John Burkholder

I am well into my 50s now and one of the things I am keenly aware of is retirement. I have been reading about how much money you need to retire in order to maintain your current standard of living. I have been reading about how much money you need to "not run out" of money during your retirement. Here is what I have come to realize...I will never be able to retire. I live basically paycheck to paycheck. We have some buffer in savings, we have a retirement account, and I have an investment account. But there is a rule of 4% in order to maintain your lifestyle after you retire. Here is how it works: Take your current salary ($156,000) and that is what needs to equal the 4% you take out of retirement accounts each year. For you math wizards, this is easy...multiply by 25 ($3,900,000) and that is the amount you need to have in something like a retirement account.  Only draw what you make if possible. On average, an investment account will accumulate 4% per year. But what about al

Winter is always rough for me. It is my season of change.  I can't seem to get away from it. One of many things usually happen: I want to change jobs (like today); I want to move (like today); I want a vacation (like today); I just want out... like today. Not out of my relationships, not out of life in general...just out. I feel trapped as if I am in quicksand. I can see I am fine, but everything around me is stopped or slowed. I can't really explain it well. I need a reset. A new image of sorts. I need a new me. A rich me would be nice, but I also realize that would require a miracle of some sort. I am tired of doing what I have been doing for my entire adult life...technology. I am wary of this management track I have journeyed down because I don't really feel like I am contributing anything at all. I like having knowledge and opportunity to fix or build things.  But it is not that simple. I am the sole provider for myself, my family, and I provide financial assistance fo