Dale Says

About me

Some of you have asked for a little background about me, so you know where I’m coming from.

I’m in my mid-60’s, and I’ve been semi-retired for 10 years. I worked in financial services (desk jobs) my whole career. Most of my working life was spent doing project jobs and managing small groups of people. It was stressful, but usually rewarding work. I commuted an hour each way, travelled a fair amount, and went through my share of organizational changes, down-sizing, and layoffs. I was caught in a layoff in my mid-50’s and given a severance package on my way out. Since leaving the corporate world, I have worked part-time, doing consulting, contract work, and done writing and editing. None of that work fully-supported me, but it all slowed the outflow of funds and helped stretch my savings.

I was fortunate to work for an organization that had a generous retirement package, which included a matching 401-k program and a defined pension program. They also had annual bonuses, which were performance-based. I participated in the 401-k program and saved half of my bonuses. When I left the company, I took my 401-k funds and my pension and rolled them into a 401-k of my own. When the severance program was gone, I started dipping into my 401-k, and I now take funds from it twice a year, to pay bills and supplement my part-time income.

Will I have enough money to live comfortably the rest of my life? Probably. Each year, I total all of my assets and compare it with the total from the previous year. So far, it’s grown each year. That tells me I’m not over-spending, and assures me I will probably have enough put aside. Let’s hope so.