Yeah, but look on the bright side - those episodes of Knight Rider and A Team must have looked sweet!

Damn, I need a good editor for a couple music videos.. know anybody?!

My parents wanted me to be a gynecologist.

I ended up in the opposite profession as a pickpocket.

I snatch watches.

I have loved pinball since I was nine years old; on my newspaper delivery route I would stop by daily at the local variety store to play some pinball.

A couple decades later I bought my four games about 25 years ago all around the same time in the early to mid nineties. So I still have El Dorado, Evel Knievel, Firepower and Whirlwind.

Grand total cost was $3,000 for all four games at the time, plus a few hundred on mods and parts over the years.

I still love playing all of them, but I don't have room for any more machines in my basement even though I'd like to get more games some day.

Wait, what?

First you get the money
Then you get the pinball

Tony Pintana

Translation, I became an "attorney". Sorry Bruce, couldn't resist

I live in Ontario, so technically, everything is nuclear powered: https://www.electricitymap.org/?page=country&solar=false&remote=true&wind=false&countryCode=CA-ON

A guy at work got arrested for that. Got into the rafters above the ladies room and left his coat up there for next time. There wasn't a next time.

Simple enough and also false enough.

Statistically, what you wrote is 100% incorrect.

"A recent study from Georgetown University found that, on average, college graduates earn $1 million more in earnings over their lifetime. Another recent study by the Pew Research Center found that the median yearly income gap between high school and college graduates is around $17,500."

Obviously, there are some people in the trades making more than some college graduates, but the AVERAGE college degree holder makes a lot more money than those who do not have a degree.

"According to the College Board, the average cumulative student debt balance in 2017 was $26,900 for graduates of public four-year schools and $32,600 for graduates of private nonprofit four-year schools."

Is a debt load equal to a new Honda CRV going to ruin someone's life?

You don't have to go into deep debt to get through college. If you don't have rich parents, you go to community college and then state college. Just work the problem instead of picking up a doomsday debt.

Great points, all.

Spencer was just looking to the collective here to validate his choices in life, including his house in the suburbs and his undoubtedly adventurous vacations at all-inclusive resorts in Mexico!

Thanks for using scientific data to prove him woefully wrong. The three PM's I received from him in what I daresay was a manic state can now be considered answered in full.

I'm 45 and so is my wife. That makes us contemporaries.

We went to college and together earn more than most, that's based on statistics published by the IRS on US household returns from 2017 that I've reviewed. Apologies for sounding douchey with that statement but I'm grounding my post.

This would not have been possible without attending college.

That said, there is plenty of money to make in the trades and I would encourage people in high school to give it some serious thought. But in general, the avenue to higher lifetime earnings runs through college when a sensible degree is chosen.

It's also important not to conflate earnings with financial position, as the latter can be greatly improved across most income levels by living sensibly below one's means and investing smartly.

I will also add that my manager is a millennial woman (imagine!) and I work with quite a few millennial technical folks that are strong assets to the company.

I would stop beating yourself up. Probably a very slim chance you'd have stayed invested after all that time. Most people would have sold when the stock doubled, so maybe you lost $2000 on the doubling.

I do extra work on the side to pay for pinball . No money from my real job goes towards pinball .

There are people with no college degree that make more than those that do have a degree. Statistically you are more likely to earn more if you do have a college degree. Both are obviously true.

However, a college degree is not a guarantee of success, and not having a college degree certainly won't prevent it. Ones work ethic, passion, skills, and value of that skill to society are the primary factors to income. Some have a little, and some a lot, and this hobby has all types. Let's at least be respectful to each other...

I wouldn't have even mentioned college except that certain people are "venting."

My father didn't even graduate high school, raised 4 kids.

If a person has a good work ethic, that's all that really matters.

But to say that college is a waste of time or will lead to a lifetime of debt is untrue.

Unless of course you're "doing it wrong."

A guy who gets a doctorate in gender studies and ends up working at Starbucks with $150,000 in debt is not exactly the same as a guy who graduates with an engineering degree and $25,000 in debt.

Not to mention most companies won't even give you the time of day unless you have a degree. Try getting hired in the engineering world without a college degree.

If you're looking to start your own business or go into the trades (where you'll eventually probably want to start your own business), it's debatable whether college is worth it - you might be better going to a trade school or apprenticing. Though those that have the drive and motivation to start their own business are probably not the types to go to college - usually they already have a skill that fills a very specific niche that there isn't a college for.

