Detour To Financial Freedom

MY RETIREMENT PREDICAMENT It's just seven (7) years before full retirement. Is it possible to retire with only $32,445.19 in my Individual Retirement Account (IRA)? This amount saved does not even make a dent in our current debts owed to my list of creditors. During all of my productive years, what I have been working so hard is to eliminate debts and achieve financial freedom. But I'm wallowing deep in debt. I can't sleep without thinking why I find myself in this situation. What brought me to this horrible financial crisis? How am I going to get out of this hole in order to achieve my retirement dreams? With money owing to credit card companies and other creditors amounting to more than triple my annual salary? All my dreams are fast fading away. I am married for 32 years to Tony, who is 14 months older than me. Tony and I acquired as many credit cards as we can under my name or in his name; some are issued to me, with him as extended user; others are issued to him, and me as the extended user. Further, we transferred balances from one credit card company to another with offers of increased line of credit, lower interest rate and longer period of due date. This process allowed us to accumulate more in credit card debts. We were good credit cardholders as we were never late in our payments. However, we are capable of paying only the minimum due and thereby, we accumulated an incredible amount of debt with compounding interest. In addition to our credit card debts, also outstanding is the Sallie Mae account for a student loan for our daughter. This is a good debt. Never in our minds have we ever regretted signing up for this loan. She deserved to study in New York University for Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film and Television. We are living pay check to pay check. Basic living expenses are not even covered by our net monthly income. My thinking then was why worry about retirement savings when we were not even sure if we will have enough to live on? Is retirement really attainable under these circumstances? How and why should we even think of retirement? In 1988, American Express was the first company to grant me a credit card with a revolving line of $500. As an immigrant with a credit card, I felt empowered to become part of mainstream America. A credit card revolving line was like a security blanket or a buffer in case of being laid off. Unemployment benefit was not sufficient to support a family. Before my brief period of unemployment in 1992, I already secured 5 credit cards with a total reserved credit line of $100,000. During this unemployment, how could I possibly put food on our table, pay our rent for our 2-bedroom apartment, gas and maintenance on my Toyota Celica, pay for the monthly premium of health insurance of my family, children’s school expenses and other living costs? It should be noted that in 1991, Tony was just struggling to find employment as he has just joined us in the USA. Thank you credit card companies. Had it not been for the so-called plastic money, how could we have survived? There were 3 surveys conducted in 1970, 1977 and 2000 by the Survey Research Center of the University of Michigan and sponsored by the Credit Research Center. Overall opinion about credit cards was somewhat more negative and polarized in 2000 than they were a generation ago, especially among holders of bank type cards. Opinions among all families that credit card use was “good” register a bit higher in 2000 (33%) than in 1970 (28%) but a bit lower than in 1977 (39%). The view that card use is “bad” was stronger in 2000 than in either of the earlier years. Regardless of the results of these statistics and surveys, I was thankful for we have available credit cards to use for all our needs and wants. Shortly, I had regular employment and fortunately, the company provided health insurance for its employees. It is not mandated for companies to provide health care for its employees. Small businesses hardly can afford to offer this benefit to their employees. An immigrant, who is just establishing himself in the US workforce did not have much choice but to accept any employment that is first offered. I do not have much options to seek employment in companies offering the best benefits or terms. When available you just take it, or face the alternative, that of longer possibility of unemployment. I have the potential of landing a good employment, but with limited local experience, it would take some time for that potential to kick in. With no one to bank on but my own limited resources, I worked doubly hard to make ends meet and be self-sufficient. I aspire for a life that has meaning and quality, not just to survive but to thrive. The trouble, however is that I am used to a certain kind of lifestyle, and it is hard to make a downward change. One good thing is certain: alternative resources of credit being readily available to fill in those needs and lifestyle. I took full advantage of it. Further, I opted to take a calculated risk of living the life I want for myself and for my family, hoping to make the necessary adjustment as time allowed. CREDIT CARDS AND DEBTS ALL-OVER Our income, like that of average working people was not enough to cover even the basic requirements of living. Obviously, Tony and I considered saving for retirement a low priority. At this time, our main concern is funding our daily needs. We are in debt and we cannot fathom how we can pay for them. If ever we get out of debt, how long can we continue to be debt free? Will there be a retirement that will secure our future? When that time comes, would we still be in full physical and mental capacity to face accumulating for retirement? How many of us are in this situation?