Spenny
Via Fox Chicago
CHICAGO (Fox 32 News) – A Chicago man who bought $1,000 worth of stock 70 years ago grew that money into millions, and has donated the money to create a wildlife sanctuary.
Russ Gremel, 98, never married and never had kids. He bought $1,000 worth of Walgreens stock decades ago, and kept it. Today, it’s worth about $2 million, reported the Chicago Tribune.
Your typical Millennial/ Gen X-er would probably take this opportunity to gripe how things were easier back in the day, shove some argument down your throat, a college degree got you a job where you could buy a house and have a family back then, of course he could turn $1,000 into $2,000,000. Of course Walgreen’s was a good buy. A Baby Boomer would retort, you kids are too lazy, or something like that. But kid’s geriatric phobia vs old folks jealousy of youth is a trite and played out bit. I’m gonna flip the script, sort of.
STAY SINGLE FOREVER
Yup, back on this pulpit.
Let’s just take a purely financial stand point here. Average cost of a wedding in the US is $26,720. Yea, that would traditionally be her parent’s money, but let’s lump it in. A traditional white-picket fence family has say two kids? In 2015 the estimated cost of raising a child was $233,610. And heaven forbid, you get two girls, that’s two weddings down the road (probably, though given divorce rates and how much you love them, maybe more). And that’s no college which BTW for a “moderate” in state college averages $24,610 A YEAR.
Now the incalculable part is how much money you save not having to give a shit about presenting yourself, some would say that happens after you get married anyways, but I choose to believe in romance. No money on dates. Less gifts you have to buy for the holidays. etc. Let’s put aside the hypothetical and just say the cost of not getting married or having 2 kids is an estimated $493,940. If you could put that denomination in a bank, even at the current, paltry, 0.06% APY, it would take 25 years compounded annually to break 2 Mill ($2,119,926.62 to be exact).
Aiiiiiiint Bad. Let’s literally just say you take the money, never invest it, and just blow it. That’s almost 20K a year you can do what ever the hell you want with. Then the hardest decision you’ll have to make all day is…
Now all you have to deal with is the soul crippling loneliness. Hope your ottoman can hold a conversation, or just act like kids these days and live solely based on your online perpetuation on Instagram. Small price to pay if you ask me.
The Naysh 