Polk County Living
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • February 3, 2016 7A
Retirement: begin planning early
Couple gets creative to earn enough money for life after work following mid-career shift
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
Five fundamentals for preparing:
DALLAS — In late 2008,
Mark and Jamie Fangman
were “downsized.”
Both in their late 50s,
they were laid off from their
jobs within months of each
other.
T h e y w e re l i v i n g i n
Prineville, where Jamie was
the registrar at a private
school and Mark was the
general manager of the
Nickel Ads.
The recession hit their
community hard and
prospects of finding a new
job were slim.
“There was nothing over
there at all,” Jamie said.
They also faced a prob-
lem unique to their age
group.
“It was too early for re-
tirement, but it’s too late to
go in and grab the introduc-
tory jobs at companies, if
they had any,” Mark Fang-
man said. “McDonald’s was
looking like a real career
choice at the time.”
They had retirement sav-
ings, but not enough to
allow them to stop working
for good. Under duress,
they had to use what was
supposed to be their retire-
ment nest egg to keep
working.
“So we sort of bought a
job,” Jamie said.
Jamie’s brother is the re-
gional manager for Postal
Connections and knew that
the Dallas store was going
to be available soon.
“We liquidated all of our
belongings and retirement
accounts and bought the
store,” Jamie said. “The
store now has become our
retirement.
In a matter of weeks, they
sold their furniture, rented
out their house and moved
from Prineville to Dallas.
They reopened the store on
Dec. 1, 2008, the absolute
worst time of year to try to
The following are ive tips inancial advisor Kelly
Denney gives all her clients:
• Live within a budget while still preparing for retire-
ment so you are practiced at it when you are on a ixed in-
come.
“Sometimes preparing for retirement and thinking
about retirement can be scary because as soon as you re-
tire, you’re then no longer a wage-earner and you are
forced to live within a budget.”
• Always have an emergency fund and save a little every
month.
“Life is not a straight line. Things will happen. It’s not a
matter of if, it’s a matter of when. Peace of mind comes
from knowing that you can have a little bit of money that
you can put your hands on at any time.”
• Max out your employer’s 401K plan. That includes any
extra contributions you are eligible to make after age 50.
• Reduce and eliminate consumer debt.
“It’s very diicult to approach retirement and switching
from being a wage-earner to a ixed income while you are
carrying a debt load.”
• Work with a inancial adviser to make sure your invest-
ments are prudent based on your age and your risk toler-
ance.
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
Mark and Jamie turned the Dallas Postal Connections into a second career and alter-
nate method for saving for retirement after being laid off from their jobs in 2008. After
a difficult start, the venture proved successful.
learn how to operate a store
specializing in shipping be-
cause of the Christmas
rush, Mark said.
For the first few weeks,
they would go home to their
sparsely furnished rental
home in Monmouth and
wonder over cocktails if they
had made a huge mistake.
Now they know they
made the right decision,
even if it was rough in the
beginning.
“It turned out to be a
good decision for us. It’s
paid our bills and allowed
us to position ourselves a
little better for retirement,”
Mark said. “And it’s not ex-
actly the hardest work in
the world.”
Jamie and Mark’s path to
a second career isn’t typical,
but illustrates why people
need to think about retire-
ment and have a plan.
“The earlier the better,”
said Kelly Denney, a finan-
cial advisor with Edward
J o n e s i n D a l l a s . “ I ’m
a m a z e d a t h ow m a n y
clients we have that are 20
years old who recognize the
need to have a plan.”
Never fear, those who
have procrastinated: it’s
never too late to start plan-
ning.
Denney advises all her
clients to follow five funda-
mentals of preparing for re-
tirement: learn to live with-
in a budget; build an emer-
gency fund; contribute as
much as possible to 401Ks;
eliminate consumer debt;
and get professional advice
from a financial planner.
The last tip is important
because each situation is
different depending how
much time you have before
retirement and your finan-
cial situation.
“There is no template
that’s going to be for every-
body,” Denney said. “There
are so many variables.”
Other things to think
about is the timing of big fi-
nancial decisions, such as
refinancing your home and
Social Security.
Denney said Social Secu-
rity is a significant part of
retirement planning, so
knowing your monthly esti-
mates is important when
you plan for your post-work
budget.
She added there is one
last thing to keep in mind:
“People are living longer, so
it’s even more important to
have a strategy and plan so
you don’t outlive your
money.”
The Fangmans sudden-
change retirement, though
not expected, has worked
out for the best.
With another seven years
work under their belt, the
Fangmans believe it truly is
quitting time, so to speak,
and have put the business
up for sale.
“I don’t think we are sorry
we did this because it has
helped us get to more of a
retirement goal than we
thought we’d have,” Mark
said.
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