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73. Retirement Daydreams
14 Plays19 days ago
It’s 2026 and Christina finally gets to start her countdown to retirement!!! This week we did a deep dive into the logistics of retiring and what she’s gonna do with all that free time. <3
Apologies for the rough edit in the second half of the episode - we had some technical difficulties which made a mess of our audio files this week. Thank you for bearing with us!
We're so grateful you're here! If you like what you’re hearing, you can find more exclusive content by supporting us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/soulpodthepodcast - especially if you want that freeeee exclusive bumper sticker hehehe. We can’t wait to see you over there!
You can also follow us on Instagram: @soulpodthepodcast, or email us directly at soulpodthepodcast@gmail.com.
Molly does tarot readings online and locally in Massachusetts: https://www.thehighpriestesscoaching.com/
Christina sells delicious microgreens in the greater Detroit area: https://www.christinasgreens.com/
Please follow Jim’s furniture business, Modern/Haunted: House & Home on TikTok and Instagram: @modernhaunted
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/modernhaunted
(Shipping available anywhere for smaller items; delivery available in the New England region only! Shipping and delivery fees will apply.)
Hosts: Christina Bell & Molly Wilde
Music: The Confrontation, by Jonathan Boyle, licensed from Premium Beats by Shutterstock
Editing: Molly Wilde
Disclaimer: The purpose of this podcast is for entertainment and enjoyment. We are not professionals in any regard. We do not have professional knowledge, training, or education in physical health, mental health, or spiritual matters. Any suggestions or recommendations made during our episodes should be independently researched by the listener before considering implementation, or better yet, listeners should ignore everything we say. We cannot be held responsible or liable for anything we say, or any actions taken by any persons as a result of listening to our podcast episodes. Stay safe, stay informed, stay smart.
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Transcript
Entering 2026: Avoiding Past Mistakes
00:00:23
Speaker
Molly, we made it. It's 2026. Oh my goodness. Woof. Yeah. And it's, I mean, honestly, I've seen the joke made in the past, but I'm really taking it to heart this year where I'm walking real slow, being real quiet, real nice and polite.
00:00:48
Speaker
Walking into this year. I'm not making any noise. I don't even understand what you're talking about. Like, we're not letting this year fuck us in the mouth. Oh, God. Okay, then.
00:01:07
Speaker
All right. use I'm on board with that. Okay.
Reflecting on Personal Well-being and Growth
00:01:13
Speaker
yeah last year was such a slog man dude the last few have been pretty yeah effed up but yeah last year was rough ho and like not even in like a active like external rough things happening but just like internally i was just like why am i in anguish right now yeah like Why do I struggle? Right. What is happening? But this year, i am determined to let things just be.
00:01:50
Speaker
and to just do me. Do my thing. i mean, it goes hand, goes, not hand in hand, but it is it it is the theme of like what I talked about in the Hermit episode.
00:02:03
Speaker
i am just releasing in like as much of a way, like I was not going to say every single sense of the word, but like just as much as I can, you know, because as I've acknowledged before, it's very hard for me to like surrender.
00:02:22
Speaker
Yeah. But I'm trying and I'm doing so in a way that just feels
00:02:31
Speaker
not only doable, but like healthy, you know, I'm not going crazy. I'm just like,
00:02:38
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, anywho, we're here. We made it. And I, I mean, I guess we've decided on what to talk about, but I think it's more of a more of a you thing than a me thing.
00:02:54
Speaker
Yeah, it's just going But I'm looking forward to that. I ah mentioned this to Christina before we started recording, but I'll mention it here. I have a little bit of a sore spot in my mouth right now, and I can't really figure out why.
00:03:06
Speaker
But I think it's making me talk a little strange, and it's making it harder to talk in general without agitating it. So if you wanted to, like, let this be your your day to talk, then I'm all on board.
00:03:23
Speaker
yeah
Challenges with ADHD Medication Access
00:03:25
Speaker
Yeah. I was going to say, though, before i I start into my topic, today was the first full day of school for my kid without ADHD medication in like five years. Whoa. Or like four something. i don't even know how long since he started taking it. um I don't really know. his teacher didn't really give me any feedback about it. and was she aware yeah i wrote to her to give her a heads up because i think that's the responsible thing to do yeah the uh the like courteous thing yeah so um yeah the office was fully aware because they call when the meds are getting low they call like every day until you bring in a refill it's like oh my god i'm working on it oh
00:04:13
Speaker
But yeah, literally every single f freaking pharmacy around here is completely out of stock in their so far on back order that even when they get some in stock, he might be so far down the list to get it that he might not even get it this month.
