Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow. Swedish proverb

I have an 18th century retirement plan. After seeing investments bottom out, iconic industries vaporize and the dollar lose value, the point of saving for thieves seems pointless. I’ve always been a little concerned about a society that says, on one hand, don’t put all your eggs in one basket and then saves a nest egg. One egg. Can you put an egg in more than one basket?

If the goal for so many was to find a way out of “working every day” to enjoy benefits later, why does anyone die within the first year after retirement? Whose idea was retirement?

It sounds like an ideal adopted from the rich by the common man hoping to appear rich, and insidiously stained the fabric of the American Dream.



I'm a big believer of living in the moment. What if there is no later? What if later doesn't hold the now perspective all things remaining equal? How can I trust myself or my spouse not to have an incapacitating illness or medical event that would prevent enjoying the twilight years?
While I think that living the life of leisure sounds nice, I point to Noah and others in the Bible who worked until the end. Their duties may have changed but it didn’t sound like they were running from golf course to cruise ship, shopping their guts out and smoking cigars with their feet up for days on end.
“In most countries, the idea of a fixed retirement age is of recent origin, being introduced during the 19th and 20th centuries - before then, the absence of pension arrangements meant that most workers continued to work until death, or relied on personal savings or the support of family or friends.”
Income taxes were enacted at various times until 1894, but were not imposed after 1895 when an 1894 tax act was found to be unconstitutional. (Wikipedia.)

It seems that it was easier to help out your neighbor or your family when the government didn’t have their Dysart sucking money out the pockets and souls of hardworking people. When social security started, the ratio of people paying in and people collecting was 42 to 1. Now it’s 2 or 3 to 1. Add to that government pillaging, higher taxes (15 -25%) and social security funds aren’t so secure. What’s a safe investment?

Where rust cannot corrode your investment, where moths will not destroy the fruit of your labor? Economies crash, prices seem to elevate regardless, and a savings can be annihilated in one devastating medical emergency.

I’ve decided I don’t mind working until I die,
investing in people, faith and God.