Db, that pulling sensation you are feeling is @Triedaq yanking your chain 
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When we were discussing careers, my banker told me you donât see many rich bankers but you never see any retired poor bankers. He was referring to banks setting money aside for retirees. This was some years ago. I suspect the same thing is true for college professors. They have to have patches on their sport coat sleeves while working but travel the world when retired.
Thatâs why I said âsomething doesnât add up hereâ
I knew something wasnât right . . . but Iâm not going to call him a liar, even though he wasnât exactly telling the truth, not even close to it
I hope you didnât think I actually fell for his shenanigans
I was using tact, but maybe I should have said heâs lying through his teeth . . . ?! 
I guess people in cold climates do a lot more joking around to help get through the seasons. We never take this stuff seriously. I do know folks that go to Macâs for the free coffee every morning but then spend $3000 a month to rent a house in AZ in the winter. Just because you like free stuff doesnât mean destitution.
@bing @db4690 @old_mopar_guy. In discussing my not saving the $1.25 I was ahead after finding I could get coffee cheaper at McDonaldâs than on campus is that some people will get ahead financially and then immediately spend that money.
I remember a college student my family knew back in the early 1950s. This student went to work in a shoe store to pay his tuition and living expenses. He then bought the shoe store and that became his occupation. I remember him telling my mother that he set aside a little out of each dayâs proceeds, even if it was only 50¢ . His business grew. He had a child that was born with club feet. When he couldnât find a place to get shoes for his child, he got training in fitting shoes for people with special needs. He retired very well to do. It happened because he looked ahead and saved for the future. I should have skipped my cinnamon roll on Friday.
It could mean youâre smart
Every once in awhile, our department of sanitation will partner with a local auto parts store
Bring in 2 used engine oil filters and get 2 new ones in exchange, no cost to the customer
I do it, when the auto parts store . . . not always the same one . . . is within a reasonable distance
Sometimes you even get a free plastic oil drain tub, bucket, rags, and so forth
A customer long ago called looking for advice to get a hole dug. Her father had died and several years earlier he had invited her over to watch a back hoe dig as deep as he could reach in the old manâs back yard. He tossed in a large capped piece of PVC pipe and had the dirt pushed back over it, then drove a piece of pipe down to mark the spot. He told the daughter when he died yo dig it up. I donât know how much money was in that piece of pipe but she walked off and left her house to her husband and I havenât seen or heard from her since. No one ever thought the old man had a âpot or a windowâ but appearances can be deceiving. Of course on the other hand there are a lot of people who live it up all their lives and die bankrupt.
I have a grandson in his 30s that has lived out of his car (currently sofa surfing with friends) and once when his car wasnât running. We remedied that, but it was difficult since he was several states away. My means are pretty limited, so I am reserving $ help (except for cash for a meal or two) for family as I have others who could soon qualify.
Some no doubt, but add to this unexpected medical bills, rent raised beyond affordability, home lost to storm or fire, job loss due to area wide factory closures, physical handicap, mental illness, sometimes secondary to PTSD acquired during national service. 40 years ago at a welfare department in an a mixed rural/urban part of upstate New York roles about double during bad economic times - with people who are laid off from otherwise steady jobs, regularly applied for non-existant j and who became reemployed once hiring resumed - many of those factories are permanently closed now.
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From some of the replies you got, it is apparent that some of your fellow posters donât recognize tounge in cheek.
I identify a lot with your posts, not the education part, I was a high school dropout. I had to go to work, but the part of starting out poor, (I actually had to borrow the money for our wedding license) and learning how to fix things yourself to save money. I paid $20 for our first car and didnât have any money to pay someone to fix it. Then learning that just because you started making more money doesnât mean you have to spend a lot more. Books from the library read every bit as good as ones you pay for and you donât have to store them. I am not at all computer savvy, I never even used one until 12 years after I retired and nothing on a computer seems self evident or logical.
I do however have a grandson who has a Phd in computer science and he says you can still make at least 4 or 5 times as much in industry.
He spent many years getting his degrees, consulting summers and student teaching to pay for his Masters and doctorate. Admittedly he did not buckle down and really work on his doctorate until they would not let him take any more free classes. Grad students and adjunct professors are widely abused by universities as almost free labor. After finally getting a decent paying professorship he was asked by a friend why he put up with all the years of abuse and became a professor instead of just going early to industry.
His reply is a wry grin as he says, it must be Stockholm syndrome.
@oldtimer-11 A person doesnât have to have degrees to be educated. My dad told me once that there were people without degrees he knew who were better educated than a lot of people with Ph.Ds. These people without degrees didnât need school to seek out an education. My dad had a similar story to your grand son. My dad was a professional musician and then decided he wanted to be a professor. He was completing his degree when I was growing up and his salary was low. My maternal grandmother lived with us and my dad was sending money to his father to help out. We lived on a small acreage outside of town. We raised a big garden and my mother canned a lot of beans and corn. I still miss the taste of fresh homegrown vegetables, strawberries and asparagus in the spring and summer. Our old house was powered by a single fuse in a box on the front porch. I spent the summer when I was in high school rewiring the house. I am thankful for having to do things like this growing up.
You made a good point about adjunct faculty. My department was short three faculty members two weeks before the beginning of the school year. I found three of my former students who were willing to take the positions. They were excellent teachers. At the end of the year my department chair came to me and said we were to replace these people who were getting slave wages with even cheaper people and could I find new people. I refused. I told the department chair that it wasnât my responsibility. Ultimately these adjuncts were rehired.
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Wife is sick been nibbling on leftovers, still hungry. Pupparoni is looking good, remember one time in Yosemite camping out ended up with corn flakes and Coca Cola, life goes on.
Might I recommend my sometimes cook: Marie Calendar. About $3 a meal and less than 10 minutes in the micro. Iâm partial to the teriachi (however you spell it). You have to drive to the store.
Some years ago the wife was on a trip for a few weeks so I went to the store to stock up. I bought everything in the Boy Scout camping book like banana boats. The clerk looked at me and said âhey, you goinâ camping?â. Just tryinâ to survive son, just tryinâ to survive. Son was a sport though and ate everything. Perkins is your friend.
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