Retirement sounds like a dream. However, most of us probably dream of our elder years being spent sipping mai tais on the beach in Hawaii, dipping into an endless pit of cash, while healthily living each day like a tourist, but that's not a common reality. There are few who have the idyllic retirement plan in their sights, but without proper planning and a bit of foresight, anyone can blow their chance at peacefully aging.
This 58-year-old mom went viral on Reddit this week because she had a chance at that perfect retirement plan, but squandered it. After selling her house for a small fortune, she morphed into a shopaholic, spending machine. Convinced she could live the good life forever, she ran through her entire life savings in a matter of months, crawling out of her final tropical destination flight with nothing in her pockets but lint.
In her mind, she thought she could fall back on her oldest daughter, insisting she should let her move into her and her husband's 2-bedroom apartment, but that crossed a boundary line that even the most generous offspring couldn't ignore. With a husband who worked full-time from home, the 31-year-old daughter couldn't risk upending his home office and his career just because her mom spent her retirement money recklessly.
I hope those lavish vacations were worth it, because they might be this big spender's last.
Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.
