Get Ready….Great song….Rare Earth. Remember it?
We are getting ready for the event of our lifetime and our attention is focused on house cleaning. I don’t speak of just cobwebs and dog dander, but cleaning up contact lists, visiting doctors, and updating wills. There are a number of items to attend to: cleaning out computers, desk drawers, closets of old papers etc. I guess this is a good time to get organized and I know of no one better suited to direct this action than my beloved COO/CFO…
We have set the financial side in action with a visit to our advisor and papers are in order to consolidate and diversify savings. Plans for monthly disbursement are set and he went over all the things we need to think about as we sail toward R-Day. He reminded us about the need to focus on spending instead of saving (captured here). We discussed risk plans concerning what happens if … and made sure all our beneficiaries are updated including the use of our family trust. We asked about the need for additional life insurance and he spoke candidly saying that as long as we are comfortable with income levels from savings (meaning budgets) then added insurance shouldn’t matter. We share the income and assets and are not trying to protect an income….a VERY different way to think about the future.
Then we went to our lawyer to update our wills and trust paperwork. This is when the inevitability of the future sets in. Our lawyer is a friend and after 30 minutes of catching up on the families (what did that cost?), she got down to the task of updating the documents. When updating wills, you are forced to think about what ifs. What if I go before my wife? What if she goes before me? What if both of us go together? What if both of us go at the same time and ….geez this gets hard quick. We got off onto the subject of my IRA and taxation during transfer when she reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a table. She asked my how old I am….okay, 61. She said well….looking at the Life Expectancy table, she said that the insurance industry expects me to live for another 17.3 years. But since we have an IRA, that expands to 18.6 years! Weeeee….I am sooo happy I have an IRA then…right? Come On Man… Are you kidding, I thought. I’ve got to show them.
From the Social Security Site….
Okay, I am not 40 anymore…nor 50. And I ache at times and don’t have all the stamina I once had. Those are hard facts to swallow but everyone goes through it….right? But I refuse to governed by laws of averages. So back on my exer-cycle and skipping my afternoon scone. I will show them…..hufff…..hufff….huff.
I now have a new goal, to beat the averages in a BIG way!
Oh…. One more house cleaning task…..
A Voyage To Retirement 