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I have discussed this in another forum but can't find it. My husband are moving to FL in the near future. We are both retired and I want to hear from anyone if we can live comfortably there on $29000.00 a month. Our house payment will be around 400.-500 a month. We are not fancy people, don't eat out, no movies. We go to yard sales and fun stuff like that. Like I said I am sorry I couldn't locate my prior post. I am still looking but can I have some idea from others that live in FL or anywhere for that matter. Thank you very much
I think you will find it difficult to live anywhere on $29,000 a month. There has to be government programs created for people like you. For god sake you have to eat!
tarajane, click on your name and you can find all of your posts. I found the one you are looking for.
I think you all will be fine. Live as frugally as you can until you have been there a couple of monthes. Get in the habit of saving and you will soon have a little nest egg.
If you bought a house and somebody gave you a mortgage, they think you have enough to live on.
Good luck. Don't overthink it.
and don't worry about the goobers above. They think they are being funny as I often do myself.
Last edited by newcomputer; 11-21-2015 at 07:44 AM..
Reason: that pesky spelling thing
I'm pretty sure you made a typo with regards to your monthly income. At $2,900 a month or close to $35K a year and with your stated lifestyle, I'd think that you will do fine in a LOW COST area in Florida.
Since you mentioned your house payment will be $400-$500/month, does it mean you already have a relocation city and even a home picked out? If so, you can find out the cost of living in the area. You can go to city data location information and get all kind of information (median household income, cost of living index etc.) and compare the numbers with where you are living now.
A quick check of city data information for different cities in Florida will show that the COL vary quite a bit from cities to cities. The COL in a desirable beach front location will cost a heck lot more than an inland small town.
If you have not had picked out a relocation town, you can start with searching for places with the median income and median home cost within your range and the COL index lower than your current location. The next step is to make a spreadsheet of your current living expenses. Once you identify certain specific locations, you can search for more detailed information such as property tax, house insurance cost, utilities cost, grocery cost, health insurance cost etc. by googling or by asking current residents of their experience. Once you get all the estimated expenses at the new location, you can compare the total cost with your current expenses and your expected income.
My sister retired to Florida about 5 years ago. She bought a house in Port Charlotte at the bottom of the market (paid something like half of what the previous owner paid). She is living very comfortably with her meager SS income at around ~$1K/month. She is a very frugal DIY person (have a small vegetable garden, sew her own clothes, don't eat out, use a Roku instead of paying for cable TV, have a prepaid low cost cellphone etc) so her expenses are quite low. I don't know how she does it but she donates significant sum of money ($500, $1K etc.) to various charities throughout the year. I think the fact that she paid cash for her home helped a lot. Your income of $2,900/month is about 3x her income so if you can keep the housing cost low (at your stated $400-$500/month), I'd think that you will do just fine.
I have discussed this in another forum but can't find it. My husband are moving to FL in the near future. We are both retired and I want to hear from anyone if we can live comfortably there on $29000.00 a month. Our house payment will be around 400.-500 a month. We are not fancy people, don't eat out, no movies. We go to yard sales and fun stuff like that. Like I said I am sorry I couldn't locate my prior post. I am still looking but can I have some idea from others that live in FL or anywhere for that matter. Thank you very much
Personally for me, no, but do what you have to do.
As the other person suggested. Make a budget and stick to it.
I think the poster meant $29,000 a year. There are so many areas in Florida that still have affordable housing. If you would consider a condo or townhouse you could live in some of the nicest towns for $75,000 to $150,000. Houses, you would need to find more affordable areas of Florida. I believe there are a number of them around the Clearwater area on the West Coast.
Vero Beach is a nice area on the East Coast. Not sure if you can still get a small single family home there any more for $150,000 in a decent area. That boat may have sailed about 4 years ago.
However, in Florida there are a number of multi family homes that have either very large inclosed patio areas and some even a very small back yard area. They have duplexes in nice areas. These are less expensive than a single family home, but still offer you some privacy and outdoor living area at a reduced cost and should not be overlooked.
So paying $400-500 a month in a mortgage payment will leave you about $1,900 before taxes. Your biggest costs in Florida will be for electricity in the summer, especially if you are in southern Florida. Expect your AC bills to be at least $200 a month just for electricity in the summer. If you keep your residence at around $100,000 or less, you will have very low RE taxes, as you will receive a $50,000 homestead exemption making your yearly taxes in the $1,000 a year range.
I am told the West Coast is more economical than the East Coast of Florida and has a great deal or retirees there. I lived on the East Coast so not so familiar with areas on the West Coast to recommend looking. Perhaps someone on the board familiar with the towns there can make some recommendations where to look. As to making it on that income. If you keep your housing costs very low, and you have medical covered, you can make it I'm sure. Many do it on less. Just plan well, and cut out all unnecessary expences. Get yourself a Ooma phone, forget cable and get Netflix and maybe Amazon or Hulu.
Last edited by modhatter; 11-21-2015 at 04:10 PM..
In reading through the article and the comments below, it reminded me of one important cost which I forgot about. That is homeowner's insurance. It can be very costly in Florida because of hurricanes. As an example, I dropped my hurricane coverage on my small little duplex that I purchased for my mother when the rates went up to $1,600 a year. ($100,000 duplex) Then just took out a fire/liability policy which ran about $650 a year. I could do this as I owned it outright. If you have a mortgage you could not.
Which brings me back to owning a condo or townhouse instead. Your HOA fees in a condo include insurance for the exterior of the building. You still need to purchase insurance for the interior which will cost you about $500 a yr. just for $30,000 coverage. So if your condo fees are in the $200 a month category, you can estimate that more than 1/2 of that is going towards insurance...
I'm not sure of insurance rates on inland Florida. I am sure they are somewhat less expensive, just not sure how much less. I was 5 minuets from ocean.
There are less expensive states to retire to. If your looking for warm weather, then you could also consider Arizona, Las Vegas and some parts of New Mexico. Least expensive areas are of course the m
Midwest, but then you have very cold winters there.
By the way, that second city they mention - Taveras, Fl. is right next to Mt. Dora which is to date one of my favorite places in Floirda. It has hilly tree lined streets, the most fabulous antique fairgrounds that hosts several antique extravaganzas a year in which people come from all over to attend. Worth checking out.
Last edited by modhatter; 11-21-2015 at 04:15 PM..
$2,900.00 a month, give me a break................................
Quote:
Originally Posted by tarajane2013
I have discussed this in another forum but can't find it. My husband are moving to FL in the near future. We are both retired and I want to hear from anyone if we can live comfortably there on $29000.00 a month. Our house payment will be around 400.-500 a month. We are not fancy people, don't eat out, no movies. We go to yard sales and fun stuff like that. Like I said I am sorry I couldn't locate my prior post. I am still looking but can I have some idea from others that live in FL or anywhere for that matter. Thank you very much
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as I often do myself.
29000.00
