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Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,690 posts, read 57,994,855 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sandsam
I'm about to turn 55, widowed, and raising 3 children on my own.
I'm contemplating retiring next May, moving south, ...I want and help my kids through college. I'm excited to be able to start something new.
...
Appreciate your contribution to the forum and your desire to 'bail-out' of a miserable job. I hope the schedule improves (I worked 28 yrs of nights to support my family needs / farming hobby). It was GREAT!
Move or WA or HI (free college instead of kids wasting time in High School!)
Works well for thousands of students for the last 25 yrs! My kids had their AA before they were age 18, I had been matching their wages into their ROTH IRAs since age 12, so they had plenty of dough to cover their own college (final 2 yrs). It was good for them (working and paying for their own college) and good for me (to retire @ age 49). I went back to college and graduated the same yr as my kids (all in different schools, all with those gold ropes draped around our gowns). We had a big party! 10 yrs AFTER college the kids are doing very well, and still haven't 'rebelled' (yet)
I appreciate your concern. Like I said, I'm a planner. The money is there, accumulated by 30 some years of saving and investing. We lived on one income and invested the other in rental property and the stock market. We could retire now, but are waiting until one can claim SS, that way we can put the other off until 70.
I was just curious how many other non-retirees follow this forum as closely as I do. There is some great stuff posted in it.
Awesome. I didn't mean to imply that you in particular but... it did seem like it. I do hope that it will be something of a wake up call to some. Here in this forum though we seem to be preaching to the choir, Most folks here have already given retirement some thought or else they would not be coming here. I am glad you are here and I hope you will continue to enjoy the discussions here.
Awesome. I didn't mean to imply that you in particular but... it did seem like it. I do hope that it will be something of a wake up call to some. Here in this forum though we seem to be preaching to the choir, Most folks here have already given retirement some thought or else they would not be coming here. I am glad you are here and I hope you will continue to enjoy the discussions here.
No offense taken. Mostly I lurk, but I'll be around. Thanks.
Appreciate your contribution to the forum and your desire to 'bail-out' of a miserable job. I hope the schedule improves (I worked 28 yrs of nights to support my family needs / farming hobby). It was GREAT!
Move or WA or HI (free college instead of kids wasting time in High School!)
Works well for thousands of students for the last 25 yrs! My kids had their AA before they were age 18, I had been matching their wages into their ROTH IRAs since age 12, so they had plenty of dough to cover their own college (final 2 yrs). It was good for them (working and paying for their own college) and good for me (to retire @ age 49). I went back to college and graduated the same yr as my kids (all in different schools, all with those gold ropes draped around our gowns). We had a big party! 10 yrs AFTER college the kids are doing very well, and still haven't 'rebelled' (yet)
Retire early, retire often
That is a nice benefit. In NC, we have AP classes that most colleges accept and a dual enrollment option where you can start attending the local community college. Tuition is free if it fits one of the prescribed programs. They have one in my county that is a 5 year "high school" and when you walk across the stage at the end you are handed a HS diploma and an associates degree.
There is also a vo-tech option where you complete high school in the normal 4 years ready to apprentice in a couple of trades or needing only a few more courses in a couple of others.
Even if the kids do regular high school, in state tuition at community colleges is very reasonable. Even our state schools are not that high. A friend has a daughter living at home and attending NCSU and it is costing about $6k per year. The total price is closer to $9k but there are lots of scholarships offered. If you live here and aren't rich, they don't really make you pay full price.
Post secondary education doesn't have to be expensive.
I have heard it said more than once. Take care of yourself so you can retire. Then if so and you can afford to help the kids with college. Truth be told there are no grants and loans to pay for your retirement. Unlike going to college.
My kids were smart and financed their education themselves. But they were wiling to do the legwork. Don't sacrifice your retirement.
I totally agree. There are also many cheaper alternatives to a pricey college "experience" at a private college hundreds of miles away from home. Both StealthRabbit and ReachTheBeach offer good examples of how to do it.
