A Threat You CAN’T See Coming

Here’s a slap compliments of the retirement belt.

There was a funny story in a local paper down here recently about all the weird stuff you see in Florida that you can’t find anywhere else.

One is alligators in the streets. Yes, those prehistoric, meat-eating monsters that routinely grow to 10 and 12 feet seem to be everywhere. Running into one can cause a major paradigm shift in your ideas about the Sunshine State.

Golf courses are their favorite haunt. It isn’t unusual for two or three at a time to be lurking at the edge of water hazards.

But attacks are rare. The locals will tell you that the alligators usually don’t like people.

“Usually” is the key word.

But as dangerous as it might seem to have prehistoric, meat-eating creatures living around you, there is a problem down here that is much more dangerous and kills many more people than gators.

Blind people are driving cars. This is no joke.

After 46 years without so much as a fender bender, I was T-boned twice in two years down here by people who had no business driving a car.

Most people here in the Sunshine State know someone who was killed by a driver who didn’t have the eyesight or reaction time to drive safely and should have had their license revoked years ago.

It’s not unusual to see a person so debilitated that they have to be helped into their car who then drives off into traffic.

So many people are hit by what we call “ancient drivers” in the local food store’s parking lot that we call it the “Deadly Mile” and not its real name: The Miracle Mile.

It’s really nuts. I won’t park there anymore.

In the past, legislators who didn’t want to take on the “gray hair” lobby used the excuse that seniors need some way to get around. But the advent of Uber, Lyft and other ride-hailing programs makes that argument null.

Not only are some of our drivers dangerous… but cars are one of biggest expenses we have. How’s an average of $567 per month for a retired couple?

In an era of boomers living at or below the poverty level in retirement, eliminating a huge monthly expense like that from our budgets sounds pretty good to me.

The purchase prices alone of new and used cars send chills up this Scotsman’s spine.

You can avoid gators by not going where they like to be – fresh water – but the blind drivers are another issue entirely. They’re everywhere.

Something has to be done about the ones who no longer have the eyesight, reaction time or flexibility to do it safely.

Saving, on average, more than $500 per month and more than $6,000 per year should be a big motivator to give up the keys.

No one wants to admit that their eyesight and reactions have degraded to the point that they can’t safely drive anymore, but it needs to be addressed.

Reducing your monthly expenses by more than $500 a month is no joke. Check out Uber or Lyft for your routine trips. You’ll be amazed by how much you can save.

Good investing,

Steve