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it is saying if you can not afford at least the quart forget about the gallon. you think magically if you had a house you will be financially oky and thats poor logic.
you get the house when you are already financially okay. many of those foreclosures out there are because of the thinking you have.
Do you seriously think you can afford to retire?
We did for the past 15 years now, but overseas, our roots where we only spend 40% of my retirement pension, the other 60% goes into our nest egg! We own a modest home, we have no debts and we have life and medical insurance and in case of my demise, my wife has survivor's benefits she can live on for the rest of her life! She could also sell our home and buy something smaller with low or no maintenance, it's up to her when I'm gone!
When I retired at age 49, we couldn't afford to live in California any longer with my initial small U.S. Government pension! So, we paid off all of our debts and sold everything we owned before moving overseas! We just started life all over again with a new slate and enough money from my 1st initial pension to live on comfortably until my other pensions kicked in 11 yrs later at age 60 and 62! I'm now 64 and my wife 49. We didn't have any children, but we tried!
As I always say, "different strokes for different folks"! "Life is what we make it to be"! We made ours and still enjoying our retirement!
Where is this paradise?
It might behoove me to have a backup to the backup plan.
Part of the problem with predicting the future is in the end... it is really a best guess.
My godparents family lost everything they owned... business, warehouses, two homes, cars etc in WWII.
Anyone would have said they didn't have a material care in the world.
Another lost a small fortune when inflation made the money worthless... a wheel barrow full of cash to buy bread.
Not saying this will happen... just saying it has happened to people I have met.
Even the Cambodian family I know had to flee because they were on the wrong political side... the only thing they could flee with was gold and some gemstones...
They were resilient and now own restaurants after 30 years of putting their lives back together.
Or... you could just as well buy the house, take in those two roommates...
and have THEM pay the mortgage for you. (I have some experience with this approach btw)
That's exactly the idea I've had for the past 25 years, but lenders don't see it that way, you have to qualify on YOUR income and not on your-income-plus-the-rental-income.
no money is no money and there is no magic for that.
I lost every time I ventured into equities for many years (my timing is disastrous) so I put everything in a stable value fund which paid 4%. That would have been sufficient (just) combined with SS, but now it only pays 2% and who knows if even that will not go down more. As you say, there is no magic to fix that. I avoided the big bust in 2008 but I missed the big run up thereafter too. If you spend your life zigging when you should have zagged then....well, you keep working.
it is saying if you can not afford at least the quart forget about the gallon. you think magically if you had a house you will be financially oky and thats poor logic.
you get the house when you are already financially okay. many of those foreclosures out there are because of the thinking you have.
I'm saying that it I had a house I would be able to stabilize my housing costs, thereby escaping rent inflation, thereby allowing me to save and invest over time as my mortgage payment declines as a proportion of income. I live frugally and have no want list full of doodads.
I'm saying that it I had a house I would be able to stabilize my housing costs, thereby escaping rent inflation, thereby allowing me to save and invest over time as my mortgage payment declines as a proportion of income. I live frugally and have no want list full of doodads.
If a bank won't lend, have you tried lease with option to buy, owner financed ?
Do you seriously think you can afford to retire?
We were just the lucky few and the exception to the rule when computing what is needed to retire, which we were nowhere near it, but we did it anyway and have been retired for the past 15 years now, but overseas in the Philippines (not for just anybody)...
Yup that's my backup plan. My parents retired in the Philippines too and the cost of living there is ridiculously low. They own the land and the house they live in, as well as additional acreage that they grow rice/sugarcane/mangoes etc. With their small retirement accounts and SS money they do just fine. They're in good enough health to be able to come to the states every year for a few months to visit.
I figure if all my investment planning goes Tango Uniform, with any luck my gov't pension will be enough to survive overseas. I'm trying to generate multiple income streams with a pension/TSP/ROTH-IRA/rental properties so hopefully it'll take a black swan even to curtail all the measures I've taken.
Yup that's my backup plan. My parents retired in the Philippines too and the cost of living there is ridiculously low. They own the land and the house they live in, as well as additional acreage that they grow rice/sugarcane/mangoes etc. With their small retirement accounts and SS money they do just fine. They're in good enough health to be able to come to the states every year for a few months to visit.
I figure if all my investment planning goes Tango Uniform, with any luck my gov't pension will be enough to survive overseas. I'm trying to generate multiple income streams with a pension/TSP/ROTH-IRA/rental properties so hopefully it'll take a black swan even to curtail all the measures I've taken.
Looks like you and your parents are in good shape for the future!
When we retired, we didn't have any savings, investments, TSP, IRAs or any equity from real estate, but just my Civil Service, Military USAFR, VA Comp and Social Security pensions which is adequate for us to live on here in the Philippines after we sold everything we owned in California! We've been here in the Philippines for so long now and set in our ways and have no desires to return to the U.S. if we can avoid it! We're here to stay for the long haul come hell or high water!
So, if you are not like us, it's also best that you have a place to return to in the U.S. just in case the Philippines is not your cup of tea! I always mention as a reminder to those planning to come here, that the Philippines isn't for everyone so don't burn your bridges behind you, because it takes a lot of perseverance to cope with the culture, lifestyle and government interventions here and it may not be what one would expect and would want out of here immediately. So, have a backup plan!
Good luck with your future investments and eventually your retirement!
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