the stock market is great, but do also think of the people who lost everything overnight.

Their horror in their face at me tearing up the smoke is well worth the 1 dollar, but if given the pack they would have smoked it up in a day with no second thought although it is worth $10 for them. That just shows you how stupid their habit is.
(But on the other hand I pay $8 for an ordinary beer when I go out so that is stupid of me, I even get an hangover as a bonus if I drink enough of them)

The perception of smoking today is very negative. Whatever your reasons for it, health, morality, whatever.. it might help to remember that smoking was not only not seen as negative in the past, it was seen as positive. It was considered positive and “healthful”. Propaganda or not, that was the perception. Watch some TV shows from the 50s and everyone is smoking and drinking on TV.

Similarly, when did investing become mainstream for the common citizen? Remember pensions? Where are those today? Why not judge someone who worked through the 60s and pity them for relying on a pension?

Again the perception then was much different and yes, while there was a stock market then, it wasn’t as easy as opening an account online with a brokerage and transferring money electronically from your high-interest savings account.

My point is that it’s incorrect (and incredibly self-righteous) to look at things from 50 years ago and judge them under today’s microscope and assume that you wouldn’t make the same decisions or very similar ones.

In light of those things, Heidi’s comment is not at all offensive. If anything it’s a good reminder to consider that in 40 years, this situation may repeat itself, but instead of being the one doing the pitying, you may be the one being pitied. She’s simply saying that instead of pitying him with judgement, pity him with positive actions.

Which one of us can say that we don’t choose what we think is best for ourselves on a daily basis? We ALL think we do. In 40 years do you want to be reminded of your “failures” when someone inspects YOU under the microscope of 2050?

I think personal finance writers generally have a tendency to undervalue simple, daily pleasures (like morning coffee and the newspaper, or dinner out with friends) in comparison to Really Big pleasures like vacations, retirement, or home ownership.

I don’t mean to defend smoking here – there are health risks, you should quit, you could die, etc. etc. But I do think that those daily pleasures are important. Your father’s smoking is absolutely not the same thing as burning two hundred dollar bills a month.

If I died tomorrow, I’m sure I would be busier regretting missing trip to Italy I still don’t have the money to take than remembering last Tuesday’s dinner at the Cuban place with friends, or my morning pot of tea. But while things like building close friendships and maintaining a cheerful attitude are hard to quantify and check off a to-do list of life goals, they’re still really important, and often sustained by those little daily habits that eat up your money.

Heidi: That’s a rather brash remark to make. Trent seems to speak highly of his family and your comment (being that I am also a family-oriented man)is offensive.

My dad is just like yours, but a little older, so I doubt he’ll see another decade.

Ironically, we were so happy when mom quit smoking, cold turkey, in her 40s.

Until she was diagnosed with dementia only a few years later, which lasted about a decade until her recent death

Damage to a certain brain structure apparently kills the desire to smoke.