OH went back to work for the first time this morning, well I had to take him as he can’t drive with his moonboots. Needless to say he was not looking forward to it at all but he might have to re-assess his feelings about work and retirement plans for November this year.
On Friday afternoon we had a lengthy meeting with our Financial Advisor and it was a sobering and somewhat depressing affair. In spite of a lifetime of hard work and saving as much as we could while still trying to enjoy life while alive it appears that we have not made sufficient provision to live comfortably in retirement unless it were possible to know with some certainty that our expiry dates will be sooner rather than later.
Whilst I am committed to working for at least another five years OH was rather looking forward to retirement. Now it seems that he will have to find some sort of income generating occupation, even if only part-time so that our capital, such as it is, can be preserved for as long as possible.
Whilst I accept the reality of the situation I am not prepared to give up on my dreams of more travel in the future so I will have to do some creative “out-of-the-box” thinking to try and find a way to fund my dreams (and of course ensure that we play the lottery every week)!
I will have to up my savings dramatically over the next five years to boost my retirement capital which means less disposable income for those little pleasures that make life worth living. Not a very happy outlook right now, but maybe when our FP presents the final plan with some further suggestions things might look a little brighter.
So whinge over, now it is time to count my blessings and remember that millions of people don’t have any retirement savings or even a proper roof over their heads and food in their bellies.
walkingoneggshellsdotcom 
These financial reviews are depressing. Save, save, save and save some more. Pay commission, take a gamble on the stock market. It’s very worrying. Glad to hear that you and your OH are well tho’ – and the dogs are gorgeous (saw a pic in a previous post) x.
Always such a difficult thing, to balance present happiness against future security. My late father-in-law went overboard about planning for the future and having rather a miserable life in so doing. Then he keeled over just before retirement. He should have spent a bit more time having fun.
If only we came with “best by” and “expiry” dates it would make retirement planning so much simpler.
If only, indeed. As it is (and as with most things) it is a question of the happy medium.
it seems no one has saved enough
I wish we were still in the good old days of bartering.
The new crowd I work with look down on me because I don’t have all the trendy stuff. What they don’t realise is you have to plan for the long run and you cannot rely on others to help you.
I wouldn`t worry about retirement, we always make a plan. The problem after 10 years you get more scared of living than dieing. :-))
This iis such a sobering eye opener I know. WE had thought in 1995 that just 5 yrs more and we’d be able to retire early as we’d been working towards this goal. In 2000 our retirement took an awful nose dive due to severe losss of earnings through our investmenst just like everyone else at the time. Another 5 yrs had to be tacked on.
Thankfully our pension is also buffed by a navy pension too. And it’s still not enough.
I admire your optie, wanting to travel and getting creative and thinking outside the box is the right attittude ]]
I think you’re handling it far better than I did.
Take my friend~ BB
I know all about retirement and not enough funds. I’ts a downright bummer.
I hope OH comes home tonight feeling positive.
You can always join the Happy Campers 🙂
Can’t say I’d mind at all, although I would prefer a narrowboat 😉
Hope OH’s first day back went smoothly. I’m sure your FP will come up with some good suggestions for you.
I hope so AD, Poor OH was really depressed on the weekend (:
I can imagine, and with all that he’s been through, and you too. Hugs