Susan, 73, lives in DC and uses YNAB to help her navigate the complicated world of retirement money management. Here’s her story.
My Unexpected “Retirement”
In 2010, I became “retired”—a little earlier than I had planned. After a long and successful career, my former employer restructured the company and I was fired. This was during the recession—and it seemed no one wanted to hire a 63-year-old woman, no matter how successful I had been.
While I wasn’t in financial distress—I had an IRA and a living cushion—I couldn’t shake the nagging worry that the retirement savings I had might not be enough.
I ended up finding a job two years later—it paid $50,000/year—but it was brutal. My son urged me to quit. This stressful job wasn’t worth it (the company has since gone into bankruptcy). So I quit and moved to Washington D.C., to be closer to him.
I moved all across the country to find cheaper places. Because of all the unexpected expenses involved in moving and setting up my own life, I was able draw more retirement income than I expected from my Roth IRA. My retirement accounts and monthly expenses were my biggest concern.
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