I turned 40 today. Yep - the "BIG 4-0." It really doesn't bother me. I subscribe to the theory that 40 is the new 30. My boyfriend took me shopping for new clothes for my birthday. As we walked into Macy's I was struck by a "deja vu" moment. I can remember standing in that EXACT spot, staring at the EXACT clothes, EXACTLY 20 years ago. Of course, back then it was Famous Barr, now it's Macy's. I had a flashback to my senior picture where I was wearing stirrup pants and a large sweater that swallowed me. Staring at the clothes racks now....same thing. Only now we call them leggings, but the same oversized sweaters are still there.
Something else struck me. EXACTLY 20 years ago, we were going through the S&L crisis. In 1989, I didn't pay much attention to the S&L crisis. I was a 20 year old who thought she knew it all. So, after shopping, I came home and looked up the S&L Crisis on Wikipedia. Some of the similarities I saw were frighteningly eerie. Here are some excerpts:
In an effort to take advantage of the real estate boom (outstanding US mortgage loans: 1976 $700 billion; 1980 $1.5 trillion)[citation needed] and high interest rates of the late 1970s and early 1980s, many S&Ls lent far more money than was prudent, and too-risky ventures which many S&Ls were not qualified to assess. L. William Seidman, former chairman of both the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Resolution Trust Corporation, stated, "The banking problems of the '80s and '90s came primarily, but not exclusively, from unsound real estate lending."[4]
- The ultimate cost of the crisis is estimated to have totaled around $160.1 billion, about $124.6 billion of which was directly paid for by the US government—that is, the US taxpayer, either directly or through charges on their savings and loan accounts[1]—which contributed to the large budget deficits of the early 1990s.
- The concomitant slowdown in the finance industry and the real estate market may have been a contributing cause of the 1990–1991 economic recession. Between 1986 and 1991, the number of new homes constructed per year dropped from 1.8 million to 1 million, which was at the time the lowest rate since World War II. [2]
- While not part of the savings and loan crisis, many other banks failed. Between 1980 and 1994 more than 1,600 banks insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) were closed or received FDIC financial assistance.[16]
- From 1986 to 1995, the number of US federally insured savings and loans in the United States declined from 3,234 to 1,645.[7] This was primarily, but not exclusively, due to unsound real estate lending.[17]
- The US government ultimately appropriated 105 billion dollars to resolve the crisis. After banks repaid loans through various procedures, there was a net loss to taxpayers of approximately $124 billion dollars by the end of 1999.[18]
- Some commentators believe that a taxpayer-funded government bailout related to mortgages during the savings and loan crisis may have created a moral hazard and acted as encouragement to lenders to make similar higher risk loans during the 2007 subprime mortgage financial crisis.[19]
So...here we are...20 years later. The details of how we got here may not be the same, but the economy is nevertheless. And I have to wonder: Didn't we learn anything? How did we end up back here again?
I don't want to think that I'm destined to keep repeating the same cycles in life. But I think I have managed to learn a few life lessons in the past 20 years:
- Hard work always pays off. Maybe not immediately, but eventually it will.
- What comes around....goes around.
- Sob stories are like belly buttons - everyone has one.
- True love begins with yourself.
- Unanswered prayers are usually the greatest blessings we receive.
- Everyone has dues to pay in life.
- Never judge anyone...most likely you will find yourself in their shoes somewhere down the road.
- When you see someone finally get what they having coming to them, it doesn't make you feel any better.
- People who brag about their money almost always don't have any.
- There is no glory in being a victim. Glory comes from picking yourself back up after you've been victimized.
- Just when you think it will never end....it does.
- When the dust clears, if you still have your loved ones...nothing else really matters.
- When I was 20....I didn't know squat.
- My parents actually did know what they were talking about. (I hope my mother isn't reading this).
Growing up, I always wondered where I'd be and what my life would be like when I was 40. Now I know....it's not a lot different than when I was 20. Only now, I'm qualified to say Been There....Done That.
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Lina Robertson Jones
Owner/Agent
RE/MAX Solutions
1715 James River Road
Ozark, MO, 65721 |
Mobile: (417) 844-7265
linarobertson@remax.net
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RE/MAX - Outstanding Agents, Outstanding Results!