00:04:27
Speaker
So right we'll see. But yeah, so that was, that's interesting. And I also, might've mentioned this to you that I was like literally considering taking him over to Canada to see if I can get some. And like, I finally got a phone call like in this week where i um called a pharmacy to see if they do that kind of thing and what I would need to do. And then he was like, yeah, you need to take him to the doctor here and like a pediatric pediatrician here. And they would have to like make their own prescription plus sign the prescription from his regular doctor.
00:05:13
Speaker
And so I called a pediatrician and I was able to talk to somebody the next day and they were like, Yeah, it costs like $260 to make an appointment with us, to have an appointment with us. And then, and plus he needs to go to a regular um family doctor, and that's like $500 and some dollars. And i was just like, well, I guess that's the question. Because then it was like, you know, they don't take my insurance, but my insurance might be able to reimburse me, but I would have to pay for that cost up front. Right. I was like, ugh, never mind. Yeah.
00:05:50
Speaker
Yeah. Because Canada, in case all y'all out there didn't know this, has no problem with stock. They have enough meds for everyone there. But us in the U.S., we do not.
00:06:06
Speaker
um Anyway,
Rising Healthcare Costs and Impact
00:06:07
Speaker
it's a whole thing. as as My own. As to quote a new podcast. Oh, yeah. It's a whole thing. And um if you're interested in learning about what is going on with ADHD medications in the U.S., just Google it.
00:06:21
Speaker
You will figure it out. Yeah. I haven't even Googled it, but like I will say, like all of a sudden, for reasons that are beyond my comprehension, my insurance has decided to stop covering the brand name of my ADHD medication, which I have preferred to take.
00:06:38
Speaker
Because ah they don't have all sorts of weird additives that the generics do. ah huh yeah Obamacare, the i don't know what they call them, the subsidies or the something or others.
00:06:52
Speaker
like They all ran out. like This administration chose not to extend them. So everyone's costs for health care are going up right now.
00:07:03
Speaker
well That means yeah even your health insurance premiums. My health insurance hasn't increased that much. did like Have you looked at it since January 1st? Well, it it was renewed.
00:07:16
Speaker
Like, it was renewed. it was It's private health insurance through my employer, and it was renewed um for January. And we were shown up front, like, the out of, like, the cost out of our paychecks.
00:07:29
Speaker
Okay. Each paycheck. And, like, it was only, like, an $11-ish increase. Okay. Like, something like that. So, like, it's the the out-of-pocket cost...
00:07:41
Speaker
Actually, yeah, the out-of-pocket cost didn't increase, which thank fuck because it's already too high. um But, like, this is, it's ah it's a matter of coverage. It's a matter of, like, what they'll pay for.
00:07:52
Speaker
Which is, like, that I feel like doesn't get affected by the Affordable Care Act being i don't discontinued or whatever. But, like. All I know is I keep hearing how everybody's costs are going up now because of what this administration has decided to not. Oh, yeah.
Excitement for Retirement in 2026
00:08:08
Speaker
Renew or whatever. Oh, yeah.
00:08:09
Speaker
No, I keep hearing about it too. i was actually prepared for my insurance to be way worse. And so I was pleasantly surprised that it was not when ah when we were presented with the new, like, the details of the renewal. so Ah, okay. Yeah.
00:08:29
Speaker
Well, I don't know. Maybe that prescription change has something to do with that. Maybe it doesn't, but that would be my guess. Yeah, who even knows, but whatever. Anyway.
00:08:40
Speaker
um So we haven't even mentioned what it is that you want to talk about today. Right. I was just about to get there. Yeah. um So as we just discussed, 2026 is here.
00:08:55
Speaker
And that means I am in the year of my retirement
00:09:01
Speaker
Aum.
00:09:05
Speaker
Hallelujah. Yes, I was going to say choirs of angels sounding in the background. I can't tell you how excited I am getting because it is coming and I'm just like, yes.
00:09:20
Speaker
So I called the office of retirement services that handles like the Michigan school employee, like retirement stuff and talk to somebody just to like get some certain, you know, some things that I wasn't clear about cleared up.
