True Confession: I Was A Yarn Addict
In November 2007, I learned to knit, started buying a LOT of yarn and shoes—(OK they’re not related, but they’re what I've been buying in the past couple of years) , began sending more money to my relatives abroad and sending my nephew there to college. I basically gave up on my early-retirement (pipe?) dream, with the meltdown of the markets around that time and the realization that I don't make enough to save enough to retire early.
This past spring, I went on a trip to Italy with a girlfriend, my first time ever outside the US except for trips to visit my mom and my brother in the Philippines. It was my 50th-birthday gift to myself. It was a lovely time!
Now I’ve got to buckle down and get a grip on financial recording and planning and setting retirement goals again. I'm glad I did not stop trying to max my deferred comp contributions and the ROTH IRA contributions, but I did not really save beyond those in the last few years. I’d be happy now with just being able to retire at traditional retirement age; it's too late for me to ever ER. At least, the trip to Italy has shaken me free from yarn-buying. I have enough yarn to last a lifetime.
As I turn 50 this year, I find myself thinking more of death, how short life is. I have an urge to de-clutter, not that I have many "big" (valuable) possessions, but just to have a simpler life that’s more free from maintaining stuff.