Social security survivalist

We're unpacking books today.  I added a survivalist book to the retirement shelf - that earned me some strange looks.  But retirement is a challenging "maybe someday" planning process - not unlike survivalism, where one must contemplate threats both known and unknown, far off in the future, and prepare a plan for countering the threats that seem plausible.

So the survivalism book can get hoeky and weird, but it really is a retirement book.  Survivalists fear that the breakdown of society will lead to poor access to essential supplies.  Retirement planners know that the breakdown of the IRA balance will lead to poor affordability if essential supplies.  Same thing, different approach.  The personal security aspect of survivalism seems germane to retirement planning, as well, given that old age can usher in physical infirmities that make some elders more subject to abuse.

So I flipped through the survivalist book.  It talks about buying durable versions of common goods so that replacement/repair is less required.  That's a good approach to retirement planning, too.  Financially, the retirement plan should cover offense AND defense - offense is maximizing financial reserves and income, while defense is minimizing expenses.  Repairs by others take retirement income - a fractional reserve of the income earned decades before - and spend it on current wage rates.  There's GONNA be a disparity there that doesn't favor the retiree. 

Financial gurus like to talk about financial independence - the ability to survive without a job.  Retirement is forced survival without a job.  Good financial planning - on both the offense and the defense side - improve the odds of surviving with a decent standard of living.  Survivalists don't focus on maintaining access to European vacations, they focus on maintaining access to the basic necessities and minimal comforts.  That's the first step in retirement planning, too.

So, yeah, the survivalist book stayed on the retirement shelf in our bookcase.  Right next to "how to save a million dollars for retirement" and "how to retire with less than a million dollars."  Interestingly, both books spend some time on the need to live a little below your means.