WOW! That totally fits me. When graduating high school I was offered scholarships to several colleges because of my papers I had to write for English. I won the English award in high school, one male and one female for each subject. I was like what? The whole school was like what? I hated English, I was all into business classes. And in business they showed how much the average college graduate made right after completion, and I said screw this I hate school, I am already making more money while in school than college graduates at the time, I am going to make my life the way I want it.

The work was underground pipeline, very deep, the kind of work you hear people dying in cave ins, but I loved it, and I still do. I have been a few feet from a cave in before, most of the time I know what to look for. And I do stay safe, and do the work safe.

There have been a few days in the past I made 10 grand in one day with this work. Most of the time I averaged 2500.00 a day profit.

I only did it a few years for myself. I still do it because I enjoy it, but now I work for a friend and let him have all the stress to make the big bucks. I bought rental houses when I was doing good, and now pipeline is a few extra bucks with no stress on me, and I enjoy it a lot more now, like when I was young.

In the past also, my Dad went blind and was in bad shape with strokes and stuff caused from diabetes. That was when I stopped doing pipeline for myself, and worked from home so I could watch him. I live 10 miles away from where they used to have postal auctions, and I bought up the dvd's and cd's there, and listed them on Ebay and Amazon.

There was a time I made 10k in a day doing pipeline. There was years I mailed 50k packages a year from Ebay and Amazon sales.

I still do all that on a lot smaller scale, but now I enjoy just cutting grass the most. And you can make some pretty good money with just bs like cutting grass.

To be honest, when even now I go in a deep trench to work on a pipeline, I feel safer than being on a lawn tractor. Ever notice all those dead limbs in the trees, dead trees, etc.? One little gust of wind it is all over. OSHA stays all over pipeline work, but in my opinion, just bs like cutting grass is way more dangerous, and widespread.

And it is that time of year, Good luck class of 2019, high school or college. I wish you the best. The best advice I can give if you really want to work for yourself, spend lots of time doing research about it, know what you are doing and know you are one of the best at your skills, and last and most important, if you want to work for yourself, you need to have already saved enough to live for at least a year with no income in case things do not work out, and make sure the people you work for will pay you. There are a lot of crooks out there. A crook beat me out of 500.00 one time. I know people that have been beat out of 500k.

Way back while I was done with school period, I did love business so much I did take college courses in business. I did not go after any other crap to get some full whatever. I never cared about some degree, I just wanted to see if there was anything else I was missing.

Just be careful, protect yourself the best you can, and BIG TIME REMEMBER THIS: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

I have been on this site around 2 years, and I have not met anyone else on here in person yet(not many pinball people in my area), but I can tell you one thing, I am the most honest person you will ever meet.

I currently have a whole lot of work going on, but anytime I have some time to have a few beers I will be here reading everything I can.

Sorry for the long vent, but what I had just read really touched what I have lived.

I did it.

I always feel very awkward regarding money. We don't know very many people with money and so I avoid talking about things we do/get. My degree is shite, but I landed some pretty nice jobs making good money off it due to experience. We've been fortunate, I cannot deny that. It doesn't hurt that we live in a low cost of living area and have no kids. We paid the house off last year at around 15 years, have no other debt, have retirement savings, have investments (although I suck at that and they are not doing so hot, wish I'd learned more about that over the years), have other properties as well. I started with pins back when they were dirt cheap for beat up ones. I didn't buy any more until I paid the house off. I bought a NiB recently, however unless a dream machine (that actually got fully released w/o the BS) came about, I doubt I would ever do that again. I'm not rich by any means, I am just well off. We are still mid 40's and I could probably quit and work at McDonalds part time if I didn't think I'd hate scrimping (and working at mcdonalds lol). I started my own company years ago out of necessity, and while I did alright, I have no desire to do so again as an actual job.

I know way too many people who died shortly after they retired and that thought really bothers me. Putting all that money away to never actually see it, not that everyone forgoes fun, but still.

live for the day , as you never know when or if it will turn sour .mine did at 48yo when a stomach ache turned out to be terminal cancer!!!.miracle is it hasn't got to blood system yet so im still breathing 5 years later. 5 kilos lighter , but breathing .they have to rewrite the record books now DONT EVER GIVE UP...EVER

Interesting thread with many diverse points of view.

