Mary Ann
When I was a young woman, I was a single mother living on a teacher’s salary and supplementing it with tutoring and summer work. There wasn’t much left over to save for retirement. I was just trying to get by. What little saving I did have was precious. At the time a friend of mine suggested I move the money to a fund that was getting around 8% which was much better than the return I was currently getting so I moved the money. As the months passed, the fund kept losing money, and I kept calling the firm asking why this was occurring. No one could tell me why, and after losing half my money, I returned to the original company. With a little research, I found the fund was junk bonds and the bottom was falling out of them.
I was so mad at myself that I said never again would I be “fooled.” I had my Scarlett O’Hara moment yelling in my head I will never be hungry again or rather I will learn about money, investments, and retirement. I spent the next 40 years doing just that reading about investments, talking to advisers, starting investment clubs, and being awake. I did not have much money to invest in the early years, but I would always match what the schools were offering in their retirement programs. After my children were on their own, I began to max out my annual contributions, and then you turn 50 and you get to make up for lost time with even bigger contributions. I did just that. Then there is the magic of compound interest which is the gift that keeps on giving.
As I was moving with career advancement, I would move my money from the 403bs (the non-profit retirement programs) to IRAs with Vanguard. It was there that my investments really grew. I also decided to work until I was 70 to max out my Social Security. The extra years allowed me to grow my retirement savings as well and have more Social Security quarters at a higher rate thus giving me a higher Social Security payment. I had put my learning to use setting me up for a comfortable retirement.
Now, that I am retired those early decisions have given me financial security. I developed a plan, stuck to it, and have reaped the benefits from it all. When you work in the Independent School world, you must create your own pension from your savings. There is no state pension.
I feel confident about all my decisions until I start reading the articles online about finance and retirement then I panic. Inflation, taxes, life expectancy, medical expenses, and low investment growth dominate the headlines. Will you outlive your money? What! I thought I had that all taken care of. These articles are mind-blowing causing sheer terror and constant anxiety. If I did everything right, why am I going to be a Bag Lady in a few years. I read somewhere that women all think that they are going to be Bag Ladies. It makes sense, doesn’t it?
I have recently decided that I need to just enjoy the day. None of us know how long we have. It is time to stop reading the articles. I am going to be Scarlett O’Hara and think about all this tomorrow. To worry now, doesn’t solve anything. You need to enjoy life and not fret all the time. You still must be wise about money and watch your investments, but there is more to life than constant worry. If you remember, Scarlett O’Hara was a bag lady in her lovely green velvet curtains and had lost most of her family fortune. She would just say fiddle-dee-dee and go about living!
Silver Sage Sisters 