In 2011 as BTC was just beginning to become known, albeit, to a small number of people, I was working a high paying, labor intensive transportation job, the one I retired from.

At that time and several years removed from my second divorce, my only focus was rebuilding my life and finances, I knew nothing of BTC.
On the rare day off, my time was spent on appointments and other daily chores while money was spent sitting in a casino chair. Back then, my earnings would’ve been sufficient to buy thousands of BTC in one lump sum, had I known then what I know now but time and mistakes are often our best teachers.

Fast forward from there to the present day and though my retirement pension is less than half of what my income was in 2011, I have become a regular stacker of BTC.

This didn’t happen overnight because much of what I read and learned about BTC early in my process, was negative and filled with fear. (I was Looking in the wrong places).
I first bought into some junk coins and lost a pile of money very early on but learned a tough lesson. Then there was the time my Crypto disappeared from an online wallet costing me hundreds of dollars and another time Coinbase was hacked, $1,200 disappeared from my wallet (reimbursed a week later).
In short, the first 10 years of my journey from crypto to BTC was an expensive nightmare. Through all of that I learned about exchanges, online , self custody, scams, and some of the better places to look for and news related to this.

Now, I am making several BTC transactions every week because I truly believe that BTC in particular will play a role in the new financial system. I’ve been a believer from the start of my journey and knew that BTC would be a part of my retirement future. Though it has been an expensive journey, sometimes filled with anguish and regret, the lessons learned have been invaluable.

So in closing, BTC is not a get rich scheme (as I thought early on), and to dispel a myth, you don’t have to buy whole Bitcoin. The day is coming when even small Satoshi buys will be cost prohibitive so, it’s best to start stacking, even in small amounts.
If you are new to BTC or if you are an older and retired individual who has fear and reservations about it, my advice to you is get involved and start to educate yourself. Look for Debit cards, Credit cards and Gift Card providers who offer BTC back on purchases and transactions. Learn to buy/sell, how to set up a wallet and how to self custody. (And ALWAYS Beware of Scammers)

Older people such as myself are long removed from our days of extensive study, learning new things and
taking risks outside of our comfort zone but BTC is not a risk if you learn to store and safely protect it. Don’t dive in with both feet, be cautious and learn from the mistakes that others have already made.
Welcome to the Future!