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Gold for the golden years
Having spent a week with my parents, and now spending a week with Rob's parents, I am reminded of the need for long-range financial planning. My parents don't have a solid plan for retirement; my mom lives in fear. Rob's folks and most of the people they discuss are also elderly. I don't know who "Bill" is, but this week I learned that his assisted living facility costs thousands of dollars a month. "Catherine" is in a nursing home costing even more. Rob's aunt is very fortunate that she sold the family farm and moved in with her daughter a year or so before she had her stroke. Heck, if anything happens to Rob's mom, Rob's dad will need to hire a full-time bodyservant.
All of this sure makes me think twice about this whole veterinarian thing. Not that I had a good path to a secure old age as it was; don't get me wrong. But this is the single most financially devastating thing I've ever done in my life. It surpasses even holding on to BRCM stock during 2001.
People say having children doesn't necessarily guarantee good elder care. They're right, of course. But NOT having children is definitely a LESS reassuring situation. Basically, unless you have a few people who are younger and healthier than you are and who are also massively indebted to you, you'd best have a truckload of money. And I don't.
All of this sure makes me think twice about this whole veterinarian thing. Not that I had a good path to a secure old age as it was; don't get me wrong. But this is the single most financially devastating thing I've ever done in my life. It surpasses even holding on to BRCM stock during 2001.
People say having children doesn't necessarily guarantee good elder care. They're right, of course. But NOT having children is definitely a LESS reassuring situation. Basically, unless you have a few people who are younger and healthier than you are and who are also massively indebted to you, you'd best have a truckload of money. And I don't.
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...er, that is, my brother and his wife, and my sister and her husband. I just realized how that must have sounded!
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Well, you don't necessarily need people younger and healthier. You need friends who are nearby.
My grandmother's neighbor was helped by everyone in the neighborhood to stay home until he died.
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When this is over, you're going to be able to live somewhere that is VASTLY more affordable, you're going to be able to do it for longer, because you're going to own your own business (or you could if you wanted to), and you're probably going to be happy and fullfilled that you followed your dream.
Look at this as an investment that has huge long-term payoffs!
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(Bringing emotional health into it too, well, there are reasons to consider going ahead anyway. But in a ledger book it's a larger negative than any I've ever had.)
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I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how this all works out. Granted, you won't know for decades to come, but I think things will work out better financially, than you seem to think they will.
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Basically, I find that anytime I make decisions that involve improvement to my emotional/spiritual health, everything else just seems to improve as well.
Between 10-15 years ago, I was having this huge breakdown, and my friend got me this book that really helped her (don't ask what it's called, I lent it out and haven't gotten it back yet). Anyway, it had this concept that if you take care of your bio/psycho/social self, then the financial aspect would just follow. People who had money problems, if they just focused on taking care of the money stuff at the detriment of their bio/psycho/social growth and development, never seemed to be able to take care of their money stuff. On the other hand, the people who took care of themselves, money just seemed to fall into their lap.
It sounds really hokey, I know, but life really does seem to work out that way. It's been that way for just about everyone I know...
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I suspect she's anomalous, though, given that she's got three other vets working for her who aren't getting that much out of it. But it seems a possible outcome.
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Somehow my mother lives on less than $10,000 a year as far as I can tell, but her house was paid off when my father died 21 years ago and her expenses are few. Supplemental health insurance costs for medicaid and tri-care seem to be the biggies.
She never gave a thought (that she voiced to us) on how she was going to have enough income to live. I suppose that's part of her depression-era upbringing where they literally had NO money to live on, but they made do with their family of 14. If she was in a care facility, then either Steve or I (probably me) would have to support her. Somehow she's supporting my unemployed youngest brother.
Danny on the other hand seems to obsess about how much he needs to keep going every year after retirement; I can't imagine there's going to be any real threats to his income in the long term.
I'm somewhere in between. I'm aware, I have retirement income that will come in on a couple of fronts and in about a decade I'll be eligible for medicare/medicade if it still exists.
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The financial landscape for the elderly will probably change a bit by the time I reach that age. I can't imagine things improving, though. Social security will be a joke by then, medicare and medicaid will be bankrupt, and our tax base won't necessarily be jumping for joy at the thought of voting in some other form of support for a pile of oldsters. Cliffs. Gotta go scout out some good cliffs.
I'm not helping (nor encouraging this act)
(On a side note, I think this site (http://www.sybalsky.com/) may be a wee out of date.)
1Some online poking about indicates the title of the song is "Scotland the Brave" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland_the_Brave). Thanks to Jen, I always think of it as "The Sheep Song" (http://www.turoks.net/Bordello/INeedASheep.htm). And the Wikipedia entry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemmings_(video_game)#Songs) is wrong, it was used in the Amiga version also, which is why I know it.
Re: I'm not helping (nor encouraging this act)
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However ...
I do admire you for taking that huge risk and going after your dream. I will keep on cheering you on until you reach the goal. I also like how you're very proactive and always looked to the future so you can better prepare yourself.
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on the flip side, if you don't LIVE your life NOW, when will you? you never know what will happen to you. (http://just-cyd.livejournal.com/1048075.html)
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*sigh*
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Of course, I don't really plan for assisted living. Once I can't take care of myself any more, I'm planning on giving way gracefully. Hopefully by then it'll be easier to do it medically.
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Don't know whether we're "here" for a "reason", or if there's an "after", but regardless, spending your time doing something that you enjoy and that causes good for others can't be a bad thing.
I mean, Marley and early-Scrooge were not very happy men, despite being wealthy, right? Fiction, yeah, but I think it translates, at least somewhat.
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Sometimes I wonder whether the writers of fiction like that were merely annoyed at rich people. :-)
same boat
Also on the good side: I hope that our country will start to act a bit more rationally in our self-interest and start to recover a bit and maybe eventually have more resources for all of our old ages.
Not having kids is probably a plus, overall, in terms of money -- but certainly not in terms of (potential) personal care. The other option really is to have many caring friends (which you seem to have, CJ).
Regarding cats: I recently sent for a copy of the PETA guide to planning for companion animals. It's something I know I've seriously neglected. While I won't say the topic is simple or easy, I think their planning guide is very good and makes it all seem at least a BIT more doable. (like, um, instead of totally overwhelming, it has moved to "somewhat overwhelming".) (I'm a member of PETA, but would guess that the guide is likely available free to anyone.)
http://www.peta.org/jnew/planca.asp
Regarding walking off of cliffs: www.compassionandchoices.org "Oldest and largest right-to-die organization in the US..... Formerly the Hemlock Society".
I always find it SO SAD when there are news stories of increasing suicide in places where money is unobtainable.....
Re: same boat
Yes indeed. Money may not buy happiness, but it sure can solve a lot of various unhappinesses. I know I'd be a fool not to at least consider what this is going to do to my future. :-(
I come from long-lived stock, and when I was younger, I naively presumed that I'd always be healthy. I exercised, and to some extent I was willing to eat healthfully, so why shouldn't I be fine? Ha! Now that I know better, I need to think about the time when I'll be unable to take care of myself.
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