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    Living the 10 Retiremyths: An Unconventional Journey in Retirement Planning
    Living the 10 Retiremyths: An Unconventional Journey in Retirement Planning
    Living the 10 Retiremyths: An Unconventional Journey in Retirement Planning
    Ebook149 pages3 hours

    Living the 10 Retiremyths: An Unconventional Journey in Retirement Planning

    By Judy Ann Michael

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    About this ebook

    What’s a RetireMyth? It’s a belief you might hold about life after retirement, only to find out once the party’s over that it’s not at all what you expected. If you thought you could keep working, win the lottery, depend on your children to support you, or live your current lifestyle on Social Security, you just might be a victim of the RetireMyth. If that’s the case, this book was written for you.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBookBaby
    Release dateOct 1, 2017
    ISBN9781543909241
    Living the 10 Retiremyths: An Unconventional Journey in Retirement Planning

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      Book preview

      Living the 10 Retiremyths - Judy Ann Michael

      Copyright

      Copyright 2017 Judy Ann Michael. Printed and e-book versions. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system without the express permission from the author. For information, please contact the Author, Judy Ann Michael, at 19410 Hgwy 99, Suite A, Box 304, Lynnwood, WA 98036.

      Publisher’s Cataloging in Publication

      Print ISBN: 978-1-54390-923-4

      eBook ISBN: 978-1-54390-924-1

      Living the 10 RetireMyths: An Unconventional Journey in Retirement Planning

      Michael, Judy Ann

      Contact Information and Free Resources

      Need a simple way to understand how much money you may need for retirement? Visit JudyAnnMichael.com to discover DIY Retirement Planning tools and resources. You can also contact me directly at:

      Judy Ann Michael

      19410 Hgwy 99, Suite A

      Box 304

      Lynnwood, WA 98036

      Phone: 855-583-9266 / 855-JUDYANN

      Email: Judy@JudyAnnMichael.com

      LinkedIn: JudyAnnMichael

      Facebook: MichaelJudyAnn

      Social Media: Please use the above methods, I try to simplify my life by using the most important channels!

      Disclaimer

      Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at press time, the author and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. This book is not a substitute for legal, financial, accounting, or tax advice. I encourage you to meet with your financial professional.

      We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.

      Albert Einstein

      Contents

      Introduction: Dissolving My Life

      Lesson #1: I Lived the Future

      Caretaking ­- Daily Living - The Retirement Home - Prelude

      Lesson #2: I Took a Pre-Retirement Timeout

      Incremental Stress - The Decision - Living in Pre-Retirement - Holding My Breath - Just Get a J-O-B - Now What Do I Do? - Something Odd Happened - The Breaking Point - A New Path

      Lesson #3: I Discovered the 10 RetireMyths

      RetireMyth #1: The Golden Retirement at Age 65 - RetireMyth #2: I guess I’ll just keep working - RetireMyth #3: If I get laid off, I can still get a job, right? - RetireMyth #4: My kids will take care of me - RetireMyth #5: I’ll just have to work until I die - RetireMyth #6: I’ll win the lottery - RetireMyth #7: My spouse will take care of me - RetireMyth #8: I’ll inherit money - RetireMyth #9: Social Security will take care of me - RetireMyth #10: It’ll all work out

      Lesson #4: I Clarified My Values

      Understanding My Values - I Chose to Lead a Simpler Life - I Invested in My Health - I Made Specific Mindset Adjustments - I Made Peace with My Money

      Lesson #5: I Adopted the Cash is King Mindset

      Cash is King - Reverse Engineering - Income Needed for Housing Costs: - Income Needed for a Television: - Reverse Engineering Example: - Creative Income

      Lesson #6: I Scaled Down My Lifestyle

      I Minimized My Stuff - I Became a Renter

      Lesson #7: I Implemented Conscious Spending

      Conscious Spending - My Spending Guidelines: Like versus Afford - Simple Spending Safeguards - Slashing Low Monthly Charges

      Lesson #8: I Became an Entrepreneur

      Hometown Values - The Merit Theory of Work - Entrepreneurs versus Corporations - It Was Time

      Lesson #9: I Resurrected My Creativity

      Watching my Language - Keeping it to Myself - The Miracle Dollar Figure (MDF)

      Lesson #10: I Enjoy My Life

      Acknowledgments

      Footnotes

      About the Author

      Introduction:

      Dissolving My Life

      You’ll spend three years dissolving everything in your life. And you will end up in a place you never imagined, but better for it.

