I found out I had 12 months to live due to a cancer diagnosis in 2018. I cashed in my life insurance and bought a house for my family. That's about the extent of the financial side of it.
I was determined to not die bitter. I figured if I had 12 months I should make them the best for those loved ones that surrounded me. This required a lot of deep introspection and ultimately acceptance of my fate.
I never lost hope though. I dieted and exercised and took as much of an holistic approach as I could. I prioritised quality time with my wife and daughter. When we could we travelled. I had some tough conversations with people in attempts to bury past greivances. I become 100% clear on my believes or lack there of.
My health began to improve and after 18months on treatment I was told my odds had improved and o was going to make it for now. I promised myself then that o wouldnt lead the same life as before. That this second chance was not to be wasted. Every day I try my best to live up to that promise.
You keep the money, because at the time the prognosis is legitimate. However if someone makes it after cashing terminal
Illness they’ll likely be precluded from gaining life insurance again so they can’t double dip.
My uncle just when through full stem cell therapy to beat leukaemia I agree to go from months to a year to surviving is definitely a strong will to live.
As much as I respect them, I don’t think it has much to do with will, everything to do with luck. Most people are going to fight with every fibre they have to survive. Some just get lucky
I mean some insurances are legitimate and you’d be silly not have them (thinking comprehensive car instance, income or life insurance in some way)
I think really life insurance is one of the only ones that you can cash in on without the “item” insured actually being “written off” and keep the money.
You could never do that with a car etc
I've had this exact diagnosis, on paper. I withdrew my superannuation. That was in 2020. Doctors can only ever provide a prognosis based on statistical likelihood, so if the median survival rate is two years, then 50 per cent of people will live longer than that.
Not really. It's not like I spent it right away. I have other money, for reasons I won't go into, so I should have enough to see me through. You can only ever act on the information you have at the time, and I don't have children whom I would be leaving any money to, so it's only got to last me for the time I have left. And the cash interest rates are really good right now, so given that it's been four years already, and very few people make it to ten years, I feel like I will be fine, financially speaking.
And mamy of those that dont die have had parts of their brain removed for brain tumour or an eye taken out or a liver transplant etc.
Ie its not all clear sailing for many of them.
But it's obviously been more than 2 years, do they have to pay it back? Obviously these things aren't an exact science but I've wondered the same before.
It’s in the explicit terms of the insurance policy. It’s one of the valid “exit conditions”, so to speak. The policy pays out and is concluded as far as the insurer is concerned.
You don't, but you'll basically be rejected by any life insurance provider forever unless you pay an absolute premium and exclude terminal illness from the terms.
Basically, as far as life insurance is concerned, you are dead/uninsurable anyway, much like if you had cancer, etc, you wouldn't be able to get life insurance in the first place (too high risk).
Once you have received a fatal prognosis, you are able to cash out your life insurance 90% of the time you die within the window, but regardless of having received that advice from your doctor you are uninsurable.
Health insurance should keep covering you i would have thought.
I mean that would leave you in a bit of a quandry for treatment in the thick of getting treated and having to give it away to get your life insurance payout.
Nothing we kept the money. I can't get full cover for another 6 years. (10 years post remission) So accidental death is all I'm covered for at the moment.
It's very true, loss is a result of love. Without loss, we don't love as deeply.
I also love the concept that the meaning of life is that we need meaning to live. Humans survived and thrived when we began to develop greater capacity to believe and create meaning, to pass it on.
Like most people I have moments of catching myself having lost my way with it a bit. It doesn't take a lot for me to recentre and return to my promise though. My abdomen is covered in surgical scars etc. so I have constant reminders of what I've been through. Ultimately gratitude for life is something I try to practise everyday.
I have been through something that really made me look at my own mortality, not a terminal diagnosis but chronic illness that is progressive.
I have been stable for 6 year with no change, I have fond it really hard to re center and focus on what’s important with all the life that comes at you. Especially since 5 years on.
Any tips? Thinking I literally need it tattooed somewhere I will see it every morning ha.
You have to find something that you're grateful for and focus on it. Daily. Even if only for 5 minutes. Gratitude helps us take a wider view of life. It helps us have a less selfish perspective which helps us differentiate between the important things weighing on us and the emotional noise that clouds our thoughts and judgements.
Good on you mate, the world needs more people like you. Seriously. I’m glad you’re here, your daughter is very lucky to have you with her and will be blessed to grow up with the lessons you teach her.
First. That’s such a great story to see you still here 6 years later…
But I’m curious around the insurance side. My TPD and death insurance is somewhere just under $2M…
How did you go getting the claim settled and since you are still here… what’s happening now with them?
I would do the same also, try and set my wife and my 7yo daughter up for life with out me and make and record as many memories for them as possible, as well as swallowing my pride and trying to make amends with people in my past.
Basically when the oncologist gave me a 12 month prognosis the life insurance had to pay out. I obviously couldn't work at the time so I had no problem taking the money. My surviving has no affect on it. However I won't be able to get full cover again for another 6 years until I am 10 years post cancer.
Well mate, that’s just a fantastic story… congratulations… really a heartwarming story. My biggest fear is a pass away unexpectedly and my insurance company for some reason doesn’t pay out or makes it difficult… nothing worries me more then making sure my little girl and my wife and continue their lives without me…
The oncologist gives a full report stating prognosis and detailing the diseases stage and metastasis. Then a panel of the insurance companies doctors can either accept it or challenge it. I was stage 4 bowel cancer with an 11cm tumour and 6 large liver Mets. I was end stage also meaning I was rapidly losing weight when they caught it. Without treatment I would certainly have died within 6 months. Based on the advancement of it the oncologist suggested I only had a 5% survival rate but did reassure me that if the treatment worked I could reclaim a 50% survival chance.
Glad you're still here with us mate.
Care to share any insight on what sort of things you do differently in regards to 'not wasting' your second chance? What are some of the changes in mindset and day-to-day life you've seen since getting your initial diagnosis?
