Balance and Vitality: A Journey from Aqua Sculpting to Financially Secure Sunsets
Mar 18, 2024
Marcy Backhus
Navigating the tranquil aftermath of St. Patrick's Day in Chicago, I, Marcy Backhus, found myself reflecting on the importance of balance—a theme that's distinctly echoed throughout this week's chat. From the heart-pumping thrills of aqua sculpting that's keeping my joints jubilant at 63, to the quiet introspection that comes with an empty nest as my family whisks away to Vail for a ski adventure, I'm here to share how these moments tie into your path to a financially sound and healthy retirement.
Let's grab a proverbial shovel and unearth some financial wisdom together. You'll hear firsthand about the tightrope walk between generosity and safeguarding your nest egg, leaning on my own tales of familial love and the financial implications therein. We'll unpack the treasures hidden in decluttering, not just for peace of mind, but for the sake of your wallet too. And because life's too short to not savor its sweetness, I'll reveal how to sprinkle in those luxurious treats without tipping your retirement plans into disarray.
But it's not all dollars and cents; your well-being is the golden currency that truly enriches life. I'll take you through the critical, and often overlooked, steps in preventive health care. Plus, we'll tackle the boring but essential world of home maintenance and the sneaky drain of autopilot spending. And remember, even the smallest scratch can escalate if ignored—taking care of the little things is sometimes the most significant step you can take towards maintaining a vibrant and fulfilling life. Join me as we chart the course for a future that's as bright as it is secure.
Navigating the tranquil aftermath of St. Patrick's Day in Chicago, I, Marcy Backhus, found myself reflecting on the importance of balance—a theme that's distinctly echoed throughout this week's chat. From the heart-pumping thrills of aqua sculpting that's keeping my joints jubilant at 63, to the quiet introspection that comes with an empty nest as my family whisks away to Vail for a ski adventure, I'm here to share how these moments tie into your path to a financially sound and healthy retirement.
Let's grab a proverbial shovel and unearth some financial wisdom together. You'll hear firsthand about the tightrope walk between generosity and safeguarding your nest egg, leaning on my own tales of familial love and the financial implications therein. We'll unpack the treasures hidden in decluttering, not just for peace of mind, but for the sake of your wallet too. And because life's too short to not savor its sweetness, I'll reveal how to sprinkle in those luxurious treats without tipping your retirement plans into disarray.
But it's not all dollars and cents; your well-being is the golden currency that truly enriches life. I'll take you through the critical, and often overlooked, steps in preventive health care. Plus, we'll tackle the boring but essential world of home maintenance and the sneaky drain of autopilot spending. And remember, even the smallest scratch can escalate if ignored—taking care of the little things is sometimes the most significant step you can take towards maintaining a vibrant and fulfilling life. Join me as we chart the course for a future that's as bright as it is secure.
Speaker 1:
Hello and welcome to the AG Name for Sissy's podcast. My name is Marcy Backes and I am your host. Oh my gosh, I'm so excited. Today I am sitting at my desk, I have my professional microphone setup, I have my. I just have my little office professional setup done. I've been recording on my pod my podcast. I've been recording it excuse me, on my laptop because Craig's usually home, it's hard to have my desk time to myself, but I'm going to make it a priority that even if Craig is home, he needs to go in the other room while I'm doing my podcast. This is the only problem really of living in a small space, but I'm glad to be here, I'm glad you're here. It's been a very good week, very interesting week. You know we've had every kind of weather, from warm to flurries this week. Of course it is. I am recording this on St Patrick's Day. So happy St Patrick's Day. On St Patrick's Day Everybody is Irish.
Speaker 1:
The Saturday before St Patrick's Day, the city of Chicago always dyes its river green, and it is a bright, fluorescent green. Craig is out of town. He is skiing with our son, alec, in Vale, colorado, having a good time. Had a few little hiccups, but nothing major? Well, I don't know. Alec was hit by a skier from behind. Alec was snowboarding and a guy hit him really hard from behind, flipped him over. Alec doesn't remember being hit. He remembers everything else and cracked his helmet a $300 helmet in half. So, needless to say, as a mom I've been a little worried about that, but Craig's been keeping an eye on him, so that's good. I was glad to hear Craig was a little worried too. Sometimes you think it's just us moms, but they're having a good time.