      Pam, my dear friend and astrologer, told me those fateful words in 2014. In her gentle, yet direct consultative voice, she forewarned me of what I was about to experience. I wouldn’t know the depth of her words for three years, but at the time I thought to myself, how bad could it be?

      The years 2014 through 2017 did prove to be an intense time. I had to figure out how to temporarily move across the country, leave my life behind, help my elderly father through difficult physical challenges, and still work full time. I watched my career of 30 years dissolve as I became invisible in a thriving job market. I took a timeout after leaving my job, which allowed me to regroup and explore my future. I lived through financial challenges and came to realize that cash is king, less is more, and my future is dependent on my creativity. After many hours of research and experience with my own investments, I discovered that the concept of retirement just may be a hoax. Finally, I learned that the only way out of fearing the future is to be creative in the present.

      I had to write my entire story to fully understand where I had been and what lay ahead of me.

      I am in a very different place now than I was three years ago. I live in an apartment instead of an expensive house. My wardrobe is a third of what it used to be. My health is more important than ever. I sleep through the night, primarily because there is less stress in my world. I am an entrepreneur instead of an employee. I am more concerned about creating my own wealth than impressing others. And, I create my future every day by putting myself first, taking focused action, and of course, praying to bring to pass desired outcomes from my focused actions.

      I didn’t realize that I needed to share this message until the day I downsized from a 2,000-square-foot townhome to an apartment less than half that size. After helping me move from my house to my new apartment, my friend Johanna and I took a well-deserved break, finding a seat on a park bench overlooking the Puget Sound.

      Are you sure you’re okay moving into an apartment? she asked me.

      Johanna knew what I had gone through the past few years, so I understood her concern for my welfare. I had been so busy packing, downsizing, and selling my excess belongings that I hadn’t thought much about my situation. I half expected myself to have a stress-relieving cry, but no tears came. I took a moment to gauge how I felt. I thought about all I had been through. My Baby Boomer journey through elder care, retirement research, lifestyle changes, career blocks, and financial challenges had been a lot to endure in just a few short years. Sitting on that park bench, staring at the open sea gave me a chance to reflect on my life.

      I didn’t know what Pam meant three years ago when she told me my life would dissolve. Now I do. I think I need to share this story.

      This memoir is what I found on my path through mid-life. I walked through many challenges, sometimes with grace and other times screaming at the universe, begging for this time to be over. But as I spoke to friends and colleagues about my experiences, they began to ask me about my journey and reveal their own family, financial, and career concerns. I shared that, in my opinion, the beliefs we have about retirement just don’t hold true. Anyone planning (or even not planning) for retirement needs to wake up and make critical changes to ensure their golden years are secure and happy.

      I look forward to you joining me as I share my journey, the 10 RetireMyths, and the 10 lessons I discovered. Any financial advice I share is merely for your consideration. I always recommend consulting a tax advisor, financial planner, or attorney for advice specific to your situation.

      May your journey be prosperous and profound,

      Judy Ann Michael

      Lesson #1:

      I Lived the Future

      Dad got sick.

      It was supposed to be an easy-peasy hip replacement surgery. But nothing is easy when you are 90 years old. Although Dad was in pretty good shape for his advanced years, things went haywire.

      Caretaking

      In the fall of 2015, I had to find a way to stay employed and travel across the country to care for Dad. I arranged to work remotely from my employer in Seattle and travel to Indiana to care for him. But I won’t lie: the decision and the situation were rough. My sister had been with him during his surgery then he was transferred to a nursing home for rehabilitation before she returned to her home in California. When I arrived a few days after her departure, I found him slumped in his wing chair

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