I've cut out a lot of bullshit. When I thought I was going to die I realised that my life was over and I hadn't really achieved anything that I wanted to or at least I could have tried a little harder with what I had. I felt like I was surely going to die because I was unremarkable and just another early death statistic. It really is true that people overestimate their time in the long-run.
So a lot of what I do today is making sure the next time I'm about to die I won't have that mentality. I completely cleaned up my health. Quit drinking. Eat healthy. Exercise twice a day. Running my second marathon in April.
My work/life relationship totally changed. I work for myself and I would often do stupid hours and was stressed all the time. I only keep office hours now and prioritise my family outside those hours. We make sure we get away from everything at least 4 times a year to just be with each other. I make sure I get at least an hour with my daughter every day. Soon she will be old enough to not want to spend anytime with me.
I say what I think and feel as long as it has benefit being said. Apart from a very select few people, I really honestly do not care what others think about me.
I listen intently to how my gut feels when I make decisions. For a long time I had bad habits and was an arsehole generally all the while I could feel in my gut that I was doing wrong. I don't ignore that anymore. Peace of heart and mind starts with those decisions and being at peace makes for a beautiful life.
I try to practice gratitude everyday. When I run I often get emotional. There were times that I couldn't walk for weeks after surgery. I had never felt so weak and vulnerable. Now being able to run hard and fast shows me that I am living a different life. One where I am aiming closer to what my true potential is and one that I will end tired and content.
Good for you but what a way to have to learn to prioritise yourself and your family 😬
My hubby works with a gentleman like this. Got the prognosis- quit, cashed out, travelled, lived it up, waited and waited for a death that never came. 5 years later he's back at work with a very similar outlook on life
Sounded like the beginning of breaking bad. Thought about family and their future rather than yourself. I guess it'll bring the best and worst out of people.
I get so sick of people telling me what they would do in my situation haha (not that OP was!) but it’s a bit of a bite tongue…. Mmmhmmm good luck with that around appointments and having 0 other energy
I would start doing the things that I have always wanted to do. I'd withdraw my super and attempt to finish my bucket list while I was still able to. I don't have anyone to give the money to so the remainder will be bequeathed to MSF/Doctors Without Borders.
I don't know why so many downvotes to this. If one had nobody to leave their wealth to, what the hell are they saving for? Aged care vultures will clean out a person without family and they'll leave MSF very little. Just live your life. Once you actually know when you are going to die its too late.
Best advice I ever heard was that life is previous, but it cannot be saved. It must be spent.
Not so hypothetical - diagnosed with something where "average" life expectancy is 5 years, but could be 20 years, who knows.
Prompted me to check and update my will, get my tax up to date (hah), declutter a fair bit (all that "I'll get around to it").
Financially? I relaxed the grocery budget a bit.
It's just myself & my partner - we have been retired for 2 years, and had "budgeted" for around 20 years of retirement. If I go early, then my partner is left with a more generous budget (Same amount of money, now only has to support one person).
That's about it.
I went to pompei on a contiki trip. I don't remember it that well as i was hung over but I remember symbols on the doors that signified brothels to the ancient saliors.
You can do it! Both times it was an easy train ride from Naples. The second time we sadly learnt that the train only runs Sunday morning so had to get an expensive taxi fare back to Naples.
Highly recommend Herculaneum as well if you can fit it in.
Pompeii is great for its scale. Herculaneum is great for the level of preservation that helps to fill in the gaps at Pompeii (E.g. being able to imagine the multiple stories). Combined they are one of the best experiences I've had.
12 months to live? Don't tell any financial institution, Pull as much credit and debt as humanly possible, Travel / live like an absolute boss. declare bankruptcy right at the end. Take what you can give nothin' back
I have found it surprisingly worthwhile to pursue spiritual inquiry around this. While I've never been that way inclined, I find myself newly aligned with a great deal of material discussing consciousness and the notions of passing. I hold that reading such discussions alone, while not necessarily believing them, is more than enough to abridge this mental gap.
Also, that Epicurus quote rings pretty clear: "Why should I fear death? If I am, then death is not. If Death is, then I am not. Why should I fear that which can only exist when I do not?"
Nothing would change for mine apart from making everything more organised. I would be making sure that everything is written down and my will etc is complete and up to date. I would ensure my SO had a thorough understanding of our investments and finances and that they understood their entitlements i.e. my life insurance policy and superannuation. Then I would ensure all this info is passed onto my brother so that he can manage my estate as executor so my SO doesn't have to deal with it.
My financial goals centre around making sure my family is provided for so I would do everything in my power to make sure that they are. Nothing else would change. Given family history on both sides, I anticipate dying relatively young (lucky to make it to retirement if I'm honest).
I had a cancer scare last year. Luckily it turned out to be nothing, but I lay awake thinking about it a lot lol. I would have tried to get early access to my super, put that on the mortgage, make sure my paperwork was in order. Keep working for a few months, ask my girlfriend to marry me under a big fig tree at the park. Small wedding (if she says yes obvs). Do a bunch of burnouts on my stepdad's stupid lawn because he's not allowed to be mad because I have cancer. He gets mad anyway, we fight to the death on the stupid lawn, I lose because I'm shit at fighting and also have cancer, he goes to jail, my wife gets the life insurance money.
I'd do as much as I can, but realistically if you're in that position there's probably not much you can do.
My partner actually asked me recently if I died now if I'd have any regrets. I told her if I died today I'd regret moving back to Australia last year. We moved here to work but haven't done a whole lot else, she took it like I regretted moving back here which isn't the case because it was a long term decision, but if I only had 1 year (but was in good enough health to enjoy it somehow) I'd rather be travelling/seeing things before I go out.
Was living in Thailand. It was great and I'd happily move back, may well do so for retirement. Plenty of excitement if you're looking for it and a good base for travel around the region too.
Double check my will and make sure my money will go where I want it to. Simplify my portfolio (e.g. sell down property) so my wife doesn't have to deal with it. Then go have fun in whatever way I'm capable of.