00:09:37
Speaker
and, And yeah, some questions answered. So I wanted to double check on that date because last time I called like two, two plus years ago, um I was told September 1st.
00:09:54
Speaker
And so I'm hoping that that stays the same and it should. um and you checked on it today or, and what did they say? Yeah, she said yes, but if you want to be safe, you know, make it October 1st. And I was just like, no.
00:10:11
Speaker
I'm going to checking on it as I go along, like every, you know, a few weeks or whatever, because it'll keep adding in like every paycheck. Like every pay period, I should say pay paycheck pay period. I ah accumulate a certain percentage of a year. And so it will update every pay like on that website. Right.
00:10:36
Speaker
Like, right. And soon as it hits 30 point something, I'm good to go. Okay. So, but that's the, still the projected date is like September 1st or yeah. September 1st. Um, yeah.
00:10:49
Speaker
And I did have other questions and whatnot. and And she, you know, clarified stuff and gave me more information than I, than I knew before, which prompted more questions. And so I was able to like get a bunch of stuff answered. Um,
00:11:05
Speaker
And like the only thing I didn't think to ask her was like, as soon as I retire, how quickly do I get my first pension check? I
Exploring Post-retirement Opportunities
00:11:17
Speaker
don't know that. That's an important question. yeah I'll find that out though. But yeah, I've got like nine months to go essentially. Yeah. Or eight months, whatever. But um so the other thing that I found out that was important to know
00:11:35
Speaker
Is how like I had always heard all these things about, you know, when you retire, you can't come back to work there for like six months or whatever. So I asked her that and she's like, well, yes and no. And so she clarified for me.
00:11:51
Speaker
Where the discrepancy is. And it annoys me that so many people have been told, you know, employees that I work with have been told that they can't go back to work at a school district once they retire for six whole months when that isn't actually true.
00:12:07
Speaker
It's one month. Technically one month you have to be off. And then after that, the the next five months, you cannot make more than $15,100. Right.
00:12:20
Speaker
over the next five months after that okay which is really crazy because like i can't i don't expect to make like the same amount i make now so i highly doubt i would hit that but right but and that's because i don't plan to work full-time like i don't right yeah you wouldn't be that you wouldn't be working full-time or getting all of the overtime that you've been getting right yeah yeah i might do you know part-time or something if i if i do go back But like, yeah, then she said, but that's in a calendar year. So if you retire in September and take off the month of October and go back November 1st, that's two months that you can't go over $15,000 within. And then January 1st, it starts over again to $15,000. And then you only have those three months in. You know what I mean? Okay. So you could probably work full time.
00:13:16
Speaker
I could and I wouldn't. You could definitely because you would never make $15,000 in two months. Exactly. Yeah. So I was just like, there's so many people who are retired that could have gone back and done that and were told like,
00:13:31
Speaker
no because she basically was like well people are worried that they'll make more than 15 000 so we just tell them no just take six months it's like no dude wow if you're just careful and you and you say well i'm making a little too much right now and i have to take next week off you know what i mean like as a sub yeah technically you have that kind of control over your time yeah you yeah Didn't used to be that way, but now they're so desperate for people that they will let subs make their own schedules at this point. Wow.
00:14:04
Speaker
So, yeah. Hell yeah. So that's an interesting thing to know. h But, um... So, yeah, I've been spending a good significant amount of time in the last, you know, few days or whatever, thinking about different ways that I can make money without having to become reemployed somewhere. Right. Like do my own, you know, little things to make money. hmm.
00:14:34
Speaker
And. Yeah, so that's been awesome. And then today earlier, i was like, oh, dude, i I never took down my calendar from December that's still in my bus. So I went on... ah I went on a website to look for a calendar and like, I wanted a smaller one. Cause I, the one I have now is like one of those 12 by 12 big ones that open up and then they're like 12 by 24. Oh God. um So I was like, okay, mini one. And they got like the seven by sevens that open up and then they're seven by 14. So what the one that jumped out at me was like all these tropical beaches.
00:15:11
Speaker
o And I'm like, oh, hello, manifestation. yeah Let's manifest some awesome vacations and shit. Now that I'll be retired. So, yeah, I jumped on that one. Hell yeah.
00:15:25
Speaker
I'm so excited.
