Tag Archives: Journal

We Can’t Spend Our Retirement Savings

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Back in 2010, when hubs and I found ourselves both unemployed, we panicked – for about ten seconds.  Then we realized that we had been saving from every paycheck for our entire lifetime…we would be OK!

Skip forward eight years, and here we are – debt free, our home is paid for, our vehicles are all paid for, we are retired to whatever extent pleases us at the moment, we have sufficient pensions, and our investment account is healthy.  Now here is our dilemma:

We have spent our entire lives saving for our retirement,
…and now we have a hard time spending that money!

I can remember when my parents moved from acquisition to distribution in their own retirement.  My dad went out and bought a one-ton crew cab pickup and a matching 30-foot travel trailer.  My mom cried for days…not because she wasn’t up for the adventure, but because the idea of spending that hard-saved cash was contrary to our family’s deeply ingrained habits to “save for a rainy day.”

So here we are.  Hubs and I have been discussing (dreaming really) of buying a Class B travel van – basically a very fancy tent on wheels – so that we might load up our Roxy dog and take off exploring this country.

We have the cash, we could buy the thing outright – but wow, that would make a dent in our retirement funds, and we love watching that account balance go up…not down.  We could put down a sizable down-payment, and pay the rest off monthly, but there goes that “debt-free” thing.

So here we sit.  We’ve shopped different models, we’ve discussed the features we want to have, we continue to do internet research to learn new RVers tips and tricks.  Now if we could only pull the trigger.  A dilemma wrapped in a conundrum…

Lynn

Photo: Pina Messina ~ Unsplash

 

 

Encore Quotes – The Day’s Resolutions

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A weird year!  It’s just seemed like a weird year for New Year’s reflection! Usually I’m all about analyzing my past 12 months, thinking about the future, figuring out my “word,” deciding what I’d do differently in the upcoming months.

This year, I got NUTHIN!  Nada! Zip! Zilch!  I tried to come up with goals and resolutions and all that stuff, just like the rest of the world.  But for reasons I don’t understand, nothing significant came to mind!

Then a friend posted this saying on Instagram, and bam!  There it was – the thing that I was looking for.  I’ve been journaling lately, writing things I’m grateful for, and trying to be more mindful.  I’m adding an item that Pat suggested, over at Retirement Transitions, “What is the most important thing I did [yesterday]?”  Brilliant, huh?  Thanks, Pat! But now I’ll be also be considering this:

What do I resolve to do TODAY?

I just didn’t want to make great big, year-long goals, that would end up abandoned or forgotten by the third week in January.  I may not be able to stick to the resolution to lose a gazillion pounds.  But I’m pretty sure I can decide to eat a salad for dinner.  Baby steps.  Call a friend.  Go for a walk.  Do some yoga today.  Yeah, I can make those resolutions stick!  Have a wonderful, mindful weekend!

Lynn