Retirement May Be Your Own SHTF If You Are Not Prepared For It
Guest article, by ‘NRP’
Do you believe that someday TS-will-HTF ? Well then you are absolutely correct. We sometimes talk of how an EMP, economic-crash, WW III, Cyber Attack, Pandemic, so-on, will change the world (your life) forever, and/or bring it crashing down.
Retirement IS an event that will totally disrupt your current life in ways you have NO idea. Retirement WILL be that SHTF and hopefully we all get to enjoy it.
For those here that are thinking about that 10 letter word ‘Retirement’, and I know there are quite a few getting close, and for those that are a few/many years off, I wanted to touch a little on this.
So before I begin, and to those young whipper-snappers out there,
I remember just yesterday when I turned 25, young, healthy, full of pizzzz and vinegar, I looked at retirement like it was sooooo far away. Today I’m in the process of ‘getting my ducks in a row’, and tomorrow the day will come when I load all my ‘stuff’ at work, say ‘see ya’ to the ones still there, and head home to a new life.
Than what?
There are a few things to think about first:
1. Health Insurance is one of the BIGGIES, Medicare, Obamacare-less, Supplemental Medical Insurance, Private Insurance. Let’s face it, we ALL are going to get sick and we all will die at some time. If you don’t have or if you screw this step up, the medical bills will eat up every penny you and your family have. As an example when my late wife got cancer and passed, the total medical, hospital, hospice, so-on bills totaled well over $500,000.00 for a three year battle….. Do NOT make the mistake and say ‘I’m healthy now’……
2. Money. Of course this is important (somewhat). Do you have an IRA, 401K, Retirement account, Money in the Bank, Social Security, and PM’s? All are important, as long as the Banking and Economy are stable, How about inflation, a crash, and unexpected expenses? Do you live a lifestyle that allows you to continue as is without wondering if you need to go on food stamps or live in a shelter?
3. Land and Home. Are you protected from Probate Court? Do you have a Land and Personal Trust, and a ‘Will’ set up dictating EXACTLY what, where, who gets this or that? Remember that Probate Court and Lawyers will completely drain everything you had, that’s what thye do; they feed off others for a living. How about Land deeds that are ‘Upon Death’ to someone?
4. Funeral arrangements. Have you made them? Cremated, Buried, Viking Boat, this is something that we ALL need to arrange, why would you put those choices on your loved ones?
5. A Deep Pantry. Very Deep Pantry and the ways to maintain it, PLUS the skills.
Ok, how about that ‘Fun Stuff’?
Traveling, we all want to see the Great Wall of China, right?
Spending time with Grand/Great Grand kids.
How about that time Fishing and Camping?
FYI, the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Puamana Beach, and tens of thousands of other places are in full ‘go to’ right about now.
Can ya say Camping on the beach in Costa Rica?
How about time to just sit on the porch enjoying the evening with a few good friends?
Anyone want to visit Ken and eat his Steak and Lobster?
Personally I LOVE to Garden, Fish, Hunt, Camping, and a LOT of outdoor stuff, there is NO WAY I’m going to sit in a chair stagnant for the rest of my life, how about you?
I plan on hours and hours just sitting by a nice stream somewhere and meditating on that 28” Rainbow Trout I’m going to catch tomorrow or maybe the next day, than head to the Fish House and have a nice Halibut Steak with Orange Sauce.……
My friends, when you do finally ‘retire’ please do NOT just sit around doing nothing…. I know people that have; usually they are gone within a year. Plan properly, be prepared as best as you can, this is usually the last ‘Job’ you will have, please do it right.
I know several retirees and almost all of them tell me “With all of the things I have going on, I don’t know how I had time to work”.
Time for Tea and Chocolate (as per 0ldhomesteader), and maybe a little fishing.
-NRP
[Ken adds]: I believe that one of the biggest issues upon retirement will be the change in CASH FLOW. Unless you are “well off” or adequately wealthy, one’s lifestyle will likely be forced to change upon retirement. So to avoid this, it’s a great idea to change (downsize?) your lifestyle BEFORE you retire in order to ease into it with less of a shock.
Get yourself out of all debt as early as you can. Also remember that property taxes will always go up and some places are lots worse in this regard than others.
The years tick by faster than you think, so the sooner you start thinking about it the better.
If you think that you’re going to retire early, be aware that private health insurance (until you’re on Medicare) will be one of your biggest expenses. Maybe you can “semi-retire” early with a part-time job or some such way of earning enough supplemental money (cash flow).
Remember too that it may require a larger sum of money than you think (e.g. within in a 401K, IRA, and/or savings) to supplement your post-retirement income over time. Why? Because lets say you retire at 66…well one would hope that you’ll live another 20 years right? Take your lump sum and divide it by 20 (years) and then divide by 12 (months/yr) and see how much you actually have left to supplement your retirement income… (could be eye-opening).
One last thing: Your health. Get in shape (as best you can). Exercise somehow. Walk! Move! Eat better. You’ll live longer (hopefully) ;)
(just my 2-cents)
Your thoughts?
What about those of you who are retired…
What are your suggestions for those who are not there yet?