00:15:31
Speaker
here With my little bun wiggles. I'm like a giddy school child. yes Oh my goodness. Oh my god. I'm so happy for you. I can't wait. Yeah.
00:15:44
Speaker
So we could talk about like all the different things I've been thinking of doing to make money. Yeah. ah um Of course, there's always my microgreens. Right. And I still think about the travel agent thing. Right. And I'm doing research as to like which host agency that I want to join.
00:16:10
Speaker
um So I've got to get some more information about that stuff. Because like once you do that, then you have to like work for them. But then they train you, which is what I need.
00:16:22
Speaker
Man, I'm trying to remember. i have a lot of things i could sell very true like get rid of yeah you'll have plenty of time to be able to go through your stuff and and uh start getting rid of things that you've been like saying you would would be yeah getting rid of sales and things yeah like marketplace and craigslist or whatever else but like does anybody use craigslist anymore i don't even know That's a good question. i don't know either. I mean, i I'm sure it still exists, but like, I've not, I used to come through it for furniture and like, once upon a time I used to look at what like cars were available, even though I was never, you know, trying to buy one myself, but I just wanted to see what was out there. um
00:17:14
Speaker
And also pets I've looked at on Craigslist. um People who need to rehome a pet have turned to Craigslist in the past. But yeah um but I haven't looked at it in a long time.
00:17:28
Speaker
So I don't really know what's up with it anymore. Yeah, that's I'm sure it's still there. There's probably lots of old school people who still use it. um But actually, didn't really follow through on my thoughts about microgreens. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I jumped to the next thing. I was gonna say, like, really think I mean, know that like, you have a lot of prospects, but I feel like microgreens is like a really good one.
00:18:00
Speaker
For you to like lean into. Yeah, I mean, I'm good at it. But the thing is, it's it's really hard to do by myself. um Yeah. It's a lot of work. It's actually a lot of work. Like, during the part the part where they're growing is no work at all. But, like, the setting up the trays and getting everything ready is a lot of work. And then harvesting and packaging. Yeah. And then getting to, might like, going to actual markets and stuff. That's a lot of work. Yeah. but But you will not have to balance with a full-time job.
00:18:32
Speaker
True. Which although think will probably make it a lot easier comparatively. Yeah, but I am thinking of doing some... some markets like this summer so like get ahead of it and like get some customers going again and like right you know make a little bit of money to put away just to have you know safety net kind of shit um but uh the the one thing that i think i'm going to do differently instead of signing up to do a farmer's market i think i'm going to look for these um like i don't know what you call them
00:19:10
Speaker
Like why why can't I think of what they're called? Like fairs? Like holistic fairs? Yeah, like and yeah maybe not specifically witchy fairs, but that's the first thing that comes to mind for me. Yeah. Or like vendor fairs.
00:19:25
Speaker
Yes. Yeah. yeah So I wouldn't be tied to like one specific one like once a month or every two weeks or whatever. Yeah, but just like sort of the like one-off type of things. You know, it's interesting. Like I was thinking about those fairs recently.
00:19:40
Speaker
Myself. Like not for me to like try to read tarot at them. Because I don't think. That like working. Big events like that. is something I want to do Again. i like I'll do like.
00:19:54
Speaker
Private parties but like. um I don't think that I'll. ah Work vendor fairs but like. I pre-COVID. I loved going to those.
00:20:06
Speaker
I loved.
Managing Social Anxiety and Community Building
00:20:07
Speaker
Looking for them and going to. And I have only been to like one or two since they started to happen again after, you know, COVID died down.
00:20:20
Speaker
And don't know if it's just that like they're not happening or I'm just not finding them. But like I'm I had it in my mind that I wanted to deliberately go look for because I usually use like Facebook events to find them.
00:20:34
Speaker
And ah had it in mind to deliberately go look for more of those specifically to try to help me get through like the winter months.
00:20:48
Speaker
because Because, you know, at least previously, ah they did still happen in the winter. Just like indoors. doors Yeah. At like, you know, hotel conference ah rooms and centers and like some of them like I've seen. have been held at restaurants and like um uh what do they call them elk lodges um have had them hosted them and uh yeah so i was literally thinking about that just in the last few days yeah that's awesome yeah and i think that's perfect for you to set up shop in one of those
00:21:31
Speaker
Right. um There's this... Okay, I don't know if you remember the Mystic Moon that was a store that I went when I first started getting itchy. It closed,
00:21:46
Speaker
Yeah. And then right next door to it was some sort of like... I wouldn't call it a church, but it was some kind of like place for pagans. It was like a pagan... I don't know what you call it. Gathering space.
00:22:03
Speaker
Something. Something like that. Where they would have like rituals and stuff I guess. And some classes maybe. But I never went there. And then that place closed. And now in its place. There's instead of in the actual. like it Not in the Mystic Moon spot. But like literally they are the same building. But there are two stores like just conjoined. like So the one that was the pagan. Whatever place.
00:22:29
Speaker
um that closed is now different like what do you call it metaphysical shop okay yeah why i can't think of words though um yeah so i've never been there um But it looks cool and they do tarot classes and they do all kinds of other stuff, but they do have like a fair thing. And I'll tell you this. I really hate how Facebook is set up because I have the hardest time finding things that I'm looking for. Like I'll see suggested stuff and then when I go to look for it again, i cannot find it
00:23:09
Speaker
And even on their actual Facebook page, it doesn't show that event. Like, I can't figure out where I saw it. so yeah I wanted to call her store and ask her about it and be like, hey, would you be interested in having a microgreens vendor? Yeah. And see, you know. Mm-hmm.
00:23:30
Speaker
I definitely would say something to the effect of like, I am kindred folk. I am not just a rando off the street trying to sell my microgreens in your store. I am like i am which and... yeah and ah gardener yeah i am a green witch i'm a garden witch yeah oh my god that'd be awesome i'm kind of witch yeah now i'm reminded of some of the stuff that i found on facebook and went to pre-covid
00:24:03
Speaker
Because, like, you mentioned that, like, pagan gathering space. And it reminded me, was just the most random ass, like, I don't know how I found it. It must have been on Facebook. I don't know how I actually found it, though.
00:24:18
Speaker
And how I convinced myself to to go. But there was, like, a workshop there. one evening in all the way in hartford connecticut which o this was when i found this was when i was still living technically within like boston city limits and so hartford from where i live now is only like just under two hours maybe maybe an hour and a half if you're lucky but like from boston it's like two and a half to three hours depending on the traffic
00:24:50
Speaker
And I managed to convince myself to go to this workshop one evening and I actually had a great time. And I liked it. And I think I remember thinking to myself, like, it'd be cool. i kind of wish it was closer. It'd be cool to come and do this more.
00:25:09
Speaker
But I was also like, I social anxiety. it it took me too long to figure out that, like, social anxiety was the reason that, like, I would get, like, physically ill.
00:25:21
Speaker
before gatherings like this and it it that's it happened then too like i was physically ill that to the point that while i was driving back i was like am i gonna have to pull over and like sleep in my car because i like feel so bad that i feel like i'm not gonna be able to drive safely like it was just it was such a bummer because i really did have a good time and like there was no reason to be socially anxious but i was right And it was in but it was in like a kind of gathering space that was like that. It was like, it seemed like it was set up like a church, but it was like a weird, not weird. It was kind of cool, like round-ish, maybe octagonal, maybe actually round-ish. building and the the gathering space itself was also like a round room big open high ceilings and everything um that's so cool it was fucking cool um but yeah i i can't even remember like what organization was putting it on like i i have no recollection it was this was all the way back in like 2016 2017 uh yeah
00:26:27
Speaker
and yeah damn yeah oh my goodness yeah that was all social anxiety shit for you wasn't it it was so yeah like i i remember thinking to myself like why do i feel so awful all of a sudden out of nowhere like why do i feel so bad and looking back it was like that's it like i was socially anxious that's it like sometimes it would cause me to feel like migraines and sometimes it was like literal physical nausea
00:26:58
Speaker
Or, you know, but it was just always just like something that manifested physically. And like, i can't believe that it took me so long to figure out like the mind body connection there. But like, damn, because i don't think I'd experience that now.
00:27:14
Speaker
Not with everything that I've done and and gone through since then. Yeah. So. You've done a lot of growing. Yeah. Not like I need to go out and find like a witchy pagan group locally here to like join or gather with. But like it'd be nice to like have something to show up to sometimes.
00:27:33
Speaker
Yeah. You know? Yeah. So. Yeah. um And so also, yes um you remember the Witches Ball, which they had the Witches Bazaar, like on the same day? i do remember. Yeah. That was such a fun day.
