One day during post-COVID, my mother, who lived alone, decided to take a drive south for 150 miles into the beach. She almost drowned in her car but God saved her; a late park visitor saw the tail light of her car and notified the park ranger. She was diagnosed with dementia and now is residing in a memory care. My siblings thought dementia and serious neurological disease only happened to other people. As far as family dynamics is concerned, my mother, before the above incident, had an estranged re/ship with her children, myself included. Now, we, her children, have to provide the care. Sounds unreasonable but that's life.
i just came back from a religious pilgrimage tour with a group of 55+ . Most people found me funny and some commented that "I am young at heart". I do not care for what others perceived me (albeit physical appearance vs age or knowledge vs age). Physically, I feel great and I thank God that gave me the wisdom to make the right decision in regard to physical health.
Watching my mother suffering from Alzheimer/Parkison in a memory care and the burden of my part-time care giving responsibility, your decision (re: "... I don’t want to burden Rachel with the responsibility of taking care of me.") is spotted on. I do not want my wife nor my children to be burdened in providing care-giving tasks such as changing my adult diaper nor wiping my derriere during my no-go stage of retirement. Hence, my retirement money will be put into good use for a decent caregiver at a CCRC.
You and me, some of us remember to roll over the 401k account to an IRA account at our preferred stock broker company. Most people are clueless about 401k rollover when changing job (my unscientific statistic is 2 out 10 persons).
401Ks/403Bs are excellent replacement for pension. The so-called golden handcuff is broken. No one wants to work at a miserable company for the rest of his/her life. Also, the employer has always used the "golden handcuff" to threat/cajol the employees to stay. During time of business contraction (read: recession), employers find ways to reduce/eliminate the vested pension from the laid-off employees. Now, a laid-off employees can roll over their hard-earned 401k/403b account to IRA or to the next employer's 401k plan.
I'm not an art collector but a lover of Impressionist painting. We went to VN and found a painter that reproduced this painting, Woman with a Parasol - Madame Monet and her son. We had it hung in our main living room. Yes, it was a fake but I don't care. Our guests thought it is beautiful duplicate copy My wife, instead of buying a sofa, decided to go lavish by getting a Yamaha Grand piano to go with that painting I mentioned above. I was a bit upset at the time but as I sit in that room, reading my book, and sometime glancing at that fake piece of art, I don't regret the splurge.
While growing up poor, I often went over to the neighbor's house to watch cable TV. The one movie that inspired me into exploring the stock market is Wall Street. Yes, the fictional character, Gordon Gekko, and the infamous Wall Streeter named Ivan Boesky, piqued my interest into the stock market. No, "greed is not good" and emotional temperament are what I learnt while navigating the turbulent dot com era and 2008 recession.
American Dream can still be achieved. Only if the person is willing to sacrifice. Analysis of "Wants vs Needs" on every item that can affect the budget. Instant gratification is not part of the American Dream.
Comments
One day during post-COVID, my mother, who lived alone, decided to take a drive south for 150 miles into the beach. She almost drowned in her car but God saved her; a late park visitor saw the tail light of her car and notified the park ranger. She was diagnosed with dementia and now is residing in a memory care. My siblings thought dementia and serious neurological disease only happened to other people. As far as family dynamics is concerned, my mother, before the above incident, had an estranged re/ship with her children, myself included. Now, we, her children, have to provide the care. Sounds unreasonable but that's life.
Post: Family Dynamics, Part 3: What Do Adult Children Owe Their Aging Parents?
Link to comment from July 30, 2025
i just came back from a religious pilgrimage tour with a group of 55+ . Most people found me funny and some commented that "I am young at heart". I do not care for what others perceived me (albeit physical appearance vs age or knowledge vs age). Physically, I feel great and I thank God that gave me the wisdom to make the right decision in regard to physical health.
Post: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
Link to comment from July 16, 2025
Watching my mother suffering from Alzheimer/Parkison in a memory care and the burden of my part-time care giving responsibility, your decision (re: "... I don’t want to burden Rachel with the responsibility of taking care of me.") is spotted on. I do not want my wife nor my children to be burdened in providing care-giving tasks such as changing my adult diaper nor wiping my derriere during my no-go stage of retirement. Hence, my retirement money will be put into good use for a decent caregiver at a CCRC.
Post: As Evening Approaches
Link to comment from February 17, 2025
You and me, some of us remember to roll over the 401k account to an IRA account at our preferred stock broker company. Most people are clueless about 401k rollover when changing job (my unscientific statistic is 2 out 10 persons).
Post: Love, Hate and My 401(k)
Link to comment from December 6, 2024
401Ks/403Bs are excellent replacement for pension. The so-called golden handcuff is broken. No one wants to work at a miserable company for the rest of his/her life. Also, the employer has always used the "golden handcuff" to threat/cajol the employees to stay. During time of business contraction (read: recession), employers find ways to reduce/eliminate the vested pension from the laid-off employees. Now, a laid-off employees can roll over their hard-earned 401k/403b account to IRA or to the next employer's 401k plan.
Post: Bashing the 401k scam – looking for a better idea. RDQ says it’s misunderstood
Link to comment from December 5, 2024
I'm not an art collector but a lover of Impressionist painting. We went to VN and found a painter that reproduced this painting, Woman with a Parasol - Madame Monet and her son. We had it hung in our main living room. Yes, it was a fake but I don't care. Our guests thought it is beautiful duplicate copy My wife, instead of buying a sofa, decided to go lavish by getting a Yamaha Grand piano to go with that painting I mentioned above. I was a bit upset at the time but as I sit in that room, reading my book, and sometime glancing at that fake piece of art, I don't regret the splurge.
Post: Hardly Missed
Link to comment from November 26, 2024
Telling a dumb joke for 5 minutes while standing in front of strangers will strengthen your real "elevator pitch" later in life.
Post: Taking Stock by Jonathan Clements
Link to comment from November 22, 2024
While growing up poor, I often went over to the neighbor's house to watch cable TV. The one movie that inspired me into exploring the stock market is Wall Street. Yes, the fictional character, Gordon Gekko, and the infamous Wall Streeter named Ivan Boesky, piqued my interest into the stock market. No, "greed is not good" and emotional temperament are what I learnt while navigating the turbulent dot com era and 2008 recession.
Post: Taking Stock by Jonathan Clements
Link to comment from November 22, 2024
American Dream can still be achieved. Only if the person is willing to sacrifice. Analysis of "Wants vs Needs" on every item that can affect the budget. Instant gratification is not part of the American Dream.
Post: Dream Retirement – Is it fading away?
Link to comment from November 5, 2024
Thoughts and prayers for Jonathan. Life in no-go zone is quite a challenge.
Post: Eyeing the End
Link to comment from October 25, 2024