What would you do if you were diagnosed with cancer? Would you change your lifestyle? An interesting question, posted on a message board. If you had stage 4 cancer and it was a reoccurance from an earlier diagnosis would you change your spending and saving habits?
Would you stop planning for the long term future and live for today? Would it be wrong to do so? Should you make plans to leave behind money? Or would you go on a spending spree and run through your money? Or better yet, would you start charging up your credit cards and spending money you don’t have because you know you have 6 months to live?
I think this is an interesting question. There are moral issues are play as well as financial ones. It’s easy to say, spend every penny. If you have no dependents, then there is no reason to plan to leave behind any savings. But what about getting a new car and car loan or charging a once in a lifetime trip, you’ll know you’ll never pay?
I don’t know what I would do. I might be tempted to blow all my money and do everything on my “bucket” list of things I wanted to see and do before death. So probably I’d be wasting everything I had in hopes of accomplishing everything I wanted before death. What would you do?
12 responses so far ↓
1 Meg from FruWiki // Jun 14, 2009 at 2:51 pm
I hate the idea of creating debt KNOWING that I have no intention of paying it off and just leaving it to others (i.e. other credit users, other citizens, etc.) to pay it off. So, I still wouldn’t want to go too crazy — especially as I might live and, goodness knows, those sort of medical bills even with insurance will be enough to put most people deep in debt.
But, I’d like to think that I could find the means, time and energy to travel the world a bit with my husband. I’ve always wanted to see Italy and Greece and Japan and Egypt… so many places. That’s the one thing I really want to do if I ever come into some money or can save some up. Other than that, I’d just want to spend more time with my husband and other loved ones.
2 alicia // Jun 14, 2009 at 4:02 pm
I think if a person develops cancer, their lifestyle is already going to change, and not in a fun way. Either due to treatment and the side effects of treatment or (if you’re specifying stage 4 because it’s so far along) due to the effects of the cancer itself. Cancer or any other illness– if the prognosis is that bad, you’re probably not feeling very good, and you’re probably receiving some sort of medical care even if it’s not aimed at eradicating the disease.
That said, I think the main thing I’d do would be to stop working and take care of myself. I might pay for in-home help and for distant friends/family to come visit because I’d want to see them, but might not have the energy to take long trips myself. I also might not want to travel too far away from the doctors and other healthcare providers who already know me.
This is kind of depressing to think about. I’d rather be healthy and have to save up for things than be sick and have to live off of savings!
3 Abigail // Jun 14, 2009 at 6:15 pm
Hate to be a downer, but if you’re in Stage 4, you’re pretty much not going to have the energy to complete bucket lists or travel the world. Seriously.
Sorry to be the realist, it’s just that I hate questions like this because they bring out the annoying nerd in me who pushes up her spectacles (taped together at the nose) and starts talking: If you have any cancer, you’ll be undergoing chemotherapy and radiation, unless you decide not to fight. And most people don’t do that. By the time they can tell that the drugs aren’t working, you’re not well enough to go anywhere or do much of anything.
But, hey, let’s pretend there’s some disease out there that means that you’ll die within a year but will be perfectly fine until you just croak. (There, that shut the nerd up.)
Then, yes, travel the world; see family, spend time with friends. Whatever.
But here’s the problem I have with the idea of spend, spend, spend. If you’re married, you’d be racking up debt that your spouse would have to pay off. And even if you’re not married, then you’re racking up debt that will come out of your “estate.” By which I mean, any life insurance policy you have. So, no matter what you do, you’re leaving loved ones holding the bill. Because funerals are not cheap. And if you’re the main money-earner for the family, you need to be insured enough that your family can pay off the house and survive while your spouse figures out what to do.
So buy, buy, buy isn’t really an option.
But. If your funeral is alread paid for and you don’t have a spouse, then I would say go wild. Eat like a pig, because, really, what does it matter? Drink. Travel. Charge it all, I suppose. Although technically you’re screwing over other cardholders, since defaulters are one of the reasons cards have such high rates. But you’re dying so, really, you consider everyone who is healthy to be big ole whiners.
