Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Could you do live on about $3300/month, after housing costs? What would you do to get ready?
Move to rural Georgia, outside the Atlanta metro.
$89,900
3 bd, 2 ba 1,176 sqft
295 Speight Rd, Temple, GA 30179
Est. payment: $459/mo https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sal...22_rect/10_zm/
OR new construction
$169,900
3 bd, 2 ba 1,467 sqft
130 Breckenridge Pt, Temple, GA 30179
Est. payment: $836/mo
Major rail tracks run through Temple and Villa Rica, which may be a good thing if ever commuter rail is re-established. http://www.dot.ga.gov/InvestSmart/Ra...terRailMap.pdf
You can save a lot of money and hassle searching for parking, if you could take a train into Atlanta, and enjoy the many tourist traps and sights. Local mass transit (MARTA) has a nice subway, which is great for downtown, not too nice for suburbs.
GUIDE TO GEORGIA
- - -
As a (damn yankee) transplant (over 24 years ago), I can offer some hints:
__ If you can afford to, rent a year or two before buying a house. You need to fully investigate the area - and perhaps change your criteria on review.
__ Some things are unique to Hot 'Lanta, some are not. Beware fire ants, crazy ants, killer bees, giant pollen and kudzu.
__ If you have allergies or sinus condition, sign up an allergist now - avoid the rush. Pollen output is so prodigious, you need a snow brush to clean your car.
__ Cost of living can be high, in the urbs, and low in the suburbs. But not always.
__ Some areas are notorious for crime. Do Not Move There.
__ Unless you can walk to your job and grocery store, you will need a car. Perhaps two cars. Or more. [Except Peachtree City - golf carts rule]
__ If you like trees, you'll like it here. Falling trees are a common item after every storm, big or small. Saturated soil and small root balls, due to clay soil, render them vulnerable.
__ If you talk too fast, people will not understand you. Speak - slowly - until - you - acclimate. (A true southern accent cannot discern the difference between “pin” and “pen”)
__ If you're looking for a two car garage, 3-4 bedroom, raised ranch, you're in luck - that's the most popular house design around. No FULL basement generally. Georgia red clay everywhere. Orange stained foundations are the norm. Muddy ponds predominate. (In the mountains, you might find clear water...)
__ There are four seasons : November, December, January and Summer. [A/C essential]
__ Sweet tea is not a reference to the amount of sugar. It's a southern tradition to steep the tea no more than FOUR MINUTES to minimize bitterness. Anyone serving "Sweet tea" from a powdered mix is obviously satanic. It is perfectly normal to order unsweetened sweet tea.
__ Exemplary dining : country fried steak and milk gravy, Bar-B-Cue, Chicken and dumplings.
__ All soft drinks are a "Coke."
__ Boiled peanuts are a local treat. Blech.
__ Vidalia "sweet" onions are a local variety - most excellent - minimal bitterness. Needs special low-sulphur soil.
__ Atlanta telephone exchange is the largest "local" exchange in America...actually it’s the world's largest toll-free local calling zone. But you need to dial ten digits. (I can't recall how many area codes are local, now)
__ In hot / humid metro Atlanta, it comes "alive" at night. See: Buckhead. (local joke)
__ Despite the heat / humidity, folks in the country wear long pants as a precaution - nasty little critters.
__ If you like guns, you'll LUV JAWJUH. Cheap ammo from Georgia Arms. Gun shows and shoppes everywhere. Many folks have their own shootin' ranges. Kennesaw, GA has an ordinance requiring all homeowners to have a gun. (Lowest burglary rate in the state)
__ Georgia pine trees have the right of way. You may have a lawn, but if they get in there, BAM, suddenly towering trees pop up, and your lawn dies.
__ Several big name movie studios have opened up shop in Atlanta, some on a former Army base. Georgia ranks #2 in feature film production (down from #1). And, yes, you can easily get part time work as an extra in a movie or TV show. Something fun to do while in retirement.
I have an 80-year-old relative who brings in about $2,600 per month (SS + late husband's federal pension survivor's benefit, + a $400 annuity that will play out when she's, I think, 86). This amount is after Medicare premiums. She also has about $200K in the bank. When we were looking for apartments for her in New Mexico a few years ago, she did NOT qualify for subsidized housing with that income. She also has somewhat lofty tastes for her surroundings, which has made things a bit difficult for her. She rented a very nice condo for about $1,100 per month, and when I reviewed her finances around that time, it looked like she was spending all she brought in and burning about $500 per month in savings.
