tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611711622146875201.post6068459631161264889..comments2024-03-27T19:07:06.944-04:00Comments on DON'T READ THIS; IT'S BORING!: How Ready Are You For Retirement? Part 2slugmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12728856166374248591noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611711622146875201.post-17017514206229761752015-04-25T10:16:38.353-04:002015-04-25T10:16:38.353-04:00I divorced 2 years ago, but in good position, fina...I divorced 2 years ago, but in good position, financially: no alimony to pay, my retirement left untouched by my now X; money in the bank, no debt beyond a 0% car loan, long since paid off. My new to me, replacement car bought 12/13 tapped funds out of my savings but it's paid for. I continue to live debt free, below my means, with a budget that is based off of my take home pay. $ is put into savings on a monthly basis, for my next forever home-a modest 3 bed/2 bath Ranch on 1/2 acre or less is the plan. I anticipate putting down a large down payment, so as to avoid PMI, to qualify for the mortgage as a single person, to keep the monthly mortgage low. I will get a state pension, and qualify for Medicare @65. The issue, should I have to retire early due to health. would be medical ins until Medicare kicks in. So, I live cautiously, planning for all scenarios, but plan A is to get aforementioned house, and pay it off early in the 12 years before I hit 65, retiring w/o a mortgage.CTMOMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04825780992878036362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611711622146875201.post-20557600412652834272015-04-24T18:28:22.370-04:002015-04-24T18:28:22.370-04:00I'll just come live with you. That sounds like...I'll just come live with you. That sounds like a good plan, right?<br />Den had a 401k and a pension. They changed over a few years after he was there. We are only owe on the house and have a very small nut. According to the calculator we are on target for a decent retirement. But my plan is to keep our monthly nut so low that SS can cover it. We will see if that works or not but from what the numbers that I have crunched it seems like it might work. Sonya Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01985227040902078422noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611711622146875201.post-26831268654966350352015-04-24T16:34:29.073-04:002015-04-24T16:34:29.073-04:00I have been planning for retirement for years. My ...I have been planning for retirement for years. My dad told me to "save as much as you can for as long as you can" and I tried to follow that advice. Since my income is our only one, I have to fund a retirement for two and I plan to have a comfortable one.Franceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01817017829323955078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611711622146875201.post-64604089072421338842015-04-24T15:58:55.618-04:002015-04-24T15:58:55.618-04:00Hi Clamco. I mean we live for 10 years in our 60&#...Hi Clamco. I mean we live for 10 years in our 60's, 10 years in our 70's, 10 years in our 80's and hopefully 10 more years in our 90's. So, technically we all kick off at 99. That's what I meant by 40 years. In any event, as you said, being old is a lot longer in years than any time during our entire lifespan. I don't know what it is but as soon as I turned 60, everything changed. How people treated me. My looks. My health. All slowly downhill, I am sorry to report. PS: sorry I depressed you. I'm just so awful when it comes to reality. I got depressed also when I realized this fact! UGH.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611711622146875201.post-83272828014742095152015-04-24T14:39:57.765-04:002015-04-24T14:39:57.765-04:00I really suck at math, but am I wrong to think 60 ...I really suck at math, but am I wrong to think 60 to 90 is 30 years, not 40? Still, 30 years is a long friggin' time to be old. I never thought about it that way before. Now I'm really depressed. I haven't hit 60 yet, but I'm starting to feel pretty old at 56 already.Lorrainehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15328674280714013955noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611711622146875201.post-84978454533705847422015-04-24T14:25:28.821-04:002015-04-24T14:25:28.821-04:00Yes Cindi, we are living longer and longer. full ...Yes Cindi, we are living longer and longer. full Retirement/Social Security age is 65(or thereabouts)because that was about the normal expected life span back when they set it up. Hardly anyone retired back then(unless due to health)before that and nobody expected to have but a few years.<br />Now we have a whole culture built up around your Golden Years and a lot of what the media tells us to expect(every day is like a vacation and you just play, play, play!)is hogwash. Yes, you can have some good times in retirement but it's not just about cruising, golfing and dining out. We need to get real about what retirement really is for "regular" people.<br />Thanks for your comment.slugmamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12728856166374248591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611711622146875201.post-77615456496122635722015-04-24T14:21:04.626-04:002015-04-24T14:21:04.626-04:00Yes, it can be done.....and folks who don't pl...Yes, it can be done.....and folks who don't plan are more likely to have to make do/live on a lot less than they thought. All of us will make it work when we retire, we don't have a choice NOT to make it work!