Sunday Morning Coffee

Our waitress at dinner made a reference to her grandkids. I know some people genuinely enjoy waiting on tables but based on the service I would say she is not one of those folks.

I have nothing against waiting on tables or doing hard work in pursuit of achieving something but a retirement reality that awaits too many people is working very hard at a task not enjoyed.

Obviously no one says "yeah I want to do something I hate for very low pay in my 60s" but due to things like displacement, pockets of structural unemployment, poor savings combined with poor stock market index results will leave a lot of people doing work they hate for very low wages in their 60s.

This blog is not going to solve the world's problems, and this seems like a big one, but this is where people can solve their own problem or more correctly create their own solution. If you read blogs you are probably self-aware enough to understand this, realize some of what your financial limitations might be and begin to plan to mitigate your limitations.

Personally I am not a risk taker. This manifests itself by having a low weight in equities. This is mitigated by a high savings rate and living below our means. Additionally I hope to make a living managing money and writing forever although they may not be lining up to hire me to manage money when I'm 90.

A common limitation is one of spending way too much money. Figuring out how to solve this dilemma is easy; simply spend less. The difficulty is recognizing that too much is being spent--this is usually about not being honest with oneself. Someone with this issue who can admit this shortcoming at age 50 will be much better off than the person who doesn't realize it until they are in their 70s and down to $150,000 left in the bank.

I become more pessimistic about Social Security as time goes on and believe this will not be part of the solution the way many people need it to be. This calls for not planning on it and being ready to proceed financially without it.

Some folks hate when I talk about pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps, not relying on anyone but yourself and tailoring your own solution. I can't figure it any other way and while I did not think in the same terms in my 20s the idea of having no debt and socking away some money in case there is ever a real problem just seemed obvious. The stress of enduring some scenario of waiting on someone else to decide my financial fate (qualifying for some sort of program maybe) is a position I never want to be in and do my best to avoid this ever being an issue.

Not having to worry is not the same as being rich. If your expenses are low then your money can go a long way. How much do you have put away? How long can it last under moderately adverse conditions? How long would it last if you cut your expenses by one third?

The picture is from the Kalaulau Lookout down to the Na Pali Coast. We hiked up from the ocean you see in that gorge to the Hanakapiai Waterfall where yesterday's video was shot.