She didn't travel, or buy expensive clothes, jewelry, etc. I would say the bulk of the large "chunks" of her discretionary spending went toward liquor, junk she ordered off the internet/QVC, and charitable donations. If she had been able to cut back in these areas, she could have made it work on the $2,600.
That being said, $5K a month for two people seems doable -- I'm sure there are many, many people getting by on less.
Why would anyone want to live in such a place voluntarily? Small space, shared walls, draconian rules and restrictions, no garage, deaf neighbor's tv blaring, difficulty with pets needing a space to go, etc, etc.
The maintenance requirements for my home are pretty minimal. I have no shared walls. The grandkids have their own room when they visit and there are kids their age next door they can play with. There is a garage for both vehicles and I park my travel trailer on its own parking pad right next to the garage. The back yard is fenced, so the dog can be let out and can stay out as long as she wants. I never hear the neighbor's tv, although we have the windows open right now due to the heat wave and I did hear the neighbor's German Shepherd playing with his squeaky toy. But the idea of living in senior housing sounds like hell on earth.
I don't need a big space. Shared walls do not bother me. I've lived in apartments and have never experienced all the noise people mention. Maybe i am deaf?
No kids - so no grandkids. No travel trailer. Only one vehicle.
I'm also looking into small home living - not tiny, but small.
If that is what he said as a blanket statement then I have to move him from wisest to kind of financially ignorant in my list... there is no one size fits all statements when it comes to this stuff .... a sure sign of financial ignorance is trying to lay that claim on every situation.
I bet he makes the same financially ignorant claims as to when to take ss too. Sorry , but just sayin ,,,,calling it as I see it..
The problem is when others parrot misinformation and then believe it to be true.
Loads of retirees took mortgages with rates historically this low and made lots of money ..they can pay those mortgages off at anytime if they choose while reaping juicy rewards ..
They may be far more financially secure with access to loads of liquidity then seeing that money needlessly trapped in that house.
You likely have far more retirees ending up cash poor in retirement because they locked up far to much liquidity then they had to and now either can’t afford to pay heloc loans , can’t qualify for a heloc or have to give away the equity in their home to the fees and reverse compounding interest of a reverse mortgage...
Tell that to your wise friend, or you may want to just think about what he said in a new financially enlightened light.. there is nothing that is best advice for everyone, except to the mis informed
I posted to you respectfully, and you answer with condescending sarcasm. That’s ok; I can handle it.
Actually, my friend did everything correctly with finances- with a high school education- I might add. I wanted to learn from him, while we were trying to make some retirement decisions.
In your example of the retirees ending up cash poor in retirement, it doesn’t hold water for me. They should have no NEED for helocs or reverse mortgages to make ends meet. If they do, they bought way too much house in the first place. You should always have a year’s living expenses in liquid assets at retirement.
We are paying cash for 1/4 of the house we qualify for, making sure if neither of us is working, we can pay all expenses.
Why would anyone want to live in such a place voluntarily? Small space, shared walls, draconian rules and restrictions, no garage, deaf neighbor's tv blaring, difficulty with pets needing a space to go, etc, etc.
The maintenance requirements for my home are pretty minimal. I have no shared walls. The grandkids have their own room when they visit and there are kids their age next door they can play with. There is a garage for both vehicles and I park my travel trailer on its own parking pad right next to the garage. The back yard is fenced, so the dog can be let out and can stay out as long as she wants. I never hear the neighbor's tv, although we have the windows open right now due to the heat wave and I did hear the neighbor's German Shepherd playing with his squeaky toy. But the idea of living in senior housing sounds like hell on earth.
There is a beautiful senior living place in Knoxville. It is not assisted living. It is independent living in a converted building that used to be a high school. The apartments are former classrooms so they have the thick walls and tall windows. They have done a beautiful job creating lots of spaces to socialize, including converting the cafeteria to the dining room. I toured it during an open house and thought it seemed like a wonderful place to live for someone who can no longer can or doesn't want to handle their own home. It is near downtown with walkability and they have shuttles. Some of the independent living concepts are very attractive.
