Are you better off than you were 4 years ago? This is what we hear in every presidential election. However, it is actually a trick question. Everyone should be better off in 4 years, regardless of who is president. However, the past 4 years have been a little different. We have all been through the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been a traumatic, once-in-a-lifetime experience. The pandemic has set us all back significantly. Has 4 years been enough to regain some ground? Let’s look at 3 important aspects of life to see if we are better off — health, wealth, and happiness.
The RB40 family has done well over the past four years, but we have had our share of challenges as well. Personally, I have felt that the past four years have been more challenging than any previous four-year period. However, we have come through in the end. I encourage you to do the same and take part in my survey.
download …health
Health is a big deal. It’s hard to enjoy life if you’re not healthy. Unfortunately, I’m in my 50s and my health is declining. This is different from the previous four-year cycle. In 2020, I felt healthier than I’ve ever been. Now, I’m a little less healthy in almost every way.
Playing sports – I started working out at the gym regularly late last year. I felt better at first, but then my knee and elbow joints started to hurt. I obviously couldn’t work out as well as I used to. My joints did feel a little better after a couple of months off. However, they’re not 100% back to normal. I still feel some pain when I lift heavy things. I’ll continue to reduce the stress on my joints and will talk to my doctor soon.
eyes – My eyes are drying out more quickly. I can only work on the computer for about two hours before it becomes hard to see. Eye drops help a little, but not for long. I’ve had this problem since I was an engineer. In 2012, I couldn’t read by the end of the day. This is one of the reasons I wanted to retire early from my engineering career. Unfortunately, the dry eye problem has gotten worse over the years. I think living in Portland has made it worse because the heater is on all the time. The air is very dry. My eyes felt much better in Thailand and Japan. It was much more humid there.
Public Health – My health is generally good. It has gotten a little worse over the past four years, but not too bad. My doctor has changed my medications and increased the dosage a little. I feel fine. My blood pressure and triglycerides are a little high.
Psychological health – The last four years have been tough. We were very lucky to move into our house just before lockdown started. We had a garden and didn’t mind staying home. It was great. RB40 enjoyed working from home. RB40Jr loved distance learning. It wasn’t a tough period for us. The only big issue I had was my mother’s health. She had Alzheimer’s and her condition got much worse during the pandemic. She passed away last year and I had a hard time with it. She deserved a better retirement. But that’s life. You never know what the future holds. At least she’s not suffering anymore. I’m okay with that now.
Overall, I feel like I’m getting less healthy in almost every way. That’s not a good thing, but I think it’s a natural part of aging. I hope the rate of decline stays stable for a long time.
Wealth
It has been a tough four years for many families. We have been fortunate to survive and thrive. Most of our wealth is invested in the stock market. It took a hit in 2020, but it has come back strongly over the past four years. I have stuck with it and invested more as I have extra money. That’s the secret to investing. You have to keep investing through thick and thin.
We did well because we were already settled and didn’t have a lot of debt. The only debt we had was a low-interest mortgage. My investments were mostly in index funds and dividend stocks. Sure, we had some risky investments, but they were a small percentage of our portfolio. We were in a strong position before the pandemic and we weathered it well.
It is important to note that Ms. RB40 has been working a stable job and we have not had to withdraw from our investments in the past four years. This has made it very easy to grow our wealth. We would not have been able to achieve this success without her income.
happiness
Happiness is very subjective. Personally, I feel much more content with myself at 50. Life is going well and we don’t have any major problems. My mother’s health problems caused some unhappiness, but that’s in the past.
My father helped me realize that this period is probably the happiest period of my life. My marriage is good and RB40Jr is growing up in a happy family. We are having a lot of fun as a family. Life is good now and we are enjoying it.
Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?
Overall, the RB40 family is in better shape than it was four years ago. The only problem is that my health is slowly deteriorating. But that’s just part of aging. I hope I can stay at this level for a few more years.
I feel very lucky. Many families have struggled over the past four years and have yet to recover. In contrast, the past four years have been good for us. We have had a great time and are looking forward to the next four years. I hope everyone does better over the next four years as well. Good luck and keep trying!
Well, I managed to write this post without getting political until the end. The most important thing in this election is to vote. Billions of people around the world do not have this basic right. It is our duty to vote and support democracy.
What about you? Are you better off than you were 4 years ago?
If you’re curious, here’s the 2020 edition of this post and the results of the previous survey.
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Passive income is the key to early retirement. This year, Joe is investing in commercial real estate with CrowdStreet. They have several projects across the USA, so check them out!
Joe also highly recommends Personal Capital for do-it-yourself investors. It has many useful tools that will help you achieve financial independence.
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