[SuperFreak]

I was sitting around could not sleep. But i think about my posistion in life and wonder how i ended up where i am at.
I am 25 years old Currently i am working in an OK job i make $11.50 an hour. Health insurnace is paid for so no worries there. I am working as a Emergecy Medical Technician (aka paramedic) . I sold lawn equipment part time but gave it up last year. I was not really into the sale aspect.
Though I went to college for 2 years to get my degree. I always compare myself to others in my same age group.Some make real good money compared to me. I really am burned out in my job and still go to school at night.
I always ask myself am I doing allright for my age or should i put myslef in "catch up mode"..
we own/buying our home.Reliable cars,food to eat everynight.
But I always feel i am lacking jobwise compared to others.
I am just feeling a little low these last few years.
Anyone else experience these emotions in the lifetime? Will i keep comparing my life with others forever?

Thanks for listening

 

[Ingersoll444]

Oh ya, been there many times. But look at it this way, You are trying to do your best. SO many people out there just sit around sucking off the system all day. You are out there busting your @ss, AND are going to school also. You got NOTHING to be ashamed about. You may not have the nicest cars, or the best house, but you DO have yours. Some of the people out there that you THINK have it all, are maxed out dept wise, and unhappy.

Just to give you an idea where I am coming from. I am going to be 39 this summer. Went to collage out of HS, and dropped out after one year. Went back a year later, then dropped out agean.[Ahh you know it ALL when your young ] Wourked a few entry level jobs. never made a tod, but worked hard, and had the jobs a long time. Now I am in the auto parts biz, and wile I don;t make a TON of money, I do OK. Cars are old, and a little ratty, but I got a nice house, my doughter is in a real nice day care, and we realy don;t NEED much. Ya it would be nice to buy a new car. Ya I would llike to buy myself a new truck. Ya, I would like to buy that new MF 1440[tractor content ] But I cant.

So don;t feel bad. It seems like you work hard, and have your NEEDS coverd. Don;t worry about what the other guy has, you probably DON'T want his life. Must imporant is to be you.

 

[jbetts13]

don't feel bad we all have rough some or most of the time but look on the bright side you get to be a paramedic get to drive fast and run red light and most of all get to save a life

 

[Greg]

Superfreak,

Ahhhh to be 25 and pondering your life.....

Seriously, Ingersoll made some good points. I would just add, yes you should put yourself into "catch up mode" but only if you compare where YOU are now and where YOU want/wanted to be. Have you sat down and listed your personal, professional, financial goals? Try it, then you will have something to compare to...not to others. They may "seem" to be doing "better" than you, but you never know what their life is really like behind their front door.

Continuing your education is great, keep it up! Think about what you really want to do for a living. Match your courses to help you reach that goal. Don't set your goals too high that you can't reach them within a reasonable time. One step at a time...review and revise.

You seem to have a good head on your shoulders.

And don't forget your "significant other" in your goal planning. As a song says...at the end of the day, they're your greatest fan!

Best of luck,

Greg

 

[MowHoward2210]

Your biggest asset is TIME . Start saving and planning NOW . I used to hear the same thing, and ignored it for awhile because "I didn't make enough money". In hindsight, just putting away very small amounts back then would be benifitting me now and in the future. That is the "miracle of compound interest". If you absolutely cannot put any money away now, then be smart with what you earn, ie. pay your bills, and stay out of credit card debt. Establishing a good credit record will make your life so much easier and allow you to do more things in the future. Work hard, be responsible, and life will be much easier. Good luck.

 

[ducati996]

If you are comparing yourself to others in your age group you might be overly critical on yourself. There will be always someone a little more 'lucky" then your self. Its sounds like you are in school but I'm not sure if its in a field with lots of earning potential. Ok course thats important and realistic, as long as you get the education, you are doing good. Your friends can lose their jobs at anytime in life when working for someone. They have to look for a new home while not having a current job, which sometimes leads to setbacks. If you have an education and an advanced degree, you never lose that or can they take it away. You then have a base for life to work from, your friends are only as good as their last job.
The best thing someone can do is to plan and drive to be Independant and have your own business. Depending on on your field, you will encounter people who dont have a clue, but yet decide your fate. You can lose your Job, or be forced to make a change overnight and have no control over it. Establish your self now as an Independant, and your quality of life will improve.
I'm at the point in my life and I'm young enough to apply them
(Under 40) because of the injustices of the working world, that I will not allow myself to be 100% dependant on my current employer. If things go south ( and they do sometime's overnight)
I can be on my own the next day. My income independantly surpasses my income sometimes at my current place of employment. I'm in the technology field for example and its a fast paced field. It took a long time to be able to have somewhat of a balance. You have to drive and motivation and goals to pull through. Set the goals now, and you will find you will achieve them. Surround yourself with people who can help you achieve ( Network) which takes a lifetime to acomplish...Taking chances are another important step. As they say its better to try something, then not al all. You are young enough to do it and recover if it wasnt a good choice. Just dont make a obvious foolish choice

Good luck and stay driven !!

Duc

 

[Argee]

I pretty much agree with everyones take on it so far....having been through most of it myself....the one thing I would like to add is, be happy with whatever your doing for a living and...ALWAYS...take time to "smell the roses along the way"
When I had my heart attack a few years back, I was hard driving, hard charging, type "A" personality. It (the heart attack) made me realize that we get only one opportunity at this thing called life, so you best be enjoying it while it's here.

