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I’ve been sort of active on the forum, so I thought I’d tell you a bit about myself. I chose Atomic Star as my nickname because I collect atomic era items. My most prized piece is my atomic starburst Pyrex. I am 49 and the mom of 4. I have an anchor store and sell mostly clothing, but I do sell some hard goods. I currently use my income to put my son through college. He is in his senior year. Thank God for that. When he graduates my earnings will go towards our beach home/rental that we will be buying in North Carolina. We will also be buying a home/rental in Bar Harbor Maine. We intend on being snowbirds. We have two sled dogs (Samoyeds). Neither like the heat which is great because we don’t like it either. My husband is a colonel in the Marine Corps and I have a son in the Air Force who just got back from deployment in the Middle East. My son in college is going into the Marine Corps when he graduates. Apparently my kids want me to have gray hair. I have two teen girls who are also contributing to the gray hair. When I’m not selling you will find me watching HGTV while sipping wine. I used to like to read before I had kids. I plan on reading again someday.
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Hello, Melanie!
I’m in North Carolina, former military, had an Army son. We have three properties in North Carolina, two of them coastal. (We have pit bulls…they don’t like the cold.) I’d love to chat about your NC plans. I sell vintage on Etsy, mostly estate jewelry.
Salette
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Salette,
I’m trying to source more jewelry but it’s slim pickin’s! We visit Topsail Island 3-4 times per year. Our son is stationed at Seymour Johnson, so it’s a great place for us to meet up. We plan to buy a property there in the next 2-3 years. I’ve had good success sourcing clothing in N.C. Lots of thrift stores down there. We checked out Carolina Beach a couple of weeks ago, but they are decidedly dog unfriendly. We take our pups everywhere so that won’t work. We prefer the vibe at Topsail Beach.
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Im always impressed with how hard you work on your store and your commitment to getting your son through college.
If he’s going into the military, don’t they help pay for college?
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Is your husband retiring soon? My wife’s got less than a year in the Navy and at this point I definitely have short-timer’s attitude. I’m counting the days to get out of DC. (I retired about 13 years ago after 22 years total between the Army and Coast Guard.) To her credit, she does not have the attitude and still has her head in the game.
I’ve enjoyed my stays in NC here and there over the years and I think coastal ME is gorgeous but we’re headed back to North Florida. Neither one of us need much winter any more.
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Nice to hear the backstories of members.
I’m probably one of the oldest people here at 70. I live in rural Missouri. I retired from IBM 4 years ago, was selling part-time for 6 years before that. I sort of drifted into selling primarily NOS auto parts. I had a work-from-home job, which was great for running a part-time online business, but during the downturn in 2009-2010 my job went offshore and there were no other jobs available within the company and I was without a job for 17 months. That’s when I really ramped up the to keep the bills paid. I found another job with IBM in late 2010 but at a center 150 miles away with no work-from-home option so I had an apartment there during the week. That situation affected my ability to list much although I did have somebody dependable to ship orders. I had a life-changing event in 2013 when I lost my wife of 30 years. Enough said about that. I got another work-from-home slot for the last year I worked, then was able to take advantage of a transition-to-retirement program, working just 3 days a week but still getting 75% of my normal pay. I retired fully from IBM on Dec 31, 2015.
Further back, I did 6 years of Army service from 1968 to 1974. I have 2 grown sons and 5 grandchildren, 3 of which are still in school and live in the same small town (1100) where I live. I love to go to their local sporting events (they are all athletic) and attend their other school functions when I can. My oldest granddaughter is an assistant teacher in another city and lives there, she will have her credits for a teaching certificate soon. Can you tell I’m a proud grandpa, or PawPa as they call me?
I’m generally in good health and enjoying life. I do have another woman in my life now, more than a casual relationship but not intense either. I live by myself, except for my Cocker Spaniel, Allie.
So, here I am today, staying occupied with the business and with that income supplementing Social Security I have been able to let my retirement accounts ride and grow. If I live as long as my mon, who is 95, I still have another 25 years! Amazing to think of.
Maybe TMI, but an idea of who I am.
Bill
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Not too much info. We like to get to know people who hang out here. Makes us more than people trying to make a buck on a quick flip.
I’ve always thought that with Social Security of $1000/month + a decent eBay income, we could do pretty well as long as we’ve paid off all our debt. $2000/month with no mortgage is great way to live for us.
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@Jay Thanks! It’s a lot of work, but like most of us, I’m not afraid of hard work. Michael, my son in college, is going in as an officer but did not go via ROTC. So his college is not paid by the military although I think there is some kind of partial tuition payback benefit. We need to look more into that. My oldest son is enlisted in the USAF. He was in college but left in his junior year because college wasn’t “his calling”. I have two daughters in high school. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.Both of my girls were adopted and have special needs, so college isn’t an option for them.
@Temudgin My husband retired a few years ago and is now a defense contractor. Thank you both for your service! we have zero need for winter as well which is why we will summer in Maine and winter in N.C.@Christine I’m very happy that the college chapter is about to end. The FAFSA was damn near the end of me each and every year. I wish you much patience and a winning lottery ticket. 😉
@Bill Thank you for your service! You are living my future plan. My husband truly retires (second retirement) in about 6 years or so. At that point I will takeover as the primary earner and we will bank his retirement and let the investments ride. My husband is 11 years older than me and I feel like my stamina at 49 is no different than my 20’s. So I feel like I have a lot of earning years left in me.
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AtomicStar,
Old Dad, aka old geezer says, “Yeah kid, I had a lot of stamina at 49 too”. LOL
Seriously, good luck with your plan, it sounds solid.
I’m sure tired tonight after my GF’s estate sale yesterday. I watched/helped with the setup starting at 5:30 AM then shadowed the auctioneer from 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM, then watched over the cleanup and dumpster filling. The sale went great, total proceeds mid 6 figures, she is very pleased. She had some very nice furniture, I’ve already seen 2 pieces on Facebook Marketplace and I wish those scavengers well.
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@OldDad I should have prefaced that statement with this…
In 2011 I was hiking with my oldest son. At the time he was in the junior naval cadets program and had just finished first aid training. (fortuitous) While we were hiking a college age girl lost control of her vehicle while looking for something on the floor of her car. She veered 30 feet off the road onto the path we were walking on. She hit me and luckily missed my son. I was not supposed to survive that accident. I was in intensive care for quite some time and then graduated to a nursing home where I lived while I was taught to walk again in a swimming pool. It took a real long time for me to rehabilitate. SO all that to say, my stamina is not the same as other people my age, but it doesn’t really hit me until the evening after a day with a lot of physical activity. Miraculously I do not have any issues with pain even though my pelvis was shattered and my back broken in 3 places. My doctor at Tufts New England calls me his medical miracle. 🙂
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