I just checked in on this thread today for the first time since I posted. The markets reached another all-time high, but we are well aware that the markets can change for the worse overnight. We still haven't started collecting SS, but we did go to the SS office, and the wonderful young man there printed out what our monthly SS increases would be until we each reached 70 years of age. Many people only consider the ages of 62, 66 and 70, but one can collect at any month until the age of 70, when it becomes mandatory.....or not collecting it at all.
We are at the ages when we don't want for much. We did splurge on two Vespa scooters this summer. We spent the summer working on our flower gardens, kayaking and on our scooters. We also spend time with family and friends. In a couple of months we will do our circuit of the US visiting our children, grandchildren, friends and areas that we haven't explored yet.
I know that many people work hard and don't have opportunities that are available to others. Because my family was very poor, I learned to work hard and save. Roger was brought up well-to-do, but he knew how to save, invest, and live under our means. He saved from the standpoint of knowledge. I saved from fear of extreme poverty. Six children and two adults lived in a 940sf house while I was growing up.
So, our diverse backgrounds led us to the same idea of save, save, save.
Karen