Web Posted: 04/24/2006 12:00 AM CDT

Aïssatou Sidimé
Express-News Business Writer

For 10 years Bruce Cook left home while his wife slept to go to a high-stress job. He returned home after she had left for her waitress job. They rarely saw each other.

After wife Elaine Krugman suffered a shoulder injury that ended her waitress career, they decided to retire from full-time work.

“As you get older you realize that you either spent time well or you didn’t,” said Cook, 56, a former records administrator for San Diego Gas & Electric Co. “You can’t get it back. Time to me is very important.”

To capitalize on the booming California housing market and reduce their expenses, Cook and Krugman sold their primary house in San Diego and bought a house with cash in San Antonio. They moved here in 2004.

Cook became a consultant compiling real estate data part time for his previous employer. Now he spends much of his time attending glass-fusing classes and traveling with Krugman, a part-time craft instructor on cruise ships.

“More time with my wife gave my life a deeper meaning,” he said.

“It also brought his blood pressure way down,” said Krugman, 44, who also works as a consultant scanning documents part time for Cook’s former employer.

But 20 months later, the couple wonders whether their savings could continue to support their lifestyle if Bruce’s one-year consulting contract wasn’t renewed.

Krugman also would like to travel more, about 10 to 12 weeks a year, which would cost roughly $12,000.

“To double our travel would put us outside what I think we can do with the budget,” Cook said.

The couple have investments and cash totaling roughly $935,000.

They will earn about $70,000 before taxes from consulting and their investments. Their annual expenses are roughly $48,000.

The couple are careful to stay out of debt: They carry no credit card balances. They paid off car notes and the mortgage on a condo they still own in San Diego.

The condo, valued at about $275,000, is now rented out. But they are considering selling it and investing the profits to generate more income.

However, Cook is unsure how to remain properly diversified to minimize risk.

“The condo is earning just 3 percent after expenses, which I think is unacceptable, but I’m a little hesitant to put everything in the stock market,” he said.

The decision is more complicated because neither one has disability insurance to provide income if he or she can’t work even part time. Cook has long-term care insurance and a family medical plan through his former employer, but the benefits will terminate when he turns 65.

They want a solution that lets them continue enjoying life and each other at their own pace.

“I’ve been very proud that we don’t owe anyone, and it’s important to stay that way,” Krugman said. “But financial worries add stress to our lives and it’s important to remain stress-free.”