[Superman]

I am asking some financial people some questions and getting compliments on my understanding of math and finance. I have always understood stuff, but I have not always cared about it. Had I taken a more active role years ago, I'd be WAY better off.

I did get lucky, though. Worked for a company which was employee-owned/privately-owned with an Employee Stock Option Plan. I thought nothing of that. I just liked the work and the salary. Worked there seven years, just long enough to be fully vested. I watched the annually-estimated stock value rise modestly. I looked into that ever 1-2 years. Meh. Then one day I looked at it and thought somebody had made a huge math error so I called them. Nope. The company had gone public. IPO. That stock is now traded on NYSE. I got very lucky.

Also, hindsight makes everyone think they made a big mistake. But back then, hindsight was unavailable. Today, investors might be nervous about equity or real estate investments, not knowing what will happen. In thirty years, they might imagine they made huge mistakes. I disagree. You did the best you could with what you had. Stop with the "woulda-coulda-shoulda" flagellation.