As Tom Petty laments in his song Crawling Back to You:

I’m so tired of being tired
Sure as night will follow day
Most things I worry about
Never happen anyway.

Retirement should not be filled with worries, but sometimes there’s little left to do but worry. Work should be no longer a factor but I still have my share of work-mares where I haven’t sold anything for months, need to collect overdue money, or can’t pay the bills. These days there are lots of dollars going out but few coming in. Will Social Security run out of money? Will my pension fund dry up? Should I go back to work just in case? What will life be like if I live to be one hundred?

Every Sunday night my wife and I have a budget meeting, so we can continue to reduce the number of arguments about where the money is going. However, we’ve already technically spent every dollar we’ve saved, in projecting where the money will go over the next fifteen years. Will there be enough to cover medical emergencies? Will we be able to fulfill our dreams of travel? The first year of owning is always traumatic regardless of your age or circumstance. Dollars fly out the door with purchases to make the home “livable” – whatever that means? After all, you can’t have old things in a new house. Can you?

Last night’s meeting must have reminded me too much of work. I tossed and turned in my sleep and woke up with an upset stomach. I honestly couldn’t even remember what the nightmares were all about, but it was still disturbing at a time when retired life should be care free. There’s no longer a big paycheck to make up for sleepless nights. My wife is now the only boss I have, but I’m also good at beating myself up. Don’t Worry – Be Happy because, thankfully, most of what you worry about never happens! Tonight, let my dreams be filled with rainbows and unicorns – Work Mares be gone!