Do It Now!

[NW-Bound]

I have one more gloomy story to tell, this one about a close friend of my wife. This woman was in her late 50s, had a pension and 401k, but the latter was pummeled when the market crashed in 2008. So, she held out and tried OMY while waiting for the market to recover. And while working was when she was diagnosed with cancer, and died in less than 2 years.

It was so sad. Would it really matter if the market crash did not happen, so that she could retire as planned, and have one year of retirement? When people make plan for their retirement years, they think decades, not one or two years. But such is the uncertainty we face. Make plans, and run spreadsheets and retirement calculators all you want, it may be just for naught.

 

[Marita40]

For me I have to balance these "gloom and doom" sudden and early death stories with the possibility of extreme old age. As a single woman at 58 (in perfect health) with no support from anyone else I have examples of women in my immediate family living to age 98. So I work on and will probably do so at least 5 more years. Security is highly important to me even if numbers on paper confirm I am already "secure" financially.

 

[Quest4Fire]

Knowing what I know now, I should have jumped at 45 not 49. I was so wrapped up in the BS of work (hitting my regional numbers and watching my back) that I never crunched numbers or found this forum. If you found this forum and are figuring your expenses and assets you are in the home stretch.

+1. Happy to find this and doing just that.

 

[Music Lover]

I'm retiring next spring at 54 and "buying" my last year of pensionable service to avoid penalty. Being in a very large MegaGovt office, I've been to far too many funerals of co-workers and former co-workers...some of them who got ill shortly after they retired.

Sadly, some people stay long after they are eligible to leave because they say they will be bored or they made recent large purchases and can't afford to leave. Anyone can buy a bigger house or a boat...I am choosing to buy my last year of service. Relaxing on my deck with an 8-year old car in the driveway beats sitting at a desk with a new car in the company parking lot.

 

[Major Tom]

We get the concept but are still nervous about losing 8000k (after savings) deposited in the checking account every 2 weeks.

Hangonasec - you make $8000K (after savings) every 2 weeks?

That's a typo right?

 

[Nemo2]

hangonasec - you make $8000k (after savings) every 2 weeks?

That's a typo right?

$80,000k fify

 

[MBAustin]

My wife has CANCER. It's pretty hard to just walk away from a Cadillac health care plan when your spouse has CANCER. Sure she's in remission now, but for how long, next CT scan? Next time blood shows up in the urine? Great advice if you are healthy, not so much if you have been down the CANCER road a time or two

Very sorry that you and your wife are dealing with cancer, Derslickmeister. While a cadillac health plan is nice, with the ACA there is no longer the pre-existing condition bogeyman hanging over your head. You can actually budget for what your health care costs will be - premiums (probably higher than you pay now, but not totally outrageous, deductibles (ditto), and co-pays up to the out-of-pocket maximum. Someone here even posted a nifty spreadsheet they developed to let you model different plans and different assumptions about costs to show you what you need to budget for and what plans work best.

So if you have a large enough "emergency fund" to cover several years of maximum healthcare costs, you don't need to OMY just to keep the cadillac plan. And you could enjoy the time with DW. Just sayin'....

 

[Live And Learn]

So we missed the African Safari, the Alps, the Danube Cruise, and my dream trip back to Nikko...

Great post. When I tell people I am retiring early the first thing they ask about is travel plans. The reality is that my budget doesn't have alot of travel money. I'd rather have 52 weeks off than have 4, 6, or 8 weeks of "being somewhere else". When I tell people that they react as if I have two heads.

I waited 2 more years, but I am DOING IT NOW!

 

[ejman]

I have one more gloomy story to tell, this one about a close friend of my wife. This woman was in her late 50s, had a pension and 401k, but the latter was pummeled when the market crashed in 2008. So, she held out and tried OMY while waiting for the market to recover. And while working was when she was diagnosed with cancer, and died in less than 2 years.

It was so sad. Would it really matter if the market crash did not happen, so that she could retire as planned, and have one year of retirement? When people make plan for their retirement years, they think decades, not one or two years. But such is the uncertainty we face. Make plans, and run spreadsheets and retirement calculators all you want, it may be just for naught.

I think the old Jewish proverb has it about right Yiddish Wit: Man plans and God laughs.

 

[Bestwifeever]

My wife has CANCER. It's pretty hard to just walk away from a Cadillac health care plan when your spouse has CANCER. Sure she's in remission now, but for how long, next CT scan? Next time blood shows up in the urine? Great advice if you are healthy, not so much if you have been down the CANCER road a time or two

Your situation throws all the conventional wisdom out the window imho--docs and treatment plans in place and covered under your employer's Cadillac health for your spouse vs ACA that is only in its second year and still under attack? I know we would choose staying employed too.

