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Grand Magnate
Member Since Oct 2012
Posts: 3,620
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#1
I had been diagnosed with Depression and I go on the Depression forum frequently. I wonder if depression has something to do with what's going on with me?
It's really weird that now I am hovering around $225,000 in my savings. And yet I worry a lot. I worry that I'm going to lose all of that money. It still hasn't fully sunk in that I have that kind of money. For all of my life I had been hovering around a few thousand dollars in my savings; and that would be when times were good. It's only been four months since I got this money by selling my condo unit and deciding to live in a rental. And I feel like I really can't enjoy it. In two weeks from now I'm going on a vacation; which is halfway across the U.S. I'm staying at a place that has a cabin on a lakefront. I feel terrible that I have spent that money for that vacation. It's more like a retreat for me; to get away from the city life - for peace and quiet. All I think about is that I'm hoping for more money to come in so that I can just put it away instead of spending it for something very nice. It's like I'm obsessed with money or "hoarding". I've been told that I'm wrong for carrying on that way. Anyone else on here feel the same way? |
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shakespeare47, Skeezyks
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Disreputable Old Troll
Member Since Oct 2015
Location: The Star of the North
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#2
Well... I don't know how old you are. I'm a so-called senior citizen. My wife & I aren't well-to-do. We're "comfortable" I guess you'd say. Our needs are few. In my case I almost never spend money on anything unless it's necessary. But I still find myself worrying about money even though I know there's no real need to. Growing up my parents were fairly poor... "working poor" I guess you'd call it nowadays. (I didn't realize it at the time. But looking back I can see that was the case.) So I think my tendency to worry about money comes naturally.
I don't know what the answer is. Perhaps just keeping a detailed budget helps. That way you know exactly what you have coming in & what's going out. To some extent I think it's perhaps the fear of the unknown that contributes to the worrying. And, beyond that, if your worrying becomes too disconcerting perhaps it's something to seek mental health therapy services for, particularly if you find that money-related worries are more of a symptom of a broader problem you have with worry in general. (I think I can relate to that too.) Some financial counseling might be useful as well. __________________ "I may be older but I am not wise / I'm still a child's grown-up disguise / and I never can tell you what you want to know / You will find out as you go." (from: "A Nightengale's Lullaby" - Julie Last) |
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shakespeare47, will19
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Legendary
Member Since Oct 2004
Location: usa
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#3
I have $180
I’m savings and constantly Worry __________________ Bipolar 1 w/psychotic features or schizoaffective bipolar type PTSD generalized anxiety OCD celexa, prazosin, Lybalvi and prn zyprexa and klonopin |
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bpcyclist, Seafarer, shakespeare47, will19
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*Beth*
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Member
Member Since Jun 2015
Location: Maine
Posts: 281
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#4
i get paid biweekly. im usually broke the same day, no savings, bills barely get paid, both of us are working the hours we are given and jobs are pretty scarce here. skin of our teeth is a thing. worry i can relate to, maybe therapy to talk about this newfound nest egg and how to translate this worry into something you can feel good about?
__________________ Im not crazy, my reality is just different than yours. |
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bpcyclist
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will19
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Member Since Jul 2019
Location: US
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#5
If I had $250,000 I would feel like a millionaire. I would invest the principal and live off the interest.
I have never in my life had more than $1,000 in any bank account. I live on $900 a month, Social Security and pension. I live in a safe senior building and never have to worry about utility bills. Sometimes we need a vacation from our everyday lives. |
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unaluna, will19
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Grand Magnate
Member Since Oct 2012
Posts: 3,620
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#6
Quote:
It's been a while since anyone has replied on this thread. It was nice to see a poster. In a lot of ways, I felt sorry that I had put that thread on since so many people are struggling. I have appreciated the replies, though. There was a time when I didn't have much. I got a lucky break when I received $100,000 in an inheritance from my late parents. My sister and two brothers got the same amount. My late brother got the inheritance and blew it all; and ended homeless for a while. My sister had it plus she and her husband sold four houses along with the both of them having pensions. They have been at $100,000 in debt! I don't know where all that money went. I had a thread on here about lending my sister money, in which I did. Fortunately she paid me back. There are so many other people I have known that were doing better than I am right now and they ended up broke. Just recently I put about 30% of my money in a high-yield money market at a bank that was my mortgage company. They suddenly decided to lower the interest rate greatly; so I got mad and pulled my money out and decided to put it somewhere else. It's been a hassle doing this and I have lost out on some interest because of transferring over. It's a complicated procedure. Between those incidences in the last couple of paragraphs that I have written, that's why I worry about my money. One time, around 35 years ago, I had $15,000 saved up and I lost it all in a couple of years. It was all gone before I knew it and I hadn't been spending a lot. |
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Seafarer
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#7
I don't know where you are located, but you need to find a trusted financial planner to help you with this. I can't stress this enough. That money should not be in a bank account--most of it , anyway. You need to put it to work for you. It can be a source of income for you, if you do this right.