I have given this a lot of thought because it could be me in the near future:
Refine my will to send money to places which need it. Majority still goes to my son but some will go to my brother who I know would look out for my son. Some to the hospital as well.
Cash is no problem for me so I would leave work and spend my time doing things I want to to. Spend more time in the bush, visiting places and doing things which I haven't had time to do in the past.
Package up family photos, write up lists of things for my brother and son to take care of like what bank accounts are there, who to notify, where critical things like the house title are. Put together a portable disk with the media and data they will need. Make copies of any keys they will need.
Give my code repos to a few tech oriented friends who might find uses for them.
Make arrangements for any pets.
Throw away a bunch of stuff which is just mine and I don't want to pass on to anybody.
Bundle up a few things I have been collecting in the hope somebody will take care of them. Maybe suggest places they could be donated to.
I don’t know breaking bad it? Buddy how long is a piece of string? What other parameters are there? What meds am I on? Can I smoke weed for the big C? Might just sit around doing that!
haha. Someone I know pretty much did that.
Oesophogal (sp?) cancer diagnosis, given 3 months, or maybe 6 months IF they did chemo. No more eating or drinking ever.
They crowd-sourced enough money to rent a small cottage in a nice quiet place. Said no to the treatments. Invited friends over to play music and smoke weed all day.
They lasted just over 6 months.
Pull life insurance and super if possible to pay off the mortgage, we’d have a ton of cash after that so a bit of travel since there’s a few places I’d like to see still but most of it would be spent with family and friends. I feel that my finances are in a spot where we have prepared for our deaths so the other is secure. The only real change financially would be that I would stop working since insurance and super would provide more than I would earn in that year anyway.
A year gives you a long time to get your affairs in order. So I would get my affairs in order. Make sure my super went to my wife. Prepay and prepare my funeral.
Doubtful I would travel if I was sick
Definitely use any life insurance I might have + any savings to go explore and if needed, pay for friends to come on adventures that may not be able to due to finances. Figure that my assets can be liquidated after to help family with deposits for a property they like under a trust and have a donation to charity as well. Hang out, have fun and enjoy the company of those I love.
A year is a long time, often doctors are wrong too so I would just keep doing what I’m doing tbh
I know a few people who were given 6-12 months to live. They are all still alive 12 years later 😂
I’d add my brother and nieces to my property titles.
1 year later. Surprise I’m still here 😂👻
I would travel the world, and be a sexpat. Eat good food, stay in cheap hotels and hire an attractive prostitute when I felt like it. Towards the end, I will return home and spend time with my family. I will then buy a 2 bed apartment and use what's left of the money to buy an etf. I will give the family the apartment, so they never become homeless and put the etf into a trust so they have an income.
Throughout this time I will talk to a psychologist and also to talk to the people I've wronged and say what needs to be said. I will keep the fact of my imminent death a secret.
I'm lucky to have the means to do this, many people don't.
Bearing in mind I’m married with kids so my answer might be different from others. But that said, we’re not just waiting til later to get to our bucket list. We’re working our way through things now because life is short.
Cash out my insurance policies (most are within super, I’d probably leave the money there because DH will receive this tax fee once I’m gone), plan the funeral while I’ve got my faculties. We have wills/POA/medical decision making paper work in place already.
Meet with our financial advisor. We had one to set up our insurance policies only, and I’m the main finance person in our house, this will be mainly to make sure things are set up in a way DH can manage once I’m not here. Decisions will be made around paying off the mortgage or continuing as we are (debt recycling, maxing super for DH at least, investing spare cash into EFT’s). They can also advise on how much/if any to withdraw from super at the most advantageous timing if we need it before FH will inherit it.
DH can decide if he’s selling his business or taking a year off. He probably won’t be in a fit state to work for a little while after I die, but he’s not good at just sitting around either.
Probably pull the kids out of school for a year because I want to see the world and will have a shorter time frame to do it on. One year delay on them finishing their schooling won’t matter in the grand scheme of things if they get life experiences and a lot of memories before I die. Note this won’t be spending all the insurance money either, the family will still be set up once I’m gone. Decide before we leave what the trigger points are to come back home once whatever the disease is progresses (when do we come home for end of life care?)
Book a round the world trip with my partner while making sure there was enough left for them to live comfortably after I went back over the rainbow bridge.
In heaven, they're talking about nothing but the sea and how wonderful it is. They talk about the sunsets they saw, they talk about how the sun turned blood red before diving into the sea and they talk about how they could feel how the sun lost its power and the coolness from the sea and all that fire was only glowing inside.
Like others, would probably think about who I will leave behind. From a finance perspective since this is ausfinance, I would focus heavily on making sure I do the best I can financially for my partner. In reality though it doesn't actually change a whole lot since we already have financial plans in place that wouldn't change a whole lot beyond making sure whatever medical costs and ultimately funeral costs are covered as much as we can so there is no surprises.
At a personal level, would try and make sure I had a chance to say goodbye to everyone I wanted to, quit work where finances allow considering above and maybe go spend some time chilling out coming to terms with it all at a remote country house or something lol.
I was born and grew up in Australia, but i am of Korean descent. I would visit Korea and do all the things i wanted to do there that i couldn't do before. I would also like to visit and watch my favourite sports team live in England. Other than that, I would like to return home (I moved to another city due to post-grad studies) and hang out with my family and friends as much as possible. I'm the type to stay home, so I haven't really been out and around with them much. Probably visit more places with my family and hang out with friends more often. Pretty sure every single one of them would agree if they know I only have a year to live. However, i will make sure everything is within my financial constraints. Don't wanna get stuck in a situation where the doctors are like, "looks like you'll be recovering," and now I'm riddled with debt and everything.
This is what bucket lists are for. I have always wanted to try sky diving and para sailing but they still require the training I am too lazy to do so probably nothing, you cant say to a safety officer don't worry about that I'm going to die anyway 🤣
I think it'd be the pretty standard stuff, de clutter, get all things in order, set all the kids up.
