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Ben Stein's Diary
Who Can I Turn To?
What happens when the money is suddenly gone and you haven’t planned?
Long ago, when I was a child, I had a dear friend who was — or seemed to be — totally loaded. When this young man grew up, he went into the minerals business. He did fabulously well, at first. He had two Rolls-Royces and an immense house. He had a private jet. When he went to a fine restaurant, he would order one of every entree just so he didn’t miss out on anything.
Then, he made an enormous bet on commodities prices and personally guaranteed the debt. The price moved against him. He could not service the loan, and he went broke.
Now, he’s in his 70s, and he’s in poor health and he occasionally gets money from me. He also gets a tiny Social Security check. He lives extremely modestly and is apologetic about asking. In grim tones, he tells me he has no one else to ask.
A few days ago when he said that, a shiver went through me. I have enough savings for now. But what if some catastrophic thing happened? My parents are long gone. Most of my friends are living modestly (with a few exceptions, none of whom would be willing to help me in any meaningful way). If I ran into serious trouble, I would have no one to ask for help.
I am not asking for pity. By most standards I have enough. But here’s my point: as we age, and as our parents pass away and our strength is not what it was when we were 30, bad things can still happen to us financially. If they do, who is there available to help us?
We, ourselves, are the only ones we can reliably count on. The younger us has to be the one who cares for the older us. The young Ben Stein who made a bit of money and saved and invested it, is the one who is the only one who is available to help the mature Ben Stein. That’s the way it is for almost all of us.
I agree that this sounds obvious. But it’s endlessly amazing to me how many Americans there are out there who count on some money magic for the future.
There is none. There are just careful, sensible plans for retirement and for the older years. They are a whole lot easier if you have a reputable professional helping you with a plan. Warren Buffett likes to say that an idiot with a plan can beat a genius with no plan — and he’s right.
Where money and aging are concerned, you have to be your own best friend. You have no choice — except poverty and fear, and those are poor choices.
About the Author
Ben Stein is a writer, actor, economist, and lawyer living in Beverly Hills and Malibu. He writes “Ben Stein’s Diary” for every issue of The American Spectator.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (111) | Leave a comment
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Aristocat| 2.27.13 @ 6:21AM
Ben, you can ask your son for help, and if he won't help you, I will...You're a great guy, Ben, and God is not going to allow you to go broke.
TLP| 2.27.13 @ 1:46PM
So, what Ben's saying is that he told his "Friend" to go Pound Sand.
After all, Ben's gotta look out for #1.
"What if things go South? How am I supposed to go to ALL OF MY HOMES, if I'm giving this Deadbeat a coupla hundred bucks?"
"What if, tomorrow, I lose my Clear Eyes gig?"
"What if I lose my gig at TAS?"
"I like my life. Why do I have to risk my Lobster Bisque, my King Crab, and my Porterhouse Steaks? Because this dumb B*stard didn't think ahead?"
"I don't think so."
No wonder his Kid hates his guts.
Occam's Tool| 2.27.13 @ 6:34PM
Helps if you don't tax it to fund Solyndras, Benny.
Hester & Jacobs| 2.27.13 @ 7:00PM
Ben, you are a man of character and decency. You strike me as being a gentleman who treats others with kindness and respect.
Why you bother to write for such hateful social deviants as TLP and a few other responders, I don't know.
TLP should be barred from posting any remark. He is a hate-filled agitator, and AmSpec gives him a platform to spew his venom.
AmSpec is depressing to read because of TLP and others like him who are lewd and disrespectful.
Occam's Tool| 2.27.13 @ 7:10PM
My dear John II, who I wish had been MY prof in College, the answer to your final question is "Yes."
Have you read Murray's latest book yet, as well as the Virginia Marriage Project report, available on-line?
Recommend you do so when MILDLY depressed. Don't ruin a good mood, my friend, and don't go reaching for the seppuku knife by reading when really down.
You happen to be asking me about an area that is in my wheelhouse as a professional---the destruction of the traditional family and the effect on children and intra-familial relationships.
It has been terrible, and Liberalism is the cause of this.
Occam's Tool| 2.27.13 @ 7:11PM
Hester & Jacobs: did you know that HJ is an abbreviation for "Hand Job?" Do you guys work as "fluffers?"
Hester & Jacobs| 2.27.13 @ 8:28PM
And Christ be with you, Occam. You and other viper christians on here surely do know how to spread the christian spirit.
