Quote Originally Posted by Niya View Post
Bro, you talk about programming on VBForums. This fact alone tells me that you are likely more intelligent than the average person. So it's no surprise that you've figured out how to work the system to your advantage. The average salt-of-the-Earth kind of guy doesn't have such smarts. Just think of all the people that got screwed during the 2008 financial crisis. They were sold the American dream and got suckered into a sub-prime mortgage scam perpetuated by powerful Wall Street players. You think "Joe Sixpack" knows anything about stocks and bonds?
That seems to be a common perception, being able to write code means you have high intelligence. To me, it just means your good at coding. And I got a life full of doing other things stupidly to prove it. I also don't think Joe sixpack lost near as much as the middle and upper income. It's true they were given loans that realistically they couldn't sustain but how much did they actually lose. Joe sixpack could just walk away from the mortgage. I lost probably 35% of my investment value and lots of wealthy people went broke. Also, Joe Sixpack doesn't need to know anything about stocks and bonds, all they got to do is signup through the company 401K plan.

There's nothing complicated about how I built my retirement. Live below your means. I haven't bought anything on credit (except my house) since my El Camino in 1983. My kids are sick of hearing me say that. lol