My Father-in-law, Captain David L.G. King, USN, Retired, used to say that life had three stages. The first is when you are a child and attend school, the second is when you have a job, marry and have a family, and the third is retirement. I always liked that thought because since I had passed through the first two, I could only imagine what that long stretch of uninterrupted free time looked like.
But now that my husband Captain Michael King , USN Retired, and I are both in that third stage, it is far more exciting and wonderful than I had envisioned. This time, however, has not just arrived without faith and planning, and just as my father-in-law shared his wisdom about life, I would like to pass on a few pointers my husband and I have gleaned regarding retirement.
The first tip is to financially plan well for this stage by living under your budget. Kerry Daly of Saint Cecilia Parish said, “ I saved money continuously during my working years: if you start early it adds up tremendously.” Like Kerry we too lived way below our income for 12 years. I cut the family’s hair, planned monthly meals, rarely ate out, purchased used clothes and goods, kept vacations frugal by camping and using our time share, and did our own house and car repairs by watching U Tube. And since Michael utilized his employer’s matching funds Thrift Savings Plan, the money just kept on growing, for we never saw it. That living beneath our income helped us get on a good financial footing. And that budget and the savings accumulated enabled Michael to leave his place of employment at age 61 and permanently unplug his old faithful alarm clock.
Since March 2015, we have been on a constant vacation but not one free from work, for this time has allowed us to more faithfully attend to our Catholic Church’s needs, our family, and friends. The Kueblers now have daily prayer time. Sue adds,” We love Bible Study class and daily reading Utmost for His Highest and Jesus Calling and praying together out loud before we go to bed.” For Kerry, complete retirement enabled her to attend daily Mass and cull out uninterrupted prayer time.
So if you are anxious about your retirement days, fear not. Lay out your budgeted plan, stick to it for one to two years BEFORE retirement and take the leap. We may be on our way out out of this earth, but we sure are enjoying the joy of doing it fully for Jesus and His church.