Retirement!

(No) Easy Street!

When you are raised in poverty, you’re left with little or no comprehension of the word RETIREMENT … had our fathers and mothers lived long enough, neither would have seen a livable income. Both mine and my wife’s parents, living well below the poverty level, never impressed upon us the need to save for the future. Their concern was the immediate need for food, shelter, jobs, and income.

Doing what needed to be done with what little they had, encouragement toward higher learning was largely ignored.

“There are a lot of good factory jobs, but you have to have a highschool diploma if you want to get one.”

Or so my mother would tell me. That was the extent of the encouragement that I received toward higher learning. Sadly, neither mine, nor my wife’s parents had any concept of “career,” let alone any notion of what came after.

Living in my grandfather’s house (image), all that we knew was getting old and having our children take care of us the same way they were doing theirs. Consequently, as we aged, we had our parents live with us.

Consequently, for us, retirement did not enter our discussions until we were in our mid-to-late 50s. Only then did we have enough income to talk about savings. The lessons learned up till then taught us that we do not want our children to share our experience.

A raynye day…

Even in the sixteenth century it was understood:

“Wold he haue me kepe nothing against a raynye day?””

Had I any inkling of RETIREMENT, I would have begun saving when I pocketed my first paycheck. Well, so I say now, but then, I never gave it a thought.

Like most young people, earning money meant buying the things that you want, so having more became a priority. Then marriage came along. Then children, and all the expenses that came with each. Consequently, it wasn’t until many years into my ‘career’ that I recognized the Dead End sign in front of us.

Life, as you are aware, does not become less expensive with age. On (No) Easy Street, we learned that costs increase exponentially when you can no longer care for yourself. Assisted living can and does currently cost $9000 – $15,000 PER MONTH! Which, simply put, means that many of us will live longer than we can afford to!

Foreseeing what will happen as you live on (No) Easy Street, is impossible. Ergo, identifying, and planning for contingencies is the only recourse we have.

Life on (No) Easy Street

We, i.e., my wife and I, did not continue living in the ignorance of our youth. We grew, we learned, and like you, our lives changed dramatically. In 2017, we both retired, despite the fact that I was not ready to retire!

Born and raised up north, in the mid-80s’ an unforeseen pathway opened that led us to Florida, which is where our futures began to blossom. Ironically, I vowed never to end up in a trailer park in Florida. Still, the road to (No) easy street led us directly the 55+ modular home community called Aberdeen. Living here, we find ourselves among a great diversity of people who traveled similar roads as we.

Aberdeen’s residents are a mixture of lifestyles; retired soldiers and sailors, school teachers, bankers, engineers, scientists, business men and women, nurses and doctors, and so on, all with varied levels of investments, savings, fixed pensions, and part-time incomes.

Logically speaking, many are very happily retired while others find themselves struggling with financial, medical, and other age related issues. Not surprisingly, there also those who continue working full or part-time jobs to supplement their retirement.

Being among so many “boomers,” I have to wonder how many actually planned their journey. We certainly had not. (No) easy street, like the yellow brick road that Dorothy traveled, veritably unfolded beneath our feet.

How many, I wonder, are financially secure? How many depend solely on their Social Security? How many need the assistance of their family?

We would appreciate your help…

Through your subscription and following, you can share stories and experiences regarding your retirement and senior living. Like us, there are countless numbers boomers already retired. There are also many who will be joining us in the years to come. All of whom will appreciate all the help they can get.

So, WELCOME TO (No) Easy Street. We look forward to hearing from, and sharing your experiences.

Cheers!