Time To Make A Decision
SOMETIMES YOU HAVE NO CHOICE IN THE MATTER. Things are going to happen whether you like it or not, so you might as well try to steer the way things go.
That sounds rather sinister doesn’t it? I don’t mean it to be like that. It’s just that there are times when you know that something is going to happen, not necessarily a bad thing, and you should try to make sure it is going to go in the direction you choose.
What I’m talking about in my case is that I am obligated, by law, to start drawing on my IRA Retirement Savings by next January. If I fail to make any arrangements on the disbursement some fine and talented Federal Employee will decide for me. I find that possibility downright scary.
This week I will be contacting the company that manages my IRA to learn my options and to figure out my best approach to this. I’d rather make any decisions about my money instead of leaving it to a civil servant who may be an ignorant fool, but protected by law from being moved to a more suitable job – like door stop or paperweight.
I have to admit that my current level of knowledge on this subject is three points below zero, and that is my fault. Retirement and IRAs were always things in the distant future. Well, that future is right now with nothing distant about it. You would have thought that, having officially retired five years ago, I would have done my homework in preparation for this Decision Time. I didn’t. The calendar may have said that I was fast approaching 70, but in my mind, heart, and soul I still felt like I was decades away from all of that. Boy, was I wrong.
I don’t think that it will take me very long to learn what I need to know and how to implement my wishes. All I need to do is convince the IRA Mgmt. Company to double the amount of money in my account out of the goodness of their corporate heart.
It could happen.
What I need my savings to do is supplement my Social Security and monthly pension (not a big check) from the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (The folks who brought you Erin Brockovich). The ultimate objective being the maintenance of a reasonably comfortable lifestyle.
By a “Reasonably Comfortable Lifestyle” I mean having what we need, with a few luxury options now and then. We don’t want to fear that there is a wolf lurking outside the door. I’ve known that feeling and I won’t let that happen again.
As we age our Needs and Wants change. Health issues inevitably increase, but the aching desire for the matching Jaguars fades away (a bit). One look at my Bucket List would show you a lot of scratched off items – some of them accomplished and others dropped…and maybe a few new ones added.
Dropped is the item having to do with Ursula Andress, a desert island, and a boatload of chilled Champagne.
Added is the item about devouring a Mexican dinner and being able to sleep through the night.
Accomplished is the one about meeting the most wonderful woman on Earth, falling in love, getting married, and being together forever.
If I can pull off that third item I know I can figure out the best way to deal with that IRA business.
Absolutely. Piece of cake.
Down the Hall on Your Left 