Face your fears and know you aren't prepared...

Aside from not being young and lovely (I always started my teenage shaving years with a serious look in the mirror and telling myself I was ugly), I have had to address my failing health, attitude and qualifications - and I am just not too big to fail, nor so poor I am pitiful.

Ever since the last hijacking of my computer and loss of all my data, from years and years of entering every transaction, all the investments and borrowing and such (which I highly recommend to Congress) I have ducked updating my Quicken program, although I did get the 2010 edition to install on my computers, it is only on two of them. But I went into early retirement, shock, depression and fled from reality and have delayed for two years getting in control of what I have done with the dollars. Yesterday I finished updating and now I know, worth more dead than alive. Blood is no good, body parts questionable, enough fat to light some lamps in China if needed. But it is done and I can start working on the future, although there is so much more to life than how much money I have squirreled away. I do have responsibilities to family to build a bit.

Surprising how little except attitude I had when I got married, what we were paying for things when my son was born, how much I spent on the bowling league while in Korea, until I started putting into bits and bytes, I used paper and pen, or clay tablets and stylus. Okay, I never used clay tablets - not quite that old.

The next step is to find our goals, and look at the time remaining and do the best we can. I think we will do okay, I didn't buy land - but it would have been a good investment (not on the beach in the Carolinas) although I have shared owning a home with the banks several times. Most of my investments have been in mutual funds, stocks - not bonds (just not smart enough for bonds). In the old days I even had US Savings bonds and bank savings accounts. Just too fluid to flirt with long term association. Now? cash and carry. Hope I don't out live the promises of the government to pay me, but it could happen.

Investments that have paid off in my life best? One girl friend to long time wife, one son, education as I could afford it and which went in my direction, doing stuff that I wasn't ready for but grew into, belief I could do better, trust in God and His blessings.