Yet another contributing factor to my mini-breakdown in mid-March is my concern over not being able to retire or not having enough money to retire on.
A year or a year and a half ago a friend sent my an innocent link to pole barn homes in Texas. For some reason that set me off on a retirement prep/concern frenzy that continues to rage in my head today. Pre-Covid I was working my way to finally saving some money and potentially investing some money. The work was slow and tedious but always moving forward. When Covid hit and the government decided to pay lots of money in unemployment my savings goals improved a lot. Additionally, when Covid hit, my school district decided to use some of the money the government had provided to issue a COLA for their substitute teachers that finally brought them close to what they’d been getting paid in 2002 when adjusted for inflation.
Ultimately, when I am finally able to retire in about 10 years it looks like I may have the following options:
- Invest in property in the state where I want to retire now so I can put up a mobile/pre-fab home when I do retire.
- Save up enough money to buy some kind of boat I can live on. That way I’ll also have a vessel that can take me around the great loop.
- Move somewhere overseas where the cost of living matches what I’ll make in retirement . Some place like Cebu City, Dumaguete or Davao City in the Philippines. Maybe Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai in Thailand. Or maybe some place in the Western Hemisphere that speaks English and uses the dollar like Belize. There are plenty of options if I’m willing to truly leave home.
Regardless of what I do or plan on, the stress of trying to prepare for it has impinged on my everyday thought and helped lead to my mini-breakdown in mid-March.