Well, I tried to keep this economical... it didn't happen. I am at a crossroads. I have some money. Well, about 300 bucks, and I want to retire. Don't laugh! I'm not joking, this isn't sarcasm. Hear me out.
I'm in bad shape. I have had 3 epidurals since October, and the pain keeps creeping back in. It's my lower back. I have been working labor jobs since I was 14, including construction and concrete. The damage was done by the time I had started my tattoo apprenticeship in late 1998, and 19 years of sitting bent over to reach my client has made me quite sore.
Last year, I moved something heavy, hurt myself and went to a chiropractor. Over the course of 4 weeks he did even more damage to my hips and I had increasing pain and I stopped going to him. I think he was on cocaine.. he was not professional. I got an MRI, and it showed the problem. An old problem. 3 compressed discs in my lumbar, and they are getting ugly. Also, a massive bunch of arthritis in my hips and lower back. So now I know. I have had bad sciatica in my right leg for almost a year now, and have been near suicide twice before going to the emergency room. I don't want to be a junkie, pills never seem to help. Natural remedies help, but the effects are minimal. I'm taking way too much alleve.
I took a trip to the Southwest in January, and even when it was snowing, my pain was gone. I slept in my truck. I rode horses. No pain. That Ice Storm that changed the start time of the KC game? I was in Amarillo trying to outrun the genuine article back home when she finally caught me in the panhandle. No pain. Then, the next day I got back into Missouri, and boom.. bad leg and back pain. I know that Ohio is not where i want to be anymore.. I want to trade snow for scorpions and live in the desert. Maybe Arizona. I was at 11.5k feet on mount Monarch in a snowstorm with no pain.. there is something to be said about pressure and elevation... not just temperature and humidity when it comes to arthritis. At least that is my experience. I got back and started to form a plan.
Financially I was floating, but I was tired and hurting all the time and I missed a lot of work. I decided to sell my 2014 f150 to get enough money to pay off my credit card and buy a used vehicle (2006 dodge sprinter 2500 cargo "creeper van") with what I had left and basically my savings. So I got, give or take, about 1400 dollars right now.. which is about a month of bills for the shop and house. Neither of my cars are running very good at the moment and I live alone for the first time in 17 years. Yet.. *I am completely calm. and I am ready to retire*
Let's rewind the tape for a second. First, there's a few factors in my favor, I just wanted to lay it all out in dramatic fashion. I think it's always better to set the audience up for a little tragedy before I show them I am actually hiding under the rug with a machine gun. Some of my long-time readers may already know.
So, I went from having about $7k on my credit card to about $370 ish.. so thats $131 minimum (which I was paying more) I don't have to pay. I also have a backup of CC checks at 0% for 18 months, so I can always get that money back if I NEED to. I also no longer have the truck payment or full coverage insurance on it to the tune of $515/mo... however, my Sprinter van does require insurance, and so when I factor that in I am now paying $495 less a month. In addition, she was a hog on gas. My van gets 28 on the highway (diesel baby) and the truck would get 22 going down hill. I cannot qualify how much that could save me in a month, but in the long run it is what we call "a good thing." A few repairs yet to do before I can convert it into an RV.
I kicked out my useless girlfriend. She did pay my cell bill, so now I have to, and some of the utilities...But all of those utilities have dropped 60% in the two months since she has been gone. It's quiet here, but I don't miss the lights always being on and.. well, you get the picture. I'm getting an extra $75/mo with her gone and a valuable lesson I will never forget. I'm switching to unlimited on my cell for $15 more a month and losing a $55 wifi service at home. That's another $40/month. Add it all up and that comes to paying $741 less a month. That helps a bit, so the low savings, albeit a risk that is backed by credit, is not scary to me.I'm busy right now. I'm in the middle of tax season, the only thing i am worried about is having enough time to get MY taxes done!
There's more.
My house is too big. I'm gonna put it on the market. I'm looking at land out west, just acreage to hunt and camp.. preferably not polluted or in a flood plain.. otherwise, desolate is fine with me. Did I mention I was converting my van into an RV soon? I have been watching too much "The Walking Dead", but I want to do some survival stuff for a while. I found in January I had a knack for it and I will be doing it for an extended period in August on my next trip.
