[GregWeld]

Some of you have many years left to work - and some are creeping up to retirement age. Funny - it really doesn't seem to take as long as you think it would... I have no idea where the time has gone. Seems like just a couple years ago we were spending the weekends at Toys R Us.... now my kids are 28 and 24. Hardly what you'd call "kids" anymore. It's part of the reason I continue to prod - poke - urge - everyone to start to take part and prepare for what's surely coming!

Since we've moved to Sun Valley Idaho to enjoy the final part of this journey they call "life".... I've noticed a few things, and thought about a few things, that I never did in the "big city". Time moves slower here... relationships move faster! It's a "wealthy" playground... Seems there's three kinds of economies here. The Young - "I just want to <name the fun> Ski... Bike... hunt...get laid" folks... and they wait tables and bartend or fix your skis/bikes. And the uber wealthy that fly their jets in on Friday and boogie back to "wherever" on Sunday evening. And there's those of us that have taken up permanent residence - seeking to enjoy the twilight - doing exactly what the young want to do but can't really afford. Laughing at this thought - but it's mostly true! The young struggle working 3 part time jobs living with 3 others in a 2 bedroom rental, so they might catch some runs when they can... while the "more mature" ski / hike / bike / eat out daily at a far more leisurely pace.

The reason for the long lead in -- is because while we're what most might describe as "quite well off" or some other absurd description... what we really are is "comfortable". I drive by the little airport daily (my shop is just south of it) and I look at the beautiful private Jets and think... WOW! What it must be like to own one of those bad boys! Then I quickly kill that thought with "yeah but it sucks to be them because they came Friday and went back to work on Monday!". It helps to keep me from denigrating myself with "why didn't I do better!". And I guess that's the point of why I'm typing. We're all of different cloth. We have different levels of satisfaction. We have different levels of income. What do we have in common?? All of us WILL at some point need or want to retire.

So what do you want that to look like? You plan to sell "the big house" and move somewhere more affordable? Sounds good... usually doesn't happen. Too many "anchors" - kids - grandkids - friends... Do you see yourself just loading up the motorhome and "heading out" somewhere - only to come back when you're good and ready? I have friends doing that now... So far they've covered most of the western U.S. They have a nice new diesel truck and an Airstream... and they spend a week or so "camping" here and there in "parks" in the cities they want to see. They figure they have to live somewhere - so food is food etc - and the only extra cost are the nightly parking fees. Still - those fees add up! They're $40 or so a night - X's 7 days a week - that's $1100 a month in "extra" expenses!

The trailer friends? They have a SEVEN FIGURE nest egg... and yet they aren't living anywhere near what I'd think someone with that kind of dough would live like! Why? Because ONE MILLION DOLLARS will GROSS them 50 grand a year - which at 20% tax rate will NET them 40 grand a year. Sounds like a lot.... but it's $3,333 per month. With Social Security benefits they're probably NET NET $5,000 a month. House and cars all paid for, no debt. HEALTH INSURANCE is a huge monthly burden! Oh - and then property taxes... and heat and water and groceries... So you can see how that lousy $1100 "extra" for camping fees is starting to take a bite.

So what's my point? My point is, you better figure out what you want those "golden years" to look like... and start doing something about it. It's never too late -- and it's never "enough". But I'll tell ya right now that if you think it's tough to make it every month NOW... Think about what that's going to look like when you're retirement is $60 grand a year and you "only" have a million dollars invested to live on. Pretty daunting - but doable!