My Retirement Plan

[ctpres]

First off, am I in the right forum for this? I plan to talk about my retirement plans, not so much money plans, but various things I am doing or planning on doing as related to retirement. I picked country living because I probably couldn't do most of it in the CITY. As with tractors we learn from each others efforts. If I make a mistake maybe I can help someone else avoid the same fate. And if I get it right-who knows who might be listening. If the idea dosn't find to many objections, I see this as being a couple year thread, barring an insurance collection. So for starters.
Being a two vehicle family, SUV and PU dosn't seem like a good idea if nobody is working, at a real job. What kind do I need? After a lot of thinking I finally decided on a six passenger pickup with Big V-8 and lots of towing capacity. D... the cost of gas. No more 60 and 100 mile work commutes. Just travel for staples, medical needs, mostly long touring trips and occasional fun. Need truck, need passenger capacity and towing ability. Might rent travel trailer or camper, who knows. Now we are good for up to six tons. Soon will be rid of the older PU and down to one. Auto financing rates higher than interest earned so I'm planning on paying off the new one and dropping all but liabilty insurance by the third year. Looking at my bills-insurance is a big chunk. Also thinking about paying off house for the same reason as above. Then I can look at very high deductable home insurance. Life insurance coverage will stop when current term policy expires. We are NOT wealthy. The things I am talking about may scare others of modest means. Life without insurance-probably not a good idea, although I have given that a lot of thought, but I sure hope to be able to cut that bill down a bunch. Up and coming if interested: my ideas on communications planning, food sources, travel and entertainment.

 

[EddieWalker]

No retirement plan here. Just what I can make the land worth and get for it when I sell it. Money that I have in the market is becoming less and less, and after seeing how quickly it can go away, I'm not so sure how much more I want to depend on it. Social Security keeps raising the age and requirements for those who put into it, plus most of the people who receive it never put anything into it anyway.

I figure that I'll put all my extra money into my land and do what I can to develop it into an RV Park. It's an all my eggs in one basket gamble that has the potential to do well, or rail miserably. Either way, I'm commited to it and in too deep to back out now.

Eddie

 

[ultrarunner]

Eddie... you've got that right. Call me a peasant at heart, but there is something to owning land and equipment to work it as opposed to a binder with stock certificates and mutual funds that you need to consult a financial report to see what's it worth... if anything.

Maybe, it was lessons learned from my Dairy Farmer Grandparents... they never had much as in money in the bank... but they did have a full and healthy life living and working the land into their 90's.. Grand Dad said, "Take Care of the Land and it will take care of you"

Unfortunately, Grandparents Farm was worth a couple of million dollars when my Grandparents passed and my cousin quit farming immediately and sells off a piece to city folks when he runs low on cash...

I've been paying into Social Security since I was 12 years old... had to get a special work permit from the School District to get a job and I've been working ever since...

Eddie... just think of the life you've made for yourself and Steph and the satisfaction that comes from knowing what you've accomplished... your an inspiration...

 

[greenmule]

Probably within no more than 50 years from now, everybody reading this will be perminatly retired,give or take a few years[take for most of us].
Thats my plan.

 

[CurlyDave]

Be prepared for surprises along the way.

I retired 19 months ago or so, when I came to the realization that I was selling my time to the company for less than it was worth to me. I actually collect SS. (The lady was not amused -- she asked me when I retired and I told her I had declared myself independent and quit going to work instead of retiring.)

The plan was to move to the country get some land and a tractor. I am not a farmer by any means, but the long-range goal was to build a nice house, and then spend some time with the tractor improving the land and possibly splitting off one five acre parcel from the 40 we have.

Well, we bought the land, bought the tractor, built the house and put our old house up for sale about 3 weeks after real estate crashed. No nibbles for 6 months. Then the house burned up.

So, I now have a full time job which consists of dealing with the insurance company.

The original plan of paying off the construction loan on the new house with the proceeds from selling the old house is pretty much "up in smoke" so we have two mortgages instead of no mortgage.

At least DW hadn't retired yet, so she is going to keep working until we can rebuild the house and sell it. I am going to be working on the house for about the next year.

But, I am still enjoying life. DW and I have turned to each other instead of against each other and work very much as a team.

Life is good, but a lot different than the original plan.

Oh yes, the tractor is 450 miles away, but I get to visit it every once in a while.

