In the early nineties i worked for an investment banking firm as Silicon Valley was taking off.

Apple was starting to gain momentum and the firm got a piece of the investment banking pie of these high tech companies. They used to give us bonuses twice a year. A few times I got bonuses of at least $50,000 part of it was an IRA contribution. I saved those bonus letters and can’t believe I got so much. I saved those bonuses and used them as a down payment on my house and had my kitchen remodeled and expanded and to this day still have much of that money in my IRA. In 2007 I moved the IRA from mutual funds into cash. I had left that business in 1996 and the broker told me I was crazy to cash out now. After the market crashed in 2008 he called and asked me if I had any more insight in the market and if I wanted to come work for him. I said “no I like the money but not the early morning hours”. A guy I worked with at the time kept his money in those mutual finds and he got pretty much wiped out sadly in 2008.

Saw Steve Jobs several times in our offices he was a jerk in real life) sadly.