How Money Disappears
Filed Under General |
When I was in college, I was in a pretty bad car accident. A passenger in the other car did not survive so I felt lucky to walk away with only a broken jaw and a body full of sore muscles.
After all medical bills were paid I was left with an insurance amount of around $12,000. To a kid who usually had about $5.00 to her name, this was a ton of money. I opened a new bank account and threw the money in there. I made sure I had an ATM card so I had easy access to that money, of course.
My first big purchase was a set of burgundy furniture. Because what college student doesn’t need brand new furniture? The rest of the money most likely went to clothes, fast food places and entertainment. Back in those days I was always carrying expensive purses, wearing designer clothes, and participating in every entertainment opportunity that presented itself. I worked part-time but I’m pretty sure those slim paycheck did not contribute to my extravagant lifestyle. Well, extravagant by college student standards anyway.
Now that I’m much older and wiser, I hate thinking back to that $12,000. If I had invested that amount in a mutual fund that averaged a rate of return around 10%, that would be worth around $55,000 today. If I left in there untouched until I reached age 60, the balance would be around $543,000. I could have a paid for vacation home, tuition for my kids, a car without a crack in the windshield, or even early retirement. And if I had added money to that account as the years went along, that balance would be considerably higher.
Instead, I only have memories of burgundy furniture and Liz Claiborne purses.
Comments
-
About Heidi
-
-
Search
-
Random Things
Quote of the Day
Another way to solve the traffic problems of this country is to pass a law that only paid-for cars be allowed to use the highways. Will Rogers
