2 Months in, Contemplating Life.

[REattempt]

So, at the tender age of 47, I decided to retire early. Some of you helped me with my decision. Thank you.

I put my budget together to maintain the same spending level after I left w*rk. My budget is = 2.8% WR (net of debt free property worth 750K today). I'm happy to report that I've spent less than my budget, so it shouldn't be too difficult to maintain something reasonable.

I've spent the first two months cleaning up financial situation (trust titling, HC insurance, accounts). All the stuff I never had time to do before that should have been done. I also decided to clean out the house. Made it through the upstairs and a portion of the 1st floor. Started in the Basement and started to EBay all the stuff I've accumulated. Now THATS w*rk.

I also have been trying to structure assets appropriately to get the allocations set up.

Finally, I've had sometime to do some reading for "fun," and spend some time contemplating long term investing given my age. One of the books I read is "Living without Oil." http://www.amazon.com/Life-Without-Oil-Energy-Future/dp/1616144017

Wow. I've been learning about issues in the Middle East, Global Debt issues and Peak Oil. I'm really concerned that between debt/spending issues and declining oil production, we are in for BIG trouble. Finally last night I was watching a survivalist show that showed some people that are preparing for the worst...guns, manual wells, food stores, even a truck that runs on wood!

I've worked myself into a bit of a ....er... anxiety state.

If we have a prolonged depression due to debt/spending & Oil issues, how will I survive? What will happen to my kids future? How do I protect my assets? Can I protect them?

Now I'm thinking about selling everything and fantasizing about buying property that I can cultivate food with enough forest to be able to cook and heat a diminutive well insulated house with manual pumps and handguns pointed in every direction.

So much for reading for "fun."

Anyone else concerned? What actions if any are you taking? If I were 60, I might think about it differently, but while my financial state is certainly not tenuous, I have enough of my German mother [who lived through the depression] in me to start preparing.

Thoughts?

 

[JPatrick]

Anyone else concerned? What actions if any are you taking? If I were 60, I might think about it differently, but while my financial state is certainly not tenuous, I have enough of my German mother [who lived through the depression] in me to start preparing.

Thoughts?

Yipes, I think you need to pause and rearrange your socks drawer or something.

Concerned? Yes, mightily, but major decline in our way of life is a whole new thread.
From the investment standpoint, adjustment is what it has always been about, so I'm constantly trying get positioned in front of the next bull.
I will say, that given my outlook for the future, I have removed my "I'm Spending My Kid's Inheritance" bumper sticker. This out of concern for their future.

 

[brewer12345]

Buy some equity in oil and gas exploration & production companies to hedge your exposure to higher fuel prices. Problem solved. Go play.

 

[W2R]

The thing is, in retirement we have SO much more time than the average working person. So, it's a lot easier to get in a state of overload when it comes to certain shows, books, and so on that are trying to get more readers/listeners for higher ratings, and are using scare tactics to do it (IMO).

A few days ago I decided to change my habits and watch HGTV when there is nothing on TV, instead of going to Fox News or CNN. I also stopped listening to political podcasts for the time being. It has made a big difference in my sense of well being. Other than voting in elections I don't think there is a whole lot that I can personally do to prevent any impending doom (I'm just a 63 year old female retiree, not the Incredible Hulk, after all). I refuse to allow this kind of fear/terror ruin what is otherwise a wonderful retirement and the best time in my life.

When I was a little girl, my mother wouldn't allow me to watch horror movies because I would have nightmares. Now that I am 63 and she is gone, I need to take care of myself and mother myself as she did back then. The type of input that you are talking about is healthy, to a point, but when it gets beyond that we need to shut it off.

 

[rkser]

W2R ...... + 1....... Well put !!!

 

[Helen]

A few days ago I decided to change my habits and watch HGTV when there is nothing on TV, instead of going to Fox News or CNN. I also stopped listening to political podcasts for the time being. It has made a big difference in my sense of well being. Other than voting in elections I don't think there is a whole lot that I can personally do to prevent any impending doom

I came to the same conclusions you did and tuned out for a couple of presidential elections. I knew how I was going to vote so I decided not to get all worked up about it. It saved me a lot of turmoil.

 

[W2R]

I came to the same conclusions you did and tuned out for a couple of presidential elections. I knew how I was going to vote so I decided not to get all worked up about it. It saved me a lot of turmoil.

Believe me, I understand that, for sure! Even if one doesn't completely tune out, it really helps. Most of these shows/books/etc have very little new that isn't repeated on a thousand other shows or books or news websites, so it is unlikely that someone wouldn't hear about the same things (just not over and over).

