It is her choice to have so many material things. She could easily be on easy street if she downsized. Simplify and be happy!

One of the 4%
 

Thank God I'm one of the 4%.

that’s tough , your health is everything , but many others with same issues push through and make the best of it . I’m thankful that I’m still living the dream , I’m 85 ,retired 25 years,,I still travel outside country alone ,workout at planet fitness in Leesburg 5 days a week and ride my bike , walk or run everyday and still shopping for clothes at the Mall of Millenia lol ,Yes I’m Still Living The Dream and Thankful Every Day

$130x24x365= $1,138,800 per year. Not bad! Congratulations!

So true. My "Dream" is youth, health for my wife and myself, and wealth enough to enjoy it. That ain't gonna happen. Still, we are comfortable and content, for now.

The dream life of a guy I served with in the Army was a pickup truck with a camper and 8 coon dogs.

Don't forget to find time to enjoy your savings.
Some on TOTV seem to want to be the richest person in the cemetary.

My mother, born and raised in Italy, came to the US immediately after WWII. One of many women abroad who married US servicemen, they were called "War Brides".
She had a clever little saying, which in Italian rhymed, making it more clever than the English translation, but it translated into,
"He lives on dreams, dies in sh!t"...
I think that was her way of telling me that dreams don't come true unless you buckle down and do the work.
Mom's are smart.

I've always questioned the rationale of sacrificing throughout your life with the anticipation of a 'golden' retirement. Working hard, saving and investing during your 'good' years to live well in retirement when health and longevity are questionable does not always seem like such a good plan. Some make that sacrifice for so many years only to die before being able to retire or after only a few short years of retirement. Many are in their retirement years with health issues that detract from their ability to enjoy life and also depletes the funds they have to weather retirement. We just don't know what will transpire in our lives.

Its difficult to plan for an unknown future. Many of us are here trying to make the most out of whatever we have left and finding that there's a lot more to deal with in retirement beyond the financial picture. I'm fortunate to be living beyond my expectations and still finding enjoyment in life. I don't know how much money I make in retirement nor do I care. I place more concern on staying active and healthy both in body and mind.

Longevity is a crapshoot. I have family members who lived decades longer than their parents, and family members who passed away while their parents were still living. It's not necessarily easy to find the balance between spending resources while young, and saving them for a lengthy retirement.

One thing is for certain. In the long run we all wind up in the same place.

Yeah we had done that. We were going to retire the following year. And then the department was eliminated and the job ceased to exist. Had already maxed out pay, were living within our means, and no one would hire a 55-year-old to become a brand new employee at a maxed-out pay. Getting a job at "entry level" pay would've meant getting paid less than Unemployment benefits paid. We couldn't pay the mortgage on that. So we sunk our savings into survival while spending 9 months trying to sell our house and move to a house we could afford to live in. Our dream for retirement was cut short ONE YEAR before we could grab it.

Living the retiree dream depends on the dream, and depends on circumstances.

The best layed schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft agley.

During my grade school years my father worked as a sales clerk at a Montgomery Ward store. He noticed that as long time salesclerks were nearing their magic retirement date, when their defined benefit plan would become effective, the company fired them. These were hard working people with years at the company. He saw the writing on the wall and found work elsewhere. This was during the late 1940s and early 1950s.

It's good that he had that opportunity. We didn't. No one got fired, in our case. The department was eliminated. It ceased to exist.

Sometimes dream turns into nightmare?:ho: