Hi, Judy, good to see you here. You've said before in this forum or elsewhere that your safety net...your pension...isn't adequate to live the way you want to. So many of our generation here in the US are in the same boat or soon will be. Our Social Security was never meant to be a total retirement income. It was always meant to supplement what we accumulated during our lifetimes. Unfortunately, a lot of us didn't get that message. Now we're playing catch-up, and it's very difficult to do without a bit of risk. Catch-22, as they say. Are you a poker player by chance? I've learned to play no-limit Texas Hold'em (for chips, not cash, lol) since it became so popular, and it's a great analogy for this situation. If your strategy is to play cautiously and preserve your chips, toward the end of the game the forced bets very quickly eat up your 'stack', and you end up losing. If you play wildly, making a run at any pot no matter what your cards, you lose even more quickly. But if you take a few calculated risks, you can win the game with a little luck. I'm a rather conservative player, but I'm trying to learn to be just a bit more aggressive. Same with life. If you want to know how to pinch a penny 'til it gasps for breath, I can teach you that. Maybe I should take your advice and take a flutter now and again. But I won't bet the grocery money on it, lol. Cheri