At any rate, I am sleeping a lot better and not worrying so much about things I cannot change.

 

[Leonidas]

Human being are terrible at predicting the future. Why worry about stuff that probably won't happen only to get blindsided by a black swan event?

If that is not enough to cure you of your fears, just remember that most of this stuff is just made up by people who are trying to scare you while making money on the deal. It's like paying to go to a haunted house - it's all good clean fun as long as you remember that the zombies are just actors. When you start believing it is when you have a problem, and it ain't a zombie problem.

 

[Grizz]

It certainly doesn't hurt to be prepared for a disaster, be it natural or economic.

There's a quote from Aristotle that I've always liked, and I think that it applies well here..."It's best to rise from life like a banquet, neither thirsty or drunken"

How about a "preparedness lite" program. Go buy a few ounces of gold, some silver coins, case or two of whisky, extra toilet paper, some freeze dried food, seeds for gardening, a little generator, safely store a gun and ammo, or go practice with a slingshot.

All that stuff can come in handy, isn't going to break the bank, would be considered responsible by most, and would place you far ahead of the general population in terms of preparedness. When you start digging bomb shelters, putting all your money in gold, or hiding in the woods with an unhealthy amount of paranoia and firearms, the end result isn't likely to be positive.

 

[FIREd]

While I am aware of the potential problems we may face in the future, I remain optimistic (which doesn't mean I am not prepared).

 

[bbbamI]

Change your reading habits...

http://www.early-retirement.org/for...hat-make-you-laugh-51626.html?highlight=books

 

[PaddyMac]

You could probably go back centuries and find books and forecasts about how the world would be a horrible place and you better grab your guns and learn to grow stuff. Apart from the Great Depression, the last century has been pretty good. I choose not to worry about things I can't control. I also figure we'll get a little heads up before oil runs out, but in the meantime we have solar power...and shares in alternative energy and oil stocks.

 

[Nords]

Wow. I've been learning about issues in the Middle East, Global Debt issues and Peak Oil. I'm really concerned that between debt/spending issues and declining oil production, we are in for BIG trouble. Finally last night I was watching a survivalist show that showed some people that are preparing for the worst...guns, manual wells, food stores, even a truck that runs on wood!

Now I'm thinking about selling everything and fantasizing about buying property that I can cultivate food with enough forest to be able to cook and heat a diminutive well insulated house with manual pumps and handguns pointed in every direction.

Anyone else concerned? What actions if any are you taking? If I were 60, I might think about it differently, but while my financial state is certainly not tenuous, I have enough of my German mother [who lived through the depression] in me to start preparing.

Good thing you're retired so that you have the time to do something about the problem.

If you're truly concerned about the future you perceive, then why not do something constructive about it? You appear to own your home, so what about a photovoltaic array and perhaps getting off the grid? Maybe starting a garden? Making your house more energy efficient?

If you're scared by "peak oil" then head over to EarlyRetirementExtreme.com to discuss the topic with those guys. Personally I think that we're kinda overconfident in our ability to predict what's down there, especially if we offer incentives like $150/barrel. And if there really is a peak oil phenomenon then I hope I live long enough to see it...

 

[obgyn65]

I am concerned about the future also. If it does come to the worst and we have a major economic collapse with all banks closing down, I can live in Guatemala or El Salvador. I have established a couple of mobile clinics in these countries and go there a few times a year to see patients. I could continue to see patients free of charge and they could give me food in exchange !

\Anyone else concerned? What actions if any are you taking? If I were 60, I might think about it differently, but while my financial state is certainly not tenuous, I have enough of my German mother [who lived through the depression] in me to start preparing.

Thoughts?

 

[brewer12345]

It certainly doesn't hurt to be prepared for a disaster, be it natural or economic.

There's a quote from Aristotle that I've always liked, and I think that it applies well here..."It's best to rise from life like a banquet, neither thirsty or drunken"

How about a "preparedness lite" program. Go buy a few ounces of gold, some silver coins, case or two of whisky, extra toilet paper, some freeze dried food, seeds for gardening, a little generator, safely store a gun and ammo, or go practice with a slingshot.

All that stuff can come in handy, isn't going to break the bank, would be considered responsible by most, and would place you far ahead of the general population in terms of preparedness. When you start digging bomb shelters, putting all your money in gold, or hiding in the woods with an unhealthy amount of paranoia and firearms, the end result isn't likely to be positive.

Emergency preparedness is always wise. That said, that's all it is. No man is an island.

