Exactly!
Those who enjoy a measure of earned financial security thought for themselves, and opted out of the herd.
Gary, you are also right in citing the role of unearned good fortune.
What if I were not a decently paid "overseer", with the right temperement and skills to enjoy the job?
What if my wife had never had a well compensated job?
What if I did not enjoy good health?
While we have always lived well below our means (check my sig for what we drive, for example), a round of bad fortune, well beyond our control, could have left us in a far less favored position.
I think we have been wise in our choices and our expenditures over the years.
We are now pretty bullet-proof.
However, had things not gone well due to factors beyond our control, we would not find ourselves in our current position.
As some would say, we are blessed, while we all know people who seem to be cursed.
We also all know people who could pee away any sum, and have nothing to show for it.
I guess you have to be both smart and lucky.
These drivers may have been smart, for example, but they are now unlucky in a way that is beyond their control.
Those who enjoy a measure of earned financial security thought for themselves, and opted out of the herd.
Gary, you are also right in citing the role of unearned good fortune.
What if I were not a decently paid "overseer", with the right temperement and skills to enjoy the job?
What if my wife had never had a well compensated job?
What if I did not enjoy good health?
While we have always lived well below our means (check my sig for what we drive, for example), a round of bad fortune, well beyond our control, could have left us in a far less favored position.
I think we have been wise in our choices and our expenditures over the years.
We are now pretty bullet-proof.
However, had things not gone well due to factors beyond our control, we would not find ourselves in our current position.
As some would say, we are blessed, while we all know people who seem to be cursed.
We also all know people who could pee away any sum, and have nothing to show for it.
I guess you have to be both smart and lucky.
These drivers may have been smart, for example, but they are now unlucky in a way that is beyond their control.