Paranoid about $$$ Running Out

[NW-Bound]

I don't think "prison" in the figurative sense you used, meaning megacorp, was that bad. The "housing" and the "feeding" I talked about are the paychecks, the 401k, the health insurance that they provide.

My former "cellmates" were my colleagues, my coworkers. A few were real jerks, but there were also many good like-minded people to converse with.

 

[REWahoo]

My former "cellmates" were my colleagues, my coworkers. A few were real jerks, but there were also many good like-minded people to converse with.

So were mine, but I'm very happy I no longer have to do time with them. I got my sentence reduced - released early due to good (LBYM) behavior!

 

[NW-Bound]

Eh, same here.

My point is that if you have to, ugh, rejoin them in "prison", it is still a lot better than the alternative of being out in the cold.

 

[REWahoo]

Like Khan, I'd rather sell a kidney than go back to work.

 

[NW-Bound]

I love my kidneys. No can do!

Can I sell the kidney stones instead, those big ones that I have posted a photo of once before? Yep, enough carat weight there for mounting on a ring.

 

[martyb]

I love my kidneys. No can do!

Can I sell the kidney stones instead, those big ones that I have posted a photo of once before? Yep, enough carat weight there for mounting on a ring.

Oh no, you had to mention kidney stones! It's been 4 years since last time...I'm trying to forget. Had 'em twice in a year, then nada since then.

 

[explanade]

I'm kind of paranoid but more in need of changing my mindset.

When I first came here, job satisfaction was at an ebb but I knew ER was viable.

I haven't looked at Firecalc or various retirement calculators in awhile but I suspect I'm in good position now, certainly a lot better than when I registered here.

Paranoia I guess would be health care costs uncertainty. In good health now but if I Fire'd I'd be over 10 years away from Medicare and one bad accident could decimate the finances.

Plus a repeat of 2008 could cut the portfolio in half and then your ER, which is a prolonged retirement, could hurt someone who's Fire'd in the same way it hurt some near or recent retirees back in 2008-2009.

Job is far more tolerable now so in some way, it's more reassuring to keep collecting that paycheck and adding to the portfolio than drawing down from it. There are crazy periods but then I get a lot of vacation too, though I wouldn't mind being able to take longer vacations instead of short ones throughout the year.

 

[Dawg52]

Another reason not to go back to work is kidney stones. I sipped on a coke every afternoon to get me through the rest of the day. No kidney stones since I retired and stopped drinking cokes. A stretch I know, but I will look for anything to keep me out of the workforce.

 

[MichaelB]

Like Khan, I'd rather sell a kidney than go back to work.

Sell it, give it up. After experiencing the pleasure of not working, I'd give up a testicle. And a kidney. Reading posts here by people still working only reinforces the feeling. I feel so fortunate.

 

[heeyy_joe]

Pretty simple, you can worry (normal) or be this guy...

.

 

[cardude]

I found it much easier and less stressful to accumulate than to decumulate. DW and I worked for years building the portfolio but when it came time to spend it I freaked out (DW not so much).

Turns out I quit a little too soon (43) and with not enough to do (kids still in HS and JH), so I'm working part-time for the next 5 years and then I'll try again.

 

[traineeinvestor]

In the past, it's been easy enough to stomach a fall in NW while the salary is still hitting the bank account each month and I know that I can just carry on until the portfolio recovers (and even benefit from buying low). With retirement only a matter of months away I'm already feeling very different about the occasions in the future when I will inevitably have to watch my NW declining.

 

[gindie]

Sell it, give it up. After experiencing the pleasure of not working, I'd give up a testicle.

You mean, like this guy? The following is an oldie but goodie from Comedy Central (PG-13). Watch it to the very end.

 

[obgyn65]

Many here (including myself) who have saved all their life may have similar fears. I know I have the fear of running out of money before I die. FIREcalc and other calculators show I will be fine, however I still need additional reassurance before making the jump. Maybe it is a form of OCD.

It is nice to share these thoughts with similar-minded people here.

I share this problem, which, like fear of flying, is irrational based on the best available data. I think I will feel more confident if there is no crash in the first few years, which is exactly your situation. Perhaps we have some OCD traits?

 

[shotgunner]

It is good to know others share similiar feelings. I usually lurk here and often feel like many of you have more courage than I. I am 56 single and have a 21 yr old daughter, that's it for family. The adult orphan situation adds another layer of concern, even if irrational. I have been Semi-RE for almost 5 years. FIRECALC, other calculators and FI all say ER is going to work 100%, yet I remain very cautious. I had wondered if that is normal, I guess it is, but if not at least I see I am not alone. Lurking on this board and occasionally posting is helpful because here I have some financial/lifestyle peers. I do not have any friends that can consider ER or Semi-ER so there is no one to bounce ideas off. I can imagine if I voiced some concerns with friends their initial reply would be something along the lines of, "it must really stink to be down to your last 900 thousand of so". However that might be a cold hard dose of reality I and others need to hear to realize how fortunate I and they may be.

