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You can also be a wed single mother. Such as when the person you are married to has little involvement with you or his child.
During most of my working career, I lived underwater on average 7-months each year. So my wife was alone to raise our children and manage our apartment buildings. Within the profession we call those wives 'widows'.
It was not until after I retired that I was finally able to live fulltime with my wife. Our first 20 years 'together' I was only ever a brief visitor in my family's home.
He probably commented on the term "single parent", which is generally not used for a divorced custodial parent, where the non-custodial parent is substantially socially and financially involved with the child/children. Yes, a divorced person is single again, but is not a single parent (unless the other parent has vanished from the picture, socially and financially).
As is generally known on this forum, Mathjak was divorced and remarried (as was his second/current wife). I don't think he would have referred to either himself or his either wife as a "single parent" at any point of this story. People with children who are divorced and not re-married tend to call themselves a divorced parent.
Not necessarily. I called myself a single mother when I was divorced. My ex became more involved with our daughter after the divorce than he had been while we were married, so he was more involved as a parent even though he rarely contributed financially. For example, after the divorce he attended school events and parent-teacher conferences, which he had not done while we were married. I still considered myself a single parent, however, as the responsibility for and expenses of raising a child fell primarily on me.
Anyway, we do not know how the OP came to be a single parent, but regardless, it sounds as if the financial obligations are hers in this situation and can impact her future decisions.
During most of my working career, I lived underwater on average 7-months each year. So my wife was alone to raise our children and manage our apartment buildings. Within the profession we call those wives 'widows'.
It was not until after I retired that I was finally able to live fulltime with my wife. Our first 20 years 'together' I was only ever a brief visitor in my family's home.
Such a complicated question with no one answer fits all retirees. Matters a lot where you plan to retire. Probably most folks just stay where they’re at now. House paid off. Social Security and a modest pension. Simple pleasures, tending a garden, walking the dog, reading and keeping up with the news. For those with lots of cash the world is at your beck and call I suppose.
Back to OP's question: Health care and state/local taxes are a couple of variables that can make one person's retirement needs higher than another. If you have shelter and transportation costs taken care of, you really can get away with low income flow retirement. Unfortunately, those variables can make it tough though.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Originally Posted by msgsing
Such a complicated question with no one answer fits all retirees. Matters a lot where you plan to retire. Probably most folks just stay where they’re at now. House paid off. Social Security and a modest pension. Simple pleasures, tending a garden, walking the dog, reading and keeping up with the news. For those with lots of cash the world is at your beck and call I suppose.
The problem now is that very few companies offer pensions at all, and only 28% of millennial workers employees remain at the same job more than 5 years. Having been in our house for 26 years, we have over $500k equity, but the median duration of home ownership in the U.S. is only 13 years, so it's never paid off, and equity is not that great. Well, unless you have great timing like our oldest kid, bought for $500k in Seattle in 2010 and it's now worth $1.2 million already.
Thank you. I did consider location and my plan would be to move back. I just wanted to see what other's experience was with retiring. I know I am thinking about this way too early, but I am trying to map out my life and get feedback from retirees and those who choose a minimalist life style.
1.You are definitely NOT thinking about it way too early. People who are financially well off typically start saving for retirement in their 20s. You're in your early 30s, so you're not too far behind. But definitely don't think of yourself as way ahead.
2. Based on what you've said in this thread, it sounds like you've paid off student loans & consumer debt and your ex pays child support, so that is good. The bad part is, no matter how you slice it, running two households between you and your ex is a financial handicap for both of you and will make it more difficult to save money (but not impossible, as it sounds like you've saving already).
3. As a public sector worker myself who will be 50 this year, I can tell you I am glad that I saved for the last 23+ years in my deferred comp plan and won't be 100% dependent on my pension. If you have deferred comp or a 403b plan, you should definitely put money in it from every paycheck if you're not already. If you don't know anything about investing, choose the target date fund option. Most retirement plans have them.
I recommend following Dave Ramsey's 7 Baby Steps blueprint:
1. Save $1,000 in a savings account as a 'starter' emergency fund.
2. Pay off all debts except the mortgage (if you have one).
3. Save 3-6 months living expenses in a savings to fill up your emergency fund.
The only thing I disagree with in those steps is if all your consumer debts/student loan debts are paid off and you have at least $1000 saved, I'd start putting something in your 403b / deferred comp plan now, even if it isn't the full 15% recommended in Baby Step 4. Maybe put 3% in your 403b/deferred comp and put the rest of your savings in a savings account until you get to 6 months' living expenses.
Also, I think you should fully expect that your pension won't pay out as much as promised. Most of these pension plans were not well funded even before this pandemic started. They're going to be a lot worse, now. So your goal should be to minimize your dependence on the pension as much as possible.
My pension plan was reformed effective 2012 and I wouldn't be surprised if it gets reformed again.
Also, if you want to retire earlier than your 60s, then, realistically, you'll need to save more than 15% for retirement. That means increasing the gap between what you earn and what you spend. Earning more helps a lot, but so does spending less. Spending less can provide a bit of instant gratification in that it boosts your savings immediately, but earning more helps more in the long run if you save/invest the money instead of increasing your spending.
I currently work in the government making in the low 40s as my salary. As you can guess I have not left because of my benefits and the pension plan. At this time I am in my early 30's. I am just trying to see what the average retirement payment is per month and how much one needs to survive. I honestly value time over money and would rather not work until my 60s. We have a retirement estimator and I ran it for various ages. Below are the ages and the amount I would get per month. 45: 1,581, 50: 2392, 55:3,541 60: 5,160, 65: 7,543.
My dad currently lives in a low cost of living area and worked for most of his life and receives about 1,800 in Social Security. His car is paid for and his rent is very low. I am just curious what most people get and if it is possible to retire early with a smaller pension, (like 3,000) a month.
I value my time over money and do not have expensive habits. I currently don't have any debt at all, and about 40,000 in my bank account. I know that I am never going to be rich but want to be able to leave the workforce early.
Please give me your opinion and advise of any areas that I may be overlooking.
Damn, that's one hell of a retirement. Now I know why people don't leave those government jobs. I'll get a fraction of that type of money by my private employer in another three years, and I know alot of people who are envious, cause they won't get a nickel. Invest your earnings in a 401K now, this is a great time to be pumping money into it, when you are nearing retirement age, you'll have a substantial amount, as long as you don't stop contributing, and by then you'll not be worried about how much you'll need to be comfortable, because you'll have it.
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