You live up to all the negative right-wing stereotypes. Such anger! Why don't you ask Jesus to warm your heart?
anna k from emory u| 2.27.13 @ 10:56PM
Hester & Jacobs;
Perhaps you might recall the old "Point/Counterpoint" parody from "Saturday Night Live" with Jane Curtin and Dan Ackroyd, where the latter opens his presentation with "Jane, you ignorant slut". In your case, it goes double.
To begin, Mr. Occam is a member of the Jewish faith. Your phony Christianity is as phony as the name that you post under here. I HATE that.
There's a light drizzle tonight in Savannah. Perhaps I can amble over to Kevin Barry's, and enjoy a potent beverage with Mr. Powers.
Appleby| 2.27.13 @ 6:27AM
Today is my 65th birthday and I will spend it as usual -- go to work, stay all day, go home, eat dinner, watch the Daily Mass, read, go to bed, repeat tomorrow. That's what people who grow old alone pretty much planned on doing. I had a great time travelling and living in divers places when I was young, and I'm glad I did all the things I wanted to do and saw all the sights of the world while the underbrush wasn't full of angry people with bombs and the governments of the world were too busy looting the last dime available to pay attention to their work.
You, Mr. Stein, will someday have to live in only one house, and your chauffeur will have to drive only one car, and maybe -- o horrors! -- you will have to live quietly at home instead of appearing on international television and being looked after by other peoples' employees. That is what you should do when you are old and the money grows scarce. Most of us out here knew before we left our parents' home that there was nobody to depend on in this world except ourselves. We learned right away that we are all we have.
Maxwell| 2.27.13 @ 7:48AM
Happy birthday lady. Have some ice cream cake, that is what I would do.
CJW| 2.27.13 @ 7:51AM
Happy Birthday, Appleby
irish19| 2.27.13 @ 9:18AM
Happy Birthday! Have a tot of rum with your ice cream cake.
John Navratil| 2.27.13 @ 9:21AM
Appleby,
I hope you have a wonderful day.
Lyneuss Fields | 2.27.13 @ 10:44AM
What do we have here, the happy f'n birthday crowd? I'm so sorry you're all alone Appleby. But there is Social Security. You have paid into it all your life. You can get housing and have neighbors who have, like you, worked and paid into the system all their life. You’ll have the chance to meet friends just like you. See, actually you’re not all alone. All you need to do is hook yourself into a lifeline of friendship. Some of your conservative friends (like Ben and Appleby) may attempt to convince you that you are all alone in your plight. You must beware of Ben and people like some of his friends though. Of course you know I’m talking about the fraudster in prison he speaks of his love for almost daily, and this is why.
Lyneuss Fields | 2.27.13 @ 10:45AM
Many people who had saved all their lives were wiped out by the behavior of people like some of Ben's friends. Unfortunately, we live in a world where the powerful (defined by money) are able to escape justice by buying politicians, powerful lobbyists and even local and state cops. It's real simple; just give huge amounts of cash to political campaigns or better yet, the attorney general of a particular state. This is what Jeremy Johnson did in the state of Utah. Mormons are good at this. What I mean is Joseph Smith Jr. was a real pro. If you don’t believe me, then just Google “Money digger”. By buying the state’s attorney general (Mark Shurtleff) and donating capital resources, in time of emergency, to local towns throughout Southern Utah, years after his crimes, he is still walking around a free man. Now that Mr. Shurtleff is gone, Johnson is accusing the new attorney general of accepting payoffs. But the lesson here (for you at least) is get out and have some fun, you've worked all your life, and now it’s time you have some fun.
CJW| 2.27.13 @ 11:54AM
LF
You post offensive provocative comments because you are trying to get people to open your website so you can report hits and try to get advertisers to pay you, right?
Lyneuss Fields | 2.27.13 @ 12:21PM
As you should be able to see CJW, I have no advertisements on my website. I do flash pictures of a Nobel Laureate named Milton Friedman. You can click on many of them to reveal his conservative economic theories the philosophy. I also expose Mormon Temples for what they are: a Freemason's fraud to extort money from emotional needy Americans.
But, I did make a mistake by referring to Appleby by name in parenthesis of my first blog post above. I meant to type "yourself".
Occam's Tool| 2.27.13 @ 7:12PM
Lyneuss: I like Mormons. Decent folks. Hard working. Utah is beautiful.
