The Best Laid Plans

I vaguely remember in grammar school having a lesson dedicated to learning how to balance a checkbook. That's one lesson, for one hour, on one day, in one year of my entire elementary. Personal finance was treated as an extra curricular topic, not worthy of taking away class time from reading, writing and arithmetic. Perhaps the educational system figured learning math was enough. I don't even remember if Home Economics was offered at my high school and if it was, it was likely considered an optional course. I don't think I understood the term 401K before my first job or even had a concept of what personal investing was except the hint from the commericals about EF Hutton talking and people listening. The people who listened didn't seem like regular people! They seemed like important people, people who knew important things a Catholic school girl from Queens, NY who had a mom who spoke with an accent and a dad who worked with airplanes couldn't possibly know. The fundamental difference that lies between the DONE.COM generational demographics is the parents who listened to EF Hutton early on and the parents who didn't. Of all places, The Christian Science Monitor has a fascinating demographic split among 11 groups in the country that reflects voting issues. I've included the link here as it's a great way of understanding how the nation is split not only economically but politcally, too, http://www.csmonitor.com/patchworknation/.

Somehow my parents managed to send my sister and I to private schools from kindergarten through high school and we both attended an Ivy League University. While they believed that providing for our education was the best way they could help us get ahead, they sacrificed properly building their own retirement savings. With the stock market gone manic, even folks who did carefully plan for retirement took a beating. Yesterday I heard from an old friend who got laid off from her job. She worked in the financial industry. While just weeks before, I saw my work colleagues get laid off, somehow this news hit closer to home. I had just bumped inot her bike riding in the city over the summer! My company had gone through a merger earlier in the year and the final cost cutting measure to firm up the books was a (second) cut in headcount to offset aggressive projections and the soggy economy so to me the layoffs seemed...expected. My friend losing her job seemed unexpected and that made the economic crisis feel much more real to me. I have long since gave up my weekend shopping trips to my local consignment shop along with long and buttery, boozey dinners out. The irony is my friend and I used to be neighbors and back in '03 we were both unemployed for a spell and took our sweet time getting back into the workforce. Of course, my rent was half it is now and I drained my savings entirely during that period so I'm sure there is an increased urgency for anyone out of a job right now.

What if you're like me and still want to be DONE.COM? Or you are miserable at your current job and need CHANGE? Is aspiring to a different situation still possible now? YES WE CAN. Remember early on I talked about that country house? Well, it will likely be impossible for me to get a mortgage anytime soon so I'm glad I have my little nest egg (little as, in quail egg) to fall back on. I'm certain my friend will land on her feet and has some breathing room to find a new job (she still lives in that cheap apartment building I left). Remember also when we talked about goals? Yup, this is the time when you review and adjust those. And if you don't have specific goals, this is sure when you should start. In times of crisis, if you're in relationship, it's good to know BEFOREHAND the goals and values you and your partner share as crisis can strike at any time (I'm learning this the hard way).

Did I mention the marathon is 11 days away? I can't wait for it to be over though true to my personality, I already have separation anxiety about it. (Can one actually have separation anxiety for a goal?) I did the work, and though I thoroughly am enjoying my taper (probably too much which means I likely cut my mileage too generously) I still feel like I will have a good race. Of course if the weather is off or my knee gives out or I just have a bad day, things could change. But things could CHANGE for the better, too. (PS. VOTE FOR OBAMA.)