Don't let this happen to you... "How I Lost All My Money"

[robcat2075]

This cautionary tale from a writer, a successful Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, may be of value and interest to working artists (or any working person) whose career circumstances have similar factors.

"How I Lost All My Money" By William McPherson

 

Summary version: middle-class overreach + heart attack = disaster

[Roger]

This is sad, to be sure...but I'm wondering what prompted you to post this?

 

His biggest mistakes seem to be 1.) retiring too soon and 2.) using his retirement money to finance personal adventures.

The poor health is just a bad break.

 

Other than not making risky investments and continuing to work until you are no longer able, forgetting about early retirement or funding any sort of personal dreams or business ventures, how would you suggest avoiding a similar fate?

[robcat2075]

I think not paying attention is the core problem. He touches on that several times.

 

Aside from my own morbid curiosity about other people's disasters this story caught my attention because the general arc is similar to what is happening to people in animation... the money is ending much sooner than they thought it would and they have no exit plan to deal with that.

[Roger]

Well, he definitely engaged in willful ignorance.

 

Funny how past generations could expect more or less stable employment but the rest of us are expected to reskill every 5-10 years. I'm not sure anyone has a plan for how to deal with that.

[robcat2075]

Yeah. We pay for school like it's a lifetime value but it just isn't anymore.

[pixelplucker]

Nothing is certain anymore with the world economy. As long as consumers expectations are lowered and the value of work is dropped we all end up with less and less as the ones in control make more. Ahh the beauty of capitalism and unfair trade agreements!

[fae_alba]

Other side of that coin: My folks worked their tailbones off, never spending much always investing for that day they wouldn't have to work anymore. Planned on buying that great big motorhome and tour the grand ol USA. Classic middle class dream of the '70s. One year before my father retired they bought that motorhome, made one trip to Alaska in it, then he was diagnosed with cancer and passed away 1 year later. Lesson there, which I remind myself of often, but heed only rarely, is that you never know what the future holds, and if you live your life only planning for the future, you really aren't living much of a life.

[Roger]

Other side of that coin: My folks worked their tailbones off, never spending much always investing for that day they wouldn't have to work anymore. Planned on buying that great big motorhome and tour the grand ol USA. Classic middle class dream of the '70s. One year before my father retired they bought that motorhome, made one trip to Alaska in it, then he was diagnosed with cancer and passed away 1 year later. Lesson there, which I remind myself of often, but heed only rarely, is that you never know what the future holds, and if you live your life only planning for the future, you really aren't living much of a life.

 

That's sort of the same thing that happened to my uncle, I gather he and my aunt had several trips they were putting off until he was officially retired and then it was too late. I guess the lesson there is it doesn't hurt to be mindful of the future, but remember that tomorrow isn't promised to us. Sometimes you just have to live in the moment.

[robcat2075]

Yeah, we might look at the guy who wrote the article and note that he at least got to do his traipsing around eastern Europe and living the writer's life which most people will never get to do at any age no matter how sensibly they plan and save.

 

 

My mother died unexpectedly at 71, leaving my father with his soundly planned retirement but nothing much to do with it.

 

It is hard to figure out what to do. If i live to be as old as my mother I've got 16 years left, but my dad is 98 and counting , that's another 34 years to provide for.