00:27:53
Speaker
I've actually already reached out to the new organizers. Yeah. ah one of them to see if they would be interested in having me do like vend micros this october so i just want to get more involved in my actual community of witchy people yeah like locally to you people Yeah, rather than do a farmer's market where, you know, any random person, you know, that we have nothing in common with could just be walking by and blah, blah, blah. And i I mean, I made some cool connections. Like I did meet a lot of really nice people when I did that. But I would like to build my community. Yeah, a little bit more. you I absolutely want that for you. And I see it for you.
00:28:41
Speaker
i can see that
Financial Strategies for Retirement
00:28:42
Speaker
happening. yeah So that's really good. i like that. Yeah. There are quite a few different places that I have in mind I can be reaching out to to set up a trying to vend at some of their little fairs and stuff. Hell yeah. um ah Not to mention as well, I could always do, could always make my tie dye. I can always do my bead jewelry and have those things set out as well.
00:29:14
Speaker
you know as long as they would allow me to do more than one type of thing and totally i mean it's like i guess you'd have to ask like the organize the different organizers but like i figure you know it's all your business so you know i'm sure nobody would mind but yeah that'd be cool yeah I'm going to have lots of time on my hands to be making some stuff. So might as well be trying to find places to sell it. Yes.
00:29:47
Speaker
ah I'm so excited, Molly. I love it. Yeah. So good. That's awesome. And my mind is totally going blank now. It's one of them days, man. About all the other stuff.
00:30:02
Speaker
Yeah. It's one of them days. Meh. i Oh, i guess I guess I should say, like, you know, I've thought of different businesses that i wouldn't mind trying to work for.
00:30:14
Speaker
Like, to call and say, hey, I plan on retiring from my full-time job in October and wonder if you have any positions you need filling. You know what I mean? That kind of stuff. But, like, there's that one store that's, I don't even know if I want to call it a store, but, like,
00:30:34
Speaker
It's a store, but it also has, they have like different modalities that they offer there, like Reiki and massage and sound cleansing. And I went there for a massage with some Reiki. i went for a sound healing thing, which was really cool. Actually, i want to try and do that again.
00:30:54
Speaker
um but I don't and like they do sell like handcrafted soaps that somebody makes and brings in there and things like that so I wonder if they would let me come in and either like set up a mini fridge in there or know have my cooler in there i don't know I don't know or I would even like to work in there and be like yeah hey I need somebody between like 830 or 9 2
00:31:23
Speaker
that would be like the time frame that I would be able to work mom yeah while somebody's in school it doesn't hurt to start putting out the feelers and making the connections and networking as it as it's ah referred to in corporate speak um yeah but still like totally worthwhile totally Yeah, so if you ever have any ideas for me, i would love to hear them. I will hit you with them so hard.
00:31:59
Speaker
yeah And even even our listeners, too. like I thought of like this is something that you know if if anyone's mind is jogged as to like ideas, I would love to hear them. Hell yeah.
00:32:15
Speaker
Because I'm in a pretty unique position being 50 being to only fifty in being able to like technically retire from my career but like yeah i can't technically do nothing until social security age i need to have some other kind of income so yeah yeah there will not be any actual retiring of my body but still like it's it's because of like the the physical demandingness of the job that you've had for the last 29 years like
00:32:50
Speaker
it's the kind of retirement that you like need it's like even if you can't like fully stop working like right you get to finally stop like waking up at four zero in the morning every single day and like you know needing to be on the road and like jostling your back all the time and like yeah like that yeah i bet you're gonna feel so physically so much better i know i will oh my god just having you know a two-week long you know christmas break yeah you know holiday break whatever you want to call it like that that every time i have to come back to work i get like depressed yeah it's like i don't want to go back of course
00:33:40
Speaker
But so that was probably the last Christmas break that I'll ever have to do. So was just like, I can do this. I can do this. It's going to go by so fast. Like literally we're already over a week into the new year. You know, it's going to fly. yeah It's going to fly.
00:34:01
Speaker
i'm so glad. So maybe I should start like counting down the days on my calendar. I should like start writing. Yeah. I know there are apps for like i countdown. So if you enter in like September 1st or whichever day like it'll give you a countdown of how many days until even maybe sometimes it'll show how many hours and minutes you can sit and watch the time just tick down.