Happy to hear she is in remission--hang in there. Hope your employer is understanding of any need for time off too.

 

[bbbamI]

My wife has CANCER. It's pretty hard to just walk away from a Cadillac health care plan when your spouse has CANCER. Sure she's in remission now, but for how long, next CT scan? Next time blood shows up in the urine? Great advice if you are healthy, not so much if you have been down the CANCER road a time or two

I'm sorry to hear this. I can relate as my husband was diagnosed with cancer in December, 2010. All is going well thus far, but when testing time comes around, fear creeps in.

Best wishes for your wife...and you.

 

[Quest4Fire]

We are hosting a friend of ours, and his family at times, in his mid 50s, while he gets some of the best stage IV treatment in the country.

Are You doing Things that MATTER? Maybe that is w*rk, maybe not, or something in between...

 

[38Chevy454]

Relaxing on my deck with an 8-year old car in the driveway beats sitting at a desk with a new car in the company parking lot.

Lot of truth in this statement. However too many people are spending and working to keep up with the Jones's.

 

[Nemo2]

Lot of truth in this statement. However too many people are spending and working to keep up with the Jones's.

As they expression (attributed to numerous individuals) goes:

"People buy things they don't need, with money they don't have, to impress people they don't like"

 

[Mango1956]

I learned to hate that word too......and the feeling of helplessness, knowing there's absolutely nothing you can do to affect the outcome, or for that matter...anything.......I wish you both the best of luck.

So sorry to hear this, Derslickmeister. My nephew, at age 40, was recently diagnosed with ALS. He has two boys and a wife. We all feel helpless, but the fact is we can help in many ways. We can, once we fully retire, fly out there and help around the house, weed the yard, fix stuff, etc. We can contribute to a "gofundme" account knowing we are helping pay for in home care. And many other ways as well. Getting the news about my nephew was awful, and made/makes us think about living every day to the full. Because you never know.....

 

[NW-Bound]

ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease is awful. Stephen Hawking amazingly survives for more than 50 years, but most patients last only a few years. I had a coworker who succumbed to this disease in just 2 or 3 years.

 

[dallas27]

ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease is awful. Stephen Hawking amazingly survives for more than 50 years, but most patients last only a few years. I had a coworker who succumbed to this disease in just 2 or 3 years.

Not to hijack, but hawkins was stuck in that chair, changed the world, married with kids, had control of eyes, tongue, and little else, yet still managed to cheat on his wife! Amazing guy.



Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[unclemick]

+1
Always enjoy your posts imoldernu.



Well said.

I wasn't tooo happy when layed off at age 49 1/2. Hindsight from age 71 after 21 years of ER and still reasonably good heath.

heh heh heh - different story. Everyday's a party day till the string runs out.

 

[Derslickmeister]

So sorry to hear this, Derslickmeister. My nephew, at age 40, was recently diagnosed with ALS. He has two boys and a wife. We all feel helpless, but the fact is we can help in many ways. We can, once we fully retire, fly out there and help around the house, weed the yard, fix stuff, etc. We can contribute to a "gofundme" account knowing we are helping pay for in home care. And many other ways as well. Getting the news about my nephew was awful, and made/makes us think about living every day to the full. Because you never know.....

Sorry about bumming everyone out with my rant. There are some days like you said where you feel absolutely helpless, I guess this was one of those days... Thanks for the well wishes

 

[Quest4Fire]

Sorry about bumming everyone out with my rant. There are some days like you said where you feel absolutely helpless, I guess this was one of those days... Thanks for the well wishes

Derslickmeister you and your family have your priorities straight. Thanks for sharing.

 

[JoeWras]

OMY is hard to get over. It is a powerful draw, especially when trying to sync end times with the spouse.

There are days like today where I just wish the boss would tap me on my shoulder and ask me to come to his office for "The Talk" and make the decision for me.

Today just sucked pond scum. "Do It Now" rattled through my head more than once.

 

[Katiek]

Sorry about bumming everyone out with my rant. There are some days like you said where you feel absolutely helpless, I guess this was one of those days... Thanks for the well wishes

Don't apologize. Sometimes the caregiver needs some support too and I'm happy if we can be a safe place for you to vent sometimes if you want.

 

[Mango1956]

Don't apologize. Sometimes the caregiver needs some support too and I'm happy if we can be a safe place for you to vent sometimes if you want.

+1