I got lucky too. I worked for the state for 25 years, in several different jobs, almost by coincidence. I would get my paycheck stub every month and be annoyed by how much money was taken out for the pension plan. I was such a fool but must have had a financial guardian angel or something.
No place I ever worked looked beyond the next issue, so I made what I thought was a perfect retirement plan: work too hard, play too hard—smoke too much, drink too much, eat anything I liked, sleep too little, stay single—and die young. Fate being what it is, that left me where I am, fully dependent on Social Security and Medicare, collossally grateful for rent control and good health, cheerfully resident in a city where car ownership is a frivolity, an improbable member of the 20 per cent of my generation who are still alive.
Your reflections on retirement are both humorous and comforting. I enjoyed your candid insights into planning (or lack thereof) and the unexpected ways things can turn out well. It's a refreshing reminder that retirement can be a joyful transition, even without meticulous planning. Thanks as ever for sharing.
I got lucky too. I worked for the state for 25 years, in several different jobs, almost by coincidence. I would get my paycheck stub every month and be annoyed by how much money was taken out for the pension plan. I was such a fool but must have had a financial guardian angel or something.
Glad it worked out!
No place I ever worked looked beyond the next issue, so I made what I thought was a perfect retirement plan: work too hard, play too hard—smoke too much, drink too much, eat anything I liked, sleep too little, stay single—and die young. Fate being what it is, that left me where I am, fully dependent on Social Security and Medicare, collossally grateful for rent control and good health, cheerfully resident in a city where car ownership is a frivolity, an improbable member of the 20 per cent of my generation who are still alive.
Staying alive is the first requirement!
Purely accidental in this case—uncooperative genes, maybe.
Your reflections on retirement are both humorous and comforting. I enjoyed your candid insights into planning (or lack thereof) and the unexpected ways things can turn out well. It's a refreshing reminder that retirement can be a joyful transition, even without meticulous planning. Thanks as ever for sharing.