 

[Walt34]

Things will change, people will adapt. Like W2R, I've been paying less attention to news and more to what's going on around us and made the amazing discovery that I think less about stuff I can't do anything about anyway.

 

[HFWR]

It certainly doesn't hurt to be prepared for a disaster, be it natural or economic.

<snip>

How about a "preparedness lite" program. Go buy a few ounces of gold, some silver coins, case or two of whisky, extra toilet paper, some freeze dried food, seeds for gardening, a little generator, safely store a gun and ammo, or go practice with a slingshot.

All that stuff can come in handy, isn't going to break the bank, would be considered responsible by most, and would place you far ahead of the general population in terms of preparedness. When you start digging bomb shelters, putting all your money in gold, or hiding in the woods with an unhealthy amount of paranoia and firearms, the end result isn't likely to be positive.

+1

Change your reading habits...

http://www.early-retirement.org/for...hat-make-you-laugh-51626.html?highlight=books

I second the Dave Berry recommendation.

Personally I think that we're kinda overconfident in our ability to predict what's down there, especially if we offer incentives like $150/barrel.

Not sure what $150 oil does for exploration, but it sure does dampen demand...

Emergency preparedness is always wise. That said, that's all it is. No man is an island.

"Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the face." - Mike Tyson

 

[brewer12345]

+1
Not sure what $150 oil does for exploration, but it sure does dampen demand...

$150 oil and $7 nat gas means I laugh until I wet my pants and then go buy some champagne.

 

[harley]

None of this matters anyway. Didn't the world end last week?

 

[flyfishnevada]

I'm concerned, but only to a point. I really can't do much to change what's going on directly. Yeah, I can vote, occupy my local post office, write letter to my Senator, etc, but really I am powerless as an individual to change any of this.

So, I just live my life. I heard Sean Hannity tell a caller once who was frantically concerned about some issue and how the country was going the hell ans so on, that even though things aren't going well in the world/country/etc., you just gotta enjoy your life and put things in perspective. No matter what happens you have to find a way to be happy. If that means building a cabin the woods and living off the land when the government collapses, so be it.

 

[Alan]

I've worked myself into a bit of a ....er... anxiety state.

If we have a prolonged depression due to debt/spending & Oil issues, how will I survive? What will happen to my kids future? How do I protect my assets? Can I protect them?

Now I'm thinking about selling everything and fantasizing about buying property that I can cultivate food with enough forest to be able to cook and heat a diminutive well insulated house with manual pumps and handguns pointed in every direction.

So much for reading for "fun."

Anyone else concerned? What actions if any are you taking? If I were 60, I might think about it differently, but while my financial state is certainly not tenuous, I have enough of my German mother [who lived through the depression] in me to start preparing.

Thoughts?

I long ago stopped watching any US news or financial programs. I get my news mostly from BBC radio these days. Even the really bad news is delivered with a "stiff upper lip, no worries" tone of voice.

I can't influence anything and I'm not going to panic and change what I do, or how I live. When the July 7 bombers hit the tubes and buses in 2005, DW was due to be there within a couple of days (she was already over there, on a 6 week vacation). She went anyway, and was staying in the London School of Economics student Dorms right by the most badly damaged Tube station. She had to walk a bit more to catch a bus and take the Tube but said everything seemed fairly normal, except when someone wearing a backpack got onto a Tube or bus - people openly watched them closely but never said anything.

 

[JakeBrake]

Survivalist's last words: "Gee Whiz, I never thought of that."

 

[sheehs1]

I agree with W2R2 too! I've gotten myself on overload many times and had to shut it off. I make it a habit to not watch T.V. or the news during the day. Get enough headlines on the internet.

On the flip side, my sister in law is freezing seeds so she can grow her own food when the world ends and in her words "aims to be self sufficient".

 

[Onward]

One of my favorite pastimes is reading old, sometimes really old, issues of the Wall St. Journal. Go back to any year you like, all the way back to 1889, and you find extremely convincing arguments that the sky is falling and America is doomed.

It's a bit depressing, because it's those articles that convinced my ancestors not to buy the stocks that would have made me the snotty trust baby that I aspire to be!

Anyway, and I speak from personal experience here, if you have any German blood in you, you'll never be completely worry-free about anything.

 

[eytonxav]

My biggest concern going forward is will my kids be able to take advantage of a job market that provides the same opportunities that I had. I hope so, but just in case that doesn't happen, I will do as much as possible to leave them something to make their lives a little easier. That said, if our gov't steps up now and addresses the deficit vs continuing to kick the can down the road, my concern will be diminished.