Lyneuss Fields | 2.27.13 @ 8:11PM
Do you like murderers, rapists, extortionists and confidence schemers Occams Tool? I'm not here to insult you; I'm just asking you, and everyone reading this, to look at the evidence in Mormonism's own 19th Century history.
Mormon history not only includes Joseph Smith's novel, The Book of Mormon. Mormon history is also recorded by their own historians (e.g., B.H. Roberts). It includes their Comprehensive History, History and Journal of Discourses. It is quite voluminous, coupled with being hidden in their archives in Salt Lake, so it makes reasoned discovery difficult. But their‘s a bold and courageous individual who exposed Mormon crimes against humanity. He was a Mormon Missionary, and is name is Arza Evans.
His digest which points to relevant citations, exposing the crimes I mentioned above) is entitled, The Keystone of Mormonism. I receive no monies for this endorsement. If you bother, check this out and make up your own mind. Don't be fooled by professional con men in their Melchizedek Priesthood.
http://lyneussfields.blogspot......gious.html
Stan Redmond| 2.27.13 @ 2:48PM
Thank God Obama has spent so much tax dollars to bailing out failed industries that "ruined" the economy. Thank the democrats, led by Barney Frank and Charles Rangel, stood up to GW Bush when the republicans tried to rein in the nonsense going on in the subprime investigations all the way back in 2004.
"Friends of Ben's" Yeah, they did all this.
TLP| 2.27.13 @ 2:59PM
Contest on Friday, Stan.
Lyneuss Fields | 2.27.13 @ 6:42PM
There's no President Obama love coming from my camp. But, that doesn't mean I'm going to be disrespectful of The Office. He is certainly no leader; not in the President Reagan sense. And this is why!
Certainly many on this blog remember the Congressional gridlock during President's Ford and Carter. Similar to out of control spending plaguing America today, President Reagan had to confront not only reckless spending and rising prices (inflation) but also double-digit unemployment; in addition, "His Administration" faced double-digit interest rates. Oh, I almost forgot, he raised taxes eight (8) times. That's what political courage and leadership is facing down “your own party” during times of crisis. Tell that to Rep. Paul Ryan!
http://lyneussfields.blogspot......ative.html
Bill8472| 2.27.13 @ 1:11PM
I retired a few months ago, and I'm busier now than I was when I was employed.
mike 3/505| 2.27.13 @ 3:33PM
Happy Birthday Miss A!
Cobalt| 2.27.13 @ 6:08PM
Happy Birthday, Appleby!
So, today is the birthday of Elizabeth Taylor, John Steinbeck, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Appleby and Chelsea Clinton.
Occam's Tool| 2.27.13 @ 6:35PM
Appleby: have a delightful birthday, dear lady.
Rhoetus| 2.28.13 @ 12:12AM
Happy Birthday Miss Appleby! Feb 27 would have been my mother's 97th B'day. She's been gone 9 years and I miss her.
Joellen| 2.27.13 @ 6:35AM
Appleby, Happy Birthday and may you be blessed with goodness all day long.
Albert Constantine Jr.| 2.27.13 @ 7:46AM
I concur. Happy Birthday, Appleby.
Pecos Pete| 2.27.13 @ 7:48AM
Ditto!
Jack in Wi| 2.27.13 @ 7:55AM
Amen Appleby: It is also my birthday. I won't say how old, but older then you. Have a great day. As for Ben, pull in your horns, and learn how to live frugally. Do your downsizing now, while you still have money.
Joellen| 2.27.13 @ 8:04AM
You too Jack, Happy Birthday.
CJW| 2.27.13 @ 8:07AM
Happy Birthday, Jack
Albert Constantine Jr.| 2.27.13 @ 8:20AM
I would add the following greetings for Jack:
יום הולדת שמח
Alles Gute zum Geburtstag
A birthday greeting auf Deutsch and in Hebrew
loulou| 2.27.13 @ 9:30AM
I like the Hebrew.
Happy Birthday everyone.
Jack in Wi| 2.27.13 @ 8:21AM
Thanks and and a long and Happy life to Miss Appleby. She is one of my favorites here. One of my oldest friends was named Appleby. He just died at the age of 60 a few months ago. I miss him, a great guy.
TLP| 2.27.13 @ 1:58PM
Happy Birthday Jack.
My present to you, is to lose the Jew thing. It's a Poison.
You make good comments, sometimes.
This isn't a Couch at the Psychiatrist's Office.
You don't have to express everything on your mind, all the time.
