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How To Retire Without Money
By Bob Belmont
CHAPTER 1 WHY YOU SHOULD CONSIDER RETIREMENT
Page 1 of 7
This is the
way the American success story is supposed to go.
A youngster
gets out of school and finds himself a job in a field of work
that appeals to him. He has to start pretty well at the bottom
but since Samuel Lucky is a hard working, intelligent, honest
lad, he slowly works his way up the ladder of success. Early
in the game he finds Lois, the girl of his dreams and they
marry and start up a household.
As time goes
by the Luckys better their way of life. That is, at first they
drove a second hand Chevrolet but after a time they graduate
to a new Pontiac. Children come along and they sell their
first house and buy a newer and larger one out in the suburbs
in a nicer section than they could at first afford.
Most of the
neighbors drive Buicks or Oldsmobiles and Mrs. Lucky complains
that she isn't dressed as well as her friends and the size of
their TV screen is smaller than that of the people next door.
So Sam Lucky takes to bringing home work from the office in
the evenings and working late into the night, and Lois gets a
job as secretary in the office of the local clinic. The
children are left at a nursery school part of the day.
Sam continues
to bring work home and three times a week he goes to night
school where he takes some pretty stiff courses to increase
his worth to the firm. After awhile he gets another promotion
and a raise and they can afford a new Buick, and that larger
TV set, although in order to swing them Mrs. Lucky has to
continue her secretarial job.
Time goes by
and there are more promotions and the Luckys are able to move
to a still better neighborhood, complete with Cadillac, a
whole flock of supergadgets, and a maid. Lois, of course, can
finally quit her job. Still later they acquire a cook and a
chauffeur but in order to achieve these Mr. Lucky continues to
bring home work at night. His only recreation these days is
playing golf which is invariably done with company customers
so that Sam can work on sales at the same time he plays. Mrs.
Lucky entertains quite a bit these days—mostly the wives of
executives of company customers.
By now Sam
Lucky has an ulcer and Lois is going every week to her
psychiatrist. The children are off in finishing and prep
schools.
At the age of
65 Mr. Lucky, who is a vice president in the company now,
decides to retire. They do and buy a place in Miami Beach,
taking the maids, the cook and the chauffeur along with them.
Next year, at the age of 66, Sam drops dead of heart failure.
He hadn't been having a very good time anyway. After
forty-five years of continual work he'd forgotten how to have
a good time.
That's the
way the American success story is supposed to go.
But doesn't.
At least not
for the overwhelming majority of us.
This is the
way life is more apt to be.
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CHAPTER 1 WHY YOU SHOULD CONSIDER RETIREMENT
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