IMO, to be able to indulge in any (somewhat) expensive hobby
you need to have a stable lifestyle and income. In my case
aggressive investing, starting at an early age, and going to
college (several degrees in engineering) accomplished this.

Sure, it was risky and a LOT of hard work but in the end it
paid off in spades. Now retired comfortably and indulge in
several expensive hobbies.

Have many friends that have and don't have college degrees.
The ones with degrees have far more stable jobs. Those
without may make good salaries occasionally (esp if in a union) but
are almost all living on the edge.
Steve

I do just the opposite!

You surprise people by giving them watches?

Was lucky to have college paid for by my grandparents and a small trust fund leftover after. Worked corporate video for nearly a decade, have always bought smart and sold or traded for better titles that I wanted. Started repairing games on the side for people, and that segued into my current position as a full-time pinball/arcade technician, still do a lot of home repairs across NC, still co-own a video production company that stays active, have four games on route that do decent and still only buy games as projects/decent deals/etc. Having my house paid off now helps a lot too. Only debt I have is a sports car and it's under $10k left and could be paid off, just good to have some revolving credit.

Luckily, my collection after over 120 titles is pretty much the one I always wanted. So, it helps once the base is there too. Now, generally, if one goes out, one makes way and the cost out of pocket is nothing or very little overhead for the new title coming in.

Regarding college:

People always talk about this subject like there's no data available. Or they discuss it in terms of single data points, like what they personally did is the only data that counts.

But you can get out a calculator and figure out what's worth it and what isn't.

Suppose Greyhound wants to figure out if it's worth it to put a new bus line into Ontario or Philadelphia. They tally up all the cost and revenue and figure it out on paper. They don't say, "Well, my brother-in-law has a successful plumbing business, so let's do that instead."

Also, there are intangibles. Like what you're interested in. Suppose the only thing you want to do in this world is graphic arts. If someone says, "My brother is a plumber and he's doing great," you don't say, "Well, OK, I love graphic art and that's all i want to do, but I'll be a plumber so I can make more money."

Back in the old days when college was more affordable, you could be less clinical about it. Nowadays it's do-or-die. For example, what I did, going to state college back in the 80s and getting an engineering degree was really hard to screw up: real cheap college combined with a high paying job is a no-brainer.

On the other hand, we all know about that kid whose parents paid Harvard $250,000 and the kid ended up at Starbucks.

One more thing: a lot of college degrees were invented for people who don't have to make a living. If you're some debbie whose dad owns a bank, go ahead and take a degree in Art History. That's a rich girl degree, it's supposed make the girl educated and sophisticated so she'll be interesting to talk to when she visits daddy's bank. But you borrowing $150k so you can get an art history degree ain't that smart of an idea.

It's too bad that people can't try a career out before they train for it. My wife was a nurse, she HATED it. Now she does some pharmaceutical data management crapola, it looks horrible to me but she likes it, works from home, makes great money.

Getting back to pinball, how do you afford it?

It looks like most of the replies so far are "I make enough money to spare $6,000 for a pinball machine."

And a couple people said they buy junkers and fix them.

Did anyone mention the idea of buying a lower priced pin?

I bought a Bally Atlantis as my first pinball, I guess about 6 or 7 years ago. When people come to my house, and they're given a choice of my TAF, CV, TZ or Atlantis, they tend to play Atlantis the most. I'm not making that up, the Atlantis gets the most play.

Me and my wife play it a lot too. The ball really zooms around the playfield. A lot of 90s games have a busy playfield and the ball always seems to be bouncing around the lower playfield, but the 80s games tend to be less cluttered and the ball seems to move faster and more fluidly.

If you're on a budget, I would advise looking at the lower priced 80s games, some of them are really great to play.

Go to arcades more.

I think the number one thing I'm seeing here is that people work their ass off to afford their pins. I see lots of overtime, side jobs, pin repairs and flipping. College no college this seems to be true of all stories. Funny fact an In & Out burger manager makes 160k a year. Work hard, play hard, and try to enjoy your life.

To be fair, the In-N-Out managers have to graduate from University to attain that salary level. I believe the salary is somewhat lower at their Nevada, Utah and Texas restaurants. Not sure aboot Colorado.