 

[Live Oak]

SF, I did the same thing, went to college, changed majors, dropped out, worked in shop lifting security (what a dump job!), automotive repair at Montgomery Wards & then at a Dodge dealer, John Deere yellow line dealer mechanic, airfreight deliver. I pulled out the stopped and prepped for the tests with the VA State Police and got hired. About the same time as my report date for the VA State Police boot camp training, I got a call from a friend who was an Army recruiter. I filled out a packet for flight school thinking it would never happen but figured why not? He had gotten my packet approved and I had a class date. Needless to say, I took the chance and went with the flight school and WOW!!!!!!!!!! what a ride that was! The most difficult and taxing thing I have EVERY done in my life. You couldn't pay me enough to do it again but I am glad I did it. Up until the police job and the flight school offer; things were pretty bleek and not looking very promising. Hang in there. Be patient. If you "know" what you want to do; I say go for it! If you shoot for the stars; you never know..............you just might luck out and hit the moon. I signed into the Army at the age of 24 and 22 years later, I am glad I did. It was the school of hard knocks but I can look back with a sense of accomplishment and a feeling of success. Don't sell yourself short.

 

[Stewart]

Keep the faith man, remember the only person on this earth you have to compare yourself to is you! Comparing yourself to others will only cause problems. Set realistic goals for yourself and try and accomplish them. When your check comes in remember the big guy upastairs first and them don't forget to pay yourself. That means to invest for your future by putting money in some form of investments that you can't get at easily. This avoids that Saturday tractor purchase!!!

Your line of work is not going to make you rich but you can do well by any standards Being an EMT is in my opinion a calling and takes a special person to do it well!

Are you a paramedic or EMT?

Don't rule out more education, it is a whole lot easier if it is something you are interested in doing, I am in that boat. I am not real motivated to do the school thing right now but have to get busy real soon! I am going to do a few more years in the AF and I want to teach school when I get a real job. I want teach elementary school. A very attainable goal but I have to do something to get there! Good luck and like I said keep the faith, you can do anything you put your mind to!

:cheers:

 

[leolav]

Can't say enough about planning for your future now. Education opens many doors. My father always advocated getting an education asap. I finished college and immediately got my MBA a year later. Best thing he ever recommended to me.

He also advocated me taking my first $2,000 of wages from every year I worked since I was 15yrs old and putting it in an IRA. At 15, I was like "who cares about that." By the time I took my first financial management class in college and learned the value of compound interest, then I understood what he was trying to do. He was setting me up for my retirement.

From that point on, it has been invest, invest, invest. I want to retire younger and enjoy my self.

As he always said, work smarter, not harder.

I am now 31 yrs old with several hundred thousand squirreled away in my retirement account via my IRA contributions, and my 401K accounts (hint: max out if you can afford it). My first company out of college was Honeywell Corporation. They have a great 401K program. They allowed me to contribute 13% of your income to your 401K and they matched 5 or 6% dollar for dollar. That adds up really quick if you put it in the company stock, which in the mid 1990's was booming. That allowed me to leave that company after just three years with a hefty 401K account. I later put that into a
rollover IRA, got hurt by the tech tumble, but it has been rebounding pretty well lately.

 

[bontai Joe]

I'm gonna be 48 soon. And I have those thoughts too, but it is counter-productive to dwell on it. You are continuing with your education and that is great. Education is hard to get, but once owned, it is easy to take with you every where you go. Don't get hung up on the materialistic stuff that the media tends to jam down our throats. Remember the media relies on advertising $$ to stay in business. You don't want to be working 2 jobs to pay for stuff you are never home to enjoy, and you don't want to be working 2 jobs and missing quality time with your family. Those are the 2 major pitfalls of our culture right now. I'm reprogramming myself to avoid the expensive gadgets and toys to lower my debt. And the last piece of advice is save at least $1 per week for retirement. More is better!, but if for now $1 is all you can do then do it. You can make it $2 next year.

 

[Ingersoll444]

As some have touched on. Don't sweat the money. Famley is realy all that matters when you come down to it.

 

[coal_man]

We could all live by this philosophy.

Mayonnaise jar and the beer

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar...and the beer.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things--your family, your children, your health, your friends, your favorite passions--things that if everything else was lost and only they remained; your life would still be full. "The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else--the small stuff

If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house, and fix the disposal. "Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of beers."
:cheers: :beer: :beer: :cheers:

 

[SuperFreak]

Thanks guys for the uplifiting responses.School has been demanding,work is tiring, and the winter has been long.
I feel better after reading the responses. This week i will have put in 56 hours and school on top of that. The long drive back home 30 minutes to our beautiful home kinda is a bummer.

Im taking a few days off next week to relax and spend time with my wife.

Thanks for letting me vent and letting me know im not alone.It feels good to express things at times.
BTW, I am a EMT- Paramedic..

 

[memmurphy]

I think we all visit those thoughts of varying degrees from time to time. Me, I graduated college, went to work in the real world, lost the will to live and here I am today at 37. Still wondering how I will make it to retirement. And survive during retirement. Of course, God willing I do, I will no doubt be reminiscing about the good ole days when I was younger. It is just the reality of life setting in as youth slips away.

Coalman, that is a neat way of putiing things into perspective. Thanks

Mark eace:

 

[Stewart]

The 30 minute drive home used to be a good decompresion time for me. Even if I had a crummy day at work by the time I got home it wasn't so bad. That was unless traffic was real bad, you get the jist of it. You just have to get up every day and keep plugging along! Keep the faith man!Bye

 

[Live Oak]

Originally posted by Stewart
The 30 minute drive home used to be a good decompresion time for me. Even if I had a crummy day at work by the time I got home it wasn't so bad. That was unless traffic was real bad, you get the jist of it. You just have to get up every day and keep plugging along! Keep the faith man!Bye

Good advice! Alot to be said about having the strenght to go the distance. I can remember MANY times where I just did not think I could make 20 years.