We were fondly reminiscing days after the flat tire fiasco when Dale said, “You want to know what was worse?”
I meant no but said yes.
“We only had 16 miles left in the tank.”
And then we began to laugh, because we both know that would
have put me over the edge. I can’t bear a low gas tank. He may as well have
said zombies followed us home. So many things to worry about. Gas, zombies,
impeachment … there’s no end in sight.
I am a worrier, but I am trying to lighten up. It’s not that retirement and aging aren’t scary, but I say let’s do our best to tame the fear and live joyfully.
Money is the big one, the big “worry bead” as they used to say at work. It’s funny how I fretted about money the whole time I was working, but now I have confidence in our finances and hardly give them a thought. Of course, I only got this far because I spent 35 years worrying we would not have enough money to retire, so I focused on saving and investing.
Saving and investing worked! Sure, there’s always a risk, but mostly I can relax as long as the world doesn’t blow up or one of us does something radically stupid. Living within your means and knowing there’s enough money to get by as long as you don’t go crazy makes for a happy retirement.
Growing up in a family with very little money, I always
feared not having enough. It’s like near-empty gas tanks. I can’t take it. My
friends would quit jobs because they were too stressful, and I used to say the
stress of a job is nothing compared to the stress of living paycheck to paycheck.
I endured some miserable jobs, but I never bailed until I knew we had enough to
make a clean break.
Maybe there’s no such thing as true financial freedom, but we feel pretty good … reasonably secure. We paid off our mortgage in May, and that also reduces stress.
I know there are lots of fancy formulas that help people
decide whether it’s smart to pay off their mortgage. Some financial experts say
if your interest rate is low, then it makes more sense to invest your cash. I
am not a financial expert. This is how a liberal arts major does retirement
math.
Our payment was about $1,000 a month, roughly $12,000 a
year. About half of that was property taxes, which we now pay separately. Let’s
assume that frees up $6,000 of cash flow, and then I’m not even going to
include what we saved in interest, because calculating interest hurts my brain.
I kind of think that’s $6,000 I can spend on fun stuff I
didn’t want to sign up for when we had a mortgage. Here’s my annual commitment
so far:
Unlimited golf pass | $2,000 |
Fitness club membership | $1,020 |
Massages | $1,500 |
TOTAL | $4,520 |
I’ve got nothing else on the horizon, so there’s actually a surplus! I ran the math by Dale to see if he thought I was loco, and he said, no, I get it. Makes sense. I’m sure someone could deconstruct my logic. After all, the money is being spent one way or the other.
But the thing is, a mortgage is an unwavering commitment. It doesn’t go away unless you pay it off. Without a mortgage, however, indulgences are optional. There’s much greater flexibility in how you spend your retirement income. If we find ourselves short on cash, I can always back out of my sports memberships and massages. Life is still good.
And then there is the peace of mind in knowing you don’t owe
anybody anything. If the shit hits the fan, we could sell this house and
downsize in some form or fashion. The proceeds can continue to fund our
retirement.
Having had cancer twice, I am all too aware the bubble could burst in a flash. But for now, we are healthy and solvent, and that adds up to less worry and more fun … which is not a bad retirement mantra.
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