Assets Versus Experiences

[Tanks]

Speaking of experiences driven by assets. My daughter still finds the time to ride. When she was much younger, she was part of a group of girls that were called "stable rats" as they spent a lot of their time at the stables. Between that and tennis kept her away from boys and focused on school.

Her daughters started riding as well.

 

[godwincp]

I want to run out of money and breath at the same time!
I’m going to run this race as fast as I can for as long as I can

 

[Flbt]

Speaking of experiences driven by assets. My daughter still finds the time to ride. When she was much younger, she was part of a group of girls that were called "stable rats" as they spent a lot of their time at the stables. Between that and tennis kept her away from boys and focused on school.

Her daughters started riding as well.

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Them horses are a asset eater. I am glad we are down to 2 instead of the 40 or so we usto have

 

[Adam Stevens]

Them horses are a asset eater. I am glad we are down to 2 instead of the 40 or so we usto have

we have two on the farm, and the only ones I ever liked were up northern bc while packing elk hunting.

the rest can be painted like zebra and shot haa

 

[Killingtime]

Speaking of experiences driven by assets. My daughter still finds the time to ride. When she was much younger, she was part of a group of girls that were called "stable rats" as they spent a lot of their time at the stables. Between that and tennis kept her away from boys and focused on school.

Her daughters started riding as well.

View attachment 752846

One of my sons will be old enough to start riding this year. He’s already started his roping.

 

[Altitude sickness]

Unless it’s a true working horse. Very rarely is a horse an asset. At best a tax write off.

I think I may have paid for one horse with roping winnings. Paid for the original purchase. Which of course,

Them horses are a asset eater. I am glad we are down to 2 instead of the 40 or so we usto have

the cheapest part of owning a horse is buying it.

My cousin has owned race horse for decades. I think he has had one that made him money. It’s a hobby and tax write off.

 

[Altitude sickness]

For this conversation remember:

Momento Mori

 

[cooperjd]

I appreciate all the responses thus far. I turned 45 last week. I think about this stuff a lot...

I'm lucky enough to have been on a decent amount of adventures with my Dad. As soon as I was out of grad school and a working engineer, we started going on a trip every year somewhere. Maybe it was Wyoming antelope, chasing elk, a bigger trip to South Africa where I filmed him accomplishing a childhood dream of bagging a sable.... Our last big adventure together was when he finally booked a dall sheep hunt in AK in 2020, his 2nd childhood dream to accomplish. I was his packer, and we weren't able to get on a legal ram. We each shot big caribou and had a great time. He has done well enough for himself working as a welder and mid level construction management, but living frugally, saving and investing all he could. Compounding interest is a wonderful thing with some time.

Now, though, after some injuries, at 72 he has been down for a few years, not very mobile. We are going to try for an Alberta moose this year in november, hopefully his nerve stimulator will allow him to walk enough to get this hunt done.

My wife and I make 2 decent salaries. We are beyond blessed in this life to live in a very nice area with great schools for my 8yr old son. It is expensive to live in this zip code. I put back a lot for retirement. The hope is that my body will be in enough shape to enjoy it once i have amassed enough to really spend it on adventures. Hell I hope to be alive, as that isn't guaranteed either. My boy loves to hunt, killed 3 deer this past fall and youth turkey season is this weekend. I am going to do all I can to take him on whatever adventures he wants.

I'm trying to stop buying rifles, I have a very hard time selling any that I really don't "need". I am not in the same boat as many on here, to me $5k is a very expensive rifle . I don't make enough to buy a bunch of things and also hunt. Hell taxidermy from my last safari in '24 is gonna be rough! I want to take the boy to Africa in 3 or 4 years. If Dad can do anything, I want to go with him on whatever he is capable of, and hopefully his grandson can join soon.

The tough part for me is trying to find a balance. The wife wants to travel, I want to hunt, how much does one spend on both? We are also a lot of money deep into my fixer upper house. We can flip it and make decent money but just spend all of it on the next slightly bigger house. Why?...

