preparing for retirement (55, pensions, weather, moving)

[Rtom45]

Thanks for the suggestions. Any others have thoughts on this?

[LauraC]

Know what you are going to do with yourself when you retire. While the cessation of work has a lot of appeal, boredom kills a lot of retirements.

[Retired Law 08]

Originally Posted by LauraC

Know what you are going to do with yourself when you retire. While the cessation of work has a lot of appeal, boredom kills a lot of retirements.

this is true,it is a period of adjustment,that is why I got my place in PA ahead of time.I have made friends out there,have taken up hobbies,wine
making,also like going on tours of the wineries,golf,running,the gym,attend
AAA yanks games,30 minutes away, casino's nearby,fishing,play video games
attend jazz festivals,lots of flea mkts in area,gardening,photography,drawing
traveling....yes you must stay active..

[Rtom45]

rferd:
I bought the book you suggested and I'm about halfway thru it. The author does have some good suggestions about identifying what you want to do after you retire. I'm hoping some of the later chapters offer some advice on the financial end of things, although this does not seem to be a priority in the book. Thanks for the suggestion.

[rferd]

Rtom45,
The book does not go into the financial end of things. I did read one that does an excellent job in the financial area. I will check tonight at home and will send you the name. Glad you liked the book. I think it is very usefull if one, as I was, is concern on what to do with the time after retirement.

[Padgett2]

this is what we did. The same sort of thing may work for you. Two years before retirement, we started practicing living on the estimated income (including SS). We worked out a budget based on what the esentials took and added a little for inflation. The we started working on living on that expected income.

We went to the library instead of buying every book we wanted. We did not renew magazine subscriptions. Took out a bigger deductable on our car and home insurance. Quit giving contributions to every organization that stuck their hand out, didn't eat out or go to the movies as often. etc. In other words, we got used to a lower income before we really needed it. By the time the two years had passed and we retired, we were used to the much lower income. The hardest thing was perhaps not giving the grandkids good sized money gifts for birthdays and Christmas. We let them know ahead of time that when we retired, the gifts would be smaller.

I don't think it would have gone as easily if we had waited until the last.

[rferd]

Rtom45,

I'm glad you liked "How to Retire Happy, Wild and Free" by Zelinski. His book, as I said before, does not go into the financial side or retirement. An excellent book in that area es "Cracking Your Retirement Nest Egg" by Malaspina. Another book I would recommend for a general knowledge of what retirement is all about, look at "How to Retire Happy" by Stan Hinden (I am not sure is the author's last name is written correctly). These three books complement each other and give you a very good inside into all aspects of retirement and how to prepare for it. Hope you enjoy them; I did.

[Tesaje]

Originally Posted by Padgett2

this is what we did. The same sort of thing may work for you. Two years before retirement, we started practicing living on the estimated income (including SS). We worked out a budget based on what the esentials took and added a little for inflation. The we started working on living on that expected income.

We went to the library instead of buying every book we wanted. We did not renew magazine subscriptions. Took out a bigger deductable on our car and home insurance. Quit giving contributions to every organization that stuck their hand out, didn't eat out or go to the movies as often. etc. In other words, we got used to a lower income before we really needed it. By the time the two years had passed and we retired, we were used to the much lower income. The hardest thing was perhaps not giving the grandkids good sized money gifts for birthdays and Christmas. We let them know ahead of time that when we retired, the gifts would be smaller.

I don't think it would have gone as easily if we had waited until the last.

I'm doing this now and it isn't as hard as I thought. I was surprised at how low my last credit card bill was and I can't figure out what I did without to make it half my usual.

All the surplus is being saved and it adds up fast while I'm still working.

[Tek_Freek]

We are 3 to 5 years out and have purchased a lot. Financially we're ready, and will be more so when we retire. We have purchased LTC and my wife's heath insurance will be retained.

We are now in the process of designing the house we want (about 2000 sq ft ranch), and I have been researching building and energy.

I have decided that we are going to use ICF for the foundation and first floor exterior walls, and geothermal for heating/cooling. Even though these add cost to the building process, the savings realized can more than offset the increase in a mortgage (for us, a small one), and after that it's actually an income generator since you're not paying those high energy bills. There are some incentives out there and we are hoping that by the time we are ready to build there will be more.

The ICF walls also give you a very quiet home, a very high fire rating (lower insurance premiums), and makes building a safe room in the basement easy. I am also looking into pouring the slab between basement and first floor, but have to do more research before I decide.

We are considering a metal roof, but we also realize that a good shingle will probably last at least as long we are in the house. After that it's someone else's decision.

[forest beekeeper]

Tek_Freek -

...
We are now in the process of designing the house we want (about 2000 sq ft ranch), and I have been researching building and energy.

That can be a lot of fun.

...
I have decided that we are going to use ICF for the foundation and first floor exterior walls, and geothermal for heating/cooling. Even though these add cost to the building process, the savings realized can more than offset the increase in a mortgage (for us, a small one), and after that it's actually an income generator since you're not paying those high energy bills. There are some incentives out there and we are hoping that by the time we are ready to build there will be more.

By "Geo-thermal" I assume that you mean a heat-pump. Keep in mind that these do not work well in all climates. You need to check in your area to verify that they work in that area.

"the savings realized can more than offset the increase in a mortgage ..." Are you sure that going into retirement with a mortgage is a good idea? Many folks would advise paying off your mortgage and going into retirement without that added expense.

"after that it's actually an income generator since you're not paying those high energy bills" could you explain how a heat-pump generates income for you. You have to run the water pump, and the Freon compressor; which both require power. How is this going to make money?

The ICF walls also give you a very quiet home, a very high fire rating (lower insurance premiums), and makes building a safe room in the basement easy. ...

As compared to woodstick, yes, ICF can be quieter. Though most any uber-insulated home will be quite.

ICf is not fireproof. I have seen them, and I have not heard of any lower insurance premiums from using this method.

I built a steel building, which we insulated at R-40. Being steel it is 'nearly' fireproof.

As for the 'safe room' idea, have you considered a 'Faraday Cage'?