Worries

Martha

Martha

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Joined
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Location
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Maybe retirees on this forum are without worries. But if you have worries about the future, what are they?

Do you worry that your money might run out?
Whether your SWR last year was 4%? ;)
Do you worry about your health?
Worry about social security and medicare?
Your marriage?
Your children?
Your pension?
Not having enough to do?
Making new friends?

Probably you will say NOYDB. And the question may be too personal.

But I know Cutthroat has said on a number of occasions that money may be the least of your worries when you retire.
 
Few worries. That my son stays healthy and grows up happily and well rounded. Preferably that my wife and I grow very old together in good health.

Not worried about the money. We can always find a way to make more.

Everything else is either controllable and will be appropriately controlled, or is out of our control and que sera sera...

Worrying wont help either.

As far as SWR goes, I wish I'd never heard of it. I somehow blindly managed to be ER'ed for 3 years without ever hearing about it. ;)
 
Great question. We're in the early stages of ER and I've got about equal parts worry and optimism. Once we get used to ER I expect the worries to diminish, it's just that it's a big change to go from full-time work to ER.

The main worries:
  • Something really Bad happening to our (diversified) portfolio.
  • Finding meaningful social contact outside of family.
  • Having no idea what effect it will have on our marriage.
  • Health insurance.
  • Wondering if I will do enjoyable, positive things I can be proud of, or just fritter the time away. (Hopefully some of each. :) )
 
sc said:
Great question. We're in the early stages of ER and I've got about equal parts worry and optimism. Once we get used to ER I expect the worries to diminish, it's just that it's a big change to go from full-time work to ER.

The main worries:
  • Something really Bad happening to our (diversified) portfolio.
  • Finding meaningful social contact outside of family.
  • Having no idea what effect it will have on our marriage.
  • Health insurance.
  • Wondering if I will do enjoyable, positive things I can be proud of, or just fritter the time away. (Hopefully some of each. :) )
Click to expand...


  • sc, you pretty much nailed it for me. The only one in your list above that I'm considering removing is the effect on DW and I. Although it has been only 8 months, it looks like we're transitioning to "more of each other" pretty well.

    But that's just me speaking. DW might have a different opinion. ;)
 
"more of each other" did take a little getting used to. Probably didnt help that both of us were confirmed single people for a while, got married, had a baby and then spent six months together full time. At least I did the ER thing ~4 years before that happened.

Both ERing and spending all our time together at the same time? Might have been a pretty good challenge.
 
Martha said:
Do you worry that your money might run out?
Whether your SWR last year was 4%? ;)
Do you worry about your health?
Worry about social security and medicare?
Your marriage?
Your children?
Your pension?
Not having enough to do?
Making new friends?
Click to expand...

Really don't worry about any of the things on this list. (at least not today)

I worry about our upcoming relocation because I want to really get it right.  Failure to do that will probably put some of the now dormant concerns back on my list.  Luckily, this is one of the issues that is within my control.
I don't think it will be especially difficult to get my life on cruise control when I want, but I do spend time worrying about kids and grandkids.  I don't worry about their success, but rather the country we are leaving them in the environmental sense rather than the political. They will find a way to navigate the pension and healthcare mess, but will they ever see the paradise that was Florida as I saw it 30 years ago?  Many of my midwest buddies fled to another paradise after college 30 some years ago.
They found cheap housing, pleantiful jobs, uncrowded recreation facilities, low crime, and fresh air.  Damn that Califiornia was nice.  Most have fled again.  Damn it's nice to be out of there.  If you visited one of our national parks last year you may have enjoyed it, but if you could only see what they were.
Of course there have always been new frontiers to replace the old.  Where did you say those new ones are?  :(
 
I worry that I'll be called for jury duty for a 5 month trial, and, because I'm retired, I won't have a way to get out of it.
 
Of course there have always been new frontiers to replace the old. Where did you say those new ones are?
Click to expand...

We've found an out-of-the-way place, but I'm afraid it's not going to stay that way. People are building new housing developments, planning big box stores, planning on building on open space, etc. They just don't see where it's headed.
 
TromboneAl said:
I worry that I'll be called for jury duty for a 5 month trial, and, because I'm retired, I won't have a way to get out of it.
Click to expand...