I cannot sacrifice my 401k; but I also believe that I can work when I'm older and my body isn't able to do what I can still do at a very fit 45. When my Dad was 45, I was 18. My boy is 8, so I have to stay fit and healthy for a long time if he and I want to climb mountains together.

Then there is contentment....How does one achieve contentment when you have a champagne taste and a beer budget?? The dream safari for me would cost ~$200k and I would do it every few years. To hunt a grand slam of sheep is something like 350k these days. None of that's happening! And yet I've taken my cape buff with my bow in '24. That was in the top 3 of hunting dreams and something most will never do.

These are 'my' goals though. Now that J is hunting with me, I cannot wait to take him on all sorts of adventures. He is already ticked he can't shoot big game out west til he's 12. The wife and I love to travel, so we have to work that in as well. Maybe one day my money tree out back will produce fruit. Until then I will have to read y'alls adventures, and I really appreciate the wisdom of those of you that've been there and are looking back. Sorry for the rambling.

 

[Flbt]

Unless it’s a true working horse. Very rarely is a horse an asset. At best a tax write off.

I think I may have paid for one horse with roping winnings. Paid for the original purchase. Which of course,


the cheapest part of owning a horse is buying it.

My cousin has owned race horse for decades. I think he has had one that made him money. It’s a hobby and tax write off.

Yeah. Years ago we bought a reining horse.
She had never really won much but her daughter had.
We were going to use her and do a little local showing.
She was doing grate and all of a sudden blew up. It kept happening.
We noticed it was when a bird or any type flew over.
Talked to the guy we got her from.
He did a little checking.
She had been in covered arenas and in stalls her whole life.
So she was not use to the shade flying across her.
We sold her and yes we told the new owners about her strange little problem.

 

[ftothfadd]

Oh horses. I am an equine surgeon by training and I will never forget when I talked to one of the several wealthy clients of my mentor back in Kentucky. He advised me that the best way to become a millionaire with horses is fairly simple: You just have to start with 1 billion… absolute, true wisdom

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Technically I am a multimillionaire ... just counting investments not real estate and other stuff. But I don't have a lot of "other stuff." Don't need it. I drive a 2004 GMC with 190k miles. I shoot two WWII rifles and a cobbled together old frankenstein A5 shotgun. I'm an empty nester with no debt living in an 800 sq ft home. Interesting that my daughter encourages me to go to Africa and she's the one who'll inherit everything. She's not prepared for life as well as I'd like but not materialistic at all so it doesn't matter much I guess. She's a damn good mom which is surprising as we lost her mother when daughter was still a teenage rebel. Unfortunately, she and the kids inherited my late wife's genetic mutation which will likely complicate their futures. In all likelihood I will outlive my daughter. So I manage to play using only interest on investments and my pensions. Still, the portfolios continue to grow. Pretty amazing considering current events. Once a year I check in with investments gal at the bank (seeing her this Thursday in fact). I don't worry about it.

 

[ActionBob]

Technically I am a multimillionaire ... just counting investments not real estate and other stuff. But I don't have a lot of "other stuff." Don't need it. I drive a 2004 GMC with 190k miles. I shoot two WWII rifles and a cobbled together old frankenstein A5 shotgun. I'm an empty nester with no debt living in an 800 sq ft home. Interesting that my daughter encourages me to go to Africa and she's the one who'll inherit everything. She's not prepared for life as well as I'd like but not materialistic at all so it doesn't matter much I guess. She's a damn good mom which is surprising as we lost her mother when daughter was still a teenage rebel. Unfortunately, she and the kids inherited my late wife's genetic mutation which will likely complicate their futures. In all likelihood I will outlive my daughter. So I manage to play using only interest on investments and my pensions. Still, the portfolios continue to grow. Pretty amazing considering current events. Once a year I check in with investments gal at the bank (seeing her this Thursday in fact). I don't worry about it.

Good post for such an old Crumudgen Sounds like you are going to need a new pickup in about 10 years so better start planning on it

So sorry about the Genetic issues in your family.... we are all stuck with what we've got in that department... unless some medical miracle comes along. Which is possible!

