When my retirement plan exploded

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 01:00:00 +0000

I was one of the lucky ones. A childhood friend loved to point that out to me, especially if I started to sound like I was complaining about my high-paying job. She worked just as hard as I did. She put up with just as much bullshit from The Man as I did. But, in her mind, she was entitled to a little whining. I wasn’t.

My friend believed my success was the result of things over which I had little control. Brains. Looks. Skin color. It didn't matter how hard I worked; it didn't matter how much pride I swallowed to survive the corporate cesspool. I was lucky. She was not.

My so-called luck wasn’t worth much when the Great Recession That Is Really a Depression set in. I was just as laid off as my next-door neighbor. One day I had a job, the next day I didn’t.

I had already retired from my 25-year corporate career when things started going south. Prices were skyrocketing, and my retirement money wouldn't last as long as it was supposed to. I would have to unload my beloved home of 17 years sooner rather than later. The house needed updating to be competitive in what was fast becoming a buyers’ market. I had hundreds of thousands of dollars in equity, so pulling some of that money out to remodel made all the sense in the world.

Salon.com > Lezlie Bishop

When my retirement plan exploded