An ad-on to yesterday's blog "You're Fired!"All through my 30 plus year career in IT (and even before) I also fretted about retirement. As soon as spreadsheet programs became available (and even before) I projected my future in dollars and cents needed to retire comfortably. This was a very worthwhile effort and I would never advise anyone to skip careful financial and retirement planning. However, it seems like TV commercials, newspaper articles and internet ads are cranking up folks' fear of poverty in retirement to an unconscionable level.
So from the perspective of a now comfortably ensconced retiree, here is my take-away on retirement planning.
You will probably need less than you think you will. By the time you retire you will be happy with most of your possessions and will probably have seen enough of the world to be happy staying home a lot. You will no longer have to put away money in a 401K or dress-for-success. Your home will probably be a little smaller and/or paid off (ripe for a reverse mortgage) and you may have moved to a less expensive area. You may not need two cars and you might be just as happy if your ride is a few years old. If you are a couple that both worked at decent jobs for most of your lives, you will have double Social Security coming in. Medicare will be available at a pretty reasonable cost. Perhaps you will be lucky enough to have a small pension or inheritance. You'll have time to shop a little more carefully, visit the library and thrift stores and garage sales, and perhaps do a little more home cooking. My guess is that for most people this will not be the worst of all worlds and will probably be The Best.
;-)
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