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Finance guru who urged savers to prepare to live until they are 90 reveals devastating diagnosis - and if he now regrets being so frugal
A finance guru who recommended people prepare to live until they're 90 revealed he's been diagnosed with a shocking health condition.
British journalist and author, Jonathan Clements, 53, shared he was diagnosed with an intense form of lung cancer that has spread to his brain and other parts of his body.
In a June blog post on his website Humble Dollar, Clements detailed the moment he found out he may only 'have just a dozen okay months' ahead of him.
Titled 'The C Word,' Clements explained that he went to an urgent care clinic for balance issues, but by the end of the day, he ended up in the intensive care unit with his reality staring right at him.
He previously urged savers to follow a three-part system, including saving as much money as possible to benefit you later in life, avoid cashing in on Social Security before 70, and to strongly consider immediate fixed annuities.
British journalist and author, Jonathan Clements, 53, revealed he was diagnosed with an intense form of lung cancer that has spread to his brain and other parts of his body in June
Although he might not be able to follow his own advice, Clements told The Seattle Times he doesn't regret much, but knows that he's 'definitely on the clock here.'
'I have no desire for HumbleDollar to become HumbleDeathWatch. But my prognosis is not good,' he wrote.
'I’ve had three brain radiation treatments and I started chemotherapy yesterday, but these steps are merely deferring death and perhaps not for very long.
'But as best I can gather, I may have just a dozen okay months ahead of me.'
He added that the last cigarette he smoked was in 1987 when he was 24-years-old, and that his diagnosis is believed to be the result of 'a defective gene.'
Clements, who worked as a personal finance columnist for The Wall Street Journal for about 20 years, said that he has now turned his attention to writing about not just personal finance, but 'implications' of his rare and incurable disease.
Throughout his career as a journalist, Clements saved as much as he could before he took a job at Citibank in 2008.
It was there that he doubled his income. After working there for six years, the financial expert managed to save about 30 percent of what he made, The Seattle Times reported.
He posted about his shock diagnosis in a piece title 'The C Word.' In it, he describes not only how he discovered his disease, but how he plans to use it to inspire and help others
He told the outlet that getting married was also a smart financial move, as his wife and mother of his two kids works in academia- which offered his children partial tuition benefits.
Through it all he continued to live a frugal life so he could save as much as possible for retirement.
'I got to call the shots. I got to be as frugal or lavish as I wanted,' he admitted.
He also noted that deciding to live in an inexpensive house helped him save for his future self.
'Those initial decades in a mediocre house in the New Jersey suburbs is what set me up,' Clements said.
Although he has achieved part one of his master financial plan, Clements might not be able to finish out the second and third steps.
Since being faced with cancer, Clements has posted several financial pieces in relation to his terrifying diagnosis.
In a recent blog post, he compared his sudden diagnosis to managing money.
'We're laser-focused on certain risks. Stock market crashes. Auto accidents. Our home burning down. Big medical bills. Losing our job. Hefty home repairs,' he explained.
Clements then questioned if risks like these should be the ones we really need to be worried about.
Before founding HumbleDollar, Clements worked as a personal finance columnist for The Wall Street Journal for about 20 years
'I don’t want readers to obsess about risk. But I would encourage folks to build financially resilient lives and to avoid big assumptions about the future,' he explained.
'Risk has now arrived for me, and it’s taken a form I never imagined. Fortunately, I’m well-prepared financially, thanks to health insurance and a plump nest egg.'
Clements founded HumbleDollar at the end of 2016, and besides writing for the blog, he is also the editor.
He is also on the advisory board for the country's biggest independent financial advisors, Creative Planning.
The successful financial mentor was born and raised in England, but he now lives with his wife Elaine in Philadelphia, surrounded by his kids and grandchildren, according to his website bio.