I left school and served a 5 year apprenticeship. Then I studied (while I worked full time) for 4 years – evenings and weekends (while my workmates were out partying) in order to obtain better qualifications. I didn't do it to impress anyone, in fact I'm sure no one was watching me. I did it because I belived that it would allow me to provide a more comfortable life for myself and my family. Which it has.
When the guys (and girls) who spent their 20's partying moan about how "lucky" I am to have a good job, I remind them that where I am now is a direct result of personal choices I made 20 years ago, and that they also made choices back then.
(Of course some people do not have the luxury of even making choices, so maybe in that respect I am "lucky" to have been born where and when I was)
My original point was simply that people like me shouldn't be penalised for being careful with their money and putting it into the best house I could afford, rather than pissing it up the wall and then whining about how I have nothing to show for it.
Sadly it seems that in this day and age hard work and careful living are actually faults – not virtues. We are taught to buy on credit things that we can't afford, rather than saving for what we want. We are encouraged to buy the latest this and that, when what we already have will do perfectly well. And then when it all goes belly up we are even taught to look for someone else to blame . . . those banks and credit card companies who forced their money into our accounts to spend, taking no responsibility ourselves.
I have 2 bikes, 1 road and 1 MTB. The road bike is 10 years old the MTB is 7 years old, but my house gets a new coat of paint every 2 years 🙂