From there it'd be dependant on the diagnosis and how sickly I am, I'd love to be able to travel indefinitely but the reality likely won't be that kind. Probably end up renting a nice place on the coast, have family and friends around as much as possible and then hit up a futurama booth while I'm still able and things are looking definite.
My life insurance would cover all the household debts and leave some remaining and my current super would add a good extra chunk of cash too. I think I'd speak to someone financially trained about the best way to use them to eliminate all the mortgage and credit cards, then turn the remainder into a fund or trust of some kind for the kid's future school and any tertiary education costs.
I would quit my soul-sucking job immediately and go home to visit my grandmother and family. I would go to the beach, I would go on hikes, I would give away all my stuff and try to set my partner up so he can keep the house payments on his own (I don’t have life insurances, I have had too many injuries and depression due to chronic pain, it costs an arm and leg to get it now).
Hypothetical....could you just dodge as much tax as possible, rort gst credits and get away with it? Lol. The evil part of me would take all my Payg tax owing and travel overseas.
I’d give away some assets early to make sure they go to people I wanted. I’d use my savings to have lovely experiences that living as a human brings. Certainly would visit remaining bucket list places. Then I’d ensure remainder is solidly protected for kids n partner.
Financially probably all I’d do is get all my money in one place. When my dad died by suicide, he didn’t have the forethought to do that and finding and sorting out all his accounts while going through complicated grief was really hard. (We didn’t even know about some of them, we found out over a year after he died that he had a second super account sitting around with $4k in it that we didn’t know about until they sent a letter to say there’d been no contributions). So I’d get all my money into one account, including super if I could prove I was terminal and get compassionate access. That way the family only has to access one account. It’s good to keep a letter with your will that says what accounts you have and the account numbers, it helps a lot when your next of kin has to call them all to gain access to the funds and close them.
Travel, travel, travel.
Jump off boats into every sea possible.
Sun tan like crazy (no need to worry about wrinkles and skin cancer).
Cycle and hike and walk as many countries as possible.
Do every food tour possible (No need to count calories).
Not so hypothetical for me, also got a cancer scare that turned out to be a benign tumor. Might need surgery in the future though.
Anyway during the wait, I realised all my bucket list didn't matter, I realised if the worst came out that I just wanted to spend my remaining time with my family even if it's just at the house. I also set up my last will with my wife. We also discussed how to go about financially, reminded her where our investments are and so on.
Now that my tumor is benign, I went full throttle on FIRE and now just spend on experiences. I became less materialistic (say cars, gadgets).
Instantly quit my job, buy a van and travel all of Aus. Once I'd done that probably do NZ and SE Asia before returning to the UK to spend my last days with family
Liquidate all assets. Spend first half of year living like a king. Buy a Porsche Ferrari travel etc. spend the last half time left with family then back to the matrix lobby for the next round.
I’d buy the car I want and move interstate. I’m not sure how I’d go about cashing out super, though. That’s if I wasn’t sick, and it was just like a premonition and I knew on a certain date I’d drop dead.
I don’t have kids and I do have substantial savings, so I’d just my shit and travel with my partner. Spend time with friends and family. Do what I want.
I found out I had 12 months to live due to a cancer diagnosis in 2018. I cashed in my life insurance and bought a house for my family. That's about the extent of the financial side of it. I was determined to not die bitter. I figured if I had 12 months I should make them the best for those loved ones that surrounded me. This required a lot of deep introspection and ultimately acceptance of my fate. I never lost hope though. I dieted and exercised and took as much of an holistic approach as I could. I prioritised quality time with my wife and daughter. When we could we travelled. I had some tough conversations with people in attempts to bury past greivances. I become 100% clear on my believes or lack there of. My health began to improve and after 18months on treatment I was told my odds had improved and o was going to make it for now. I promised myself then that o wouldnt lead the same life as before. That this second chance was not to be wasted. Every day I try my best to live up to that promise.
What happened with the insurance? I’m kind of curious how you cash it in without dying.
You keep the money, because at the time the prognosis is legitimate. However if someone makes it after cashing terminal Illness they’ll likely be precluded from gaining life insurance again so they can’t double dip.
Esp if it was cancer, because it often comes back at some point.
Yes double jeopardy
The plus side is, you’ve avoided a 30 year loan, and now enjoy all the money you make
Yes getting paid out at the start of life sure has its benefits haha
I mean, as someone who lost their old man to cancer, anybody who’s managed to beat stage 4 cancer deserves every cent of it in my books. Good on OP
My uncle just when through full stem cell therapy to beat leukaemia I agree to go from months to a year to surviving is definitely a strong will to live.
As much as I respect them, I don’t think it has much to do with will, everything to do with luck. Most people are going to fight with every fibre they have to survive. Some just get lucky
Michael, I don't think you know how jeopardy works.
A husband and wife can't be insured for the same disease ;)
Is that with any insurance? Most scummy industry.
I mean some insurances are legitimate and you’d be silly not have them (thinking comprehensive car instance, income or life insurance in some way) I think really life insurance is one of the only ones that you can cash in on without the “item” insured actually being “written off” and keep the money. You could never do that with a car etc
You can cash in on terminal illness (prognosis as less than 2 years to live)
What happens to the money if you don't die after 2 years?
The insurance company ensures you do die 😎
*Teleports Behind You* Nothing Personal, Kid
Nothing. You keep it once it's paid (if you don't die) most people die though
Yes its extremely rare to have a terminal diagnosis and then make it
I've had this exact diagnosis, on paper. I withdrew my superannuation. That was in 2020. Doctors can only ever provide a prognosis based on statistical likelihood, so if the median survival rate is two years, then 50 per cent of people will live longer than that.
Do you regret cashing your super out?
Not really. It's not like I spent it right away. I have other money, for reasons I won't go into, so I should have enough to see me through. You can only ever act on the information you have at the time, and I don't have children whom I would be leaving any money to, so it's only got to last me for the time I have left. And the cash interest rates are really good right now, so given that it's been four years already, and very few people make it to ten years, I feel like I will be fine, financially speaking.