What else.. My shop.. can't take it with me out west. So I was thinking about selling it. You see, the place was a good deal, and I worked hard to make it way nicer. Me, didn't pay anyone. So I increased it's value, the local property values have increased as well because many of us have been remodeling. It kinda turned into a savings account, it's worth more than the money I put into it and the loan including interest...still plenty to do on it, too. I figure I may list it on the market after the busy season is over. Then some twilight zone **** happens: I have three prospective buyers approach me about what I want for it (two are serious) and I am in negotiations with one who is trying to manage financing right now. I never even put it on the market. The spider, as they say, has the fly.
So I'm saving money, as much as I can.. because I don't want to start my retirement on a credit card... but hopefully consumer confidence can pad my big life change. I'm actually calling it "semi-retirement"... but I will be bringing my equipment with me on the road. I need a break... a few years.. see some things and do stuff on my own. I have taken two long trips (2014, 2017) without anyone with me and had the time of my life. I feel real contentment with being single and want to grow with it for a while, like a long beard.. see how far I can push it. Even before the house sells, i will be saying goodbye to Ohio. My sister has a "residence" for the bill collectors back in Indiana.. I'm gonna travel this great land, disperse camp in National forests, live on the cheap and see everything I have been missing for 40 years. My Dad talked about doing it, so I can't see a damn thing wrong with it. I want to see where it is I am going, and Io want to be safe.
So tomorrow I am gonna buy a road atlas and some condoms.
Good luck man, and take care of yourself and the pain 1st..... As life and my family taught me, when you are a human wreck in pain and gasping for air.... Count on a soldier, marine, sailor, biker, or pilot to be there. They did it for love.
Doctors, PSWs, nurses, siblings, wives, girlfriends.. . They are pretty good at finding the smell of money.
I wish you well. The down side of "desolate" is that if you have a medical emergency, help may be far away. Not a good thing if you are going to be in pain. (or subject to it, at least.)
Good luck to you, I believe you will figure it out.
Enjoy the turning of the page.
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Originally posted by tbone42: I took a trip to the Southwest in January, and even when it was snowing, my pain was gone. I slept in my truck. I rode horses. No pain. That Ice Storm that changed the start time of the KC game? I was in Amarillo trying to outrun the genuine article back home when she finally caught me in the panhandle. No pain. Then, the next day I got back into Missouri, and boom.. bad leg and back pain. I know that Ohio is not where i want to be anymore.
Interesting. I don't know 'nuthin but I would hate for you to get acclimated to a new climate and your pain sources did too, returning you to pain.
I was thinking. If bending over to work on clients is problematic, why not get one of those barber chairs which elevate ? Should you need a higher table, that is easily possible.
Only caveat to retirement is, you have more time to do the things you can no longer afford to do. Other than that, it's great. That's why, I'm semi-retired.
------------------ Ron
Isn't it strange that after a bombing, everyone blames the bomber, his upbringing, his environment, his culture, his mental state but … after a shooting, the problem is the gun....
If you wish to upset a Conservative, lie to him. If you wish to upset a Liberal, tell him the truth.
Let me know when you pass through Indiana It was my pleasure meeting you. I was hoping to make it back over to your shop before you close the door but I don't know if I'll get to. I don't blame you I've been seriously thinking about doing the same thing for over a year now.
[This message has been edited by Jake_Dragon (edited 03-17-2017).]
T-Bone.. the herniated / compressed discs are an easy-fix... with insurance, they'll do it with a tiny incision and you'll be good to go in a couple of days. Can't say anything about the arthritis... but the back issues can be fixed!
Good luck!
I have some land in New Mexico... you're welcome to squat on it, but I don't know that you want to. It's right near the border in Deming, NM in Las Cruces county. There's a dude that lives next door, and he sometimes parks his truck on my property... but whatever. My taxes are 18 bucks a year, hahah...
