I agree with almost everything you said, but I actually I have already bought 2 flat and I let them out, while I live in small rented bungallow. I also have plans to buy more buy to let property, because I don’t trust neither the stock nor the finacial market. I don’t trust even the dollar (or euro.) Gold is probably good, but does not pay interest.

My strategy is to buy at least 3 flats and fully own them. I need one to live in, one to cover the bills (electricity, heating etc.) and a third one to buy food. Whatever happens with the real estate prices or with the money market, I will have a place to live, and won’t starve.

First, you are going to be stuck with them for much longer than 18 years! Of course, eventually, they will be stuck with you!

Second, parenting is not a “job”, although it can seem like it sometimes. Its more of a lifestyle, experience or process. It will change you and your spouse as much as it does your children, and hopefully for the better.

Third, despite your best efforts (or worst), your children may turn out much better or worse than you expect. There is a great deal of risk and unpredictability that most new parents have a hard time accepting — hence, the large and ridiculous market for “baby educating” devices.

And nature plays just as big a role as nurture. It is amusing seeing your spouse’s worst foibles in your kids, but not so much your own. And they may remind you of a sibling or a parent or aunt or uncle sometimes. Or they may have an outstanding talent or personality trait that you can’t comprehend. Or a disability that you could not have anticipated.

P.S. — they don’t always believe what you tell them. In fact, sometimes they refuse to believe anything you tell them and need to learn things through experience. Allowing them to fail is often as important as guiding them to succeed.

As for finding the wife; If need be, create some activities that you truly enjoy for free, and promote those groups/activites that you created, so others can share in the fun! Your future wife will be so impressed that she will want to steal you away for a lifetime and you get to have fun doing your own activities together! Also, Religion is simple, follow the courage in your heart to follow righteousness. This shows bravery and self-sacrifice, and again, your future wife will be impressed.

I am glad I have a Toyotta Corolla. No problems at all the last 3 years, another 12 to go; however, by then I may be backpacking/train-riding European/World Coastlines with my Wife, looking for great spots to rest for a month or so.
For a year or two. Then we will want be out of that phase and go back to America’s Lands…

I like the judgement scale that fathersez put up for relationships. I guess no one I’ve met has fulfilled the list. I keep being defeated by the religious/spiritual problem. I am not religious and the best ones I’ve met are which leads to them constantly trying to convert met or trying to guilt me into going. I guess I’ll just stay single and continue to live comfortable in my RV.

I am glad you started off the section about children by suggesting that peopole consider IF they should even have children. Same for deciding IF to marry, as it is not for everyone, either.

I agree with those who who disagree about index funds. My advice there is that they are good for longer-term investing, such as in IRAs or 401(k)s, because the compounding effect of having low expense ratios will boost the value of those accounts.

I also liked that you specifically mentioned in your list of preferred cars a Toyota Corolla. They do last a long time, especially if you don’t drive them a lot. I bought a 1991 Geo Prism (basically a Corolla) back in 1992 and it lasted for 15 years. Then, in 2001, I bought the real deal, a Corolla itself. I expect that one to last me 15 years, too, because they are so reliable.

I also agree with Chef’s comment about religion and spirituality being worthy of its own section. I am an atheist so I find the absence of a belief in god quite spiritual and gratifying in its own way.

Best,
GP

In addition, even if you don’t like a broad market strategy, you can still use it to great effect. If your plan is to hold 100 stocks but 80 of them can be collapsed to a matching index, that would greatly improve the execution of an investment strategy. I can say from experience that too much complexity, too many transactions can put a damper on even the best strategy because just going through the motions of submitting buy & sell orders was complete brain damage.

Pensions act like broad markets not because they don’t have active managers but because they have too much money and have to invest in everything anyways. They certainly are trying to beat the market but many are doing worse (e.g. CalPERS) with their private equity deals and direct real estate investments.

Well … I know indexes are on a sliding scale and that indexes are composed different—for example, the 20 biggest companies in the S&P500 comprise a very hefty portion of the market. When I say index funds I have meant broad market funds, not sector or subsector funds. I shall henceforth refer to them as broad market funds. What really matters is the amount of correlation/coupling their usage builds into the market. Diversifying with index funds means decoupling from individual stocks but coupling to other index funds. I submit there’s some delusion going on … or at least the systemic consequences are not fully realized.