At our house discussions about how to manage early retirement for Attila are ongoing. Of course, money is the main issue. Retirement will not be a cake walk for us, neither of us have a pension beyond what we will receive from the government after a lifetime of paying into their plan, it has been mandatory. The pension from the government is not truly adequate anymore, as costs for housing and food and other items are going through the roof.
What a time to be considering early retirement!
But we are determined to find a way to make this work, considering our “evolving medical issue” situation.
Today I accomplished a first step toward our goal.
I paid off all credit card debt, all of it, every last penny.
It is a start.
I had to borrow from Peter to pay Paul. Peter can wait for reimbursement by instalment, but Paul needs immediate cash. Paul waits for no one, and nothing. Our goal is to slowly curb Paul’s appetite.
So this morning I spent three hours moving money around, making sure Paul was satisfied, promising Peter we would get back to him later.
I feel euphoric! This surprises me, as I did not realize how heavily these payments had weighed on me. It isn’t that the payments have been on my mind, they are just a fact of life and I don’t think about them much, but knowing they were there was the elephant in the room.
Now we can determine and more clearly focus on our next step toward Attila’s retirement.
How wonderful that Winter Solstice coincides with this milestone.
Brighter days ahead!
Worldly
Weather
Updated on Thu, Dec 21 at 11:17 AM
-7 °C
FEELS LIKE -13
Clear
Wind 17 NE km/h
Humidity 64 %
Visibility 23 km
Sunrise 7:40 AM
Wind gust 26 km/h
Pressure 103.6 kPa
Ceiling 9100 m
Sunset 4:31 PM
Quote
“One can pay back the loan of gold, but one dies forever in debt to those who are kind.”
Malayan Proverb
Solstice blessings you to you, Attila and Ginger as you navigate the next part of the journey that is this life.
Thank you Wendy, such kind words! I am both excited and apprehensive about our goal, the unknown. As you point out, that is this life.
Praying that you and Attila will be able to achieve your goal. Meanwhile, Happy Holidays to you and Attila and Ginger!
Thank you Eileen!
Wishing you the best of the holiday season!
That’s wonderful, Maggie! That’s exactly what DH and I did when he was ready to retire (a year early). He asked me if we could handle it. I looked at the bills and found we would just squeak by on our government pensions for that one year and then things would get easier as OAS kicked in at age 65.
We sold our city house at just the top of the housing cycle, paid off all our bills with that money, and downsized out in a semi-rural area. There’s no doubt we were lucky in our timing at every turn, so we’re doing okay living on our government pensions.
I hope Attila will be able to join you in retirement very, very soon!
Thanks Teri!
Your retirement strategies and good fortune in timing are admirable! I am so very glad that things worked out the way they did for you and DH.
It will be a while before Attila sees OAS, so we are working with a very restricted budget for a few years while we wait. We are optimistic that although retirement will be very tight, we will be able to navigate the next few years retaining shelter, food, and a decent level of comfort.
I’m just now seeing this. I sure hope Attila can retire, it is wonderful to have the days to one’s self and one’s projects.