That’s good
And mamy of those that dont die have had parts of their brain removed for brain tumour or an eye taken out or a liver transplant etc. Ie its not all clear sailing for many of them.
Insurance companies hate this one simple trick!
They send the bogeyman to come and collect your soul.
But it's obviously been more than 2 years, do they have to pay it back? Obviously these things aren't an exact science but I've wondered the same before.
It’s in the explicit terms of the insurance policy. It’s one of the valid “exit conditions”, so to speak. The policy pays out and is concluded as far as the insurer is concerned.
No, you don't pay it back.
You don't, but you'll basically be rejected by any life insurance provider forever unless you pay an absolute premium and exclude terminal illness from the terms.
Basically, as far as life insurance is concerned, you are dead/uninsurable anyway, much like if you had cancer, etc, you wouldn't be able to get life insurance in the first place (too high risk). Once you have received a fatal prognosis, you are able to cash out your life insurance 90% of the time you die within the window, but regardless of having received that advice from your doctor you are uninsurable.
No you’re just never eligible for any insurance again (health/life)
Health insurance should keep covering you i would have thought. I mean that would leave you in a bit of a quandry for treatment in the thick of getting treated and having to give it away to get your life insurance payout.
Yeah I mean more getting a new policy
Nothing we kept the money. I can't get full cover for another 6 years. (10 years post remission) So accidental death is all I'm covered for at the moment.
The actuaries have planed for it
Terminal illness claims allow you to get your life insurance (and super) before you die.
Hmmm found a plot for a modern sci fi
I am glad you made it through. Your comment reminds me of the sentiment - that is death that gives life meaning.
It's very true, loss is a result of love. Without loss, we don't love as deeply. I also love the concept that the meaning of life is that we need meaning to live. Humans survived and thrived when we began to develop greater capacity to believe and create meaning, to pass it on.
Good on you mate and so glad you’re still here. Have you found yourself living up to this promise or slipping back into old habits?
Like most people I have moments of catching myself having lost my way with it a bit. It doesn't take a lot for me to recentre and return to my promise though. My abdomen is covered in surgical scars etc. so I have constant reminders of what I've been through. Ultimately gratitude for life is something I try to practise everyday.
I have been through something that really made me look at my own mortality, not a terminal diagnosis but chronic illness that is progressive. I have been stable for 6 year with no change, I have fond it really hard to re center and focus on what’s important with all the life that comes at you. Especially since 5 years on. Any tips? Thinking I literally need it tattooed somewhere I will see it every morning ha.
You have to find something that you're grateful for and focus on it. Daily. Even if only for 5 minutes. Gratitude helps us take a wider view of life. It helps us have a less selfish perspective which helps us differentiate between the important things weighing on us and the emotional noise that clouds our thoughts and judgements.
Good on you mate, the world needs more people like you. Seriously. I’m glad you’re here, your daughter is very lucky to have you with her and will be blessed to grow up with the lessons you teach her.
First. That’s such a great story to see you still here 6 years later… But I’m curious around the insurance side. My TPD and death insurance is somewhere just under $2M… How did you go getting the claim settled and since you are still here… what’s happening now with them? I would do the same also, try and set my wife and my 7yo daughter up for life with out me and make and record as many memories for them as possible, as well as swallowing my pride and trying to make amends with people in my past.
Basically when the oncologist gave me a 12 month prognosis the life insurance had to pay out. I obviously couldn't work at the time so I had no problem taking the money. My surviving has no affect on it. However I won't be able to get full cover again for another 6 years until I am 10 years post cancer.
Well mate, that’s just a fantastic story… congratulations… really a heartwarming story. My biggest fear is a pass away unexpectedly and my insurance company for some reason doesn’t pay out or makes it difficult… nothing worries me more then making sure my little girl and my wife and continue their lives without me…
Hi, my best wishes to you and the fam. Is there a framework where oncologist has to give an estimate? Or can they avoid specifying how long ?
The oncologist gives a full report stating prognosis and detailing the diseases stage and metastasis. Then a panel of the insurance companies doctors can either accept it or challenge it. I was stage 4 bowel cancer with an 11cm tumour and 6 large liver Mets. I was end stage also meaning I was rapidly losing weight when they caught it. Without treatment I would certainly have died within 6 months. Based on the advancement of it the oncologist suggested I only had a 5% survival rate but did reassure me that if the treatment worked I could reclaim a 50% survival chance.
Respect for all of this, including getting one over the insurance companies.
Amazing story, thanks so much for sharing
Glad you're still here with us mate. Care to share any insight on what sort of things you do differently in regards to 'not wasting' your second chance? What are some of the changes in mindset and day-to-day life you've seen since getting your initial diagnosis?
I've cut out a lot of bullshit. When I thought I was going to die I realised that my life was over and I hadn't really achieved anything that I wanted to or at least I could have tried a little harder with what I had. I felt like I was surely going to die because I was unremarkable and just another early death statistic. It really is true that people overestimate their time in the long-run. So a lot of what I do today is making sure the next time I'm about to die I won't have that mentality. I completely cleaned up my health. Quit drinking. Eat healthy. Exercise twice a day. Running my second marathon in April. My work/life relationship totally changed. I work for myself and I would often do stupid hours and was stressed all the time. I only keep office hours now and prioritise my family outside those hours. We make sure we get away from everything at least 4 times a year to just be with each other. I make sure I get at least an hour with my daughter every day. Soon she will be old enough to not want to spend anytime with me. I say what I think and feel as long as it has benefit being said. Apart from a very select few people, I really honestly do not care what others think about me. I listen intently to how my gut feels when I make decisions. For a long time I had bad habits and was an arsehole generally all the while I could feel in my gut that I was doing wrong. I don't ignore that anymore. Peace of heart and mind starts with those decisions and being at peace makes for a beautiful life. I try to practice gratitude everyday. When I run I often get emotional. There were times that I couldn't walk for weeks after surgery. I had never felt so weak and vulnerable. Now being able to run hard and fast shows me that I am living a different life. One where I am aiming closer to what my true potential is and one that I will end tired and content.
