Stress upon stress upon stress. First of all, I am at the end of my semester: expected stress. Second, we decided to go ahead with the house for Frugal Son, commencing a grand experiment in uncharted waters. Third, UGH, we had our SIXTH yearly scare about the budget. Actually, the scare is on-going even now.
I think things are going to be OK (let us hope--some of my colleagues are pretty hopeful), but I live in a state where the only unprotected areas in the budget are healthcare and higher ed. So for 6 years, we have endured major mid-year cuts, the most drastic of which led to the zapping of the French major. But, hey, when we committed to this house for Frugal Son, I figured the budget crises were past. Many states have surpluses this year.
When we heard the scary news, I had a sense of deja vu: I first started reading Funny About Money a few years ago. She helped HER son buy a house at what they thought was the bottom of the market. The housing market promptly tanked further and Funny--with a teeny bit of warning--had her position eliminated at her university.
So what can a worry wart do? First, I ran my numbers through my new BFF firecalc. I discovered that Mr FS and I are on track for a humble retirement. Then I read around the site. One of the things these early-retirement wannabes warn against in OMY. That means ONE MORE YEAR. People fear early retirement and so keep adding OMY to their plans.
I'm using OMY differently. When I think of a splurgy or uncharacteristic purchase, I now think: would I buy this if I only had OMY? Yes: to storage containers. Yes: to travel. No: to Hermes scarf. No: to fancy handbag. Of course, that's just me. You get to make your own choices.
I feel a lot better. Wish the legislature good luck with their deliberations. Wish me and Mr FS as many OMYs as we desire...
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Hi FS,
Does OMY refer to another year of work or another year of living?
@Liams...-in the case fo the firecalc folks, it means one more year of WORKING. This is a pro-early retirement group. I'm using it in the same sense (though I like my job)--if I only get one more year of work, what would I spend on? Thinking about one more year of LIFE would be extremely stressful.
I'm glad you're feeling better. How close are you to normal age retirement?
I agree that a humble retirement requires conscious choices about priorities. Then again, that's what I've always understood frugality to be about. Bill and I have been reasonably content on a fraction of our working life incomes. Having my time and energy for my own use is a real blessing and I was amazed at how much it cost me to go out to work. I can't think of any time I would less like to sign up for a mortgage than one year before retiring, but I'm assuming you've used your numeracy skills and know what you are doing.
You are ahead of the game as usual FS:
http://www.fool.com/retirement/general/2013/05/18/1-simple-step-to-dramatically-improve-your-retirem.aspx
This article says the best thing you can do for retirement is use a retirement calculator and make good decisions based on the info.
@Duchesse--Not sure what normal is in my situation. Would love to teach for quite a few more years.
@Shelley--The financials are complicated in this instance and may post about them more later.
@MBH--Thanks for the link. I feel better having done the calculations.
frugal: Universities used to have mandatory retirement for professors at 70, that was but was banned (in '94) so, if you would "love to teach for quite a few more years" you have that opportunity.
@Duchesse--I'm 59--I would love to go to 70. Don't know if I can make it that long!
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