Money in general is and was not a source of stress for me lately. However, I did not plan appropriately at a younger age to save for my retirement. I will get a tidy retirement from my civil service job but not enough to live in the manner to which I have become accustomed. So now through my own fault, I am not as comfortable that my retirement will go well. My husband does not want me to retire when I'm eligible (Sep 2010) because our house will not be paid off and we have a large house payment. I want to retire here and go to work doing something else, less stressful and more interesting) to make up the difference between my retirement annuity and my current salary.
My spouse and I were both poor kids and we've spent 30 years making up for it in buying what we want when we want it. Not a good thing and I even knew it at the time.
THe current state of the ecomony is causing additional stress because my husband has been cut from 10 days of work per pay period down to 8.5 days per pay period. At least he still has his job, which many people can't say these days. As he and I keep our money separate, I have picked up some of the expenses he was paying until he returns to a full pay period.