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About the author: I am full-time REALTOR® with RE/MAX Solutions in Springfield, MO, and a member of the Greater Springfield Board of REALTORS®. I have helped hundreds of families in the Springfield, Nixa, Republic and Ozark real estate markets, whether buying a home, or selling a home. Visit my website at www.ozarks-realestate.com to search for All Springfield MO Area MLS listings. Want to know what our market is like? My website is also an excellent resource for current Springfield MO Area Real Estate Market Reports, as well as current market reports for Ozark, Nixa, Republic, and Rogersville.
Happy Birthday, just recently had my 50th, niggled me for a few days but I am over it now.
Happy birthday Lina
I remember turning 40, it was no big deal except that I was happy to have made it.
Happy Birthday! I wont be able to tell that if you didnt share it.
What goes around comes around. Happy Birthday...except 40 won't come around again
Corinne - Thank you...this birthday doesn't bother me. I'll check back with you in 10 years and let you know if that one does. :)
Terry - I'm glad you made it too! Thanks for stopping by!
Loreena - I have to tell you....you're the reason I went shopping. The blog you wrote about dressing for business inspired me to go shopping. :)
Alan - I think I could handle repeating 40...it's not all bad. :)
Great reflection, and by the way...I hope you had a great happy birthday! A lot of life is Deja Vu! However history teaches us that those that do not learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it.
Lina - Happy birthday. I recently celebrated 44. Anyway, great post, and so true. Sometimes it makes you wonder if we learn from our past, or if we will continue to let history repeat itself.
Thanks for drawing our attention to the cycles...and pointing out the important lessons you have learned. Very insightful. Thanks.
Happy birthday -- and many many more -- all the best.
Happy Birthday - this was my big 50 year and like you it didn't bother me - 50 is the new 40! lol! It is very fascinating to look back. I began my real estate career in 1994 - rates were high, only a couple of types of loans and well I sort of feel like I am back there today! I wonder if our financial institutions will ever learn their lessons!
Happy Birthday. What a wonderful post, and great perspective on life. And 40 is the new 30. Have a great day and great year!
Happy Birthday Lina! Good health and happiness to you and yours. -Cory
Happy Birthday Lina.
No one put the story in words like that. Makes me wornder how many people lost their homes during that time and what happend to them?. were they ever able to rebuild their lives and how long did that take
Happy Birthday Lisa, thank you for sharing your wisdom with all of us
such a beautiful, very YOUNG woman.
enjoy this special day.
Happy Birthday Lina, with age comes wisdom. We just don't understand it all when we are young. Have a wonderful day.
Lina:
So much wisdom for 40. History does repeat itself and it is frightening to realize just much it does. All we can do it try to learn from it and not make the same mistakes again.
Happy birthday.
Happy Birthday Lina. Sounds as if you've learned some of the most important "life lessons." While the next 20 years will probably be dramatically different in many ways, the truly improtant things will remain the same. Congratulations on the "Feature."
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LINA!!!! I enjoyed reading your post, great job on the bullet points, they are so true!
Happy Birthday Lina-It is full circle. BTW..40 is the new 30 and 50 (which I just turned) is the new....31....I'm going with that! Have a great day!
Happy Birthday. The older you get the more times it seems like you've 'been here' before. ;)
Happy Birthday Lina! We'll get together when I get back from Branson. I'm looking forward to it. Call me if you need anything you have my cell number.
Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes. I'm still not sure how my ramblings became worthy of a feature on this one. LOL
Cindy, I'm going to remember that one when I turn 50! LOL
Today I turn 4-0 so happy belated to you! Husband took the day off to surprise me and do something special and like the nerd I am I have a listing appointment scheduled!
I SURE HOPE we aren't dealing with this AGAIN when I turn the 6-0 if this is a 20 year cyclical event! I hope we can learn from our mistakes!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RENEE!!! Don't feel bad...I worked all day yesterday.
If it's any consolation, ya don't look a day over 30 Lina! :)
Happy Birthday! I guess this is the ultimate test....did we learn anything the first time around?
Happy Birthday At my age (past 50) I have seen more things come back in style than I care to remember Karen
Lina: Happy Birthday. I like the topic of your blog post . . . a then and now thing. Great idea!
Hope you have a great day.