 

[woodchuckie]

The company I worked at had a buy out two years ago to get rid of the higher paid senior employees and replace with new union negotiated lower paid people. I already had 33 years service and was 56 years old. So I qualified for for a pension of $2222.00. Plus $395.00 a month from investing a 401k program from work. The buyout was about $30,000. lump sum payment. The kicker for me taking this offer was that my wife and I inherited four grandchildren when one of my daughters had her children taken from her and she was charged with child abuse and neglect. We didn't have time to work after that. We have full custody and receive about $630.00 a month ss for three of the children. That's 1900 a month. My wife gets a retirement of around $700. She retired at the same time. We'll qualify for our ss in two and three years from now.
In my opinion we really have it made now. We had to buy two new vehicles(mini-vans). One new 29,000 and one used 12,000. We are able to take trips around the southeast every time the children are out for fall,spring and summer brakes. We have a reason to get up and get going every morning and are tired enough at night to sleep for a few hours. I can play on my tractor and roam the wood etc. any time they're in school.

 

[crazycarl]

Nice to Know My tax dollars are put to good use.

 

[sodamo]

One thing for certain with this retirement thing, my wife and I both agree we don't have enough hours to fit in a conventional job.

We are living our semi-planned retirement. Bought 21 acres, tractor, and 3 years into building the house. Definitely have a decreasing small pot of money - we tell our son, he doesn't have to worry about having an inheritance to spend. We took out another chuck of it end of last summer to make solid investment - concrete. What we do have that is good is a number of small monthly incomes that pooled allow a comfortable, but not extravagant lifestyle. After they pay the mortgage (our financial advisor recommends mortgage over being paid-off) and fixed expenses, we can eat well and play a little. This week I get my first SS check. DW gets SS disability.
Two years ago we opted to get the 6 pax, full bed pu, which is our primary transportation. Many a day, we talk ourselves out of making a trip to town, unless it is a scheduled appointment. We did keep our Toyota Sequoia because it sits eight very comfortably so it's handy when we have visitors or our friends decide we make a group outing. Also nice when we decide not to take the dogs, as they "own" the pu.

The house is mostly done. Finishing up the pool, then some trim work and finish the cabinetry, then the landscaping. Landscaping is fancy for getting the garden in and taking care of the fruit trees, putting in fence, etc, etc. Throw in a few chickens and I see a reduction in our food bill.

Our social scene is very much a similar crowd - for the most part retired and most built or are building their own house. The challenge there is we like to get together, although evenings rarely last past 8PM.

There is always the specter of the unknown. I gently tease my wife, that had she not taken the summer off for chmo and radiation, we probably would have the house finished.

I did not envision this type of retirement back when working, but 10 years ago and a really bad accident leading to loss of income and you start looking at life a bit differently.

I think at this point the only "improvement" we might wish for is seeing our son and grandbaby more often, but then, they have to live their own lives too.

David

 

[LBrown59]

The original plan of paying off the construction loan on the new house with the proceeds from selling the old house is pretty much "up in smoke" so we have two mortgages instead of no mortgage.

At least DW hadn't retired yet, so she is going to keep working
* until we can rebuild the house and sell it. I am going to be working on the house for about the next year.

.

*Why take the money out of the house so you can rebuild the house so you can get the money out of the house when you all ready have the money out of the house.

 

[kenstrac]

*Why take the money out of the house so you can rebuild the house so you can get the money out of the house when you all ready have the money out of the house.

WHY DON'T YOU GET A LIFE! all you do is criticize everyone and anything they say

 

[riptides]

Retirement? I feel for those who are actually in the position of trying to figure this out right now.

The game has changed dramatically for everyone involved.

For a while I was on auto-pilot. Had a pension, had cash, had credit had a 401k. Even had a retirement medical account.

Now, I have (like so many others) almost none of the above. The only thing I am fortunate enoBgh to have is more time than the majority of people to make a better post work life.

I'll try and take it one day at a time. I hope the best for the future.

My goal is to come home from work, kiss the wife, walk down the long driveway. Be at peace watching the sunset, get the mail. Turn back to the house. Listen to the birds, see a deer, fox, turkey or combinations thereof... have a massive heart attack and go in peace with a smile on my face.

 

[ultrarunner]

Retirement is not something I've grown up around... both sides or should I say three sides of the family including my step-grandfather, all had a very strong work ethic... I guess it comes from my family farming roots.

My parents, Grandparents, Uncles and Step-Grandparents never retired...

The only one that cut-back to part-time was Mom at age 62...

The sad part is my Dad passed away shortly after getting his first Social Security Check at age 70... he was still working the business 6 days a week... He promised Mom that they would do some traveling now that the extra Social Security Money was coming in... just didn't work out that way...

Don't plan that my brothers and I will actually ever retire in the traditional sense...

The days of the lifetime pension, medical and Gold Watch are fading fast in the public sector... About a dozen guys and 2 gals I went to High School are now retired with 20 or more years in Law Enforcement... so it is still possible for some.