00:34:30
Speaker
oh i can, I, I would, I would, probably do that if i were in your position just like yeah not to like spend the whole time staring at it but just like to occasionally open it and watch that time just boop boop yeah okay i'm gonna go on my phone right now and look for an app good and i really like it's unfortunate that like i don't really have anything to contribute Even though i like it's better not to talk so much with my mouth being the way that it is right now. it's okay.
00:35:05
Speaker
it's It's unfortunate because even though I'm not that much younger than you, retirement doesn't feel like a possibility ever. Like I know... I actually, I can't even say I know for sure that I'll be able to at some point, even if it's in my like 80s, because I don't know that.
00:35:24
Speaker
Frankly, with the way that... a the world is and the economy and everything i'm just like i don't fucking know don't know what's gonna happen um i have a retirement fund i have a 401k uh it's probably i mean it's slowly getting added to, you know, with every paycheck and every, yeah you know, every paycheck, I also have a, you know, employer contribution, which is wonderful.
00:35:59
Speaker
It's one of those really good benefits that I hope that we don't lose over time. We as a society, I mean, because you see it often, but I feel like it's one of those things that'll just sort of be rolled away.
00:36:14
Speaker
as a workers value and labor is devalued really over time right but yeah I don't know it's uh
00:36:32
Speaker
I just don't know. i don't know what's going to happen. Like all that I know is I've just got to keep adding to that 401k and hopefully eventually it'll get to a place where it's like, oh yeah, I could maybe, maybe live off of this.
00:36:46
Speaker
We'll see. We'll see. Yeah. yeah I mean, I can't live off of my pension at least until i get like, I mean, I'd have to get all my debts paid off and probably my house paid
Countdown to Retirement and Future Plans
00:37:00
Speaker
off.
00:37:00
Speaker
Which, I don't know if that'll ever happen because I might eventually have to sell it and get a new place. and Start a whole new mortgage. So, yeah. Yeah. So, I wouldn't really be able to just survive on my pension. And that's why I'm saying, like, I need to figure out, yeah you know, some kind of side gigs or like, a part-time job that I'm going to love and not like, you know, want to kill myself. don't know. Cut that out. You know what I'm saying? And not want to like, ah, unalive myself when I'm done working there. Yeah. oh Yeah.
00:37:38
Speaker
I get you. I get you. Mm-hmm. God. But there's so many things that I want to do. i know. so many things. We talked about it. Like, we touched on it briefly in your... reading the last was gonna say the last time you were on the podcast because our first episode of the year had jim featuring because you were otherwise occupied ah but the last time you were on the podcast which was the last one the last episode of 2025 we did those readings we talked about this
00:38:16
Speaker
um there is so much that you want to do so much probably that you have not even yeah there's books but also there's probably so much that you haven't even like become fully consciously aware of that going to want to explore right yeah sure and having the time to do that is going to be so fucking monumental and amazing ah like that one month i'm I'm literally thinking okay I have how many months, eight months or whatever to like prepare to have a month off. So getting like a bill or two, you know, paid off. So I don't have to worry about those costs, like getting a little bit of cash saved in the bank. Like, you know, things that I can do to like not have to work for a month would be great. Yeah. Just like take a whole month off, you know? Yeah.
00:39:09
Speaker
Yeah. Maybe I should start a GoFundMe. Oh my God.
00:39:15
Speaker
god That would be kind of dumb, probably, but anyway. Well. Yeah. um I can't remember if you did or did not open a high-yield savings, but, like, that would be a good place to start, I think.
00:39:30
Speaker
Yeah. I don't have a high-yield savings. You are correct. I never did do that. Well, ah I think, I mean, we referenced this in our bonus episode, but that card that you opened...
00:39:45
Speaker
That I had opened that card myself and then opened a high yield savings with the same company, like just through the app. Like I didn't even like do anything. Like I didn't have to call or anything. Like it was very easy.
00:40:00
Speaker
And so, and that's still, I mean, like I have a couple of other high yield savings now, but like that was the first one and it was very, very easy. So like there's a good place to start.
00:40:13
Speaker
Yeah. Does it link to like your bank account so you can just slide money over? How does it work? I've not interact i've not um set up a way to transfer from my other bank accounts to that one. But I have set up where ah like a percentage of my paychecks goes into it automatically. Okay. That's how I have like my direct deposit set up is...