Speaker 1:
I've been having a good time here in Chicago by myself. I had set myself a few goals for when they were gone. Relaxing was one of them and getting some things. We've lived here two years now and there's things that I don't need. There's all kinds of things.
Speaker 1:
I wanted my closet different, my office box, which is a craft box. It's this huge armoire that handles all of my office and my crafting supplies and my sewing machine, my computer and everything. It's really cool. It folds all up and it looks just like an armoire in the living room and then it opens to my desk or to my crafting area and that needed a little attention. I gave that some attention and today I gave the closet some attention and I've realized I need to stop buying clothes Like, really this is bad. And although I've changed well, one, two, three, four, five I've gone down five sizes in the last year, but still that's not an excuse to go hog wild, and I've got a little hog wild.
Speaker 1:
I did have to get pants that I didn't need a safety pin to hold up. One day and we were getting ready for church and I had to ask Craig to safety pin my pants up because I was afraid they were going to fall off while I was going up for communion, and that is probably frowned upon in any church. So I've got pants that fit now. I think I've rounded out my wardrobe there. Some shirts well, hello Pickle, do you hear Pickle? Hello Pickle. Some shirts still look a little big. But I think I've got enough. I need to stop.
Speaker 1:
It's a sickness, it's an illness, it's really bad. And my best friend Lynn, you do not help, lynn, you are just as bad as me. So, yes, it's terrible, but these are problems. So it kind of did make me think about what we're going to talk about today in the main portion of the podcast, which is seven things not to do to stay financially healthy as we go into these retirement years. And there are actually seven really good things. I found them in the AARP magazine. If you get that, you'll find them in there. But we're going to go over them today. Let's see what else.
Speaker 1:
So I went down to the river, the Green River, myself. I didn't have to see him die at Green. I went down like an hour and a half later. But the city cranks on that day. There is a billion people, a billion cars. So I went down, I did that, stopped at the store, got a few things, came home and did not go out the rest of the day. And let me tell you, when I went out for church this morning, this city was quiet. It was like going to have one big hangover this city, but everybody out having lots of fun. I didn't see anything on the news of anything negative or bad. So that's good, a lot of harmless fun. The outfits people have on are crazy the green, the dollars, the monies, the gold. It's just really cute.
Speaker 1:
So I did have a change in my workout routine this week. As you all know, I've been doing my water aqua sculpting at my gym and they added a Monday class, so I tried to go four days a week. So I got home last Wednesday, I went Thursday, I went Saturday, then I went Monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday Woo kicked my butt, but I'm trying not to have to go on the weekends. So again, I will start tomorrow. I've had three days off, probably too many days off, but we'll hit the gym four times. It's made a huge difference in my life.
Speaker 1:
If you are suffering with any kind of chronic pain or anything, I highly recommend getting in the water. It's a life changer for me and it could be for you. The best thing about it is it doesn't hurt our joints, which is so important. I'm 63. And these joints have to last me another. What 20 years for me. I've already outlived my lifespan. I have a genetic disorder called Ehlers-Danlos-Venius type 4. That's not a good thing to have. The average life expectancy, I think, is 52 to 55. So I feel like I've outlived that and I finally realized that my life is a gift and I'm trying to live it as such. I'm trying to live a positive life. I'm trying to live a life for myself and not for everybody else. I've spent years trying to make everybody else happy and it's time to make myself happy and it's funny. In making myself happy, I find it's making others happy.
Speaker 1:
I don't know about your man, but men can get a little curmudgeonly as they get older. I think women can too, and I've seen a lot of that in Craig and I'm trying to flip that switch. Sorry, I need a little refresher there. I'm trying to flip that switch, I'm trying to. He doesn't mean to be negative, but he is and it's annoying, so I'm trying to point it out in the most constructive ways. So if you've got that problem, if you have any suggestions, let me know. I think I'm going to be starting a not another podcast. I'm going to be starting a YouTube channel that focuses on Ask Marcy and my thoughts, and it's either going to be Ask Marcy or what's Marcy Thinking. I think it's going to be what's Marcy Thinking.
Speaker 1:
I think a lot of things I think we do as we get older. I think one of the things that is bothering me in the world, and it has nothing to do with candidates. So I'm not going to be talking to political, about candidates, but I am going to be talking about our system. We are not a two-party system. There are other parties out there and the young people they're not going to be talking to political no-transcript, don't seem to know that or understand that or, as most people feel, like it's a throwaway vote, but it's not and we need to start looking at this and we need to start having those representatives be in our oh my gosh, the word just went right out of my head. We need our all the candidates, all the top candidates for every party, to be in the debates. But if you don't know in the debates, nobody can be in there unless they have a possibility of winning the popular vote.
