Just Give Up

My wife is coming home tomorrow from the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago. Unfortunately, while slightly more bearable, she is still suffering from daily migraines. They tried a dozen intravenous medications with limited success. We have an appointment with Mayo Clinic in Minnesota in a few weeks.

With her gone all week, I have a much greater appreciation for how much work she does. I've found the most overwhelming part of taking care of the house to be laundry. How do you keep up with it? There are four males in our house. Three of us are the same size. Everything looks the same! Please help me! Also, we have eaten a lot of hot dogs.

Senay graduated last Saturday without a hitch. She didn't trip on stage, and they pronounced her name correctly. I remember feeling a little sad when I graduated because I knew I would never hang out with some of those people again.

While we all miss Dalanee terribly, the pets suffer just as much. They lay on her bed all day, looking sad

Please read through the following statements and check the ones that apply to you or that you’ve found yourself thinking. Then, add them up at the end to see your results.

Hint: The fewer checked boxes, the better.

--- I look at my phone daily to see what the stock market is doing.

--- Whenever I hear someone prognosticating on TV, I tell myself I had better listen carefully. They are wearing a suit and have a nice haircut.

---I am afraid that the stock market will crash and my account will go to zero.

---I believe that this time is different. The world economy is more uncertain than at any other time in history.

---I don’t know how much we spend each month.

---Social Security is going insolvent. I cannot rely on it to be there throughout my retirement.

---I’m afraid to discuss my finances with my spouse.

---I know that my family will get along merrily when they receive any sort of inheritance.

---I will only spend money from my retirement savings once I retire unless I absolutely have to.

---I am too old to invest. I need to stick with CDs and savings accounts.

---I believe I need to move money from my investments to a checking account while this “blows over.”

---Buying physical gold off of a TV commercial is a foolproof idea.

---I think I need to pay attention to every market movement to protect my investments.

---Buying a rental property is the best way to make retirement income in my old age.

---I believe that the older I get, the more money I should expect to spend.

--- I should attend as many “steak seminars” as possible.

---I’m afraid of being generous with my money because I might run out.

--- I don’t have a will, power of attorney, and healthcare proxy.

---I need a million dollars even to consider retiring.

---I’m afraid that taxes will eat me alive in retirement.

---I always trust anything I see on the internet.

Score Yourself:

0-3 Great work! You understand retirement planning well and don't worry about inaccurate information.

3-10 Uh oh. You have some misconceptions that need to be addressed.

10-20 Danger! Danger! You may be living scared for no reason. You must do some homework (and read some past articles) to avoid significant mistakes. The number one regret I hear from my older clients? “Why did I worry about <blank> so much?”

20-21 I’m afraid there’s no hope for you. Just give up.

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