I know how you feel with back problems. Broke my back two years ago in a accident at work, the cracked vertebra healed fine, but the 3 ruptured disks did not. I live in constant pain as well. Iv gone through it all, epidural injections, physical therapy (which made things worse), and of course the doc is always willing to throw pills at me to deal with the pain. I can't stand pills though, so i tend to just save them for when im in more pain than i can handle. Marijuana works great for the pain, and really helps relax the muscles for me, but its not always available, and i don't like being all buzzed out all the time, plus it does not help me at work as i won't do it before work, which is the hardest. Working a 12 hour shift everyday being on your feet, and running around all day can really make it bad. I'd love to be able to stop using this stupid cane i have to use as well.
From what my doctors tell me my only real option surgically is a bone graph to fuse the 3 vertebra together. But was also told its a 50/50 shot of it working, and if it doesn't, id have bigger problems than i do now..
Anyway man, i know your pain, and i wish you luck in your new future, i hope everything works out the way you want it to.
[This message has been edited by Jonesy (edited 03-18-2017).]
I retired 3 years ago, back problems. I was born with an open spine and ended up working as a heavy equipment mechanic. Drove my doctors nuts. Wasn't too bad until I hit 56, then started having problems with the nerves to my left leg. Then I had my right hand crushed at work and was put on pain killers after they put 2 of my fingers back on. No problems with my leg, so the put me on long term pain meds so I could keep working. Made it to 60 before the morphine couldn't cut it anymore.
My sympathies. I injured my back in the Navy and I've been living with it ever since. I went into a VA hospital ten years after I injured it to see if they could help. They said all they could do was offer me a disability pension and like a dumb ass I said that's not what I came in for. I've regretted turning down that money more than once. Every time I think the government is screwing me out of money.
I certainly sympathize with you, but you should always focus on three things in your life: Your health, your money, and your relationships. If you do those three well, everything else will fall into place. Of course, if you think about it, what else is left. But, think about your early life you probably paid little attention to these. The credo of youth is always, have fun, but you have to do it within a context, and a focus on the future. Having to live with pain, or a disability of some sort can be difficult, and even then all the money is the world will not help. The key to relationships is learning to be alone. Sounds contrary, but it is true. My simple advice. Hey, its Sunday!!
You have a sprinter van and a few hundred dollars. Seriously... Google RV boondocking. Lots of people these days reside permanently in smaller vehicles. I could live full time in my RV if necessary. LOTS of places you can park for free. I know a guy who lives in a Ford camper van, travels all over the US and pretty much just needs money for gas and food. He makes his money money on the road with YouTube. With all the free overnite parking available just in Columbus, I can stay in mine for free just in town and $100 worth of gas and a few hundred for food for a month would be fine. Water can be found for free, and a generator/solar panels and batteries dont cost anything after you buy them.
Best one I heard for free parking was years ago when I was thinking about buying an old hearse. They had converted it to use for camping. They said they just parked in front of cemeteries and no one ever bothered them.
I want to thank every one of you for your responses. Great advice and wonderful offers. I'm gonna take many of you up on the "come visit" propositions. Last day of the shop being open will be June 30th if all goes as planned. More individual responses in a bit.
I want to thank every one of you for your responses. Great advice and wonderful offers. I'm gonna take many of you up on the "come visit" propositions. Last day of the shop being open will be June 30th if all goes as planned. More individual responses in a bit.
Life is all about experiences TBone... and the golden rule. If you feel it's time to move forward to the next phase... then by all means. Your attitude on life will help define whether the next phase is better than the previous.
My sympathies. I injured my back in the Navy and I've been living with it ever since. I went into a VA hospital ten years after I injured it to see if they could help. They said all they could do was offer me a disability pension and like a dumb ass I said that's not what I came in for. I've regretted turning down that money more than once. Every time I think the government is screwing me out of money.
If you have records of this in your military medical records it is likely not too late to apply for disability benefits. You are not likely to receive any "back pay" but might get a VA disability pension after the long drawn out process is completed.
Robert M. Pirsig, who inspired generations to road trip across America with his "novelistic autobigraphy," Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, died Monday at the age of 88.
[This message has been edited by williegoat (edited 04-27-2017).]
I enjoy that about you.