Speaker 1:
Well, the smaller parties are never going to grow if people don't know who they are and who their candidates are, and I think that's a really sucky thing. I don't care. I don't care who the candidates are. They deserve to be there. If they're going to be on the ballot, which they are, they deserve to be in the debates, but there's some dumb rule.
Speaker 1:
Anyways, it's my goal to. I'm going to start this YouTube channel out with the thought of going through the political parties and things and just kind of the things I'm thinking about. I think about a lot of things, like all of us do, and I thought well, you know, I need to get them out there and I try to keep this definite podcast on an aging type thing. Not necessarily aging, but the things that we focus on and face as we do. Age and aging, you know, could be 40, could be 50, could be 60. Just depends on who you are. Well, that's enough about my week and update. Why don't you grab that Diet Coke if you're zooming along on the highway, angie, make sure you got that QT with you and everybody else.
Speaker 1:
My friends, get your coffee, get your iced tea, sit back and let's talk about seven things not to do to stay financially healthy. Sometimes the big threat to our future and security comes from within. So steer clear of the self-inflicted wounds. That's what we're going to talk about next. Hang in well, seven things not to do to stay financially healthy we're going to talk about today. Sometimes the big threat of our future security comes from within. American households headed by somebody 65 or older spend about 4800 a month on average, according to the Bureau of Labor. So splurging on a big ticket item or a big purchase can make a big difference in our income. So these are seven great things. They're not big things, but they're things to think about that really make a difference. So showering the people you love with money. Well, this is the lesson that I've learned.
Speaker 1:
Recently. I was helping our child, kyle, for quite a while financially, and part of the reason I did it was because I knew, if I didn't, that Kyle would walk away and I finally had to put my foot down with Kyle. Some of the spending had gotten out of control to a point where she ran up a credit card. They ran up a credit card excuse me, our pronouns are different now and weren't able to pay it, and I realized the disrespect for what I was doing and trying to help and I had to cut that spending out and it did cost me and Craig our relationship with Kyle. So I'm telling you, you can do it and it could hurt and it could change some things in your life. But if the people that you love can't understand that they well, in this case they're young, they're in their earning time, we're in our cruising time, our ending time, but you need to put your foot down on those types of things. I think a lot of people are, I've noticed, in our age group may still be paying or paid for a while. Kids phones or car insurance those seem to be the two things that parents continue for a while, or maybe for quite a while, and don't forget that that money could add up and really benefit you. So think about it. Hope it doesn't cost you what it cost me, but my child is in God's hands and is a child of God, so hopefully we'll come back at some point. Didn't mean to take that direction, but that in the first one kind of was my problem. Okay, mistake number two delay decluttering. For heaven's sakes.
Speaker 1:
If you've listened to this podcast, you know my feeling about clutter. If you haven't started decluttering now, shame on you. You need to do it before you move. It costs more to move with your crap. If you don't think it does, trust me what it cost Craig and I. It cost Craig and I $27,000 to move to Chicago, and that was after getting rid of 90% of everything we owned. It happened to be a very expensive time to leave California.
Speaker 1:
But also, if you're paying for storage facilities, think about is that stuff? If you don't want it, you don't need to get rid of it? If it is things you're keeping, then yes, fit it into your budget. I mean, at this point we're keeping our things at Craig's mom's house, the few things we have kept. Trust me, when we have to move it out and put it in a storage unit, I'm gonna go through it again. You know it was hard when we were moving and I had so much to go through. I did my very best and I did really good, but I know there's stuff in there that I don't need anymore. I know there's holiday decorations that I kept thinking. You know that I had room for them and I don't. I decorate for all the holidays, but I don't have that much room. So don't delay your decluttering. It's gonna save you in two ways. It's gonna save you in that final move when you move again. If you have a storage unit, it's going to save you that money as well.