People who "can" change their standards of living but "won't" consider doing so don't get a lot of sympathy from me.
If you can't afford to maintain two cars, you get rid of one and you make do with that one.
If you can't afford to live where you're living, you move somewhere that you CAN afford and you make do.
If you can't afford to eat out a lot, then you DON'T eat out a lot.
My sympathy goes to those who have fallen on hard times through no fault of their own, have cut their lifestyle down to the bare minimum and there's still not enough money to live on.
Two people can certainly live on $60,000 a year. It just not may be the life they want. But, as the song goes, we don't always get what we want.
I feel the same. Some people really don't want advise as much as wanting verification of their own choices that they've already decided on. This applies to many threads.
It's not Northeastern privilege, it's the reality of living here. My husband needs to be in metro-Boston for work, so moving now is not an option. While we live only about 15 miles from his office the commute is *two hours.* It's the I-95/128 corridor for those who are familiar. Ditto everyplace else, even in outlying towns, rents are 3000/month for a 2 BR and housing prices carry about the same house payment. So that would leave 2000/month. For gas (don't get me started), food, insurance, utilities, medical copays, dental, etc.
I live in R.I. in a coastal town that borders southeastern MA and the drive to Boston for me in light traffic is a little over an hour and in heavy traffic would be close to 2. If your husband drives now 2 hours daily to get to Boston despite living only 15 miles away, you have not looked far enough beyond your affluent community for a more affordable area to live that would provide your husband an equal to or lesser time commute despite it being geographically further away.
If you are not aware, there are many many Rhode Islanders as well as those who live in southeastern, MA that make the commute to Boston daily for work either by car or they catch the train in Providence or the T at the station where Attleboro, MA and East Providence, R.I. meet. These people are very smart in doing this because they get to keep more of their Boston paychecks while paying Rhode Island rents which are a little more than 1/2 of what you are paying for an equally nice 2 BR apartment or condo. And if it is healthcare you are concerned about many of the R.I. hospitals and doctors are affiliated with Ivy League Brown University medical school, if that that does not suit your needs Boston is still not that far away as I myself see eye doctors at Mass Eye and Ear several times a year.
You might be wise to take a nice Sunday drive today to Providence and surrounding communities because I think you will be pretty surprised at what you will find.
Since another poster used their own monthly/yearly recurring expenses as an example, here's mine during 2018 (small 3-bedroom single family home, about 1400 sq ft on 1/2 acre.) Obviously some of these are home-ownership related but others are not.
Alarm system monitoring $56
TV/internet, least expensive package $130
Electric $114
Water $14
Heating oil $250 (averaged, and at actual 2018 per-gallon prices, for 1 calendar year)
Cell phone $25
Lawn cutting service $58 (averaged for year but only done 6 mos of the year @ $30/week. Physically unable to do this myself and $30/week is very cheap for this area)
Medicare Parts B and D $147 total
Gas for 1 car $63
Car insurance $108
Food $235 (medically necessary specific diet requirements; no restaurant eating at all)
Central AC service contract $18
Homeowners insurance $100
Property taxes $833
So that's roughly $2051 in expenses without including anything either discretionary or unexpected. You can add $500/yr (another $42 month averaged) for basic dental expense of four cleanings per year at $130 each which is an average fee. Let's round it up to $2100/month then.
Just FYI for comparison purposes, to rent a two-bedroom apartment which, if I were forced to live in one, would be the minimum, in any acceptable area would be at least $2500/month with only water included; all other utilities would be extra. But for an exercise let's eliminate my current SFH-related expenses ($56, $58, $18, $100, and $833 = $1065) from that $2100, leaving $1035. I've no idea what my heating bill in the hypothetical apartment would be, but I keep my house at 72F 24/7 all winter so let's throw in another $50/month (realizing it might be more; I've no idea) and round up to $1100/mo for housing in said mythical apartment.
So I would be saving $1000/month by forcing myself to have less than 50% of my current living space, no sense of privacy, being driven batty by hearing anyone else's noises, smelling anyone else's cooking smells, have no garden (which I love to do), and generally feeling like - as AlaskaErik put it - it's hell on earth.
Sorry, my sanity's definitely worth $12K a year. There are some things you can't quantify in dollars and cents, IMHO.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