20190527_134402 (resized).png

Just like I was saying pins and jobs and money just don't fall into your lap. Desire and a good work ethic and taking advantage of opportunities is the way. PS love your story

all in prioritizing. My car is a 1995 Toyota truck worth $1100. I used it to pick- up my $8000 Monster Bash SE last week.
I work 4 miles from home. My house is 1200 sg. ft. built in 1947. I paid a little towards principle every month on my home loan. So I paid off my house in 17 years. Now i buy pinball machines.

I started collecting on a police sgt salary 15 years ago. It wasn’t a lot. Bought my first project pin for 800. It was T2 in rough shape. I have about 2k additional in it now. I retired as a Major, had a lot more disposable income but not enough to collect but two more pins at the time. Now at 54 I work for Motorola Solutions as a Project Manager building radio towers and installing radio systems for Public Safety. The compensation is awesome. Between Law enforcement retirement and MSI paycheck, I have a lot more ability to collect. I hope I live long enough to enjoy it.

Nac

I think you should re-read what I said. You wont because clearly your ideas of not driving trucks and living in tents to save farm land is so comical I still haven't stopped laughing. As your PM's showed you have no idea about common sense.

Woefully wrong, laughable at best and its Punta Cana, cheap people like yourself go to Mexico.

Blah, blah, blah.... The study only looks at people in general and doesn't take into account people who ACTUALLY put in extra effort. Your example is exactly right for lazy people, I'll agree to that.

Exactly, this is the truth, education or not. Well said.

You can't always believe what you read. A college does research to say if you go to college you'll make more money. My meth dealer told me that meth is not addictive. Silly yes but the same. Colleges want your money and so does the government, and meth dealers. Best thing is to find something you like or can tolerate and make as much as possible for as little start up as possible.

We must have the same dealer.

The Georgetown study is based on Census Bureau data that are published every year.

I looked for a recent publication about this but couldn’t find one. In any case, here are the most recent survey results on educational attainment and income — https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/tables/pinc-04/2018/pinc04_1_1.xls

For the average person, college is a good investment. The data provide the evidence for the that.

The US is a very large country so there will be lots of inspirational success stories of high school grads (or lower) working hard and making great accomplishments. Canada too, of course. It’s wonderful that we live in a society where that can happen.

If only we could all work so hard as Spencer, we'd be just fine! Alas, some of us have to "get by" with a mere 2-3 pins. I must have missed some of those "opportunities" and failed to put in the long, hard hours Spencer did. Clearly, I have only myself to blame!

Don't get me wrong no path is better than the other and neither makes a person better or less than. I would like to see attached to that survey the debt to income ratio. I personally feel that the government with their loan programs and every job these days requiring an associate degree for entry level jobs all is a scam forced on the American public. I could be right I could be wrong or I just need some new tinfoil for my hat.

Stop using my name in your meaningless rambling garbage and get over it, stalking creep.

Since i would like to own a couple and i cant afford that much/dont want to spend that much,i go for a VPinball,because at the end of the day its just a toy,not that important in my life

Getting rich is not always about working hard, I know plenty of people who work very hard but are no better off then the average person. Alot of people come from money or just fall into money (inheritance, lucky investment, etc..) or even just know the right people to climb the commercial ladder quicker then others.

Luck does play a huge part for some people.

Whatever one does that video just goes to prove that pinball and arcade collectors are the coolest people ever.

Working hard and working smart. Being average is ok. Most people are “average” simply based on the numbers

The dumbest M fers I know come from money and they are clueless idiots

Education and finding the right niche matters

Sales. Number crunchers are a dime a dozen

I highly recommend Malcolm Gladwell's bestseller "Outliers"‐------Here's a summary of Gladwell's conclusions:
"Genius is over-rated. Success is not just about innate ability. It's combined with a number of key factors such as opportunity, meaningful hard work (10,000 hours to gain mastery), and your cultural legacy. Random factors of chance, such as when and where you were born can influence the opportunities you have."

I have a Master's degree. The best thing I've ever done in my life was say F#ck it and got my CDL. Now I drive a water tanker for the natural gas "fracking" industry in Northern PA and have never been happier or better off. Sometimes it's good to think outside the box for a change of pace.

i have a friend that drove a cement truck for 30 years, he just retired at 58. claimed he couldn't take it anymore.. supposedly liked the job, just didnt like the company he worked for.