Speaker 1:
Mistake number three lap up the luxury. Before you spring for that European sports car or total kitchen makeover, calculate how much you'll need to live comfortably in retirement, including costs such as household and healthcare. You can find a retirement budget worksheet at vanguardcom or at T-I-A-A. That's T as in Tom, I as in ice-aaorg. I love a worksheet. I love a budget worksheet. I have one, craig, and I have a budget. I've had to revisit that budget recently. It's important If you weren't a budgeter before, you should be one when you retire, because it's all you got. Perhaps by opting for a more modest car, you can afford other treats and still have more money to invest for your future. So really think about that.
Speaker 1:
I know, coming from Orange County, you know you are what you drive well, you're not. You are where you live well, you're not. I felt that pressure when I lived there. I happened to live in one of the most beautiful communities in Orange County. I was blessed to live there, but moving from a 4,000 square foot house into a 850 square foot condo, I'm the same person, and so is Craig. Our life is better here. I I can't even tell you how much I love living in this city.
Speaker 1:
I was thinking about it the other day and I said to Craig you know what's great about living in the city? First of all, chicago is a gorgeous city and if you've never been here, it's stunning. And they do all kinds of plantings big, huge flower plantings and fall plantings and Christmas plantings, and right now we have a million tulip bulbs that are gonna bloom in about two weeks. I don't have to do any of that, I just get to go out and enjoy it. I don't have to go to the gardening center, I don't have to buy it, I don't have to worry about it. My building. We have a huge party deck. It has 10 beautiful stainless steel barbecues that get cleaned every day and I don't have to do it. The plantings are gorgeous, outdoor furniture is beautiful. We have games if people come to visit. Craig and I have had parties out there. We also have a gorgeous pool deck that the plantings are insane in the summer and spring. Well, it's open and I don't have to do any of it. I get to walk around a city that has some of the most beautiful architecture in the world. I get to sit and enjoy it and you know what? It's not my responsibility and I'm enjoying that. I enjoy a smaller life. I know it's not for everyone, but it's for me.
Speaker 1:
So let's talk about mistake number four panic about investments. Number one if you are investing, you need to be investing in things you're comfortable with, and if you have some that are more scary and you're okay with that, great. If you're not fix that, perhaps you're worried about the market crash, or maybe you want to catch a ride on a soaring stock. You might end up selling at a loss or taking disastrous risks. People tend to assume that what is going up or down will continue. Okay, but history shows no one can consistently predict the market. Use a two week cooling off period before you buy or sell. Chances are the urge will have passed. So there's a good piece of advice a two week cooling off period. Don't freak out. I mean, come on, we've lived through our generation. If you're in your 60s, late 50s, we've lived through a lot. We've lived through a pandemic, a worldwide pandemic, and we in the United States we lived through. 2009, 2008, real estate crisis in this country Both things that shook our financial future and, if nothing, we should have learned that. It'll take time, but things do get better. All right.
Speaker 1:
Number five this is a medical thing. Skip your checkups, don't. Preventative care is often free or low cost. All of most of our insurance is if you are going in for preventative care, all those things are free Mammograms, all those tests, the blood tests once a year. So make sure you're doing that, make sure.
Speaker 1:
I just went to the dentist on Monday. I knew I had a cavity those dang cinnamon bears that I love so much. They stick to your teeth and it was up in the way back and I said to them I said I know I got an issue. And so they said, oh, that's a tooth we've been watching. And I said, well, it sounds about right. Well, of course, that is a tooth that in my youth they drilled. The crud out of it didn't leave much left. Then I had to have it filled again as an adult. Well, this time it needed a crown. So thank goodness I have dental insurance Still cost me over $700. But I got that crown in our temporary in on Friday and they were able to do it quick because I have a trip to Greece and I want the permanent one in before I go.
Speaker 1:
So don't put off dental vision, hearing all of those things, before leaving your job, especially if you have great insurance at your job, before you retire. Medicare doesn't pay for everything. Medicare doesn't have dental or vision unless you get and again, talk to my friend Neeta Wendrick. Neeta, I need to get you on, but there's things that Medicare doesn't pay for unless you have a supplement, and then you want to figure out about it. If you need a supplement, make sure if you're working right now, you're keeping up and you're using how many people you get two free dental cleanings a year and you don't do it. Shame on you. That's money you're just throwing away every year. So Mother Marcy says shame on you. Use your benefits.
Speaker 1:
Mistake number six pinch pennies on home maintenance. Oh, for God's sakes, craig is the worst of that and I never. I was the one that made sure home maintenance got taken care of. If Craig was in charge of our homes, they would have fallen down. That's weird, coming from an architect, right, but Craig hated spending the money that I call it the money. You don't see, it's not the pretty money, it's the ugly money. You know, in California you got what are those little wood terrorists Termites, oh my God.
