Collapse of World Economy - YOU can help!

[bmuss51]

hi:
i have looked through the posts, and i just thought i would like to add a little.
i was a tool & die maker for 37 yrs and thought i could retire early at age 55. so i did and had picked up a part time job at a local hardware store.and now I'm 58 and got laid off of my partime job because of the economy. but, yes i can collect some unemployment but does not cover what i had as far as i had.
from my full time job which i retired from i do get a pension. and at the time i needed to get some money out of my IRA to cover the month to month costs and maintain my life style. which everything was going great. like with the partime job i was able to buy a mill, lathe, a couple of motor casting kits, and misc tooling to support my engine build hobby for my retirement yr's.but sense the things went south and got laid off, i have to sit back and regroup my cash flow. like the money i am drawing out of my IRA is done by a 72t account with the feds. and during a 5 yr contract for this setup you are allowed to change it once to a lower amount which is about 75% less per month. so right now I'm up against the wall so to speak.so do i want to change my withdrawal from my IRA or hope things turn soon, but inflation will eat me up. and the other thing is the money i was getting out like last June cost me 15 shares per month but i was earning 20 shares and that was a great setup. but now it costing me 30 shares per month which eating away at my IRA. and that 15 shares extra will be lost for ever even if the market does come back.

 

[Cedge]

Kludge probably gave some of the best advice I've seen. Men tend to identify themselves with what they do for a living. Rick is a machinist, Kludge was a truck driver... etc. When that job goes away, it's often replaced with a feeling of loss that brings on some level of depression. The more responsibility, the more likely the risk of becoming lost and disoriented. Take the time to get your head un-warped before you try to figure out a direction to travel.

I went though it at 45, when I sold my company, and had to fight my way back to normality over a period of 18 months. Let me tell you, those were some very dark months, mentally. It wasn't until I realized that, for the very first time in my working life, I could take a job and actually quit and go home if I didn't like it, that I finally bounced back. It was then that I decided to write a book on advanced digital graphics techniques to share what I'd learned over the years. It was a fair success within the targeted market and my self confidence was boosted at a much needed time.

That project was followed by a period of restoring small toy steam engines for some very serious collectors.... which lead to my getting into hobby machining. I've always been one to teach myself how to do things and this hobby has kept my mind filled with a fertile supply of mental puzzles. The key is to stay mentally engaged and get too busy to have time for the blues.


Having been through a number of recessions, I'm seeing something this time that I've not seen before. People are scared and now they are beginning to become angry. In the past everyone safely assumed things would eventually get back to normal, if they just hung on and got through the tough times. Now we're seeing a changing of all the rules. The fear now is that the world we have known will have been altered beyond all recognition when we finally emerge from the present crisis.

The fear is that our children will no longer have the opportunities we've enjoyed. It also shows in this thread with concerns that the value of our savings is being stolen right before our eyes and nothing we can do will stop it. This week, the treasury created a trillion dollars out of pure thin air. The dollar once again dropped in value across the globe. Eventually inflation will have to rear its ugly head, making retirement much more difficult, if not impossible for many of us.

Bmuss....
I too am in a 72T and have had to make some hard decisions to keep it funding itself. I went to cash last year and avoided a lot of the carnage. Nothing of genius in that... I just got spooked by the market oscillating in ways I'd seen before (lost lots of money during the tech bubble and 2001) and decided to sit it out this time. I feel your pain.

Steve

 

[rake60]

I'm working on my back up plan here.
Two years ago I closed my part time small engine repair shop.
It was just too much. I was working 10 hours a day then coming home
and working another 6 hours in the engine shop. I had planned to reopen
it next week but word got out sooner. Now my issue is SPACE!

That stuff is all finished and waiting to be picked up before I can accept more
work. I even found time to dig that bike out of the back corner.

My official parts chasing vehicle.

It's all tuned up, polished and inspected.
Ready for BUSINESS!

Rick

 

[deere_x475guy]

It is getting close to bike season. Glad your back up plan is working out Rick.