Alarming News: I like Morgan Freeberg. A lot.
American Digest: And I like this from "The Blog That Nobody Reads", because it is -- mostly -- about me. What can I say? I'm on an ego trip today. It won't last.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: We were following a trackback and thinking "hmmm... this is a bloody excellent post!", and then we realized that it was just part III of, well, three...Damn. I wish I'd written those.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: ...I just remembered that I found a new blog a short while ago, House of Eratosthenes, that I really like. I like his common sense approach and his curiosity when it comes to why people believe what they believe rather than just what they believe.
Brutally Honest: Morgan Freeberg is brilliant.
Dr. Melissa Clouthier: Morgan Freeberg at House of Eratosthenes (pftthats a mouthful) honors big boned women in skimpy clothing. The picture there is priceless--keep scrolling down.
Exile in Portales: Via Gerard: Morgan Freeberg, a guy with a lot to say. And he speaks The Truth...and it's fascinating stuff. Worth a read, or three. Or six.
Just Muttering: Two nice pieces at House of Eratosthenes, one about a perhaps unintended effect of the Enron mess, and one on the Gore-y environ-movie.
Mein Blogovault: Make "the Blog that No One Reads" one of your daily reads.
The Virginian: I know this post will offend some people, but the author makes some good points.
Poetic Justice: Cletus! Ah gots a laiv one fer yew...
I find this to be a rather eclectic mix of wants and needs, which is somewhat nonsensical because it doesn’t live up to the panic generated by the headline.
Maybe you think you’ll stop eating out so much, and cook at home more, now that you have time. Be warned that if you’re the type who likes to cook, when you have a lot of time on your hands, you’ll probably be most interested in trying new (aka expensive) things that require spices and equipment you don’t have–not in pouring Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom over some defrosted chicken breasts.
Yeah fine. But that’s not a make-or-break between a comfortable retirement and an uncomfortable one. In other words, if that special terror of the prospect of outliving my savings should befall me, fancy spices are probably not going to enter the picture at all.
But it does make some good points. Our tried-and-true rules of thumb about funding retirement, of necessity, must be re-thought.
Your health expenses will go up, and contrary to what you may have been imagining, Medicare does not cover everything–Medigap insurance is costly, and may still leave you with considerable out-of-pocket expenses. There are associated costs, too, with getting older–you frequently have to pay people to do things that you no longer have the energy or physical ability to do yourself. Assisted living isn’t covered by any of the major programs, and it’s quite costly.
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Let’s put it this way. It’s a pretty safe headline, because most people will. And even if you have “enough”, when you get there, you’ll wish you had more. It’s human nature.
- philmon | 03/25/2011 @ 06:48Ah, well. Yet another set of “experts” weigh in. I went early… at age 57… and things have worked out pretty damned well, so far. Things will continue to go well, too, assuming all you working stiffs continue to kick in to my Social Security stipend. You’ve heard of “windows of opportunity?” Well, I’ve caught two of them in my life… the first being the post-pill/pre-AIDS Window o’ Bliss and the second being the “Social Security will be viable until I’m gone” window.
Life is good. 🙂
- bpenni | 03/25/2011 @ 12:36Hate to rain on the parade putting on my engineering hat yet again…but it’s not tested until you’re really gone. I hope it remains unproven for awhile.
And that ridiculous thing about “fancy spices,” I figure in your case it’s covered by the Chimay blue label. You seem to have no plans to abandon this & switch back to the Budweiser, so there goes that. You’re either affording it comfortably, or counting on us working stiffs to afford it for you. 😀
In the end, the formula doesn’t change. You take what you have, use some of it to pay what you have to, the rest of it you prioritize. Optimize (compact) the needs, prioritize the wants if you’re lucky enough to still be able to afford some. Not quite so much drama needed here.
- mkfreeberg | 03/25/2011 @ 12:53Buck, you’ve told us you spent 23 years in the military. Didn’t that qualify you to receive a monthly retirement check from the DoD as well as S.S.?
- cylarz | 03/25/2011 @ 21:25That would be 22 years, but let us not quibble. I draw both Social Security and an Air Force retirement check, Cy. And a civilian pension, as well, which usually covers my bar tab… and also answers your Chimay question, Morgan. I’m pretty comfortable.
- bpenni | 03/26/2011 @ 11:37Yup, but you also shed lots of…uh…let’s call it “mass” to get there. Which most people wouldn’t shed.
That’s my point, really. Priorities.
- mkfreeberg | 03/26/2011 @ 11:45That’s my point, really. Priorities.
“We are seemple peeple, Señor.” I have all I need, most of what I want, and every damned bit of it is paid for. Isn’t that the point?
- bpenni | 03/26/2011 @ 14:34That’s the sweet thing about victory, isn’t it.
Once the whole thing is filed away in the “win” file, all the doubts & false starts that were once connected to it, become moot points. The petty jealousies of others have to fall away too. You can’t argue with something in the “win” file.
- mkfreeberg | 03/26/2011 @ 14:38