It seems with each passing year the life experience just gets better and better making the question "Would you like to go back to your teens? 20s? 30s?" a choice that you would not even hesitate to say "no" to. UNLESS you could take your life experience with you on that journey back. And I don't even know if I would want to do it. I know it is unconceivable to young people that we wouldn't want to be their age again. Life is great at every stage and is what you make of it as the old cliche says.
So enjoy the journey.
Can't believe we are the same decade! I think GOD likes you better- HE keeps letting some old woman use my body for giggles.
Happy Birthday to you!
Read Funny Money about the fall of Penn Square Bank in Oklahoma City in July 1982. The fall of this bank was the catylist for the collapse of the energy industry, and the banking business that over-invested in oil and gas in order to get bigger profits. Some familiar? If you read the book and sub in real estate for oil, the book could have been writen aboput the meltdown.
Hi Lina~ Happy Birthday! You are as young as you feel, and you look fantastic!
Happy birthday:) I am almost to that one, too:)
Hi Lina, what a great post and a great reminder that we will survive this crisis - whatever it be! I would love your permission to re-blog portions of this post. For my 40th birthday I got a divorce. Now happily married again and totally broke, but very comfortable in my 44 year old body! Like fine wine - we just get better with age!
Well thought out post. It was a good read Lina.
I will be 40 in a year and a half. I am truly dreading it. Maybe I can work up some maturity about the realizations of aging before I hit the big 4-oh.
Colleen - thanks...I hope I can say that 10 years from now. I feel like this market is aging me!
Darla - I don't know about us, but the financial sector definately didn't learn anything.
Karen - I'm not getting rid of ANY of my clothes anymore! LOL
Melissa - it all seems so ironic to me.
Faye - thankfully I left out all the events of my life from 20 to 40...LOL I wouldn't want to go through it again.
Cheryl - Whatever. (Talk to the hand). God gave you so much that I envy!
Joe - In the Wikipedia article, it talked about the oil crisis. I'll put that book on my list of "must reads."
Vicki - You're fast becoming one of my favorites!
Courtney - It's not bad at all. I think 30 bothered me more than 40.
Teresa - Good for you! You can reblog whatever you like. I'm flattered. I was also reflecting on the fact that 20 years ago I was hoping my boyfriend would propose to me. He did, and I said yes. Now here I am...20 years later...hoping my boyfriend will propose to me. LOL This one is probably going to hold out so long, by the time he gets around to bending down on one knee...I'll have to help him back up. LOL
Lina you look absoultely stunning at 40 and I am sure you will still be stunning at 50! Happy birthday and great post.
Karen - 40 feels fantastic. Don't dread it....go with it!
Theresa - thanks so much. Hey, I just noticed that I was comment #40!
Lina, your right about thinking you'd be dead at 40 when you were younger! I was at Macy's recently and saw all these people with hippy colors, bell bottoms, bright tie-dyed stuff and Jimi Hendrix logos all over themselves! Yoooo - that' the 70's I gasped. Didn't like those fashions then & I don't like them now! Like the same nut that said 'harvest gold' is making a comeback as an 'autumnal color'. That's a great spin isn't it?
Happy Birthday and enjoy your new clothes!
It's time to celebrate the big 4-0 with a new picture on your Active Rain account! BTW: Some really excellent points here)
Lyn - I don't mind the leggings and big sweaters. Helps cover the fact that I've given birth, and makes for really comfortable clothes while showing property. Now the bell bottoms and tie-dyed....I could do without that too!
Aaron - Uh....um....excuse me. My photo is current. LOL But just for you, I'll make sure to take a new one today and post it for awhile so you'll know I'm not fibbing. Personally, I like my professional photo.
Let's do the time warp again!
Happy birthday, Lina!
(...and Renee, too!)
Happy Birthday, Lina. Congratulations on that, and your featured post. I have to laugh at "fashions," too....seems like the more things change, the more they remain the same! You did a great job of making your point and tying it together; I enjoyed reading this post.
Happy Birthday! I always say that age is an attitude!
Happy Birthday! And congratulations on a wonderful post! Hopefully your mom WILL see it because I'm pretty sure she will be very proud of the wise daughter she raised!
40 is just 20 that came around twice...older and wiser...have a happy ~ !
Hey .. I like your photo, too. It looks like you are 30 in it!