Many NYS school districts partner with their local community colleges to offer no-tuition college level classes right in the HS, and the school districts in this area all participate so that usually their top students graduate with at least a semester's worth of college credits in "core" courses that virtually all colleges accept (like freshman English, college math or beginning calculus, etc).
I'm 44 and enjoy reading this forum. I will probably work until I'm 66, and my wife will then be 65. This is assuming, of course, that I am still alive at that point. Between our 401k and SS, we'll probably have to live off of 2/3 what we have made while working. Assuming our condo is paid off and we do not have a car payment, we hopefully can make it work.
But I think we will probably move. In Ohio, property taxes are very high. We currently pay $5200 a year for our 1700 sq ft condo. And that will probably be $7k a year by the time we are ready to retire. We live in a nice part of Columbus, so I understand the cost. Also, our condo fees currently are $235 a month. And those go up $10-15 a year. So that could be close to $500/m in 20 years. Again, we live in a great community with nice amenities, but will it be affordable when we want to retire? We could be looking at $1100/m in property taxes plus condo fees. even with a paid off mortgage, that is a lot.
I would like to move to an area that has lower property taxes, and warmer winters. In Ohio, we have long, grey winters that are depressing. My wife won't move to any place that is extremely hot in the summer, so Arizona and Florida are out. And San Diego is way too expensive for us. So I don't know. Maybe coastal Virginia or North Carolina.
I'm 63 and planning to keep working until 67, maybe even 70, depending on my health and whether I still enjoy my work. Having just started here in 2009, my pension now would be pitiful, but those additional years will boost it greatly, plus allowing me to add to the 401K. This is a great place to learn from the experiences of others, and help plan. Our biggest problem is where to live when we retire. We won't need the 3,000 sf house and the $6,000 property taxes that go with it, and should have enough equity to pay cash in a less expensive area. Choosing a place withing a few hours of the kids/grandkids with a suitable climate and access to services is tricky, we currently have a list of about 8 possibilities and spend a lot of time visiting to get a feel for them.
I think choosing a situation that either spouse can continue to handle alone is also a consideration, especially when pensions will end upon the death of the recipient. This can leave the remaining spouse without sufficient income.
In my early 50s looking to retire in my mid-50s just a couple years away, and read this forum every day for insights and inspiration! Probably the only "retirement" forum I read. Others like the Bogleheads or early retirement forums are too "obsessed" with investments and taxes while this one has the right mix of financial and philosophical insight and real-life experiences from people getting by with frugal habits to well-off people and everyone seems to "get along" no matter the individual circumstance.
Hoping to quit work in 2-3 years, but it may be 4. It depends on how much money I can sock away for living expenses before SS kicks in, as I will not touch my other savings accounts until much further down the road.
I have no pension (never had a job that offered one), no company 401K (I did my own), and no medical. I am blessed with great health and great genes so I will go without insurance until I hit Medicare age.
I'm single, always lived frugally and have no debt. For quite a while I was afraid I would be stuck working a job I hate for the rest of my life. Thank you to the retirees here that live on "real people" budgets and not millionaire budgets. Your stories have made me realize it is possible and I have (foolishly) started a countdown of how many work days I have left before I can finally have a life.
I am age 39 and learning from this forum. I hope to absorb as much information and implement them. I worry a lot and hope this forum will calm my financial anxious mind.
I am not happy where I am at financially and do worry since I believe owning a home has slipped out of my grasp since I live in a very high cost of living area and stuck in the area due to custody of a very young precious child. Rent will always go up so I need to prepare for that (alarming rate hikes in my area). There is no more room in my budget to save or contribute more than I currently am towards retirement at the moment but I hope to get creative somehow. I do aim to work for as long as I can until hopefully retire at age 65.
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I hope the schedule improves (I worked 28 yrs of nights to support my family needs / farming hobby). It was GREAT!
