Feeling humble but positive.

 

This is one time where writing this is very humbling, having to admit you took some wrong turns brings out a vulnerability and I feel like what I am going to say should stay hidden behind the walls that I have a tendency to build up. But I hope that writing this may help some else that thought they were going to have a life of rainbows and sunshine and ended up getting some clouds and storms not feel so alone. 

So here goes:

Retirement should be the time of your life where you can finally relax and enjoy life.

Well, I guess if you do it right and plan early enough it can be.  Too bad not everyone does that (us included) and I think that is why so many people don’t ever get the chance to retire.  I can remember thinking when we were young, how far away retirement seemed and how we felt we had all the time in the world and then in a blink of an eye I am 65 and looking at the world with a different perspective.

When we made this move and retired together, we thought we had a plan, but we all know the saying we make plans and God laughs.  Well, he does have a sense of humor. 

When you finally decide to retire, ensure you have a budget that you can live with, but figure into this your new lifestyle not the old one. Because none of us want to put all our hopes and dreams for retirement on hold.

We thought we were ready, but quickly learned that happy hours, eating out, golfing, going on trips and enjoying new experiences cost a little more than expected, not to mention airfare to visit family and friends, and doing this all at a time when everything in the country was on the rise. Add in the cost of moving across country and you can put a real dent into the plan. 

I thank God that we have a house in paradise and great friends, our family and most of all our health, so I am very grateful that a part of our dream came true, but it has come to our attention that we need to increase the Retirement fund again.  As they say it’s time to pay the piper. So, in addition to working my travel business, I have taken a part-time remote position.  I look around and many of my friends are still working so why not get back on the horse for a while.  Bert worked very hard, and many more hours than I for a very long time, so now it's my turn. 

Bert has become a pretty good cook and keeps the house up. It’s funny how the roles have changed. I remember my mom working while my father was retired, so I guess I have come full circle.

Every milestone is our life usually starts with a new beginning, so now we are starting Retirement 1.2.  Making a few new decisions and putting one foot in front of another. It is going to require putting some things on hold for a while but I know that when the time is right God will lead us down the right road and even though the light of the future has become a little dimmer it still is shinning and it is up to us to chip away at the tunnel until the light shines brighter than ever before.

So now we are managing our time, and our money a little differently and put a lot more faith in God.  We understand it’s all in God’s plan and that there is a reason for everything.  We will learn and grow from this. 

 Lesson learned: Don’t let a setback end your dreams, keep trusting in the Lord, work hard, stay positive and know that as long as you have the love of family and friends, health and most importantly faith that you can turn things around. Please remember if you are in this same situation, feelings of depression and feeling defeated are overcome with positivity and prayer.

Follow me, so you can see what happens next.  

Home ownership re-wind, "we have a hole" and re-programming my life long learner brain.

Yes, home ownership is back in our future. Renting and no maintenance has been nice, but with 3 new grandsons, I need to have room for them to come visit Nonnie, and Bert was needing to have home owner after his name and a 2-car garage again. It’s a nice little 3 bedroom, just right for this phase of our life.  It’s a brand-new home, so we won’t be moving until next April but this week they broke ground so now we have a hole, and I will keep you appraised of the progress.

Also, this week I started a new section of my class. Some of you may know that I am working towards becoming a certified luxury travel specialist. It’s been many years since I have had to study, keep notes and do book reports, so it’s been a slow process of retraining myself.  I passed my first course, selling luxury travel, which made me feel good and I had to do my first book report in years. Reading “The Millionaire Next Door” was eye opening and surprising, a good read for anyone interested in understanding the mindset of the wealthy.  As part of this course I must take some specialty destination courses and of course one of the destinations I choose was Italy.  Imagine that.  It’s seven parts and I finished the first part this week. Even though I do sell a lot of Italy trips, I think this is really going to be beneficial. 

I have always said that age is just a number but I never thought that at 57, a grandma of 3 and not to mention a little set in my ways. I would be back taking classes, and picking out colors and designing a new home.  Life little surprises….. More next week.