Sometimes, some things are better kept to One's Self.
You get more flies with Honey, than you do with Vinegar.
Keep that in mind, as you blow out the Candles.
Jack in Wi| 2.27.13 @ 4:53PM
The Truth will set you free TLP. Cut out with the nonsense and get with the truth.
TLP| 2.27.13 @ 5:54PM
I tried.
Kenny| 2.27.13 @ 5:14PM
And Happy Birthday to you Jack.
Occam's Tool| 2.27.13 @ 6:37PM
Drop dead soon, fudgepacker. I never relent, and I show you an insect's pity, as you are simply a creature to sting.
Rhoetus| 2.28.13 @ 12:13AM
Whoohoo Jack! Live to fight on!
op top| 2.27.13 @ 10:14AM
Happy Birthday, Appleby. Many happy returns of the day.
TLP| 2.27.13 @ 1:52PM
Have you ever thought of Suing Appleby's?
I'm just sayin.
TLP| 2.27.13 @ 2:03PM
Did you know that today is my Birthday, as well?
(It's not. I just want the attention)
John II| 2.27.13 @ 5:16PM
Happy unbirthday, Timmy. It's my unbirthday too. I'm in my 69th year. Been there for two months now. It's nice to be 68 when you're in your 69th year. The Romans counted differently. I like our way better.
Where's the Contest going to be?
Occam's Tool| 2.27.13 @ 6:38PM
JohnII: may you live to see the Cubs win the World Series again!
John II| 2.27.13 @ 8:27PM
Thanks, Occie. But what happens if the Cubs . . . nah, I guess not. So: Thanks, Occie!
Snorkle| 2.27.13 @ 5:17PM
Too bad it's not your birthday, TLP, 'cause from what I've been reading, it's gonna be your last one.
TLP| 2.27.13 @ 5:54PM
Hi Anna.
Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 2.27.13 @ 6:52AM
There are things much worse than not having money.
If you've made it to 60 and you have your health you are incredibly lucky. I have friends in horrible shape who have suffered for years. I had cancer twice and was told I had a 50/50 chance to survive the first one. The second time they didn't tell me anything, just wheeled me into surgery while I was signing forms from the gurney.
How about those whose spouses suffer from mental health problems? I know several and their lives are hell although they have money.
No, there are far worse things than not having money. After all, you can't take it with you.
Jacob McCandles| 2.27.13 @ 8:44AM
True. Also, why accumulate dollars? What good will they be in 10-15 yrs?
Occam's Tool| 2.27.13 @ 6:39PM
Bill: I hope you feel better very soon, and do well. G-d Bless and Keep You.
Pecos Pete| 2.27.13 @ 7:15AM
Ben: The coming hyper-inflation will reduce all of us to Feral Govt slaves, unless we invested in inflation protected assets. Gallon of gas at $10. Cup of coffee at $10. Food, clothing and ENERGY will consume all income. The Feral Govt wants all of us living in their housing, eating at their table, wearing their uniform. We'll all look alike, dress alike and be EQUAL. Except for those in the Ruling Class who will be more equal.
For those trying to live free, off of the grid ... the good people at DHS/IRS/HHS will be looking for you because you won't conform to their rules. You'll have to find Time for reeducation camp.
gene| 2.27.13 @ 8:50AM
We are a lot closer to this than most people realize. And this is not a Conservative/Liberal argument because both sides have been guilty in pushing us in this direction. As for the people living off the "grid"? There are laws on the books that can be used during a "national emergency" You can be taken into custody, held indefinitely without charges or a trial, relocated across the country and put to work, your home, food, resources, can all be confiscated. The laws on the books now for "emergencies"? Incredible.
Oh Brave New World!
Cobalt| 2.27.13 @ 7:37AM
Just say "no" when someone asks you for money.
"No" is a perfectly good word.
Maxwell| 2.27.13 @ 7:47AM
Cobalt, are you asking 'what part of NO don't you understand?'
Hardcard| 2.27.13 @ 8:21AM
Benny.....aren't you the guy that's frequently mentioning, on this site (TAS), your homes in Beverly Hills, Malibu, L.A., DC, and Idaho, and now you say you have enough? I've had enough of your whining BS, your (friend) does not have enough and your knees are knocking in fear that he may be asking for a loan or hand-out from your stash. If you had a real friend in need, which I doubt, you should ask that friend if you can help before he comes to you, hiding in one of your posh diggs, hoping he can't find you to put the arm on you, not only are you a whining nutless,boring jerk, but a cheapskate. You can't take it with you,take a nap.
