Retirement thoughts Past Present Future

[3Ts]

^ likewise. We "downsized" from a 4 bedroom 2400 sq ft with 1400 shop on 2.5 acres to a 2 bedroom 2200 sq ft. 2400 shop and wife's 850 studio (with complete kitchen & bathroom) on 49 acres.

 

[Bearsixty7]

Very correct.
Downsizing - Depends on what you are downsizing. We are transitioning from a 5 bedroom Colonial to a 3 bedroom. From a decent sized kitchen to a small galley.
And from about 150 sq feet of shed space to over 5,000.
Lot's of space to put what we have accumulated.
And from a 1/4 acre lot to about 75 acres.

Similar thought here, 1 acre now to hopefully 60-100 acres. 1440sq ft shop to hopefully ~3000 sq ft, maybe more.
Wife used to say a smaller house but then every so often over the last couple years she throws out a "In our next house I want.." The last few wants I responded with, I may have to work another year or two!

Main thing is she wants a huge kitchen and island, which is fine as she's a great cook and we like to cook together a lot.

I want a bigger shop to get more (if not all) trailers/implements out of the weather and have a place for projects that don't require me moving something outside first.

 

[MossRoad]

Quick count:
How many cooking knives are in your retirement kitchens? You can skip butter and steak knives.

Excluding steak and butter knives we have 14 plus 8-10 paring knives.

5 of them are in a knife block on the counter and I use those the most. We got those as a wedding gift back in '85. Wife has 3 in sheaths in a drawer, along with my cleaver. There's a couple nice bread knives as well. Then a few misc.

 

[MossRoad]

Forgot a few fillet knives, but those are kept in the basement.

 

[goeduck]

One advantage to having a lot of knives is that you have to sharpen all of your knives less often.

 

[tradosaurus]

The biggest fallacy on retirement is Downsizing. You need space to put your things you have accumulated during your lifetime and you need room to do things at home. My retirement home is larger than any previous home.

My philosophy is downsize until it hurts. I'm 57 and have almost finished raising 9 kids. We had to hold on to things that we passed to each kids like clothes and beds, etc.

Now I have an outdoor "barn" that stores items that I have left that won't fit in the house. Every 6 months I go in there to see what else I can get rid of. If I haven't used it in the last 3 years it's probably going to be gone.

My tools are in a small workshop attached to the carport.

I have given away, sold, or junked quite a bit since our last move to the country in 2017 with 45 acres.

After my last kid gets established I will be getting rid of anything they won't take of theirs.

I don't want to be that guy that, after he dies, the estate sale looks like a junk yard.

 

[tradosaurus]

Similar thought here, 1 acre now to hopefully 60-100 acres. 1440sq ft shop to hopefully ~3000 sq ft, maybe more.
Wife used to say a smaller house but then every so often over the last couple years she throws out a "In our next house I want.." The last few wants I responded with, I may have to work another year or two!

Main thing is she wants a huge kitchen and island, which is fine as she's a great cook and we like to cook together a lot.

I want a bigger shop to get more (if not all) trailers/implements out of the weather and have a place for projects that don't require me moving something outside first.

After our last move in 2017, the kitchen my wife has is significantly better but she, like most women, is never satisfied. She wants a bigger kitchen with an island.
I told her to make a list of all the things in the house that she is dissatisfied with along with an estimate of the cost to make her "Happy". Good thing is we don't have the money to do most of it.

 

[ovrszd]

In regards to retiring on acreage with a shop.

I suggest a controllable size shop. 1000-2000 sq ft.

Secondary is a machine shed sized to fit your equipment. This keeps the shop area tidy. Move projects in as needed. Always have parking space for daily driver.

My condensed theory is, the key to a usable shop is a storage shed.

 

[ovrszd]

After our last move in 2017, the kitchen my wife has is significantly better but she, like most women, is never satisfied. She wants a bigger kitchen with an island.
I told her to make a list of all the things in the house that she is dissatisfied with along with an estimate of the cost to make her "Happy". Good thing is we don't have the money to do most of it.

4 years ago we built new house and a new shop.

I stayed out of the design of the house. She got exactly what she logically wanted and is perfectly happy with it.

I designed the shop. She says it's a bit cramped. To this day I have not told her I reduced the shop by 200 sqft to free up money so she wouldn't have to make any cuts on the house. I will die with that secret.

 

[tradosaurus]

4 years ago we built new house and a new shop.

I stayed out of the design of the house. She got exactly what she logically wanted and is perfectly happy with it.

I designed the shop. She says it's a bit cramped. To this day I have not told her I reduced the shop by 200 sqft to free up money so she wouldn't have to make any cuts on the house. I will die with that secret.

Leave it in your last will and testament.