Funny, but was trading e-mails with a new friend, Stevie, and realized that 2014 isn't all that far off, really. I mean, yeah, it's a ways, but not like it's that far away. I guess I wasn't thinking about it that much.
2014 is the year I am done with all my fixed-term debts (other than mortgages), of which I have quite a few. (Long story, but basically, a business growing at 40% per year, combined with debt to accomodate the growth, combined with an abrupt decline in business.) Basically, it's a lot of money.
The thing that occurred to me yesterday is that when the debt is paid off, I can join the country club again. I was a member for 2 years once my biz got good, but had to resign when things took a downturn.
This is something I'll really enjoy, myself, but I really want it for my son. We are within walking distance to the club. So, on Summer days when he is bored out of his mind, he can join a friend or two and walk the course or hang out at the pool. I won't ever have to worry about him starving since they at least have food there.
He'll be around 13 when the debt is all gone. That's probably a good age for it. Until then, I'm not sure he'd get much out of it other than the pool.
Well... talk about first-world problems. "I worry about the welfare of my son because he doesn't belong to a country club right now." I know it's a stupid thing to worry about. I just think it'd be nice if he got to where he could golf well (unlike his father.)
Really, if I just lived like I do, now, and devoted that debt-service money to various projects, I could end up really accomplishing most of what I set out to do in life. I could pay my son's way through school. I could pay off all the family homes.
This doesn't account for the fact that if I start a law practice, that I should also get additional income from that. Plus, the biz usually throws off a windfall once or twice a year that's not accounted for. So, I think my plan is pretty realistic.
I think the tough part about being middle aged is that you become acutely aware that there are only so many years left. When I think back on my life, these first 40-something years represented a lot of time.
17 of them were just being a kid. Not really doing anything productive, but just sorta being there and taking up space.
Then, though, when I think of the ground I've covered, it's encouraging. I did 4 years in the Army. 4 years of undegrad. Taught guitar for 3 of those years. Then... uh... more undegrad, but while working in information technology related areas at the start of 13 years in Fortune 500 I.T. Since 2004, I've been an entrepreneur. Now, I'm embarking on a law career. I haven't given up the entrepreneur thing, either. So, for the first time, I'm not changing careers so much as adding a second one.
That's a lot of ground to cover in 30 years. I don't see any reason why I shouldn't be able to cover similar ground over the next 20 years. However, really, that's sort of how it breaks down. I've already done more of my life than I'm likely to have ahead of me.
Presuming I work until I'm 70, that leaves me just a couple of decades, after law school, to do whatever I'm going to do with my life. (Also, working until I'm 70 is one of the reasons I chose to study law. It's a career you can do well into old age. In fact, there are situations where a seasoned 68 year old lawyer might actually be the one you want.)
Still, when you talk about decades, that's a lot of time. You can change your life, entirely, multiple times. It's enough time to do a lot of stuff.
A lot of things are easier, now. Like most folks, I started life with absolutely nothing. So, the first 20 years of being out on my own I had to spend a lot of it just building capabilities. I lived in crappy apartments or houses, went to night school. Worked a job. That didn't leave much time for starting my own business, etc.
So, I think I can do a lot more with a couple decades than I did with the first three. However, my time isn't infinite, and that is sort of a bummer.
Maybe I'll be like Colonel Sanders and hit my stride when I turn 65. Who knows. I am not counting on it, though. I have taken about as good care of my body as I did my 10 speed bicycle when I was 12. Bad diet, not enough exercise. Yeah, there's time to change that and I do work on it. However, I'm thinking that if long life is a reward for good healthy habits, I better plan on keeling over at my desk at 70.
Still, all in all, not bad. I have a realistic plan to meet all the financial goals I would have set for myself, and then some. Yeah, eventually I run out of time, but hey, we all do, sooner or later. Much better than not-having a way to get where you hoped you'd be.
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