an update - i gained some real perspective this week. my housecleaner is a young 30 something. she just changed her life for the better by exiting a bad union with her 2 young sons. she has a lot of courage.
all her friends and acquaintances, including myself, are donating whatever we have extra to get her outfitted in her new apartment. she is literally starting over. we gave her an old computer and TV and DVD player that were replaced last year. that made her day!
i asked her if she liked plants, and she said she did but couldn't afford extras like that right now. i made her up 2 houseplants from cuttings i had rooted. i thought she was gonna cry when i handed them to her. she almost got me going.
Now that gives a person some serious perspective. be grateful for what you have, for there are folks who have very little right within arm's reach.
lessons learned...hmmm...several actually...
- stay with 55/45 AA. i shall continue to be a chicken!
- my self perceived stomach for risk was about right. no smiles here, but no insomnia.
- i shall continue to frequent this site as my best resource for info and real live experience. i feel a lot smarter for reading all the posts, especially from folks who have been FIREd longer. TY!
- in spite of the recent shellacking, my MF 10 year returns are still positive. that is the number i look at, since it roughly equals my remaining time to "real" retirement age. as that time horizon gets smaller, gradual rebalancing is planned and will occur. i'm using Bogle's rule about age and exposure to stocks for my target AA.