TLP| 2.27.13 @ 2:05PM
Don't you mean: Dirt Nap?
Hardcard| 2.27.13 @ 8:22AM
PS: Happy B-Day Apple Annie!!!
Snorkle| 2.27.13 @ 5:19PM
Happy Birthday Apple and Jack.
R Martin| 2.27.13 @ 8:26AM
Have you ever heard of the Darwin Awards, Ben? They are given annually, usually posthumously, to people whose incredibly stupid actions have caused them to be removed from the human gene pool.
Your dear friend, although still alive, would come close to qualifying. Anyone who has achieved the level of financial success you cite, then risks and loses it all on a commodity markets play (silver in the late 1970s?) should probably be left to fend for himself.
As to your own financial planning, you might be wise to take those charity payments and direct them to your own IRA, because it’s certainly problematic as to how long Am Spec is going to continue paying you for this drivel.
Albert Constantine Jr.| 2.27.13 @ 8:54AM
"because it’s certainly problematic as to how long Am Spec is going to continue paying you for this drivel"
Your thoughts must have been travelling down Route 92 on to 100 and 141, because that was exactly what occurred to me as I violated my rule and read a couple of the words Ben wrote (I usually just skip to the Comments now).
TLP| 2.27.13 @ 2:01PM
Plus, he still has to pay all of those Taxes that he wished for.
Idiot,
Anthony| 2.27.13 @ 8:55AM
Happy birthday Appleby. Ben,first thing to drop to save money is your shrink. What a neurotic old nebbish you are!!! You and the wife can also dumpster dive in tony Malibu.
John Navratil| 2.27.13 @ 9:20AM
Anthony,
Dumpster diving in Malibu might bring up a bit of sushi and a bran muffin, but no steak. I'll dive elsewhere ;)
TLP| 2.27.13 @ 2:07PM
Or, he can Dumpster Dive in Staten Island.
I hear that President Flucke All Of You is having Dumpsters from The Hamptons, rolled into Staten Island, now.
1ConservativeUSA| 2.27.13 @ 9:25AM
Ben, you mean that my daddy Obama won't always be there to tax the greedy rich and give to the poor?
You contradict yourself. You are an Obama cheerleader for taxing the rich, but then you say we must rely upon ourselves.
Don't you understand that when you empower statists like Obama, you make it much harder for all of us, rich or poor, to rely upon ourselves?
It won't be until people understand the power of free people making free market decisions that we combat poverty.
Your "tax the rich" folly serves only to make some people feel entitled to other peoples' property.
History has shown that our government has wasted trillions of our hard earned dollars in its "war against poverty".
Empower people, not the state.
deehra| 2.27.13 @ 9:41AM
Ben, We planned well, but then my husband had a catastrophic illness, and the value of our modest home tanked..As the song says "ya never can tell".
For now, my children and grandchildren are all healthy and I am reasonably so. I hope no one has to go thru a tragedy to learn that nothing else really matters.
lee g| 2.27.13 @ 9:50AM
Samuel Johnson had a comment relevant to this article. In 1758 he wrote 'Rasselas'. The opening sentence is one of the finest examples of parallel structure, and foreshadows the tale:
Ye who listen with credulity to the whispers of fancy, and pursue with eagerness the phantoms of hope; who expect that age will perform the promises of youth, and that the deficiencies of the present day will be supplied by the morrow; attend to the history of Rasselas prince of Abissinia.
Denver Todd| 2.27.13 @ 9:59AM
In the olden days, before the government decided everyone needed a safety net, a person had many children who supported him in old age. Now we have fewer children, abort the rest, pay ever higher taxes to support the safety net, and have little more to put away for our sunset years.
In order to live within my budget, I have cut out all expenses other than food, utilities, and fuel, and I suspect that many people are in the same boat. That means no movies, eating out, and clothing, snacks, and everything else that makes life fun. Multiply this by all of American in one way or another, and you have a plummeting economy. It is a dismal thought to think that all I have to look forward to is a monthly check from Social Security. Sometimes I am wistful about what life would be like if the main theme in America was personal responsibility instead of paying for your neighbor.
deedle| 2.27.13 @ 10:01AM
Happy Birthday Good Folks! It is so inspiring to see such nice ,kind and caring remarks today. I will soon be 78 years young in a couple of weeks and sometimes when I sign off of this web sight I am totally depressed when reading the put-downs. I know things can get you so upset that you just have to vent but a times when I do I write and don't send it. I cool off and remember that God loves us very much and to believe it you need faith and prayer. I hope you all have a great day and I'll rememer you in my rosary today!!