Overall, though, I think most people would rather take time to see family and friends and get closure. That would matter more to me, certainly, than going to see the Great Wall of China.
4 JoeP // Jun 15, 2009 at 8:08 am
If it was terminal, then I think I’d buy one really nice thing to enjoy and then hand down to my family, provided I could pay cash for it and the purchase didn’t eat into the financial gifts I intend to leave anyway.
I think I’d rather spend time with my family at home, or bring them on a very nice trip.
5 LAL // Jun 15, 2009 at 9:16 am
Got a point abagail, but there are people who stop fighting. And sometimes to see friends and family it takes a lot of money if you live far from them or want to see them all.
JoeP, I think it makes a difference when you have family versus being single. Person in question is single without kids.
6 Meg from FruWiki // Jun 15, 2009 at 3:15 pm
@Abigail
I agree that it’s wrong to screw over other cardholders, but I believe — though I could be wrong — that so long as the debt is ONLY in the deceased’s name that no one else from the family is liable, including the spouse. Of course, the credit companies will still try to get others to pay up, but there’s nothing they can do but be annoying.
Of course, if you leave behind assets, then it gets trickier — though you can transfer those ahead of time into others’ name alone. And in that case I guess it would be best to make sure the life insurance policy is in your spouse’s name.
Even if you don’t, though, I believe there are ways around paying off the debts. My mom recently lost her… well… I guess the best word is “boyfriend”. I believe the lawyer advised her to wait so many years before claiming the life insurance money to avoid having to pay debts with it (since I guess they don’t wait forever to collect them). It wasn’t a lot of money, either way, but it’ll mean that she gets back a little of the money she spent taking care of him.
Again, though, anyone in this situation — regardless of whether they plan to run up debts — should talk to a lawyer about the best way to preserve their assets for their loved ones.
7 Meg // Jun 15, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Spouses ARE left holding the bag on credit card debts, even if they didn’t know about them. Anything aquired during the marriage is joint – debts, assets, etc.
The only way I’d even be tempted to rack up a bunch of debt I could never repay is if I was single and had no family – i.e. nobody I wanted to leave money to and nobody responsible for my bills when I die.
But think about this – if you were single and had no family and were dying of a terminal illness – assuming you even had the physical ability and energy to do anything – would you really feel like it? I think I’d be too depressed (or, at least, too ambivalent) to bother with trying to travel the world alone or buying some crazy nice car or what have you.
8 Meg from FruWiki // Jun 15, 2009 at 6:03 pm
I stand corrected.
Though, I’d like to think I would still get out. Sure, it’d be emotional and I’d be a wreck, but it’s not like I’d be less depressed moping around at home and I think you’re legally required to cry anyhow when you see things like the pyramids of Giza and the Roman Colosseum.
9 Kristy @ Master Your Card // Jun 16, 2009 at 12:21 am
I probably would change my habits a little. I wouldn’t run up my credit cards at all…in fact, I think I’d just go ahead and close them out. I’d spend a little time make sure all my ducks were in a row financially, bills paid, unnecessary accounts closed, a will, all that. Once I was sure that was taken care of, I’d desist with the retirement contributions (it’s just me) and I’d enjoy the rest of my time on Earth. I’d travel and see a few things before dying. I’d do some of the things I’d always been afraid to do – like sky diving and base jumping. I’d pretty much do what Queen Latifah did in Last Holiday, except I would probably spend more time with friends and family as opposed to perfect strangers, but hey. It’s one of those questions though, I say this now, but I may feel differently if I were in that situation. I don’t think so, but it’s possible.
10 LAL // Jun 16, 2009 at 11:15 am
It depends on whether you are married or single.
But in this case single and family away? I’d travel to be with family. I’d probably give up my job and move home to be near them.
11 Bobbi // Jun 16, 2009 at 7:10 pm
The only thing I would do different is start smoking again. Other than that, I would just get my affairs in order and then spend time with the people I love and make sure they know how I feel about them.
12 LAL // Jun 18, 2009 at 8:08 pm
Bobbi, why start smoking again? Don’t you like your life without it?
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