I've been around and I can tell you that money comes and money goes, if you do not plan very carefully. I once had quite a lot, but it was all driven by a high income. When I got sick and suddenly had no income, I could have been hosed. But I wasn't, because years earlier, I had met with smart, conservative people and put a plan in place on the off chance I became ill. Well, I did. And now I and my kids (and my exes!!) are all okay. Nobody's rich, but bills are paid, place to live, food on table. So, please, please, plan. Find someone to help you. Protect that asset. If you don't, there is a good chance it will end up dwindling away. Not because you are irresponsible, but because that's what tends to happen to cash. __________________ When I was a kid, my parents moved a lot, but I always found them--Rodney Dangerfield |
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*Beth*, Anxiety Princess, LilyMop, shakespeare47, will19
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New Member
Member Since Mar 2008
Posts: 8
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#8
I can sympathize as I am due to get around $100k inheritance that will probably end up going to insurance premiums at least the next year...it blew me out of all the premium credits at least for next year. I don't have the ability to work 40 hours a week anymore, I'm in my 50s and yeah, really $100k is just not that much...so I sympathize as I could say the same about $225k as well, there just seems so much that will eat it up.
and thanks bpcyclist, I would like to find a good place to put it so it will earn more but scared to jump into stuff. |
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bpcyclist
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shakespeare47, will19
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Grand Magnate
Member Since Jul 2014
Location: US
Posts: 3,134
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#9
@will19
I'm 53 and my wife and I have about $194,000 in a retirement account. I sometimes worry about what would happen if we lost it all. Actually, losing it all is a very unlikely scenario- the money is with a respected financial institution- but you never know with the stock market. It could potentially lose much of its value in a short amount of time. But, I'd rather keep it in relatively risky stock mutual funds until I retire, as those are most likely to get me the gains I'd like- and I've been "playing the market" this way for over 20 years- we built up our nest-egg by investing consistently every month. After we retire, we'll probably put the money in something a little less risky and then only withdraw about 4% a year, or so. We've also had some windfalls that we've spent. At one point, we had 2 rental houses, and when we sold them, we got quite a bit of cash. I don't quite remember what we spent the money on- although, I know we used a large chunk to put a down payment on the house we're in now. I've never been one to buy new cars, or anything particularly flashy. We did once spend 10 days driving around England. I'm more into "buying experiences". __________________ My business is to teach my aspirations to conform themselves to fact, not to try and make facts harmonise with my aspirations. T.H. Huxley |
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bpcyclist
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will19
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#10
I can relate. When I was younger I always wanted money so I could go on a fun trip buying whatever I wanted at Ikea. But now that I have the money, I am even more of a tightwad. I don't want to spend money. I also worry a lot about my money being drained by theft or simply by greedy companies that I have it in. There seems to be endless ways to steal from people these days.
Speaking of... I would not recommend a financial advisor. IMHO just look up the press releases on the DOJ site, 99% of white collar crime are financial advisors stealing money. You can do it just as well. I think I would put it back into real estate - an income producing property. You gain on both ends of that and it is hard to steal. |
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will19
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#11
Well, you could be like me; nearly 50 with no job-based pension, because...no job. I will be living hand to mouth for the remainder of my life, and when social security becomes available to me, on a meager $800 a month. Like, 1/2 of Americans in my age group and older, there are those of us who were not fortunate to ever have access to such a large sum.
I would definitely secure your money into an IRA or something safe like that. Stay away from financial investors -- they're all crooks. They'll steal your money a la Bernie Madoff. Do a fixed annuity. That's what my mother lived off of after my father's death. She put his life insurance money into a fixed annuity and received payments from it to live off. Now she's secure in a nursing home that costs $5-7K a month, that she can't afford, but secured through an elderly waiver from the county. You have a huge chunk of money. Avoid investors but talk to a financial planner about a fixed annuity. |
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*Beth*, bpcyclist, will19
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*Beth*
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Grand Magnate
Member Since Oct 2012
Posts: 3,620
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#12
Quote:
Funny how I feel exactly the same way. I feel tight with my money because I know that it can go even though it seems like I'm set for life. The Financial Advisors never appealed to me for some reason. I have read about how crooked they are. It's not just those big time operators but the ones in small towns can be crooks. The biggest fear I have is with medical bills. Just recently I got some bad news so that can be costly to take care of it. I have insurance from work but it doesn't pay for everything. |
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#13
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Also, Denmark cured cancer but again, the U.S. won't allow that cancer cure from Denmark because again -- no money in it for our corrupt health insurers and big pharma and gov't-- better and yet cheaper than the U.S. I hate the U.S. I would move tomorrow if I could. I hate it here. |
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bpcyclist
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bpcyclist
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#14
Quote:
My bank offered a free financial advisor and she was helpful but she got paid by the bank. Otherwise I don't trust them. |
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bpcyclist
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catches the flowers
Member Since Jul 2019
Location: Downtown Vibes, California
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#15
If the money is stressing you so badly, I'll take it! I currently have 8$ + five laundry quarters to my name.
But seriously, a financial advisor is a smart way to go...just check references and ratings. __________________ |
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bpcyclist
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Legendary Wise Elder
Member Since Dec 2014
Location: US
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#16
We put money into 401k (or 403b) and it’s annuity, there is very little growth but we can’t lose it. If you worry about losing it then put it in annuity. You’ll be fine that way
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bpcyclist
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