Bill8472| 2.27.13 @ 10:25AM
And that's life among the well-to-do.
Imagine what life is like down here in the ordinary workaday world.
Bill8472| 2.27.13 @ 10:27AM
One of my friends whose spouse is in ill health and can't work as formerly, who has just lost a decent job, says that their retirement program is "the .357 plan."
Bob K| 2.27.13 @ 10:30AM
Ben,
You live in California! Land of the pension tsunami!
If you did not pay enough attention to our national pension problem it is probably because you were spending too much time flying high over flyover country traveling between Beverly Hills to your vacation home in Idaho and on to Washington DC and back!
Check this out: http://pensiontsunami.com/index.php
Lots of people are going to be hurting and it won't be because they didn't save enough. It will be because of the political actions of the kind of people you hang around with.
Occam's Tool| 2.27.13 @ 6:41PM
Well, California believed in raising taxes on the wealthy, just like Ben! And see how well it worked OUT for them! Just like Ben!
Louis Jenkins| 2.27.13 @ 10:58AM
Ben I could tell you to insure your old age by buying grub, water, and bullets, but it would be most likely wasted on you. Your life style is much to high for the likes of me and mine. Maybe you could give the friend a job since you seem to have plenty, or maybe put him on a stipend. I believe you have an inkling of what is coming, so you cannot claim you weren't aware. You still have time.
Julia Felix| 2.27.13 @ 11:24AM
Ben, Ben, Ben. The reason your "friends" keep asking for money is you keep giving it to them. You need to ask yourself "how much is enough?" They'll continue to ask until they bankrupt you unless you figure out when to draw the line. You need to quit feeling guilty about having money when your "friends" do not. They're mostly where they are because of their own actions.
R Martin| 2.27.13 @ 11:34AM
TLP, I think there could be an analogy here.
TLP| 2.27.13 @ 2:09PM
Hmmmmmmmmmm.
You may be right.
TLP| 2.27.13 @ 2:12PM
But, you're probably not.
Chef Schnauzer| 2.27.13 @ 11:35AM
I've made some bad choices and some good ones. Currently at 51 y/o I am 4 years since opening day of a new business I own from the ground up. Its been a tough 6 year period to research, plan, build and open and new business. I am dragging it across the finish line every month. Never been late with payroll, haven't paid my self a dime, in fact the the company owes me 400k+. May never see it. Haven't had a day off in 2.5 years - I work 7 days a week 14 hours a day.
I'm done. I have found that being good to others, good to my customers - striving, sacrificing, planning and putting myself at the end of the line just isn't enough. I thought this year I'd be able to move out of business, pay myself and begin to plan expansion. New Taxes are killing that.
I'm done. I'm tired of paying for piece of cr@p government employees with benefits I probably won't see who work 4.5 days a week. I'm done. I probably have diabetes but because I can't afford insurance - oh well. I'm done. I just sold the last of my antique book collections to pay witholding taxes. I'm done. My medical plan is .45 caliber as well. I appears my retirement plan is also .45 caliber. I'm exhausted trying to build, employ and be responsible. I'm done.
Occam's Tool| 2.27.13 @ 6:49PM
Chef, sir, I hope it turns for you soon.
Moving to New Zealand almost destroyed me financially, but now I am doing much better. As long as I can work. I picked my specialty in my 20s to be able to perform it in a wheelchair in my seventies. The majority of psychiatrists in the US, believe it or not, are over 55. And with Alzheimer's cases and our society self-destructing (and growing suicidal), I will do well for a very long time---there is a desperate shortage of psychopharmacologists. I get job offers every day. And for really skilled ones like me, no problem. Especially since I LIKE rural areas.
I've lived both well off (nothing like Ben but sufficient for me) and poor. I should end OK.
If dumbass Ben would sell off his houses except one or two and focus on his pundit career while streamlining the supprt for that, I'm sure he would be much better off. The idiot has no idea what it is to live simply.
Jeff R| 2.28.13 @ 7:37AM
You make your points very well name-calling Stein. Is that a habit you picked up in New Zealand or brought with you to polute that country, too?
nathan| 2.27.13 @ 11:49AM
I know I know but this is not politics. Indulge me here. Look at what he said.
