Plan A

As time has gone slinking by, I realize that I can't keep on working indefinitely. Not that I'm thinking about packing it in just yet; I have plenty of spunk and there's no point in losing income until I just can't hack it any more. And no matter whether I keep up my long-term teaching job, I will continue to write program notes and give public lectures on music. I have no intention whatsoever of putting myself out to pasture before my time.

My health is excellent for my age (almost 72). Recently I required surgery to repair two inguinal hernias that were giving me fits. Well, they're repaired in what's a routine low-impact surgery. I've had an uneventful recovery and as of now I'm almost entirely back in my usual fettle. I'm not anticipating major health issues ahead, but of course life can throw curveballs our way. Still, I'm not about to be a Cassandra or an Eeyore about aging and the future. Maybe I'll have health issues, maybe I won't. The truth will probably be somewhere in the middle—issues such as the hernias just repaired or the like.

I've given thought to retirement anyway. It all came down to two plans: A and B. Plan A is by far the most attractive to me. It's also the simplest. In Plan A, I just stay put and retire right here in place. Not only is it the least amount of bother, but it leaves me happily snuggled in here in Brentwood, a city I cherish, and also here in my house, which by this point in my life is almost like an appendage.

Plan B is the one in which I take advantage of the whopping amount of home equity I've amassed, sell the house, and move somewhere cheaper (which is almost anywhere.) Then I can buy a house or condo or whatever with cash.

But I don't like Plan B very much. I don't want to move. I don't want to give up this house. And I really don't want to leave Brentwood. So if I can possibly swing it, Plan A is the way to go.

As it turns out, I can do Plan A easily. I'll have the money. Hell, I've got it now. I suppose in a worst-case scenario I could start taking some home equity via a reverse mortgage. But I'd rather not. I also have another scenario in which I use some of my amassed savings to pay off the mortgage entirely. But to do that will save me $1700 per month, not an insignificant amount by any means but not earth-shattering, either. It makes more sense to keep paying the mortgage, which hovers at about 4% interest rate. I'm making more than that from my investments.

About the only thing that I might have to worry about would be mobility issues. It's a two-story house, after all. Nothing that a chair lift couldn't fix. It's a straight-up staircase with one switchback. Not impossible.

But I'll bet I won't need one.

Plan A: staying-put plan for a guy who is a total homebody and who always want to stay put.