Avoiding desperation in retirement

And no, this isn't how to avoid the need for special underwear. I hope to never be in the position of being able to offer advice on that topic.

Step one: Have enough money.
Step two: Be sensible about your wants.
Step three: Don't get trapped by the excitable media via internet on your phone.
Step four: Every day, do something you enjoy. Naps with cats are good. Go to bed when tired, wake up when you're not tired. Get the right amount and kinds of exercise.
Step five: At least some of the time hang around people that are younger than you, preferably a lot younger, and at least some of the time they aren't your family.

There. Simple, yes? Ummm, no? You need more details? Really? Oh, all right.

The money thing. I've talked about this before. Throughout your working life spend much less than you earn. Invest what's left over, and it will gradually start making more money for you. This might mean spending less on frivolous items like Starbucks. Lets keep the math easy. Say you spend $5 a day, that's $1825 a year. Now imagine that instead of swilling down that faux coffee drink, you put that money to work for you. Do that for your entire career, and you will have almost $400,000, of which 4/5 is from your money working for you, rather than against you.

A car costs between $8 and $10 THOUSAND a year. Now do the same calculation and find out how much you end up with, even giving yourself a generous allowance for public transit, taxi's, and the occasional rental for that big shopping trip. It's worth it to figure out how to 'get by' with just one car. Or none if you live close to downtown.

I'm not saying to never have coffee with your friends, or don't own a car. For much of Canada, having regular access to at least one car is a sensible solution to the transportation issue. It's easy to go wrong, though. Carefully (really really carefully!) investigate the lease vs own thing. My experience with leasing was bad, but YMMV. Don't buy more car than you need for day to day. You might think you need that big-ass pickup for the occasional take home adventure, but delivery services are cheap and you only pay for them when you need them. You're trying to put that truck in a parking spot every day, much to the annoyance of the other drivers.

Many people have wants installed by stupid television programs and movies. Don't be one of them. You are not rich (yet) and certainly not famous. Wanting to be famous is a poor want. How may happy celebrities do you read about? How would you like being stalked as you shamble out in your grubbies to get much needed groceries? Wanting to be rich is a sensible goal, provided you define 'rich' with maturity and don't miss out on life. Richest guy in the graveyard and all. Being happy is is a great want. Maybe the best one, unless what makes you happy makes other people unhappy.

The advertisers on network or cable television are in cahoots with the banks and credit card companies to keep you in debt because you buy toys. Toys like a car you don't need. A bigger house than you need. Gear for hobbies you might do again. Seasons tickets to pro level "sporting" events. It's a vicious circle.

The more you ignore them, the more you can get in touch with the things that really make you happy. Those things might or might not be expensive, but they are certainly worth it for your peace of mind and happiness. Once you can pay cash after paying all your current bills, spend on happiness for you and your family. Many people find these things don't actually cost much money.

Related to the advertising on network televesion is social media. There are people who do nothing but find ways to push your buttons. People that can get riled up about something aren't going to be thinking clearly about other things. The Alberta Carbon Tax is a good example. Yes, it's an additional tax on fuel, and lots of people are worked up about it, but they aren't worked up about the OTHER taxes.

But if you buy the poor logic there, it becomes easier to sell you the next bit of poor logic. Maybe it's the mythical ignorant drug smuggling terrorist refugee that's here to take your job, except they get more money than pensioners and that's terrible, except for those gold-plated DB pensions, those should be stripped from those slack-ass government workers who never do anything and could be replaced by someone at minimum wage, which should be reduced so businesses can provide more jobs. And so it goes.

Most people are so indoctrinated about going to work, and barely have the time to do other things related to that, like keeping self and clothes clean, or dealing with kids, that they barely have any time to think about what they'd like to do, let alone actually do it. I've seen figures that suggest half the work force is sleep deprived. Not just tired, but actual long term short on sleep.

Just so you know, that's the way employers like it. They want you in the place where you are just awake enough to do your job without injuring yourself or anyone around you, or only a little bit, but too tired to actually plan and work yourself out of the trap you're in. They work on the theory that they can keep cutting jobs and increasing the workload because computerization (or some corporate buzzword of the day taught to them by consultants), and if something breaks they'll (reluctantly) hire more staff or fix the equipment. More likely they'll lawyer up and deny everything.

The more you buy into all those traps, the longer it will be till you can retire and escape the rat race. Some people escape only technically, usually on a medical foul, and there they are, needing money and unable to work anymore. What an unfortunate situation! These people are certainly desperate.

But there's lots more that are retired, even though they can't afford it. That might have happened when one of the many euphemisms for "spitting your ass out to the street like used chewing gum" gets forcibly applied to them. You might think now that having to forego your Starbucks fix is a brutality that ought not to be inflicted on civilized people, but kiddo, you don't know the half of it.

Why young people? Because they help keep you young. You get new ideas, new ways of thinking, new friends who might help you with 'the Google', new ways of living vicariously, and a cynical possibility here, learning to feed off their energy to help keep you going. I think it's sad that some people lock themselves in a gated community away from life. Locking yourself into such a community is the first step to locking yourself into a coffin.

Find something active you like doing, and do it, regardless of what it is. There's advice in the workout community that goes "Consistency is really important, so stop before you have to stop." I think that's good advice for working life as well. Come to think of it, I do have advice about special underwear after all. Just like diapers and politicians should be changed often, and for the same reason, the same usually applies to jobs.

Curtis has much to say about retirement, especially when it involves me outside and him inside.

You still get a Driftwood of the Day! For wading through such a long post, you get two photos. You may wonder if this is the same rock, and it is. I couldn't decide which image I liked better so you get both. That line of shadow changes everything.