Jen's Retirement Journey: Rising From the Ashes
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We all screw up along the way to retirement. We blow all our earnings. We accumulate a pile of debt. We dig a hole so deep, we wonder if we can every get out and prosper financially.
\\nIn my 20\'s I bought a nice BMW and my wife and I built a fancy custom home. Both of us were earning good money and our prospects for future increases were great. \\xa0I thought this adult career thing was easy. Projecting "normal" wage increases on our income, meant that we would be on easy street. I mean my income could never go\\xa0down\\xa0could it?
\\nLets just say I spent my 30\'s learning hard lessons and cleaning up the mess I made in our 20\'s.
\\nJen\'s Journey to Retirement
\\nIn this week\'s journey to retirement story, we here from a smart lady that screwed up with debt, dug herself out of her hole and is now prospering.
\\nIf you\'re feeling like you\'re in a financial hole, listen to her story. She dug out and so can you.
\\nAbout Jen
\\n- \\n
- Native Californian \\n
- Divorced \\n
- Mid-40\\u2019s (aka 29) \\n
- No children \\n
- Works in middle management \\n
What Does Retirement Mean to You?
\\n\\u201cI do believe that as we\\u2019re exposed to new ideas\\u2026our values shift\\u201d
\\n\\u201cI didn\\u2019t realize how much debt could be shackles to your future\\u201d
\\n\\u201cRetirement is freedom for me. Freedom in terms of my determining where I want to spend my time\\u201d
\\n\\u201cMaybe for me it\\u2019s not really retirement, it\\u2019s financial freedom and independence\\u201d
\\nWhat Are You Most Excited About Retirement?
\\n\\u201cThat ability to make spur of the moment decisions\\u201d
\\nHow Would You Have Changed Your 20\\u2019s?
\\n\\u201cI would not have lived what I thought a typical american lifestyle was. I would not have lived beyond my means.\\u201d
\\nWhat Are You Most Worried About Retirement?
\\n\\u201cThat I\\u2019m not going to make it and if I do my health won\\u2019t be there.\\u201d
\\n\\u201cWhat am I missing now since I\\u2019m deferring so much for this date in the future.\\u201d
\\n\\u201cThe fact that maybe it\\u2019s too late. That I won\\u2019t be able to make that catch up date.\\u201d
\\n\\u201cRetirement is the language I grew up hearing. We all work until we\\u2019re 65 and then we collect Social Security\\u201d.
\\n\\u201cI don\\u2019t want to be that person that I have to augment my retirement.\\u201d
\\n\\u201cYou can\\u2019t bank on the fact that you have good health in retirement and that you\\u2019ll be able to work\\u201d
\\nHow Do You Think You\\u2019re Doing?
\\n\\u201cI would love it if someone could look into their crystal ball and say I\\u2019m okay.\\u201d
\\nDo You Use a Financial Planner?
\\n\\u201cI\\u2019m afraid I\\u2019m going to choose someone that is inexperienced or has dealt with a situation similar to mine\\u201d
\\nWhat is the Worst Financial Decision You\\u2019ve Ever Made?
\\n\\u201cOh there are SO many\\u201d
\\nThe decision to be a self employed individual and I was ill prepared with what that meant\\u201d.
\\n\\u201cI got into something like $40,000 of credit card debt\\u201d.
\\n"\\u201cI understand depression. When you wake up and there\\u2019s nothing and there is nothing I can do to get out of this mess.\\u201d
\\nWhat Has been the Hardest Thing to Deal With Personally in Managing Your Finances?
\\n\\u201cThere\\u2019s a fear that any moment now my good fortune could disappear.\\u201d
\\nWhat Resources Have Had the Most Impact on Your Life?
\\n- \\n
- The Little Engine That Could \\n
- Young, Fabulous and Broke, by Suzi Orman \\n
- Why you need FU money,\\xa0Jlcollinsnh.com \\n
- Mr. Money Mustache \\n
How Do You Want to Be Remembered?
\\n\\u201cI\\u2019m hoping who ever I meet\\u2026that I impact them positively.\\u201d
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