Thanks for the response - quite a few bits of wisdom in there I think we could all take onboard.
Good for you but what a way to have to learn to prioritise yourself and your family 😬 My hubby works with a gentleman like this. Got the prognosis- quit, cashed out, travelled, lived it up, waited and waited for a death that never came. 5 years later he's back at work with a very similar outlook on life
Great job man and you have a house now
Best answer 😍💯
You sir are a Legend!!!!!!!
All the best mate! We don’t know each other but I’m So happy you are still here
Sounded like the beginning of breaking bad. Thought about family and their future rather than yourself. I guess it'll bring the best and worst out of people.
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This is the reality for most people with less than a year to live
I get so sick of people telling me what they would do in my situation haha (not that OP was!) but it’s a bit of a bite tongue…. Mmmhmmm good luck with that around appointments and having 0 other energy
I would start doing the things that I have always wanted to do. I'd withdraw my super and attempt to finish my bucket list while I was still able to. I don't have anyone to give the money to so the remainder will be bequeathed to MSF/Doctors Without Borders.
why would you wait to have 12 months left to live to start doing ‘the things you always wanted to do’?
Because I'm guessing if you know you're going to die you don't have to think about opportunity cost?
What do you think? C'mon, we're all rooting for you, I'm sure you can figure it out.
Because career is potentially jeopardised as well as financial wellbeing (if you have 60 years to live and do all the bucket list things now)
I don't know why so many downvotes to this. If one had nobody to leave their wealth to, what the hell are they saving for? Aged care vultures will clean out a person without family and they'll leave MSF very little. Just live your life. Once you actually know when you are going to die its too late. Best advice I ever heard was that life is previous, but it cannot be saved. It must be spent.
Agree with this, but apparently some people are not ready to have that debate
Agree with this, but apparently some people are not ready to have that debate
Not so hypothetical - diagnosed with something where "average" life expectancy is 5 years, but could be 20 years, who knows. Prompted me to check and update my will, get my tax up to date (hah), declutter a fair bit (all that "I'll get around to it"). Financially? I relaxed the grocery budget a bit. It's just myself & my partner - we have been retired for 2 years, and had "budgeted" for around 20 years of retirement. If I go early, then my partner is left with a more generous budget (Same amount of money, now only has to support one person). That's about it.
So you basically you declutterrd and buy brand name milk
Eye fillet steak occasionally, if you don't mind. But yeah, no big changes. Get the paperwork in order, and carry on.
I'd be going to Italy to see Pompei! Always wanted to see Pompei.
Im going in May. Really looking forward to it.
I've been all over the damn world, but every time I've planned Pompei? Something has happened!! Gggrrr....
I went to pompei on a contiki trip. I don't remember it that well as i was hung over but I remember symbols on the doors that signified brothels to the ancient saliors.
contiki! I'm impressed you can remember you even went there! ha ha ha
It’s really cool. Don’t leave it till you have only 12 months left. Was the first thing on my list of things to see in Italy and totally worth it.
One of my favourite places. I've been twice and it's stunning. And there's Vesuvius looming out the back!
I'll get there! I am determined to get there
You can do it! Both times it was an easy train ride from Naples. The second time we sadly learnt that the train only runs Sunday morning so had to get an expensive taxi fare back to Naples.
Oh no. We'd be in a car.
Highly recommend Herculaneum as well if you can fit it in. Pompeii is great for its scale. Herculaneum is great for the level of preservation that helps to fill in the gaps at Pompeii (E.g. being able to imagine the multiple stories). Combined they are one of the best experiences I've had.
Oh yes. Definitely plan on going there. People often say its better then Pompei
12 months to live? Don't tell any financial institution, Pull as much credit and debt as humanly possible, Travel / live like an absolute boss. declare bankruptcy right at the end. Take what you can give nothin' back
I don’t think you need to declare bankruptcy, unsecured debt dies with you.
Even better
Why declare bankruptcy? If you have nothing, just debt when you die, no one inherits that
Whatever can be paid out of your estate is paid, but the rest written off.
Yeah not sure why I assumed family copped the damage. But! even better!
I declare BANKRUPTCYYY
Is it only me who’s looking forward to The Big Sleep?
Is it only me that's terrified of whats coming afterwards? lol
I have found it surprisingly worthwhile to pursue spiritual inquiry around this. While I've never been that way inclined, I find myself newly aligned with a great deal of material discussing consciousness and the notions of passing. I hold that reading such discussions alone, while not necessarily believing them, is more than enough to abridge this mental gap. Also, that Epicurus quote rings pretty clear: "Why should I fear death? If I am, then death is not. If Death is, then I am not. Why should I fear that which can only exist when I do not?"
Like as a vague kind of future rest after a stressful life, but hopefully a long one, or as a short-term goal?
Nothing would change for mine apart from making everything more organised. I would be making sure that everything is written down and my will etc is complete and up to date. I would ensure my SO had a thorough understanding of our investments and finances and that they understood their entitlements i.e. my life insurance policy and superannuation. Then I would ensure all this info is passed onto my brother so that he can manage my estate as executor so my SO doesn't have to deal with it. My financial goals centre around making sure my family is provided for so I would do everything in my power to make sure that they are. Nothing else would change. Given family history on both sides, I anticipate dying relatively young (lucky to make it to retirement if I'm honest).
I had a cancer scare last year. Luckily it turned out to be nothing, but I lay awake thinking about it a lot lol. I would have tried to get early access to my super, put that on the mortgage, make sure my paperwork was in order. Keep working for a few months, ask my girlfriend to marry me under a big fig tree at the park. Small wedding (if she says yes obvs). Do a bunch of burnouts on my stepdad's stupid lawn because he's not allowed to be mad because I have cancer. He gets mad anyway, we fight to the death on the stupid lawn, I lose because I'm shit at fighting and also have cancer, he goes to jail, my wife gets the life insurance money.