<br />Thanks for your comment.slugmamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12728856166374248591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611711622146875201.post-33347204363973506892015-04-24T14:19:22.763-04:002015-04-24T14:19:22.763-04:00Maybe one reason some people who delay retirement ...Maybe one reason some people who delay retirement and collecting on their pension or SS die soon after finally retiring is due to those added years of stress from working longer? I don't know but in some cases it may be true.<br />So the question is....do you retire early to get away from working stress only to give yourself more financial stress having to stretch your savings out longer? Hmmmm....slugmamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12728856166374248591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611711622146875201.post-1235982336647588992015-04-24T14:10:15.706-04:002015-04-24T14:10:15.706-04:00Thank you again, Sluggy for your down-to-earth adv...Thank you again, Sluggy for your down-to-earth advice. I'm a realistic early, married retiree (hubby still works but part time only). One of my pet peeves is many retirement blogs out there in cyber space falsely depict themselves as super rich retirees. But when you pull back the layers, you find out they were able to retire 'successfully' because they got some million dollar buyout that they forgot to mention (in other words, they didn't save any money to retire so well). Or, they misled their readers into believing they sold their family home and bought another home, with their sister, for cash and don't have a mortgage. Only to find out afterwards that their brother really owns the home and both sisters are living in the basement paying the brother rent. Stuff like that makes my blood boil because these retirees just can't face up to reality and 'tell it like it is'. To me, I find this to be a big problem with so-called other retirement folks (and you know who you are!!!). They paint a false picture and make others feel less than. The latest one is this woman who brags about all her exotic traveling; her most recent to Budapest......only to update and say she had to cancel the trip (at a loss of over $9000) because her 75 yr old husband's pacemaker went on the fritz! People! It's a little bit different traveling at 75 than 35. Do your traveling while young! Don't wait till retirement. Ugh.<br />Those images you see of rejeuvenated old folks playing golf, sailing yachts, climbing Mt Everest are so far removed from everyday retirement life! Yes, some folks can do it, but I think those are the ones who saved $2.5million (whatever) and are the exception to the rule. Not the normal.<br />My only one true piece of advice for retirement is to be honest and realistic. It's not a game to play as in keeping up with Granny Jones. It's real life and if not properly prepared for, can leave you in dire straights. When you look at a human beings life span, we spend more time in old age (60 to 90 is 40 years of elderly living) than anything else. Being a teen ager is only 7 years. Childhood is 12 years. Young adulthood is only 10 to 20 years. Old age is like forever!<br />OK. Off my soapbox.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611711622146875201.post-80672586176614010612015-04-24T12:19:58.914-04:002015-04-24T12:19:58.914-04:00Good points, as always! My grandparents were prime...Good points, as always! My grandparents were prime examples of living on a modest social security income. They only had social security, a super small pension of less than $100/mo and about $80,000 in savings that they were just keeping for using up in long term care, when the time came. I think they lived on about $1500 a month.<br /><br />They owned a small doublewide mobile (paid for) that was in a nice little retirement park and paid about $300 a month rent for the space. They kept that little place and their yard immaculate. They sure didn't have a fancy life or traveled (not something they enjoyed anyway) but they went out to dinner every Friday night and puttered around their house and yard. They were able to put in new flooring and windows and always kept their place up. It can be done!<br /><br />My grandpa passed away and my grandma lived another 15 years on her own. She ended up using that $80,000 towards assisted living and nursing home the last few years and passed away just as she ran out of money and had just gone on medicaid.One Familyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00369132659573259613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1611711622146875201.post-70700068612383111352015-04-24T12:17:53.724-04:002015-04-24T12:17:53.724-04:00We do all of the above already - before retirement...We do all of the above already - before retirement. No debt, house paid off, expenses low except the occasional travel. Hubby turns 60 in 7 years - we have decided to collect his Canadian Pension Plan early (usual is 65 or 70) at that point. I am 8 years younger so have a ways to go before I can collect lol. Those who wait until later to collect tend to be the ones that kick off the earliest - not us!Cheapchickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15158208632054014311noreply@blogger.com