Know When to Fold ’em.

There comes a time when you have to decide to step away from the table and cash in your remaining chips. It’s always a difficult choice to make, because there’s that nagging doubt that says if you’d just hung in there a little bit longer, the odds would have turned in your favor. Asking for advice from friends never gets you anywhere, because somebody always knows somebody who did it this or that way and it either turned our wonderfully or horribly.

Now that I’m on the other side of the retirement decision, looking back I say “I wonder what took me so long?” Countries like Thailand, where I now live, make their retirement visa policies available to anyone over the age of fifty! It’s like being eligible to join the AARP. Not a high hurdle.

Of course, as with preparing to do anything you haven’t done before, it can be a little bit scary. Packing for a trip to a distant clime, how many articles of clothing will you really need? Do they have washing machines over there? What about underpants? Will they have my size?

Fact is, there’s hardly obstacle than won’t fall away or simply disappear once it has been squarely faced. And if it’s not working where you are, chances are it still won’t be working in three years. So cut your losses. Those people at the bank aren’t your friends. They really don’t value your business. They don’t even know who you are. Yes, some of the things you bought, especially real estate, aren’t worth what you paid for them. Yes, you’re going to lose money selling or giving it back to the bank. Pull the band-aid off quickly and get it over with. Don’t keep lifting the band-aid up long enough to pull on a few hairs and then chicken out.

You can’t spend your way out of debt. The longer you hang on in an unprofitable situation, the more it will cost you.