm feeling out of breath, kinda maxed out, in my early forties. The irony about climbing the ladder at work is that salary goes up linearly while responsibility goes up exponentially - and it's impossible to scale down to the efficient frontier even if I know where that lies. The thirties have put us in a good place - the big picture looks pretty good, i.e. all the big rocks are in a good place - but it seems the demand for time and energy from work (unexpected) and family/kid (foreseen) has crossed some kind of threshold that's driving me out of breath.
But hey... can't complain :sharebeer
"Buy-and-hold, long-term, all-market-index strategies, implemented at rock-bottom cost, are the surest of all routes to the accumulation of wealth" - John C. Bogle
Set40
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by Set40 »

I'm loving this discussion. Invaluable.
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Crimsontide
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by Crimsontide »

Early and mid forties were great. We were really clicking on all cylinders. Got the daughter through college and married off, our careers were peaking and with no debt, we were on our way. Funny thing about life, you never no what's around the next bend. For us it was cancer, bad cancer that has changed everything. Good thing we lived it up in the mid forties because the early fifties look to be about pure survival for DW...
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by Colorado14 »

Wishing you all the best Crimson. I'm sorry to hear about your DW. Cancer sucks.
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by texasdiver »

I just hit 50 this year. My advice?

1. Push yourself to stay in shape or get in shape. It gets tougher and tougher every year and you have to make fitness a lifestyle to continue to stay active at the same level as was easy when you were younger
2. Spend lots of time with your kids.

In a lot of ways my 40s just flew by. I started a new career at 42 (teaching) and it keeps me young. But otherwise most of the rest of my life has been on autopilot in terms of finances, home ownership, career, etc. About all I really remember are the adventures and trips I took with my wife and kids. The career stuff is just a blur.
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by cheese_breath »

I started getting serious abut physical fitness. I wasn't necessarily unfit in my 30s, but I didn't put a lot of time into it either. Sometime in my early 40s I began realizing I was going to have to invest more time in fitness activities if I didn't want to begin deteriorating too soon.
The surest way to know the future is when it becomes the past.
TravelforFun
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by TravelforFun »

brian2013 wrote:I'm about a year away from turning 40. What did you learn, what do you wish you had done differently, or what do you wish you had known at 40? Did you have any "crisis" experiences? Let's hear it!
I learned that my 40's were our toughest years and that our 50's were much better than 40's. In my 50's, my career was established, our nest became empty and we had more time to do fun stuff. Now in the early 60's I'm enjoying my life even more. Kids are out of college and have jobs, our finance is in good shape, I can retire but am not because the work is still fun. Chalk me up as one of the lucky people!
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by Caduceus »

Several surveys have shown that, in general, people's self-reported happiness levels go down starting in the 20s, and the trend downward isn't arrested until they hit their 50s and 60s, when it picks back up. So I'm wondering if the preponderance of happy stories here reflects the success of Boglehead values, or that it is self-selecting because only the people who had a good time tend to speak up!

Has anyone read Triumphs of Experience: The Men of the Harvard Grant Study?

This was apparently one of the longest longitudinal studies about life satisfication ever done, and it traced generations of bright Harvard men as they progressed through the halls of Harvard into early career, mid life and late life. It speaks (mostly in an anecdotal manner) about marriage, divorce, life choices, and how it was surprising that some men who had struggled so much in their 20s and 30s found their way, whereas some of those who were stars in early/mid life eventually fizzled out with old age.

The 40s seemed to be a pivotal moment for many of the men in this study.
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obgyn65
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by obgyn65 »

I turned 49 this year. Like many, health has become more of a concern, including vision issues, body aches and other ailments. Financially speaking, my fourth decade has been the most successful by far. Not much luck with girlfriends though, and still childless - pretty sad, really. But I now look forward to my 50s, a decade during which I will hopefully be able to retire from my full time position and work only part time, and at the same time set up and run more free clinics abroad.
"The two most important days in someone's life are the day that they are born and the day they discover why." -John Maxwell
Professor Emeritus
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by Professor Emeritus »

When I was 40 I was promoted to Professor. I Changed Departments in a reorganization and DW was newly appointed to the post that would make her international career and reputation. Kids were just 8 and 6 years old. Jobs were stable for the next 16 years.

We learned to Ski and Scuba dive in our 40s. Began full index investing. Helped our daughters grow into the dynamic young women they are today. Went all over the world on both of our jobs. Celebrated our 16-25th wedding anniversaries. We both always needed glasses so shift to bifocals was no big deal. Stayed in the same house we had bought when I was 27 and renovated and expanded when I was 37.

I just disposed of a whole raft of computers we bought that decade. (DW is a computer expert) some ran Windows 3.1 Others ran Windows NT.

I was publishing a lot in a fairly novel area called Computer Privacy.
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Cosmo
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by Cosmo »

brian2013 wrote:I'm about a year away from turning 40. My thirties were pretty good to me - i started and stabilized my own business and witnessed the birth of my two beautiful kids, and now I find myself contemplating this "turning point" a little bit. I was just curious what the thoughtful, intelligent folks on this forum might have to teach me about it. Those of you who have already lived through their 40's, or who are in their 40's, what did this decade mean to you? Emotionally, financially, etc., I'm interested in whatever seems significant in your experiences. What did you learn, what do you wish you had done differently, or what do you wish you had known at 40? Did you have any "crisis" experiences? Let's hear it!
I hit my mid-life crisis several years ago. I started doing bike races and more recently triathlons. It can be an expensive hobby but it is still way cheaper than buying a two seater sports car. I am not anywhere near being competitive or a serious "triathlete". That would require way too much training and time. In any case, it ended up being a very good investment. Are you 20 lbs overweight? Weight loss was pretty easy and relatively quick. 4-10 hours of bike riding per week makes it more difficult to gain weight. My lipid panel numbers have improved dramatically over the last two years. My sitting pulse went from 70 to 49. Certainly no guarantee of living any longer but hopefully I have increased my odds. I guess the other challenge now is making sure I don't outlive my financial portfolio. That is why I am here and you can probably include that in my mid-life crisis. Finding myself on where I want to be from a fiscal standpoint.

Cosmo
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LowER
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by LowER »

Rollercoaster decade for me. Near 50 now. Wore reading glasses at work for the first time yesterday, after using at home for a while. Crushing divorce near mid 40s - lost everything and then a lot. Took several years to get to zero after becoming an uber saver and fortunately have an income now beyond expectations, so savings are growing rapidly but there will be very little compounding interest benefit over my short second investing life. Finally seeing that the light in the tunnel is not a train, for now. Confidence and appreciation of the fragility of life have never been higher.
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Re: Bogleheads, tell me about your 40's?

Post by scrabbler1 »

My 40s began in 2003, a very exciting year for me in many ways, not all of them mentionable in this forum :wink: . I was already 2 years into working part-time, and that would continue for 5 more years until I fully retired in 2008 at age 45. I saw the value of my company stock skyrocket in those 5 years, a great help for my getting out of the rat race permanently. Being happily childfree was also a big help, something I had decided on when I was 20 years old.

I met my ladyfriend early in my 40s which has added a lot to my day-to-day life. She works full-time so being retired with no kids has made my day-to-day life pretty easy; I have been able to expand my hobbies and volunteer activities as much as I like while being able to see her much more and help her out than when I was working part-time.

My vision has gone downhill a little bit, as I have had to buy reading glasses just before I turned 50 last year. At least my distance vision remains intact although I don't like driving at night other than short distances and in good weather.
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