Tell us how you screwed up in 2009

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

yes, i fear it's one of those screw-ups i'm bound to make again and again because i'm stupid, stubborn, and have a bad attitude.

i ended up in a bad place with a good raise in 2007. i loved the new base pay but hated the people i worked with.

and now, almost 3 years since i started that job, i manage to look back at that job with fondness. my wife is the one who reminds me how miserable i was.

like you, i think i never learn.

[AlHayatZween 2]

i ended up in a bad place with a good raise in 2007. i loved the new base pay but hated the people i worked with.

and now, almost 3 years since i started that job, i manage to look back at that job with fondness. my wife is the one who reminds me how miserable i was.

like you, i think i never learn.

i took a new job and moved south in order to "follow my dream"...

now i just wish i had some $$...

#### the dream.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

i took a new job and moved south in order to "follow my dream"...

now i just wish i had some $$...

#### the dream.

i hear ya. i want more $$ too and i'm determined to make myself miserable in 2010 to get it. i've fallen way behind my peers and that is irritating.

[AlHayatZween 2]

i hear ya. i want more $$ too and i'm determined to make myself miserable in 2010 to get it. i've fallen way behind my peers and that is irritating.

Here's to us, brother, in 2010...

Miserable but getting paid !

[Chica Yeyé 41]

i hear ya. i want more $$ too and i'm determined to make myself miserable in 2010 to get it. i've fallen way behind my peers and that is irritating.

WORD

[Pooky 3,794]

Screw up No.1 was not seeing the "We've got to let you go" speech coming from a mile away.

Screw up No.2 we won't go into, but it's somewhere on FML.com

Screw up No.3 was not using my PTO to have a holiday while I had a job, thus leaving my 4 weeks of involuntary time off as my "holiday" for the year.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Here's to us, brother, in 2010...

Miserable but getting paid !

Yup. My peers are getting laid off from their jobs and finding better ones and I bask in the glory of being in a secure job that pays less. I'll take a little less security at this point, thank you.

[sachinky 465]

Biggest screw up -- definitely the decision to go for a CR-1 when we could've easily done AOS. Boy, am I regretting that every day while we wait for the NOA2.

Edited January 1, 2010 by sachinky

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Biggest screw up -- definitely the decision to go for a CR-1 when we could've easily done AOS. Boy, am I regretting that every day while I wait for the NOA2.

i finished the 'journey' years ago and in hindsight i'd take the extra wait and do the cr1... far fewer potential points of failure. the wait is something you forget quickly once it's over

[Amby 490]

I spent too much money on silly things I don't really need

[BishopMnA 0]

i took a new job and moved south in order to "follow my dream"...

now i just wish i had some $$...

#### the dream.

Ya...I did the almost the exact same thing when I was in my 20s...and basically came to the same realization. In the end, I completely did a 180 and went back to where I started. Overall though, I was glad that I took that 'shot at my dream'....cuz at least I got it out of my system!

The thing that I did stupid in 2009 was 'underinsuring' a car...then crashing it and totaling it...and then having to pay the difference between NADA value and $ owed to the bank out of my pocket ...ShOiT!!!!

[BishopMnA 0]

Yup. My peers are getting laid off from their jobs and finding better ones and I bask in the glory of being in a secure job that pays less. I'll take a little less security at this point, thank you.

Again...this was a similar experience with me...to make this work though I had to 'roll the dice' and leave the secure job and relocate...but it worked! The stupid part is that I really should have done it about 5 years earlier. :

[AlHayatZween 2]

Ya...I did the almost the exact same thing when I was in my 20s...and basically came to the same realization. In the end, I completely did a 180 and went back to where I started. Overall though, I was glad that I took that 'shot at my dream'....cuz at least I got it out of my system!

The thing that I did stupid in 2009 was 'underinsuring' a car...then crashing it and totaling it...and then having to pay the difference between NADA value and $ owed to the bank out of my pocket ...ShOiT!!!!

i'm afraid i might have to go back and work for the Machine up north in a few years...

At this rate, i'll NEVER be able to retire...

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

At this rate, i'll NEVER be able to retire...

speaking of retiring... i got my social security statement a few weeks ago... it had a little statement on what i could expect from social security with a 'worst case' statement regarding how their insolvency might affect my benefits... well, basically, it says i can expect 70% of what's promised...

taking into account the fact that social security is only intended to provide 60-70% of post-retirement living expenses, 70% of that leaves us with 42-49%....

which means the fact that our 401k's have been garbage over the last decade is going to be specially problematic... since we're really going to need it

[AlHayatZween 2]

speaking of retiring... i got my social security statement a few weeks ago... it had a little statement on what i could expect from social security with a 'worst case' statement regarding how their insolvency might affect my benefits... well, basically, it says i can expect 70% of what's promised...

taking into account the fact that social security is only intended to provide 60-70% of post-retirement living expenses, 70% of that leaves us with 42-49%....

which means the fact that our 401k's have been garbage over the last decade is going to be specially problematic... since we're really going to need it

man, according to my ss statment, i can expect fifty cents a month if i retire at age 65.

i either have to sell a piece of art...

or get involved in an embezzling scheme and pull out before i get too greedy... it's the only way...