Glass half full

Today is a little bit different. Less negativity and a lot more to thank for. Sometimes optimism can be achieved by a simple change in perspective. You've probably heard the glass half full cliche and I won't bother repeating it. How do I apply it in practice?

For starters I compared my situation to a year ago. Instead of being overly attached to an imaginary desired future state I started taking stock of my situation. Some refer to this as "counting your blessings" . Whatever works for you. But I did my sums , tallied my assets and I realised how much better off I am compared to a lot of people.

1. For starters, I've saved enough in my retirement account to pay off 2 years worth of mortgage. I'm not going to pay down of course. Paying down reduces the interest but leaves you in a much more vulnerable situation.

2. I'm 15k ahead in my insurance payments which means I can afford to draw down on my policy's cash value for a whopping 4 years to keep it alive should I fall behind on my payments. I don't have to worry too much about critical illnesses for now.

3. In addition to all the above I've saved up a tidy sum to pay for household expenses for at least the next 2 years, should I lose my job for whatever reason.

4. This really should be no. 1 on the list.  I have my good health to thank for. Millions of the rich but sick will pay any price to get back their health. So let's all be thankful for this gift we still enjoy.

5. My spouse also some savings to tide us through should we need it.

6. We are Australian PRs and we have access to a public healthcare system. Many Singaporeans (not all) are still trying to get into the lucky country to enjoy all that space Australia offers. NZ and OZ are my retirement goals.

So at the ripe age of 33 I've still got a pretty full tank in me to save up for retirement. Ill readily admit that my current job made no. 3 possible within a short span of just 1.5 years. It's a miserable job I'm ready to leave the minute something better comes along, knowing I'm pretty well covered from head to toe anyway.