Of course when the money runs out he finds he can't do it. The story ends with him begging on the streets of some island village.
I forget the reasons behind the character's choices, but the calculations are becoming all too familiar. Here's the challenge: Calculate the appropriate day to give up my career given the following conditions:
a) As long as I work my income continues but as soon as I quit it stops. This, moreover, is a one-time decision. There's no going back if the money starts running out.
b) As long as I work I have life insurance with a value equal to one year's salary. Moreover, if I can get a doctor's certification that I have less than two years to live the insurance policy will pay up to 80% of the policy value while I'm still alive.
c) The cost of medical care is currently in the ballpark of $5,000 a month, and this number will likely only increase as my condition gets worse. Medical insurance covers most of this cost, but my medical insurance as a function of my job. Once I quit, I can continue the insurance coverage via COBRA by paying the premiums yourself but that option expires after eighteen months.
d) I have money in my condo and retirement accounts -- both of which are hard to get at -- and a little bit of savings.
e) At some point the cancer will progress to the point that not only will I not be able to do my job, but I won't be able to do much of anything else either.
So when should I pull the trigger on my career?
It would actually be a simple calculation if I knew exactly how long I had left to live, but not knowing that important variable is making it almost impossible for me to figure this out.
The last thing I want is to wind up like the guy in the Maugham story, having burnt through all my resources only to find that I still have a long time left to live.
And having to think about all this is depressing the hell out of me.
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