00:40:44
Speaker
probably looks convoluted and insane to anybody that's outside of my brain. But ah i I have my, have like five different bank accounts set up to a to get deposits every pay period. So,
00:41:01
Speaker
So here's a thing, too, um because I knew i was going to be retiring this year. I decided not to contribute to my flexible spending. Okay.
00:41:15
Speaker
thing um which i've been contributing to for years um yeah so even though that was pre-taxed dollars coming out and like the money that if i just let it go into my check it'll be you know taxed i wonder if i do the thing where i set up an automatic withdrawal into my money market a new money market account if that would be pre-tax dollars as well I have no idea. Yeah. um I know nothing about that.
00:41:47
Speaker
But either way, like separating that extra money, because it's money you're already not used to like seeing. um So you're already used to getting by without it.
00:42:01
Speaker
um But like, Whether you have it like direct deposited into a savings or if you like transfer it every time. Although for my for my reason, the reason that I like to have so many accounts that get direct deposit is that like there's only like two accounts that I actually touch.
00:42:19
Speaker
Mm-hmm. And like one of them is for my mortgage and my bills and the other ones for like my groceries and like my spending. Right. And like the rest of them are savings accounts that I don't fucking touch unless it's de kate to to pay the occasional like bill like an emergency backup. But like, you know, I like having ADHD. I like having accounts that I can't just swipe away, you know. um And so that's why that's why I do that.
00:42:50
Speaker
myself and I like direct depositing into them because if I gain access to that money like there is no guarantee that I will ever like of my own volition move that money over manually every single time right so yeah that's why I do that and that's why I suggested for anybody that has ADHD I'm not a financial expert but I've also seen this suggested for people with ADHD to do this so by money experts specifically so yeah automate automate everything so you don't yeah even have to think so you don't have to think about it and also so you don't get access to and get tempted by extra money yeah if you want to be able to save and actually keep what's saved like never give yourself access to it
00:43:41
Speaker
Right. Unless it's like an emergency, in which case you'd have to like, you know, go through some ah steps where, you know, that might like get you to think, oh, wait, maybe i actually don't need this.
00:43:53
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. You would only want to bother with going through all those steps if it wasn't an emergency. If it was like actually urgent. Yeah, exactly.
00:44:03
Speaker
So. So, yeah, that would be my recommendation. But like, you know, you do you, boo. Yeah, no, I'm going to start looking into that and I'm going to try and do something in the next week or so because i don't want much time slipped with the advantage of that kind of thing. So, yeah, yeah, for sure. Yeah.
00:44:25
Speaker
Yeah. ah Yeah. I will say we have had some more technical difficulties this time around as we've been trying to record. So we're going to go ahead move.
00:44:38
Speaker
you know wrap this one up yeah yeah i'm gonna try to play it safe a little bit here um but yeah that that's our episode Welcome back to to the podcast, k Christina. That is your podcast as well. But welcome back. I'm glad to see you back. ah Thanks.
00:44:59
Speaker
And thanks, everybody, for sharing in my joy. yeah dude. Oh, I'm sure we're going to talk about it more as the time approaches. But like, it's gonna be awesome.
00:45:10
Speaker
Yeah, it's gonna, it'll be a saga for the, for this year, for sure. Yeah, yeah, it'll be, it'll be a big crescendo ah to, to the final, I guess we're gonna have a we're gonna end up having a final countdown, aren't we?
00:45:27
Speaker
okay It's the final countdown.
00:45:35
Speaker
Oh my God. haven't thought about that song in 700 years. i don't even know who sings it. Me neither.
00:45:47
Speaker
That's so terrible. Nobody know nobody does. it Like all the lyrics and like the music just downloads in everybody's psyche. and nobody knows where it originated from wait okay so i'm just gonna throw this out there because oh boy there is there are a whole bunch of different countdown apps and none of them say like verified by play protect or whatever that i use you know the play store for google oh yeah and i don't know which one is good and like if anybody there out there listening uses a good like google play store countdown app i need suggestions which one's good so all right yeah yeah well so we need that soon because i'm not waiting too long
00:46:38
Speaker
I don't have Google Play, so I can't help. But to anybody that does, please help. Yes. Send us a message on Instagram or an email. All the links are down below in our description. And ah yeah, we're we got to go. We got to get out here. Yep. We're going to combust if we don't. All right.
00:47:01
Speaker
Let you guys know.