What do they do when?

 Sightings over 60 posted about a neighbour who had retired and just sold their house but had not made a decision about where they would go next. I have heard many similar stories about the same situation.

A cousin of a friend of mine sold his house and bought a motor home, he and his wife retired and decided that they would love to become road gypsies and have the ultimate freedom. The motivation is simple, people dream of not being tied down, A life on the road offers greater financial freedom, a chance to embrace adventure and re-evaluate what really matters in life. 

Many others want to embrace a more economical way to live. This often means cashing in on their home’s equity and living mortgage-free. Yet others want to live in a high-cost-of-living area without the higher cost for housing.

Do RVers Truly Save Money? For the most part: yes. This all depends on your choice of the travel trailer, lifestyle, and expenses. Choosing a trailer that retains a high resale value can protect your financial stability.

However, what do they do when they find that they are not cut out to be in too close quarters all the time, which happens in an RV?  What do they do when they find that it is expensive and time-consuming to find a place to park the RV overnight? What do they do when they have to find a place to dispose of the waste they accumulate from living in their RV? What do they do when they find themselves being blown around in heavy wind or rainstorms and realize that RV's are not easy to drive? What do they do when they get tired of always being on the move and realize that the money they invested in their RV went down in value, not up like their home?

I know of people who made a decision to move to another part of the country to be close to their children, who then decide to move again because work takes them to a new location. Their parents in the meantime have moved away from friends, support groups and a place they called home for years. What do these people do when they realize that they have to find a new way to make friends and fit into a new place?

If you are retiring and have a grand idea, my advice is to try it before fully committing. My cousin could have rented an RV for six months and tried the open road before committing to the lifestyle. A friend of mine who moved to Vancouver Island could have rented a place for a year and lived there before he made the decision to sell his home and move there on a permanent basis. By the way, both of these people regretted their decisions but could not recover. My friend's cousin could not afford to buy property because his capital was tied to an RV that depreciated greatly, and prices went up so my friend who moved to the island could not afford to move back. 

I know there are many people who make successful transitions to a new lifestyle, but these people, I suspect do their research and try a new life before they commit. Retirement allows us to live our dreams but we need to do due diligence so our dreams do not become our nightmares.

World War Eleven

YOUNG PEOPLE CANNOT LEARN FROM HISTORY ANYMORE, BECAUSE HISTORY IS NO LONGER TAUGHT AS A REQUIRED SUBJECT IN PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS.

Theodore " Dutch " J. Van Kirk was the navigator on the "Enola Gay" when it dropped the bomb at Hiroshima, Japan, and is the last surviving member of the crew. This really happened.

Dutch was asked to speak at a grammar school this past week. The young teacher introduced him by saying the speaker was a veteran of World War Eleven (as in WW II).

Dutch stood up and walked out of the school without saying a word.

End of story...

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.

For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

The Umbrella-- a touching story

Do not know if the following is true, but it was passed on to me by a friend.

On a rainy afternoon in Edmonton recently a group of protesters were gathered outside a hospital handing out pamphlets on the  "evils"  of vaccines and vaccine passports. They said it violated their rights ???

I politely declined to take one as I entered the hospital.     

 There was an elderly woman behind me and a young (20-ish) female protester who offered her a pamphlet, which she too politely declined.      

The young protester gently put her hand on the old woman's shoulder and in a patronizing voice said, "Don't you care about freedoms and rights"?  

The old woman looked up at her and said: "Honey, my father died in France during World War II protecting our rights and freedoms. I lost my husband to Covid, and now my daughter has it. " 

So how can a naive, privileged, ignorant, self-centred bimbo like you have the right to stand here, talk about rights and freedoms, badmouth our healthcare workers, protest in front of hospitals where the healthcare system is overwhelmed by this pandemic and sadly does not care about our health and safety? If you touch me again, I'll shove this umbrella up your ass and open it."