I got called for a long one.

I got out of it pretty easily.
 
As far as the money: I worry that I will worry too much about it, denying myself things and experiences, then have lots of money when I'm old and have people trying to manipulate me or worse (think Agatha Christie novels!) to get it.

As far as non-monetary issues: I worry that my husband and I won't have much in common with people we meet and therefore won't have anything to talk about and no one can relate to us. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to BE like the masses, I just don't want everything to be socially awkward (with existing friends as well as new folks)

Also, despite the confidence many people have here about the what do you do all day question, I still dread it (not a worry per se, just a dread)
 
My biggest worry is for my son who is serving overseas.

I always have this little nagging worry about money. I'm not even sure what it stems from since we're pretty well set for the next 40 yrs.

No pension, social security, health, friends or marriage worries.

Life really is pretty damn good after all.
 
Martha said:
Maybe  retirees on this forum are without worries.  But if you have worries about the future, what are they?
Click to expand...
Apparently I'm blissfully ignorant. Life is good.

Money running out? Nah, we can barely spend it as fast as it piles up now. I'm really feeling the pressure from Cut-Throat and the "What are you saving it for?!?" crowd, but there's nothing we're interested in buying. Except for that small-cap value stock over here...

SWR? Not as long as it stays below 5%. Last year was barely over half of that.

Health? I'm sweating that constructively. I'm hoping to qualify for our dojang's black belt test (100 pushups in two minutes, 100 situps in two minutes, two-mile run in 16 minutes or better) before I turn 50. Only four-plus years left.

I do worry that I'll accidentally twist my right knee out of its socket before the sprain heals. But it's making me much more cautious about my tae kwon do sparring, and that can only help. Dealing with that sprain has taught me more in the last six months than I've learned in the last two years.

SS & Medicare? No, because the govt tells me there will be nothing to worry about.

I don't worry about our marriage. Why, have you heard something from my spouse?

I spend a lot of time grousing about our kid but I'm not worried about her. Occasionally I wonder why she has no short-term memory for any of the tasks I've assigned her, but she'll grow out of it because I'm sure I was never like that.

I worry about everybody's pensions, but apparently in the next 25 years there won't be any pensions to worry about. I worry that one day I'll wake up and find that my military pension is tied to my actual military performance. Or, even worse, my conduct.

I worry about having too much to do. That's probably a character flaw but there's just so much to do out there and I want to do it all!

I don't worry about making new friends. The ones we have already are doing fine.

Jury duty? Make me sit in that pool for a week catching up on my reading. When the lawyers find out I was in the military, I'll be outta there.
 
REWahoo! said:
Do you have any nude photos of her? :D
Click to expand...
(Cute Fuzzy Bunny) said:
if not, we'll sell you some...
Click to expand...
Did you guys happen to see how Eva Longoria's ex-con husband dealt with that on a recent "Desperate Housewives" episode?
 
Nords said:
Did you guys happen to see how Eva Longoria's ex-con husband dealt with that on a recent "Desperate Housewives" episode?
Click to expand...

:D OK, I get the message.

BTW, the actor who plays Eva's husband, Ricardo Antonio Chavira, was born in Austin and raised in San Antonio, where he graduated from Robert E. Lee High School. He, my son-in-law and daughter were in the same class. But he took drama classes, and they didn't. ;)
 
I have lived all my adult life in one city and have been very comfortable here. I am giving away or selling most of the stuff I have and after I sell my house, i'll be leaving in a few months, in my 92 camry with a folding bike (my pet) and a few possessions, for parts unknown somewhere over the rainbow.

Auntie Em, what the f*** am I doing? :eek:
 
MJ said:
Auntie Em, what the f*** am I doing? :eek:
Click to expand...

Trying to figure out what you want to be when you grow up? Following the yellow brick road?

Remember to pay no attention to the man behind the curtain and take your red slippers so you can get back to Kansas whenever you want to.

Say "hi" to the munchkins for us. ;)
 
Martha said:
But I know Cutthroat has said on a number of occasions that money may be the least of your worries when you retire. 
Click to expand...

Martha:  Cutthroat's wife has had a full-time job since he quit working. :D (What, me worry?)
 
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