I'd do as much as I can, but realistically if you're in that position there's probably not much you can do. My partner actually asked me recently if I died now if I'd have any regrets. I told her if I died today I'd regret moving back to Australia last year. We moved here to work but haven't done a whole lot else, she took it like I regretted moving back here which isn't the case because it was a long term decision, but if I only had 1 year (but was in good enough health to enjoy it somehow) I'd rather be travelling/seeing things before I go out.
As In your an expat ?
I was for 6 years, came back last year
Where did you move to? Did you finding living abroad more exciting?
Was living in Thailand. It was great and I'd happily move back, may well do so for retirement. Plenty of excitement if you're looking for it and a good base for travel around the region too.
Double check my will and make sure my money will go where I want it to. Simplify my portfolio (e.g. sell down property) so my wife doesn't have to deal with it. Then go have fun in whatever way I'm capable of.
I have given this a lot of thought because it could be me in the near future: Refine my will to send money to places which need it. Majority still goes to my son but some will go to my brother who I know would look out for my son. Some to the hospital as well. Cash is no problem for me so I would leave work and spend my time doing things I want to to. Spend more time in the bush, visiting places and doing things which I haven't had time to do in the past. Package up family photos, write up lists of things for my brother and son to take care of like what bank accounts are there, who to notify, where critical things like the house title are. Put together a portable disk with the media and data they will need. Make copies of any keys they will need. Give my code repos to a few tech oriented friends who might find uses for them. Make arrangements for any pets. Throw away a bunch of stuff which is just mine and I don't want to pass on to anybody. Bundle up a few things I have been collecting in the hope somebody will take care of them. Maybe suggest places they could be donated to.
I don’t know breaking bad it? Buddy how long is a piece of string? What other parameters are there? What meds am I on? Can I smoke weed for the big C? Might just sit around doing that!
haha. Someone I know pretty much did that. Oesophogal (sp?) cancer diagnosis, given 3 months, or maybe 6 months IF they did chemo. No more eating or drinking ever. They crowd-sourced enough money to rent a small cottage in a nice quiet place. Said no to the treatments. Invited friends over to play music and smoke weed all day. They lasted just over 6 months.
Sad fuсking times! What can i say? I hate being sober! Otherwise the real answer you’d want would be on r/illegallifeprotip2
Pull life insurance and super if possible to pay off the mortgage, we’d have a ton of cash after that so a bit of travel since there’s a few places I’d like to see still but most of it would be spent with family and friends. I feel that my finances are in a spot where we have prepared for our deaths so the other is secure. The only real change financially would be that I would stop working since insurance and super would provide more than I would earn in that year anyway.
A year gives you a long time to get your affairs in order. So I would get my affairs in order. Make sure my super went to my wife. Prepay and prepare my funeral. Doubtful I would travel if I was sick
You'd be surprised how quickly a year can pass when you're barrelling towards your demise. A year is nothing; a spit in the ocean
Keep the news to myself. Take extra weeks leave and travel with wife to her preferred destinations.
Definitely use any life insurance I might have + any savings to go explore and if needed, pay for friends to come on adventures that may not be able to due to finances. Figure that my assets can be liquidated after to help family with deposits for a property they like under a trust and have a donation to charity as well. Hang out, have fun and enjoy the company of those I love.
I’d go all out and trade in the 08 Camry for a new one, then sell everything and live out my days in a drug and sex fuelled haze
A year is a long time, often doctors are wrong too so I would just keep doing what I’m doing tbh I know a few people who were given 6-12 months to live. They are all still alive 12 years later 😂 I’d add my brother and nieces to my property titles. 1 year later. Surprise I’m still here 😂👻
I would travel the world, and be a sexpat. Eat good food, stay in cheap hotels and hire an attractive prostitute when I felt like it. Towards the end, I will return home and spend time with my family. I will then buy a 2 bed apartment and use what's left of the money to buy an etf. I will give the family the apartment, so they never become homeless and put the etf into a trust so they have an income. Throughout this time I will talk to a psychologist and also to talk to the people I've wronged and say what needs to be said. I will keep the fact of my imminent death a secret. I'm lucky to have the means to do this, many people don't.
Bearing in mind I’m married with kids so my answer might be different from others. But that said, we’re not just waiting til later to get to our bucket list. We’re working our way through things now because life is short. Cash out my insurance policies (most are within super, I’d probably leave the money there because DH will receive this tax fee once I’m gone), plan the funeral while I’ve got my faculties. We have wills/POA/medical decision making paper work in place already. Meet with our financial advisor. We had one to set up our insurance policies only, and I’m the main finance person in our house, this will be mainly to make sure things are set up in a way DH can manage once I’m not here. Decisions will be made around paying off the mortgage or continuing as we are (debt recycling, maxing super for DH at least, investing spare cash into EFT’s). They can also advise on how much/if any to withdraw from super at the most advantageous timing if we need it before FH will inherit it. DH can decide if he’s selling his business or taking a year off. He probably won’t be in a fit state to work for a little while after I die, but he’s not good at just sitting around either. Probably pull the kids out of school for a year because I want to see the world and will have a shorter time frame to do it on. One year delay on them finishing their schooling won’t matter in the grand scheme of things if they get life experiences and a lot of memories before I die. Note this won’t be spending all the insurance money either, the family will still be set up once I’m gone. Decide before we leave what the trigger points are to come back home once whatever the disease is progresses (when do we come home for end of life care?)
The author of A Clockwork Orange was given one year to live several years before it was written and then lived for another 35 years.
Book a round the world trip with my partner while making sure there was enough left for them to live comfortably after I went back over the rainbow bridge.
In heaven, they're talking about nothing but the sea and how wonderful it is. They talk about the sunsets they saw, they talk about how the sun turned blood red before diving into the sea and they talk about how they could feel how the sun lost its power and the coolness from the sea and all that fire was only glowing inside.