 

[Lazarus]

It helps if you have a job you hate. Makes it easier to decide you have enough.

 

[Tree-dweller]

I too suffer from the anxiety of watching accumulated savings slowly (hopefully) deplete. (And this is coming from someone who has been blessed with a decent DB pension softening the blow.) I think it's only human. It's not easy to "bang a U-ee" on savings habits of 35+ years. But then, I remind myself that's exactly why I did all that accumulatin' in the first place! I expect my anxiety about spending it will dwindle faster than my, ahem, "fortune".

Ah, Alfred E! That reminded me of an after-school job I had during high-school at the public library, re-stacking books in the Fine Arts section, where one could find finely-crafted leatherbound copies of every Mad Magazine ever published!

Pretty simple, you can worry (normal) or be this guy...

.

 

[NW-Bound]

Never say something you don't really mean.

You mean, like this guy? The following is an oldie but goodie from Comedy Central (PG-13). Watch it to the very end.

 

[BTravlin]

My situation seems a little unusual in that DW has always been a worrier. She worries about all kinds of things that could possibly happen on a variety of fronts. Myself, I hardly ever worry about what if's and usually only worry about those things that have actually smacked me up the side head.

We've been planning on ER for a few years now and our roles seem to have reversed. We run a couple retirement calculators that give us 95% success rate for our plans and she's good to go! Me? I'm running one calculator after another, tweaking this and that, and wondering what if? Very strange.

 

[dmdunca44]

The problem is I am having a hard time moving from the accumulation phase to the drawdown phase. I have this lingering paranoia that somehow it is still never going to be enough. I still anguish over expenditures that should be no big deal.

Are you my husband? He retired in 2008 (I had already retired although I did work part time). Now, 2008 WAS painful. We had enough resources that we were able to leave the retirement accounts alone and they've more than recovered.

BUT, he is reluctant to spend a dime. He has no children (I have 2) so leaving a legacy is not an issue. I manage the finances - he hates dealing with money. And I tell him that he does not have to deprive himself; he has pretty simple wants. But he chokes every time we consider a large expenditure.

I'm pretty conservative, I think. I've run every calculator out there and barring something really catastrophic, we'll be fine.

How on earth do I get him to relax a bit and enjoy the fruits of his many years of labor?

 

[shotgunner]

I noticed one poster mentioned there is less stress involved in the accumulation phase, I concur. Once cut off from a steady income stream one relies on their portfolio. Perhaps some of us who were depending on a portfolio for our livelihood in fall 2008/winter 2009 suffered some actual emotional trauma from the speed and depth of the losses, PTSD, and the result is easily triggered anxiety out of proportion to the actual threat or potential problem as we have gone forward?

 

[Huston55]

How on earth do I get him to relax a bit and enjoy the fruits of his many years of labor?

A romantic dinner, with a little financial talk mixed in, followed by....Ummmmmmmm...sex?

Guys are pretty simple.

 

[Accidental Retiree]

Are you my husband? He retired in 2008 (I had already retired although I did work part time). Now, 2008 WAS painful. We had enough resources that we were able to leave the retirement accounts alone and they've more than recovered.

BUT, he is reluctant to spend a dime. He has no children (I have 2) so leaving a legacy is not an issue. I manage the finances - he hates dealing with money. And I tell him that he does not have to deprive himself; he has pretty simple wants. But he chokes every time we consider a large expenditure.

I'm pretty conservative, I think. I've run every calculator out there and barring something really catastrophic, we'll be fine.

How on earth do I get him to relax a bit and enjoy the fruits of his many years of labor?

No, he can't be your husband because I think he is MY husband!

 

[Donzo]

That's exactly our plan, hopefully out at age 75 or more if then (annuitization hurdle, blah, blah, blah...). If all goes well, we'll never buy one, but as a means to die broke without running out, a SPIA is hard to beat as far as I can tell.

Agreed. Having a monthly check coming in can also help save you from someone draining your accounts and running off leaving you destitute. Theft of elders is a real problem -This is an interesting thread - time certainly marches on. It's important to think ahead.
Makes me appreciate today that much more 56 yo," footloose and fancy free"!

 

[explanade]

I noticed one poster mentioned there is less stress involved in the accumulation phase, I concur. Once cut off from a steady income stream one relies on their portfolio. Perhaps some of us who were depending on a portfolio for our livelihood in fall 2008/winter 2009 suffered some actual emotional trauma from the speed and depth of the losses, PTSD, and the result is easily triggered anxiety out of proportion to the actual threat or potential problem as we have gone forward?

Can we rule out another even as bad as or worse than 2008 from happening again? Did we have the killer earthquake so we're immunized the rest of our lives?

Some people thought after Black Monday, it was the Great Crash of our lifetime. But besides 2008, haven't there been a couple of flash crashes which were bigger in magnitude than Black Monday?