Oct 04 2008
Crash Trash & Burn
Author: F. A. Rewell
I just looked at my investment portfolio. It isn’t pretty. This roller-coaster ride my retirement funds are taking is not fun.
I don’t know about you but I am getting more than nervous. Many of us in these “middle years” are trying to build a safety net of funds against the inevitable disappearance of that monthly social security check.
I know—you don’t want to even think about age 62, or 66 or 70 coming your way, but it will someday and saving for those “golden years” of relaxation and leisure is a goal we all should have. Only with the stock market, banks and financial institutions crashing, trashing and burning around us, my “golden years” are going up in smoke.
If only I had started back in my twenties to really begin to save… those early dollars would be worth a lot now, and be a cushion against this crisis. If only, if only….
I’ve witnessed many endings to this story:
• Those who saved every day, retired early, and refused to spend a dime of their savings, just in case there was another depression… never did anything, never went anywhere. Happy but dull.
• Those who never saved, spent their money faster than they earned it, enjoyed life, partied hearty, died quickly of a heart attack, leaving all their debt to anyone the collection agencies could find
• And then there are those who saved some, spent some, enjoyed some, got sick, didn’t die, lived in a moldy nursing home for ten years surrounded by urine soaked sheets, and covered with bed sores and totally forgotten by the world because everyone they ever knew had long ago died…
Am I depressing you?
The problem is quite frankly, I haven’t saved enough and don’t have nearly enough time to save more for retirement. I shall never be able to retire comfortably and will be bagging groceries or shelving books in the local library until I’m 95, provided I don’t get sick or fall and break some bone.
The best I can hope for is when I do actually fall ill, I will be flat broke and the government will take care of me.
Hmmm…. I think I’ll take my vitamins. Might even invest in pharmaceuticals.
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Well grab those vitamins, because you have the comfort of knowing that you’ll have loads of company!
The latest issue of the AARP Bulletin has a bullet that says “61% of today’s workers are at risk of not being financially prepared to retire.” I don’t know THEIR source for this information, but I suspect it is reliable.
I wrote my recent blog post for people who are not yet financially prepared to retire, and my suggestion is to find a way to generate some income - ideally in a passive way - that will kick in and allow you to retire. Feel free to check out my suggestions here: http://boomerlifestyle.com/blog/nest-eggs-shrinking-home-prices-falling-financial-anxieties-blooming-should-you-put-the-brakes-on-retirement-planning-and-power-up-those-dreams-for-a-business-of-your-own/
Hope this helps!
Anne Holmes
Tender spot hurting a lot? Other side too? bruises on your face and body throbbing? Is that blood running out your nose, skirt above your head in the wind, panties torn and soiled, titties swelling and turning blue by the minute, lost on the roadside, hoping not to die? Did you recognize the tail lights of the limo that threw you off? Was it the same limo that picked you up at election time, promising a good decent clean ride? Will you ever learn? Last time these guys did this to you, your babies were killed in Iraq and your retirement fund spent to do it, your taxes went up, you did not get destroyed by the weapons of mass destruction, they were never found. Poor little America. Our heart-felt prayers from Canada go out to you!
It seems to me that midlife needs to be filled with expectation rather than dread. My purse is not filled with cash, nor is my bank account filled to the brim, but I am blessed with good health and good friends. That’s priceless! Perhaps we all need to learn how to be satisfied with less. Look around at the foolish puchases we’ve recently made. How many gadgets did we just have to have? How impulsive was our spending? How many dinners out and bottles of wine did we need?
Call me naive but, I’m not going to put my energy into worrying about retirement. No, I am going to put my energy into living well, laughing often and staying healthy. I’m not sure how many years I have on the journey, but I am sure that I have today. I’m not going to dread tomorrow. I am going to embrace it with open arms. Life is what we make it and I am going to make it the best life possible. Besides, nobody likes crotchety old people who complain about money. Think young!!!!
Hi there,
I tried contacting you a while ago but never received a response, can you please email me so we can discuss my proposal?
Thanks