Happy Birthday!!! Oh.......to be 40 again...that would be great! Great Post! All who read it know why it is featured!
Lina, There are so many things to congratulate you on.
Cherish every day!
Paul
Happy Birthday! Now I would just settle for looking 40!
Happy B-day and I would have guessed 20. But thanks for a great post, I have often compared the S&L to today. No we don't seem to learn because we have new players getting around new rules.
Hi Lina -- I've never seen that kind of parallel with the S&L crisis, but many similarities indeed, unfortunately. Your perspective is amazing, not everyone at 40 has that, and it is interesting when we reflect back on our lives and how our perspectives shift on what is important, and not.
Older and wiser.
Age ain't nothing but a number.
You're as young as you feel.
Happy Birthday!!
Happy Birthday Lina. We are getting close to that number as well. But as you said 40 is the new 30. So let's celabrate.
By the way great post!
Happy Birthday, Lina. As we get older, number doesn't mean a thing anymore, lol. Have a great one!
That is what keeps me going. We have had problems before and we have overcame them.
Happy Birthday and many more!
Happy birthday, Lina! When I hit 40 it felt good. I am 42 now and love it....
Happy Birthday,
As Solomon said, there is nothing new under the sun.
Happy Birthday! I'm 41 this year, and 40 didn't REALLY bother me that much. 50 though... ask me in 9 years.
Happy BD but 40's the new 20 because 50's the new 30! :)
Happy Birthday! I'm 41 this year, and 40 didn't REALLY bother me that much. 50 though... ask me in 9 years.
HAPPY BDAY RENEE! Ditto what I just said. HA.
congrats and Happy Birthday.
Age they tell me it's just a number so who cares what the number is.....ya right!! LOL
Patricia
Happy Birthday... and I'm not buying that whole "40" thing. Just not buying it...
Looks like you are accumulating much wisdom as you live your life and that's so much more important than the number of years.
Happy Birthday Lina. You are definitely younger than your age. You are hilarious. I am glad you are one of my new people here on Active Rain that I am following. Have a great weekend. Great post.
Happy Birthday Lina! 40 is the new 30. 50 is the new 40. Oh to be 40 again and know what I know now! Wouldn't that be great?
Happy Birthday! Just remember to save whatever you bought today so you can have it ready for the 20 years from now fashion re-cycle. Scary to think that we haven't learned from the past crisis and that we might not learn from this one. Remind me to retire in oh... 19 years.
Happy Birthday Lina! I enjoyed reading your post. I'll be 38 this month so only two years behind you and I remember those stirup pants all too well! LOL!
Lina, in life there is a lot of deja vu all over again. I have been doing circles at least three times that I can recall... I think 40 is the new 25 myself!! Happy Birthday...
Happy birthday Lina. You look great. Since I just turned 30, I would say that 40 is the new 30 and 30 is the new 20, hope your day was super special. Blessings for a great weekend.
Happey Birthday and I wish you many more to come. Thanks for sharing your successes.
Ah...I remember 40. 40 didn't seem so bad until I turned 50! Happy birthday!
Happy Birthday! I'm staring the big 4 Oh in the face in just a few months.
And, like you, I see a lot of deja vu. I remember the S&L crisis pretty clearly. My mom's been in real estate financing since the mid 70's., and things did seem pretty similar though I didn't know nearly as many details as you posted.
Hopefully, big hair isn't coming with it ; )
Happy birthday, you need to do some shopping in NYC, styles have changed more than you think, just kidding but you would enjoy a trip to Sacks and Barneys
Linda, wait! I thought that 60 was the new 30! It's nice to know that the old clothes I haven't thrown away are coming back in style! And you do seem to have learned life's important lessons. I think most of us take a lot longer than 40 years to figure it out. So congratulations, and happy birthday!
Happy belated birthday, Lina! You look terrific, btw...and no need to change your photo if you like the professional one better, IMO. ;)
I really enjoyed reading your blog post and having just turned 38 myself, I find it interesting to compare us - you've come full circle and I am nowhere near where I was at half my age. However, the life lessons we've learned are pretty much somewhat similar! Thanks again for the great read...I loved it! :)
Leilani
Lina
Happy belated B-Day. I think this is a terrific post that says a lot about life and business.
You don't look 40 at all. I would have guessed maybe 30!