thanks, and yes, a pittance of a pension and regular checkups keep us on budget and head off any problems — best decision i ever made (financial or otherwise) was serving our country doing search - and - rescue, oil and chemical spill remediation, etc. (you can guess the branch of service)-- along the way, frugal living, along with dollar - cost averaging, asset allocation, and diversification allowed us to retire early — Vanguard has been very good over the years, despite the Dot Bomb, 2002, and the recession (where we actually came out better with a modest but bargain
retirement home purchase)... it's not easy building additional «legs» on a
retirement platform, but now that we're here, cash, real estate, investments and insurance products, along with a small pension all help to avoid any real dependence on social security (we won't even need it at full
retirement age)-- however, like nearly everybody, we're headed for Medicare
in several years, albeit with a nice supplemental and pharmacy benefits — but our main concern is staying
fit, active, and healthy!
We absorb on a daily basis a litany of advise — advice on how to get
fit, how to save for
retirement, what to put
in our bodies, how to keep our
homes maintained, how to manage office politics, etc..