Rodney

We got the house paid off and drive old cars, and never had any consumer debt anyway. So we own nothing to nobody. But are we serene? No. I did lose my job a couple of years ago and retrained for the teaching profession, but right now there are no jobs in my neck of the woods. Meanwhile my wife is in her mid-50s, has some chronic medical problems, and works at a quite-well-paid job at a huge company that does its own kind of downsizing and outsourcing on a regular basis (they just laid off the payroll department and outsourced it all to some happy workers in Buenos Aires. Meanwhile, they've begun to hire in my wife's specialty. In India.)

So all is well for now, but if my wife loses her job before I get anything that has insurance, we're SOL. As you edge into your 50s and beyond, you find that it's not only harder to get hired some places, but it's harder to get hired for the type of jobs that include the benes that are becoming more and more important to you. (Based simply on what she is -- mid-50s with health issues -- my wife might never be able to get another job like the one she has now.) We have money in the bank, but we also know how quick a castatatrophic illness could wipe it out.

So, downsized? Sure. Feeling deprived? Nope. Feeling secure? Not on your life.