But why not do things to enjoy life more? I fully understand liking what you like, such as an old pickup. But go out and have some fun! Find a girlfriend and/or just hunt more. And if your family's fate is set, take them out to have fun while you all still can!

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Good post for such an old Crumudgen Sounds like you are going to need a new pickup in about 10 years so better start planning on it

So sorry about the Genetic issues in your family.... we are all stuck with what we've got in that department... unless some medical miracle comes along. Which is possible!

But why not do things to enjoy life more? I fully understand liking what you like, such as an old pickup. But go out and have some fun! Find a girlfriend and/or just hunt more. And if your family's fate is set, take them out to have fun while you all still can!

No pickups for me. I have dogs to take care of. The GMC is an Envoy SUV. Great vehicle. Too bad they don't make them like that anymore. Don't need a stepladder or shoehorn to get aboard. Good clearance, 4x4 when needed, smooth ride, great stereo, lots of cargo space, and enough power to pull a trailer.

I enjoy life plenty. My former career involved a lot of travel. I've done enough of that. Been to Africa four times and once more this summer I hope. Would like to go back to Alaska for fly fishing but not something I should do solo any more. Not at age 73. Sigh. All my friends are dead or too beat up for that kind of adventure.

 

[TheGrayRider]

“In the end, memories are the greatest treasures we hold.” Anonymous.

 

[cooperjd]

No pickups for me. I have dogs to take care of. The GMC is an Envoy SUV. Great vehicle. Too bad they don't make them like that anymore. Don't need a stepladder or shoehorn to get aboard. Good clearance, 4x4 when needed, smooth ride, great stereo, lots of cargo space, and enough power to pull a trailer.

I enjoy life plenty. My former career involved a lot of travel. I've done enough of that. Been to Africa four times and once more this summer I hope. Would like to go back to Alaska for fly fishing but not something I should do solo any more. Not at age 73. Sigh. All my friends are dead or too beat up for that kind of adventure.

You're the same age as my pops. Well, he turns 73 in June. Mom hits 70 this year. He and I have really missed out on adventures the last few years due to his immobility and injuries. 4 of his best friends and his sister died in 2025, mortality is hitting him hard right now. But 93 is not at all out of the question, so you could have 20 more years plus to enjoy this gift of life God gave us.

He has a goal to leave my sister and I x-amount of money. I told him to spend it. Spend it on and with his kids and grandkids. Or just go have fun with it, hell they earned it, not me. I would much rather have memories with my folks than money when they're gone. Take the families on vacations, rent a big beach house and pile everyone in and watch the grandkids play, do things like that. Don't just sit on money. Hearses don't pull U-haul trailers. They raised us to be self-sufficient and we will be fine. I think they're coming around to this idea somewhat, I just hope he can get over a couple health things and start to get out and about again. I know my Mom wants to travel more but is taking care of him.

Ontario you're part of a good forum here, I bet you could piece together a few old codgers to meet up in AK for some fishing.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

You're the same age as my pops. Well, he turns 73 in June. Mom hits 70 this year. He and I have really missed out on adventures the last few years due to his immobility and injuries. 4 of his best friends and his sister died in 2025, mortality is hitting him hard right now. But 93 is not at all out of the question, so you could have 20 more years plus to enjoy this gift of life God gave us.

He has a goal to leave my sister and I x-amount of money. I told him to spend it. Spend it on and with his kids and grandkids. Or just go have fun with it, hell they earned it, not me. I would much rather have memories with my folks than money when they're gone. Take the families on vacations, rent a big beach house and pile everyone in and watch the grandkids play, do things like that. Don't just sit on money. Hearses don't pull U-haul trailers. They raised us to be self-sufficient and we will be fine. I think they're coming around to this idea somewhat, I just hope he can get over a couple health things and start to get out and about again. I know my Mom wants to travel more but is taking care of him.

Ontario you're part of a good forum here, I bet you could piece together a few old codgers to meet up in AK for some fishing.

Thank you for that heartfelt encouragement. I will certainly consider it.

