Retirement on a Shoestring

Author: / 8 Aug 2017 / Personal Finance

Retirement? No. Work till your dead? Yes.

My father is older than my mother, although he is very much like the glamorous southern bell that admits his age to NO ONE. He had the tiniest pension in the world from his jet-setting career that may or may not have been used to purchase a house, and so, retirement is Social Security.

My traditional family halted dramatically when he chose to chase dreams rather than a paycheck. I mean, not that dad isn’t a show-stopping artist, because he is. And in his hay day, he was making some pretty large bills on paintings, because people used to have money to blow on art. Do you remember those days? You know, before the downfall of our economy, when we all had tons of (pretend) money?

Here’s a timeline of events:

  • Dad quits the job, becomes an artist, we move to Maui because Oregon’s economy went through a major bottoming out.
  • We live in a house the size of a shoebox (700 sq. ft.) and there are amazing amounts of tourist dollars from all over the world flowing through the island. Unrealistic sums of money. The kind you wipe your tears of joy with – if any of it was yours…
  • Hawaiian market bottoms out, my mother would like to be closer to her aging parents and sisters, and we move back to the family farm, which, if you are a Harry Potter fan, looks like the Weasley House.
  • Dad retires with a savings account in the teens (as in five-figures) and takes Social Security, which is well below the national average check of around $1,200 – in fact, it’s less than half of that.
  • Mom gets a job that she still works at today, and has a 401(k) plan through her work.
  • Health premiums are through the roof! Dad gets on Medicare, mom stops paying over $1,000 per month for his insurance.
  • Even with Medicare, dad and mom pay more in healthcare premiums than all other bills combined.

Okay, that brings us to a pretty current status. Mom works like a mad woman and supports my dad. She cooks, cleans, sews… all the stuff that moms used to do traditionally. She also has a firm grip on what it’s going to take to retire – for both of them.

Her 401(k) is the ONLY thing that ensures they have a future at all. Despite the fact that the market tanked and she lost over half of her savings – she spoke with her Advisor, and he said the following:

“Stay the course.”

Good advice. She did, and now her 401(k) has bounced back to where it was and on her current trajectory, she’ll be able to retire at around 66 (though she is going to try to wait to 70). Her house is paid off, but unfortunately, it is in the middle of nowhere, about 30 miles away from the nearest hospital, riddled with scary stairs, and lots of farm work…

I’ll tell you what’s going to happen. Our family is going to combine. Aunts, uncles, sisters, cousins, friends, whomever – we’ll live under one gigantic roof and combine resources. We’ll create the family compound and take care of one another. And it won’t be taboo anymore. Kids moving back home or parents moving in with kids will be the new show of success. If other countries can make it a successful go, so can we.

Take the next step – Let me help you.

Contact Jay Jacob, Sr. Retirement Plan Consultant

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Visit our Help Center
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© 2024 Ubiquity Retirement + Savings
44 Montgomery Street, Suite 300
San Francisco, CA 94104