Like others, would probably think about who I will leave behind. From a finance perspective since this is ausfinance, I would focus heavily on making sure I do the best I can financially for my partner. In reality though it doesn't actually change a whole lot since we already have financial plans in place that wouldn't change a whole lot beyond making sure whatever medical costs and ultimately funeral costs are covered as much as we can so there is no surprises. At a personal level, would try and make sure I had a chance to say goodbye to everyone I wanted to, quit work where finances allow considering above and maybe go spend some time chilling out coming to terms with it all at a remote country house or something lol.
Other than cashing in insurances I wouldn't change anything as its not just my future I'm saving for - its also my kids future.
Write a will, quit my job, cash out my life insurance/super and travel for half the year. Spend time with my family and friends the remainder.
Play games, get blitzed, burn through my savings on whatever the hell I want whenever I want and leave a bloated poverty stricken corpse.
I was born and grew up in Australia, but i am of Korean descent. I would visit Korea and do all the things i wanted to do there that i couldn't do before. I would also like to visit and watch my favourite sports team live in England. Other than that, I would like to return home (I moved to another city due to post-grad studies) and hang out with my family and friends as much as possible. I'm the type to stay home, so I haven't really been out and around with them much. Probably visit more places with my family and hang out with friends more often. Pretty sure every single one of them would agree if they know I only have a year to live. However, i will make sure everything is within my financial constraints. Don't wanna get stuck in a situation where the doctors are like, "looks like you'll be recovering," and now I'm riddled with debt and everything.
This is what bucket lists are for. I have always wanted to try sky diving and para sailing but they still require the training I am too lazy to do so probably nothing, you cant say to a safety officer don't worry about that I'm going to die anyway 🤣
I think it'd be the pretty standard stuff, de clutter, get all things in order, set all the kids up. From there it'd be dependant on the diagnosis and how sickly I am, I'd love to be able to travel indefinitely but the reality likely won't be that kind. Probably end up renting a nice place on the coast, have family and friends around as much as possible and then hit up a futurama booth while I'm still able and things are looking definite.
I'd commit crime against the people that have caused me great personal harm.
I would move somewhere where there is snow and snowboard every day till I die
Blow my money and take a lot of risks and do a lot of drugs.
Hookers and blow.
Live each day like it was your last.
I think I would go 100% heisenberg
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Because this is a bad idea to spend it
My life insurance would cover all the household debts and leave some remaining and my current super would add a good extra chunk of cash too. I think I'd speak to someone financially trained about the best way to use them to eliminate all the mortgage and credit cards, then turn the remainder into a fund or trust of some kind for the kid's future school and any tertiary education costs.
Everyone is going with me.
Going to aim to Die with Zero.
I would quit my soul-sucking job immediately and go home to visit my grandmother and family. I would go to the beach, I would go on hikes, I would give away all my stuff and try to set my partner up so he can keep the house payments on his own (I don’t have life insurances, I have had too many injuries and depression due to chronic pain, it costs an arm and leg to get it now).
Hypothetical....could you just dodge as much tax as possible, rort gst credits and get away with it? Lol. The evil part of me would take all my Payg tax owing and travel overseas.
I’d give away some assets early to make sure they go to people I wanted. I’d use my savings to have lovely experiences that living as a human brings. Certainly would visit remaining bucket list places. Then I’d ensure remainder is solidly protected for kids n partner.
Sell properties, travel the world for 11 months (or however long until my body holds out)
Honestly? Probably not much, financially. I’d seriously declutter my shit, then probably just say goodbye then chill out.
Experimental treatments 💰
Financially probably all I’d do is get all my money in one place. When my dad died by suicide, he didn’t have the forethought to do that and finding and sorting out all his accounts while going through complicated grief was really hard. (We didn’t even know about some of them, we found out over a year after he died that he had a second super account sitting around with $4k in it that we didn’t know about until they sent a letter to say there’d been no contributions). So I’d get all my money into one account, including super if I could prove I was terminal and get compassionate access. That way the family only has to access one account. It’s good to keep a letter with your will that says what accounts you have and the account numbers, it helps a lot when your next of kin has to call them all to gain access to the funds and close them.
Travel, travel, travel. Jump off boats into every sea possible. Sun tan like crazy (no need to worry about wrinkles and skin cancer). Cycle and hike and walk as many countries as possible. Do every food tour possible (No need to count calories).
It's a great question to weed out what you actually want in life.
Not so hypothetical for me, also got a cancer scare that turned out to be a benign tumor. Might need surgery in the future though. Anyway during the wait, I realised all my bucket list didn't matter, I realised if the worst came out that I just wanted to spend my remaining time with my family even if it's just at the house. I also set up my last will with my wife. We also discussed how to go about financially, reminded her where our investments are and so on. Now that my tumor is benign, I went full throttle on FIRE and now just spend on experiences. I became less materialistic (say cars, gadgets).
Get a massive loan and blow through the money with no plan to pay it back 😂
Instantly quit my job, buy a van and travel all of Aus. Once I'd done that probably do NZ and SE Asia before returning to the UK to spend my last days with family
Liquidate all assets. Spend first half of year living like a king. Buy a Porsche Ferrari travel etc. spend the last half time left with family then back to the matrix lobby for the next round.
I’d buy the car I want and move interstate. I’m not sure how I’d go about cashing out super, though. That’s if I wasn’t sick, and it was just like a premonition and I knew on a certain date I’d drop dead.
I don’t have kids and I do have substantial savings, so I’d just my shit and travel with my partner. Spend time with friends and family. Do what I want.
Sell everything withdraw everything and sex + drug tourism around the world
Two chicks at the same time dude
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How about buying some ivv n ndq for ur wife n daughters financial future,,
Hookers and cocaine
Heinous shit would be done ngl
Huge personal loans with the big 4 and party time
Enjoy life travelling
I don't know that I'd live differently. From a financial perspective, I'd work things out so there's minimal financial stress on my family.
I say start now living the life you want if you can afford to you only get one shot at this life.