Same here. I've been with the same company for 31 years. Today I make $45,000 a year (excellent wage for rural TN), have excellent benefits (medical, dental, LTD, life, etc), and guess what? I do it on a high school education. I'm 52 and recently started college. My employer has paid every cent of my tuition, books, etc.
We have 43 acres and a house paid for and I'm not in debt. I have good retirement benefits and a 401K. I didn't have to go thousands in debt to get where I am. I also go home at the end of the day and leave work at work. What more can you ask? I'm not wealthy but I'm in a heck of a better situation than most people I know.
Melinda, I;m glad you’re happy but how many pairs of shoes do you own?
I work from my home. I can't leave work at work. I'm always there. My colleagues on the east coast are also workaholics. I get calls at 9:30 PM MDT from them. It's 11:30 EDT and they are working in the integration lab. There is no escape. The zero commute is nice. I can start my day without my blood pressure being raised by jackasses on the roads. The respite is limited...the phone will ring and jackasses will be on the other end. It's still better than spending an hour in traffic.
Well I’d call all that a real success story... some people just don’t know how to live on what they have, or save up for what they want.. I don’t think it’s always about how much one makes, but whether or not they know how to use it properly.