I am talking about permanent paid employment, not life. Getting up at 6.30 am every morning is becoming a real drag. Having passed 65 and not out, I feel like I deserve a break.
Of course, ‘deserve’ is not really right. For most people, for the whole of human history, retirement did not exist. You worked till you dropped in order to survive, and snatched your leisure and pleasure on infrequent high days and holidays. I have just read about the life of a nurse in the late nineteenth century, where the hours were 7 am to 8 pm seven days a week, with two hours off from noon till 2 pm on Sundays. For many people in the world life remains a 24/7 scramble for survival.
So it is not really that I deserve a break. Rather it is that I really, really want one. A long one – where it is up to me when and how I ever work again. I am not one of those frightened by the prospect of having nothing to do. I have plenty to do. I can write, paint, decorate, knit, read, walk, travel, explore, cook, shop, help out my family, re-learn how to ride a bike, watch movies, go to concerts, build a new house, play with my grandson, garden, live life. My weekends already overflow, and I am undaunted by the thought of calling my time my own.
Trouble is, I still need to fund my lifestyle. Hell’s bells, I still need to fund my life.
And life in NZ is expensive. At the moment, and as long as I have any sort of decent job, my NZ Super is taxed to the point where is comes to the grand total of just a bit more than $250 per week. If I don’t work at all it is a little bit more, but nowhere near enough for me to live on. It would cover groceries and not much more. I own my home, but not being blessed with a life time of savings (and therein lies a tale) I have either to work, or find another source of income. Not to complain because I know I am better off than most.
But it does mean making choices. I can continue to work indefinitely, but to be honest that is unappealing. A Lotto win would come in handy, but unfortunately it chooses you, not the reverse. A few weeks ago we woke up on Sunday morning to read in the news that the big winner had purchased from a dairy in Grey Lynn. Johan had bought his ticket from our local dairy just 5 minutes before closing the night before. We held off checking till lunch time just in case, but alas it was a different Grey Lynn dairy and a different punter.
There are any number of scenarios that might improve future prospects, but each of them is unpredictable at present. All options are on the table. My favourite at present is to move to Costa Rica.
It is a beautiful, stable country with good infrastructure that has no problem giving permanent residence to retirees who prove they can support themselves. Rent out my apartment, sell the house plot up north, and Bingo we can retire in a tropical central american paradise. Money to spare and travel. Put my Duolingo Spanish lessons to good use, and provide an exotic holiday base for friends and family.
What do you think?
The glass has to be half full! We can all find reasons to be cheerful.
Happy for you to quote with source. Cheers
Do you mind if I quote a couple of your articles as long as I provide credit and sources back…
certainly like your website but you have to check the spelling on quite a few of your posts. A number…
Yes indeed, Kath. But cheerfulness is easy. It is optimism that requires work.