Money Woes

I have been sitting here, playing with numbers all morning. "How much pension can I withdraw per year without affecting my income level?" "Is it wise to start messing around with my pension fund when I am 55 years old?"  Thus, my preoccupation with wanting to know my "date of expiry" lately. I don't want to sound morbid but this is all important information to add into the equation.

From what I can see and calculate, it appears that it would be a wise decision for me to move tax sheltered funds out of my pension and into a tax free savings account while I am at my present income level. If I was to die "tomorrow", the more funds that were out of my pension, the better it would be for my estate. My greatest challenge is to keep as much of my money in my own hands. I have no desire for Revenue Canada to become my fourth beneficiary.

I have an appointment to talk with an investment specialist tonight (who also happens to be a very good friend. Bonus!!). She agreed with my line of thinking and said there is no need to sacrifice the potential for growth if I transfer to a fund that offers a good return. So we are going to look at a few different scenarios and I think I like where this is going.

This is the first month since 1978 that I have been without the income supplements of having an equivalent-to-married dependent and I'm already feeling the loss. Granted, a big part of that loss is due to the fact that I rewrote my will to simplify my estate now that I no longer have a dependent, but it is a loss I have yet to figure out how I'm going to recover.

I need to create a small windfall that doesn't come in the form of a loan right now. If I could just cash in on a very small piece of that Pension Pie, it would alleviate my immediate worries and hopefully set me in the right direction.

My money worries are so very small compared to so many. This is a new world to me, this world without dependents and government assistance. I hope I can afford this new lifestyle.