[Boomer]

How have we, as retirees, been affected by the mess with the economy?

Both retired in our fifties. Mr. Boomer first. Before I retired, we decided to downsize from a too big house on acreage because we were tired of all the work and also tired of that long driveway, with the hill, in the snow. And the capital gains tax advantage was nice. That was at the top of the market.

Now we are in our "geezer" ranch-style house which we plan to keep. We have looked at buying a second home in TV, but I do not want to turn it into a rental. When we make decisions, we always do "The Ben Franklin" where we weigh the pros and cons. We are returning to rent in TV at some point and we will see where that takes us. I know it's fun there, and oh so sunny. We will be sitting tight for awhile on buying. Buying a second home is a much bigger decision than buying a primary residence -- at least for us it is. And we are not planning to go back to work.

Sometimes, though, I wonder where the pension fund is invested.

And I see the cost of our health care going up, up, up, even though we each have it through our former employers. Our former employers contribute to the cost, but we pay more out of our own pockets each year. And we have a few years to go until Medicare. I had projected numbers for that before we retired, but it is a concern.

So how is the downturn affecting these Boomers. We are being careful and sitting tight. Watching and waiting. I do not think there has ever been anything like this one. And I also believe that to truly be doing well, those around us need to be also. And that is not a political statement in any way, shape, or form. That is simply a practical statement. I have great concern that we may see rampant unemployment. And, gee whiz, I sure wonder where taxes are headed.

So our plan is to sit tight in the "Florida" room in Ohio, looking out at the snow, and planning to rent in TV sometime soon to see what happens next, what happens next with this horrible mess that affects all of us, no matter how well we planned. Very few are isolated from this. No matter how good your plan, things have changed, on some level. It comes at all of us from one direction or another. Maybe in little ways. Maybe in big ways. I wish I knew for how long.

Boomer