Where money and aging are concerned, you have to be your own best friend. You have no choice — except poverty and fear, and those are poor choices.
41 posts and no one addressed his real problem. He has a choice but he won't make it and none of you urged him to. He waits on his Messiah to come, but when He does it will be to come . . . back. And by Ben's failure to acknowledge the Messiah that has come and gone, died on the cross for his sins, he has no hope, here or for eternity. For all of us 100 years from now there is only one decision that will matter, not who we vote for, not who runs the country, not who we marry, not where we live, not not not. The decision that matters is accepting or rejecting Jesus Christ. And you see if Ben had done so he doesn't write that final paragraph because he knows, we all know should we be reduced to Job like conditions, should our final days be as horrible as we can imagine, we praise God anyway because as Christians, and only as Christians we have an eternity than is wonderful beyond our comprehension. Without Christ our final days can be that of the richest of the rich but eternity will be equally horrible beyond imagination. That is what Ben should truly be concerned about. And the same for the rest of you who don't know Christ either.
nathan| 2.27.13 @ 11:59AM
A word about charity. Paul wrote told Timothy to be charitable. The Good Samaritan parable tells us "go and do likewise", a command not a suggestion. For Christians, all that we have is not ours, but by God's grace alone. We have an obligation to be good stewards of it. We have done nothing to deserve to anything we possess. To think in terms of "my" anything for Christians is simply wrong. And the Founders themselves believed in noblise oblige.
But for Christians there can not be nor should there be charity without evangelism. We are going "home", home not being here but in heaven, don't confuse the two, and so we have an obligation to bring as many with us as possible. So if you see someone on the street asking for money, if you choose to give him some, wrap it around a New Testament. Share the Word with him. Again, it's not YOUR money. Paul was adamant was he not that beyond bread today what more do you need? Christians, especially in this day and time need to trust God more than ever. And again, if we lose it all, then we lose it all. Heaven awaits does it not? But only if you know Christ.
Again that's where Christians need to focus their attention, their energy. Less on things of this world.
TLP| 2.27.13 @ 2:15PM
Oh my God, nathan.
You actually got one right.
Well Done.
Magnificent, actually.
nathan| 2.27.13 @ 4:11PM
Blind squirrel theory sir? LOL
I'm going to throw quit while I'm ahead but honestly for the Christians here, consider this. You end up living your worst nightmare and you die that way. Compared to the eternity that awaits you, it's so temporary. We praise God on the way out.
But look at Ben here, he's got so much but honestly because he's got nothing really, his religion gives him no comfort, because it can't, look at how he writes. He writes of despair.
At Chef: If I'm reading you right, please don't. Please. I've been there honestly. I'm telling you, don't. You don't have to. I don't know where you live but there has to be a church, a Christian that will be more than happy to lead you to the Savior that gives us all hope for eternity. Or go to "Mcleanbible.org" and look at What We Teach, How May I Become A Christian. Please. It's not too late sir. Please sir.
Occam's Tool| 2.27.13 @ 6:49PM
Well, Nathan, I think Ben would be neurotic no matter what his faith. It's hardwired in.
bustunloose| 2.27.13 @ 12:24PM
Appleby what about sex ? I am your age -hey slowing up. Admit. Asked my doc for viagra perscription, my wife was working to hard to get me were I wanted to be sometimes. Anyhow I went to pharmacy and they want $135 for 5 pills !!! Well I say forget about it. With same amoung of cash I get the wife some lingerie and a whig. Problem solved.
Jack in Wi| 2.27.13 @ 12:33PM
How about 2 blindfolds for both of you as well?
bustunloose| 2.27.13 @ 1:19PM
We all can't be on our 3rd or 4th trophy wife. Plus my eyes will always adore her. On the other hand more and more I notice she keeps her eyes shut.
TLP| 2.27.13 @ 2:17PM
"Plus, my eyes will always adore her."
Well said.
mike 3/505| 2.27.13 @ 3:32PM
more I notice she keeps her eyes shut.
That's because no woman can stand to see a man enjoying himself.
Occam's Tool| 2.27.13 @ 7:17PM
Actually, the vast majority of women I slept with always wanted to see me enjoying myself. That's because I followed the simple rule of "Ladies First."
It's so rare from their perspective....maybe that's why the Daughter of the New Jersey Nets Veep chased me even after I moved to Alabama....hmmmm.