Most (but not all) of my fortune was not earned. No one wants to get rich that way: life insurance and fatal MVA litigation re my wife's death. Yes, I suffered and continue to suffer. Several times a week, sometimes a day, I see her in my dreams. It almost always ends the same with me begging her to come home (she was away visiting her family when the accident happened). Though I pay with suffering, it's not money I earned. I have decided to live off my pensions and interest from investments, and I'm living very satisfactorily. I help my family out financially when needed and frequently fund special things for them. Last year she took her husband to Vegas for an Oilers' game for his birthday. This year she will take my grandson to Toronto to watch the Jays. He wants me to go with them but I just cannot deal with those crowds. Anyway I am careful to be a part of the family but not running the show.

My daughter and grandkids have inherited my wife's genetic mutation and it's already affecting them. It took out my 14 year-old son ten months before the accident took her. In fact, if I hadn't just got out of the hospital from another breakdown and unable to travel, it would have been me in the front seat of the car not her. And if that had been the case, she would do exactly what I'm doing: looking after her family with the blood money.

I expect you would do the same?

As far as rounding up some poor unknown victim from the forum to share in an Alaskan fishing adventure: I'm a complicated person and I know it. For one thing, I don't know when to stop. I have an unusual capacity to burn the candle at both ends, sometimes for days on end. That can be very annoying for others. Only one person I know can put up with it: my brother. And he is by all accounts a truly remarkable person. One in a million. But he's 75 now and lived with diabetes for fifty years. He is in good shape all things considered and I would love for him to experience the wilds of Alaska with me but it's just too risky. Being off grid with diabetes is asking for trouble.

So ... my life is complicated because I am complicated. Cause or effect is debatable but it is what it is.

 

[Rare Breed]

Thank you for that heartfelt encouragement. I will certainly consider it.

Most (but not all) of my fortune was not earned. No one wants to get rich that way: life insurance and fatal MVA litigation re my wife's death. Yes, I suffered and continue to suffer. Several times a week, sometimes a day, I see her in my dreams. It almost always ends the same with me begging her to come home (she was away visiting her family when the accident happened). Though I pay with suffering, it's not money I earned. I have decided to live off my pensions and interest from investments, and I'm living very satisfactorily. I help my family out financially when needed and frequently fund special things for them. Last year she took her husband to Vegas for an Oilers' game for his birthday. This year she will take my grandson to Toronto to watch the Jays. He wants me to go with them but I just cannot deal with those crowds. Anyway I am careful to be a part of the family but not running the show.

My daughter and grandkids have inherited my wife's genetic mutation and it's already affecting them. It took out my 14 year-old son ten months before the accident took her. In fact, if I hadn't just got out of the hospital from another breakdown and unable to travel, it would have been me in the front seat of the car not her. And if that had been the case, she would do exactly what I'm doing: looking after her family with the blood money.

I expect you would do the same?

As far as rounding up some poor unknown victim from the forum to share in an Alaskan fishing adventure: I'm a complicated person and I know it. For one thing, I don't know when to stop. I have an unusual capacity to burn the candle at both ends, sometimes for days on end. That can be very annoying for others. Only one person I know can put up with it: my brother. And he is by all accounts a truly remarkable person. One in a million. But he's 75 now and lived with diabetes for fifty years. He is in good shape all things considered and I would love for him to experience the wilds of Alaska with me but it's just too risky. Being off grid with diabetes is asking for trouble.

So ... my life is complicated because I am complicated. Cause or effect is debatable but it is what it is.

So sorry for your loss! Life is rich and for the living…I lost my wife instantly at 30 years marriage. You seem to enjoy your family and Africa! To me it sounds like you are storing up treasure in heaven with the great things you do for your family without expecting anything in return… well done!

 

[TXhunter65]

A fool spends his fortune on material things. Experiences and intangible moments produce memories, on which no price can be placed, a wise man would consider the cost a fortune well spent.

 

[Daniel Cary]

"You think the people want; Two cars, a house, career, kids, etc. but they don't. They want something sacred" Jim Morrison.
✞ & that's rarely achieved.

The memories, stories, & people here alone, have been one of the great joys of my life. Health be with ya