The realities of retirement and the changes you make.

At some stage of your life the retirement issue is going to affect you. What you can afford to do, depends on how well you have planned for this time period, or what your circumstances during employment has empowered you to save.

Changes required, no matter what your fate is. If you have made sufficient provisions for this time, the chances are you will not believe it, and still change your life style, and obviously if there is not enough you will make adjustments.

These adjustments are affecting some in strange ways, a friend I have known for years, has always had a packet of biltong (South African word for American Jerky) in his hand. An avid eater of the product. I, walking through the mall, found my friend staring into the window of a biltong shop, “Peter, wat maak jy daar?” (Peter, what are you doing?) I asked in his mother tongue, his answer “Window shopping!” This caused me to burst out laughing, window shopping, at a biltong shop? He added further “Yes Rob, can't afford this any more, so while the wife spends the money on food, I window shop and remember how good life was.”

Now Peter was no slouch with money, and I know he cannot spend all his before he dies, yet he had some how convinced himself he could. His favourite food had now become a luxury item, only for special occasions like international rugby matches. Peter also loved his beer, and on inquiry, he informed me, “that had also seen it's tail!” The meaning, less significant in English, yet in Afrikaans, “Dit, het sy Gat gesien!” Smoking, my next question, “No Rob, if that must go, then I can just as well give up sex, or thinking about it!”

This gave me an insight into Peter's life; smoking, a must; beer, not so important; favourite food, cut back. How was it possible to explain, that an item that has become so expensive in our country, was more important than his favourite food or drink? Reality dictated it all, the smoking dulled his eating urge, and his wife dulled his drinking habit, something she'd tried to do for years.

Is it possible that retiring with plenty of money in the bank, is no different from retiring with too little? This, for me, become a new reality check. Do I consider the consequences of purchasing a packet of biltong? No, but then I don't drink. Am I better off financially than Peter? Not a chance, if I continue to live like I did when employed full-time, I'd be broke within a year. What then is the difference between Peter and I? Who knows, but I still believe that a luxury, is man's God-given right.

Peter's wife is not talking to me at the moment. You see it only took me five minutes to convince Peter he could afford it, he bought biltong, and then beer from the bottle store next the biltong shop. My mistake, visiting too long with Peter. When his wife came out of the grocery store with a laden trolley, the fist thing she noticed was a pack of beer, and Peter with a mouthful of biltong. “Were did you get that?” her challenging inquiry, Peter's reply “Rob told me to buy it!” Coward!