Speaker 1:
We had a minor attic, you know. I got that taken care of and then I was smart enough to get it done so that I had a warranty and every year I paid like a hundred and something and they come out and take care of it. And then when we went to sell the house, guess what? Because I had the warranty, I didn't have to pay for that whole big thing. So when you're taking care of your home, my dad, this is what my dad used to do. I don't even know if my sister knows this, but she probably does. But our dad every year painted one side of the house, so it was always he didn't have a big project to do. He would do the front one year, the side one year, the back one year and the other side, and that's how he kept up on the house painting and not having to pay someone to paint the house. And you know that was pretty genius, I thought. So if there's ways to keep up on your maintenance, do that. Don't let it fall because, trust me, it's gonna cost you when you sell.
Speaker 1:
All right, mistake number seven and this is my worst one, and this is why I have redone our it's Craig's Craig's. Not good at this either, but I spend on autopilot, okay, so there's a lot of subscriptions and things that we just do on autopilot. So make sure you understand what's going out every month. I mean, even like my podcast, I have to pay for my Adobe that I use for audition to record this, so that's an expense. Every month. I pay for Zoom for my interviews. There are things that this podcast actually costs me and it doesn't make me any money, and at some point maybe it'll make me money. I don't know, I don't care. I enjoy doing it. I have to have certain amount of listeners in order to get people to pay me to do advertising and things like that, and I could probably work harder at that and maybe it would work.
Speaker 1:
I did start putting my podcast on YouTube and I was told that was something I should do, but then that means I have to visually record them every time. It's a whole nother added thing. Sometimes I don't look the best. I don't necessarily want to record my face, but we'll see. But again, spend on autopilot. Do not do that.
Speaker 1:
Make sure that you're working within a budget, and if you haven't done a budget, or if you're not on a budget, my suggestion is get on one, because if you could save some of that money. When you were younger, I wished I had focused more on our retirement than I did, and so I'm late to the game on some of these things, like you may be, but guess what? I'm getting it done. So those are seven things not to do to stay financially healthy. I hope you're already doing them all and you didn't have to learn anything today. But if you're not, pick one Again.
Speaker 1:
I pulled this from the AARP Magazine this month and again, I don't get paid, but if you have not joined AARP, you should. There's a lot of benefits. Their magazine is great. It deals with all kinds of things every month. Good information, I just I really. I get great rental car rates and things like that. It's not to go. It's so cheap too, so think about it. I hope your week is going well. I hope you had a happy St Patrick's Day. Remember, we're always all Irish on St Patrick's Day. Hang on, I've got your Senior moment. That's pretty funny. I forgot what I called it. I had your senior moment coming up. I just had a senior moment, all right. So our senior moment today is something that I think a lot of us can relate to.
Speaker 1:
You're cutting veggies, you're cutting something for dinner and you cut your finger deeply. You think we all know what to do, but if you don't, I'm gonna give you three easy steps. Number one you're gonna rinse your cut. Tap water is fine, don't worry about it being sterile, just get it rinsed. Number two apply firm and direct pressure to the wound. If the bleeding continues at a pace, switch to applying pressure to the area an inch or two below the cut instead of directly on it. So if it's still bleeding and you're holding it, go below it and try to cut off that blood source. Make a tourniquet as a last resort. If the bleeding is extreme, wrap a rubber band or hair tie around the base of your finger, but don't leave this on for longer than five minutes as it can lead to nerve damage. So, and if your cut is really bad and you're not sure, go to the ER or go to your local urgent care. But those are just. You know we do silly things. We think it's no big deal. Make sure you take care of it.
Speaker 1:
I was playing with my kitty the other night and she caught me with her claw and I got out of bed. I went and washed it, took care of it. I am prone as any of you that know me well know, I'm prone to infection. Cat's claws and teeth are extremely infect. They carry a lot of bacteria. I went in, I got myself out of bed. Like I said, I took care of it and everything is fine. It's still a little sore, but I washed it, cleaned it, bandaged it together to hold it together, and I just want you to remember that little things can turn into big things. And take care of it while it's small so you don't have to deal with it's big. All right, remember what I always say everyone ageing eight persisting talk to you next week. Be prepared.