 

[capi75rs]

Interesting topic, my wife and I are in our early 30's so we have another 30 years before we can retire, or so I'm told. Right now we are trying to get out of debt. 2 years ago I sold off my brand new PU, sold off my wheeler, wife sold off her car, we sold so much stuff the kids thought they were next and the dog ran away. We did go and get a used mini van and I now drive a paid for chevy suburban with 103000 miles. I keep putting money into my IRA in hopes that the market will come back in a few years. We've set aside a small emergency fund and just keep putting any extra money on our debt. I really wish I'd listened to my grandmother when she told me, "if you can't pay cash for it then you really don't deserve it." I really never knew what she was saying until I realized that those credit cards do require you to pay them back.

 

[chh]

Getting out of debt is the best thing you can ever do. You will be amazed at how much money you have when you aren't giving it to a bank,CC company ect, ect... every month. I am not too worried about my stocks and 401K, I am only 47 and will probably will probably watch it go thru the panic cycle again a time or two before I start cashing anything out to "retire" with.

 

[ultrarunner]

I really wish I'd listened to my grandmother when she told me, "if you can't pay cash for it then you really don't deserve it." I really never knew what she was saying until I realized that those credit cards do require you to pay them back.

We might be related???

 

[mikim]

retired 27 days ago ...... still trying to figure it out.....Plans are in my head ....but haven't reached my hands yet....worked on the house some last week to get it ready to sell -- have a few more weeks to go at the rate I'm working on it. Probably could do it all in 2 weeks if I really worked at it ...but hey ...I'm retired.

 

[scgargoyle]

Rather than retire, I 'd like to go into a different line of work in a few years. When we get in to a position to sell this house, I'm going to take the money (if there is any) and head to our acreage in SC to build a house myself. Once that's done, or nearly so, I'll be close to 60. I've been a tool maker all my life, but jobs are getting far and few between, and my body is getting tired of the heavy lifting and squinty eye work. We hopefully won't have a mortgage, so I won't need to make nearly as much at whatever I do. I dunno- maybe make bird houses and sell 'em at the flea market! You never, EVER know how much time you have in this life, so make sure you take time to smell the tractors! Don't put everything off 'until I retire'- you might never get there.

 

[CurlyDave]

*Why take the money out of the house so you can rebuild the house so you can get the money out of the house when you all ready have the money out of the house.

I consider this a legitimate question and I am going to answer it.

There are a few reasons.

First, the mortgage didn't burn up with the house. The lender doesn't ordinarily lend on raw land, so if I don't rebuild the lender has first call on the insurance money, which will take everything. I could still try to sell the lot, but the market for lots is very thin. Just about the only potential buyers would be contractors.

The location is very good, but contractors are going to want to make a profit on the house they build & sell and are going to be offering less money than if I have a house to sell. I am an amateur at land selling, contractors are professionals at land buying. Who do you think is going to come out of that transaction in better shape?

If I rebuild the house, I am still an amateur at house selling, but the buyers are also going to be amateurs. The ground is more level.

Our insurance was fairly typical. $XXX to replace the house, 20% additional for cost increases, if we actually spend it on rebuilding, 10% additional for building code upgrades, if we actually spend it on rebuilding, and 5% additional for debris removal, if we actually spend it on rebuilding.

So, if I rebuild the house and then sell it there is an extra 35% in insurance payment available, which in our case is ~$130k. Now I believe that at least some of that will be reflected in a higher sales price.

 

[txdon]

retired 27 days ago ...... still trying to figure it out.....Plans are in my head ....but haven't reached my hands yet....worked on the house some last week to get it ready to sell -- have a few more weeks to go at the rate I'm working on it. Probably could do it all in 2 weeks if I really worked at it ...but hey ...I'm retired.

retired 39 months ago ........ still trying to figure it out..... Plans are in my head..... but haven't reached my hands yet.... worked on the land and cabin last year to keep it comfortably livable...... have a few more months (or years) at the rate I work. Probably could do it all in 2 months if I really worked at it... but hey....I'm retired!!!

 

[Uncle Doug]

I am 3 years away from an early retirement at 55 from a major chemical company. It does have a nice pension and the 401K has not been hit too bad.

15 years ago we bought our 12 acre farm, which happened to be next door to our current home on 1 acre. Since then we have paid off the farm, made improvements like barn, tractor and fencing. All now also paid off. This past year we built a smaller retirement home 800 SqFt on the 12 acres using saved cash. We used a local shell home builder and finished out the insides ourselves. All total for under 40K.

We plan on selling the older home after making a few repairs. I did buy a new 4 door PU last year when the rebates were very high. It will be almost paid off at retirement. We have a 3 year old travel trailer we have used for short camping trips but will start making longer trips after retirement.

I was off work for 2 months after surgery, one day I told my wife " lets go the Colorado for a week to see some snow". A few searches for hotel rooms and we were on our way. I told her I was practicing for being retired.