A good friend (and neighbor) and I have been talking about our retirement strategies and plans for years. It usually consists of us standing around in the street in front of our houses comparing approaches and percentages in various accounts. Don has been a great saver for much of his life. Both he and his wife have worked during their marriage and I have found many similarities between his past and my situation. Don is 51 years old so he’s farther along on his investing path and is closer to retirement than I am. He and his wife have three kids with the last one just about out of high school. Don and his wife planned for the college years by investing in three separate college accounts which has helped fund all of their kid’s college. His retirement accounts are in great shape and I’ve often thought about what a nice, comfortable retirement he’s going to have.
Don has also done a good job of enjoying his life every day. He’s been very involved in his kid’s lives, volunteered at their schools and been a great dad to them. Their family has enjoyed taking vacations each year (on a cash basis of course) and they drive relatively new cars (they always buy them a couple years old). They aren’t living above their means, by any stretch but they also aren’t depriving themselves of a comfortable, enjoyable lifestyle.
I’ve often thought about how great their retirement is going to be. Both Don and his wife will get pensions from their employer and both have been investing in retirement accounts through the majority of their careers. Don has mentioned to me that he only wants to work until he’s 55 and expects to be able to replace nearly his entire income from his current job. Bottom line: Don has been doing it right. He saved for the future and also lived in the present. His strategy over the years has been moderation and consistency.
Don is currently in the hospital fighting for his life. He went in for a very standard surgery and something went horribly wrong. He ended up getting an infection and that attacked his organs. We’ve been waiting over two weeks praying that he will get better but the prognosis has not been, and is not, good. It’s very possible that Don isn’t going to make it. To say I’m saddened and shocked is an understatement. I never thought, even for a second, that Don would be in this position. Through all of our conversations I expected he’d live a long life and be able to enjoy the fruits of his labor in to his 80’s and 90’s. If I’ve learned anything from this it’s that you just never know what your future holds. Don did it right. He saved for the future that he hoped for but also lived every day to the fullest just in case he didn’t make it to that ripe old age.
I’m not giving up on Don yet and hope that we’ll get good news any day.
Best wishes to Don. Strong spirits like that are the ones that have the best chances of overcoming things like that, so hopefully he finds a way to pull through.
Good luck to Don! Like you said he did everything so well – we should all learn from him!
Just curious… whatever happened to Don? I hope it turned out okay.
Don is still in the hospital. The latest status is that he still isn’t showing much (any?) sign of brain activity. They are just starting to notice subtle changes in his eye movement but it’s not clear whether they are intentional (which would finally show some activity) or not. It’s likely that if he does finally show signs of being able to communicate, he may be bedridden for the rest of his life. It’s been over 2 months since this started and we watch for status updates daily in hopes that we’ll see some good news.
Stumbled upon your blog today, which I love!!! What happened to Don?
@Jen,
Don passed away after a few month battle. He never regained consciousness after the initial problem. It’s been well over a year now and his family have done their best to move on. It brings me some comfort to know that they were financially secure and had life insurance so that his family can carry on and not worry about their finances. It was a real bummer that he didn’t make it. I think about him quite often and try to model my financial strategy around his. He lived for the day but also planned well for the future.