Tips to help plan for retirement

My daughter became an Australian citizen a few years ago so I tend to be interested in events down under and how they might affect my daughter's situation. She works and will retire in Australia, so when I came across this article in the Women’s Agenda I thought I would share.

It’s no revelation that women in Australia still face considerable gaps when it comes to our financial wellbeing.

In fact, a new major international report out yesterday placed Australia equal last in a ranking of the gender pay gap across six countries.

Published by King’s College London in collaboration with The Australian National University, the report determined that Australia, alongside the UK, had a significant challenge in its gender pay gap reporting systems compared with other countries like France, South Africa, Spain and Sweden.

Spain came in first with a score of 8.5 out of 11, followed by France on 8.

Australia’s score was 4 out of 11.

And it’s not just reporting the issue that’s the trouble in Australia.

Women face significant systemic barriers when it comes to getting ahead and securing financial independence.

The current superannuation system, for example, continues to be linked solely to paid work, and therefore overwhelmingly disadvantages women who are more likely to move in and out of paid work to care for family members.

Lacklustre government policies around paid parental leave and early childhood education, lead to more women than men taking considerable time out of the workforce to raise families, and on average retiring with nearly half the retirement savings as their male counterparts.

Women are also more likely to come up against hurdles in asking for pay-rises and negotiating gender-equal salary bases.

With all this to deal with, (plus many more complex and nuanced barriers), it’s an extra slap in the face to know that the fallout from the pandemic will likely exacerbate the issue and widen many of the gaps that already have us on the back-foot.

While it shouldn’t be up to women to fix the problem, it’s an unfortunate reality that we might be here a while if we wait for the government and our employers to get it together. So, in partnership with Superhero, we’ve collated some of the best tips for you to keep ahead of the curve and mitigate some of the risks of falling behind in a post-pandemic world.

We need to overcome any social hesitancy that exists and start talking freely about our finances.

Opening up to our friends, family members, partners and managers about the money we’d like to make, the promotions we’d like to gain or the ways in which we’re investing our money isn’t something women have historically done. That’s because of social prescriptions and gender stereotypes that continue to hold us back. But there’s nothing dirty about the M-word. Having a transparent dialogue about our expectations and arming ourselves with as much knowledge as possible will empower us to make the right financial decisions and stay autonomous.

Before deciding on a super fund, ensure you’ve kept in mind the things that are important to you. How does your selected fund compare with others across key factors? Do you have enough income or disability insurance? Does your fund allow you to choose the way your money is being invested? Are you paying exorbitant fees?

If you (like me) have had multiple jobs, there’s every chance you’ve accrued a few super accounts over your time. In previous years, consolidating your super was a mammoth undertaking, but now it couldn’t be easier. You can log in to ATO online services through myGov to keep track of your super and view the super accounts held for you, as well as the super you already have. Consolidating this into your preferred super account is as simple as a few buttons clicks.

While you’re navigating the platform, check that your employer is paying the right amount of super each week. The ‘Estimate my Super’ tool will alert you to any shortfalls and there’s an easy reporting mechanism if there are.

Investing in shares can seem daunting to many of us who have never explored this option before. But there are easy ways for Australians to dip their toes in, with investment products and tools becoming more accessible every year. Automated investment apps like Superhero are worth researching if you’re looking to get started, with many platforms offering streamlined services, rewards systems and even easy ways for you to set up portfolios for your kids. Investing can be a huge financial game-changer so long as you research, set investment goals, invest early and make sure you’re only ever putting in what you can afford.

If you think you deserve a raise, it’s time to ask for it because you can bet everything that John and Tom who work beside you, will be doing the same. Build out a business case focusing on the things you’ve achieved and why you deserve it. Be clear in your communication and try to anticipate the questions that your boss might pose in response. Practice your pitch before you go in as well as it’s easy to get tongue-tied and overwhelmed in the moment. A good employer will obviously recognize your contribution and do everything they can to keep you. Don’t go into the conversation expecting the worst!