Suddenly, it seems to me that I haven’t saved enough for my retirement.
Which is a pity, as I am already retired, and have been for some years.
What changed?
First, realize that a good chunk of my wealth is tied up in my house. It’s in Vienna, VA, in a Northern Virginia economy strongly dependent on federal employees and federal spending.
Ah. At this point, I think there should be an expectation of falling real estate values around here. But who knows. Flat-at-best, say. That, versus prior thinking that real estate always appreciates, right?
Next, by dropping (now) 95 pounds of weight, my (subjective) life expectancy should be … longer. That’s a good thing. But it does have a downside, which is more years of life over which to spread out the available money.
And, now, third, the rest of Trump-o-nomics. The tariffs alone pretty much guarantee poor returns to a financial portfolio in the short run, and who knows how much lost productivity in the long run. The significantly-heightened threat of a global recession just adds to portfolio-return angst.
Conclusion:
The world has changed since I set aside funds for my retirement.
What seemed like a slam-dunk, asset-wise, now no longer looks quite so bulletproof. My house probably should lose value, in response to the throttling of Federal employment and spending. Surely, tariffs and whatnot will do the same for the value of my 401K (equivalent).
Simultaneously, a consequence of weight loss is that I should plan to need money longer.
Weight loss plus Trump-o-nomics. A double whammy.
I never planned for either of them.