Nowadays I am happily monagamous, and vastly outnumbered by females in the household: wife/ daughter/dog. 2 cats. Also at work.
Jeff R| 2.27.13 @ 12:33PM
Refreshingly depressing, Ben.
Seriously, you're advice is very common sense and Americans would be well advised to follow it. Other than that, there are many variables beyond our control.
Faith in God is what allows me to accept that which I can't control.
TLP| 2.27.13 @ 2:20PM
Indeed.
"See the birds. They neither reap nor sow. Yet God takes care of them."
Believe in Him, and He will never let you down.
I know.
Trust me.
cicero| 2.27.13 @ 3:56PM
As a young man, I invested very heavily in small children. Over the years, I cultivated them, and nurtured them, so that they grew strong, tall, and independant. Now in my dodderage, I know that, if necessary, I will always have a chair at the table, and a roof over my head. It was only a matter of envesting wisely. Gather your dividends where you may.
Oh, and by the way,- keep working as long as you have the energy and skill to do so. Who ever thought up early retirement did not factor in a huam being's need to be useful and productive.
TLP| 2.27.13 @ 4:06PM
You sound like a good father.
No man could ask for anything more.
I salute you, sir.
God Bless.
mike 3/505| 2.27.13 @ 4:16PM
+1
John II| 2.27.13 @ 5:32PM
Whoa, I had to read all the way to the end of the thread, slack-jawed, until someone finally made my point for me. Thanks, cicero (pronounced "KICK-er-o" in classical Latin).
My wife and I have eight kids, counting the four who married our four surviving kids. Ten grandkids and counting. They all like us.
We've scrimped for a modest retirement that will keep us in food and shelter without being a financial burden on our kids--but if anything disastrous DID happen before we cash in our chips, the kids are there. For us, the same way we've been there for them.
It that arrangement REALLY so unusual these days? I mean, what the hell?
Albert Constantine Jr.| 2.27.13 @ 6:08PM
My wish is that there will be a society and civilization which allows for retirement for me when the time comes, as I fear the future might be somewhat more apocalyptic (which, by the way, is one that I am prepared to deal with, for a while, at least).
Occam's Tool| 2.27.13 @ 6:53PM
Yup. I have 2 nine year olds, adopted from Guatemala. As I sit and look at this, I am munching on the chocolate covered pretzels they made me.
Every day, I tell them how fantastic they are. At least three times weekly, I also tell them that adopting them was the best decision I ever made. (Second best was marrying the wife)
Completely agree with Cicero and John II, TLP, and Mike.
Rhoetus| 2.28.13 @ 12:20AM
You chose your moniker here wisely cicero. Best always! Z
Joellen| 2.27.13 @ 7:08PM
What a great way to end the evening, reading of REAL MEN who love their wives and children and who have done the best they can to keep them secure.
YOU (Cicero, John II, TLP, Al, Mike & Occam's) are the real HEROES that make America great, and all of you leave a new generation that I am sure will continue your legacies.
You know this was the best Stein article in a long time - brought out a lot of GOOD STUFF!
Occam's Tool| 2.27.13 @ 7:18PM
You are always a sweetie, Dear Joellen.
John II| 2.27.13 @ 7:50PM
You and me are pals forever, Joellen.
Er, where's the Contest this week? Or is Timmy still undecided?
Back now to "Life with Father" (1947), a William Powell / Irene Dunne vehicle in which a very young Elizabeth Taylor plays a charming role before she became Elizabeth Taylor.
WhiteBikerTrash| 2.27.13 @ 8:26PM
Ben, I am a few years younger than you. I knew back in the 70's that there would be no Social Security for someone my age. Through hard work, the free market, and good choices I have amassed a comfortable retirement twice over. but because of poor personal choices and market crashes I have also lost the comfortable retirement twice over. If I could get back the money I have given others who had wants but not needs or even the value of the things that were taken from me by others I would be doing okay The only investment I now have is my home. I have a great life today. I will work until the day I die. I took 5 years off from work in my early fifties. That was my retirement.
You need to lose more to enjoy what you have. I would stop by in Idaho, but I have to work.
Rhoetus| 2.28.13 @ 12:17AM
A close friend is 65 and is suffering with MS. He is cared for at the VA Medical Center in West Los Angeles. He almost died last month from a heart attack and was in a coma. His kidneys have failed and now must undergo dialysis. Praise God for your health.
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WhiteBikerTrash| 2.28.13 @ 4:00PM
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