Different ways to plan your financial future AKA retirement

An acquaintance of the world's most perfect husband who is a trained electrician and runs a small electricity company chose a different path than us many years ago. When my husband and I each started a pension insurance 30 years ago, he and his wife chose instead to buy a house that needed extensive renovation. In all these years, they have rebuilt the whole house and even added a couple of floors.

The house was supposed to be their "retirement insurance," which is a no-brainer when you're in your 30s. But when you are approaching retirement and you have to sell your home to free up capital, it is not so easy. If you sell your home, you have to buy a new one, and you're not always willing to downsize. Plus the housing market may not be what you expected.

A "snapshot" of our choices right now shows our option as the better one, while a future "snapshot" may show a completely different picture.