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My income stream generally (not this year) keeps up with inflation. And, I pretty much buy what I want. My savings are mostly in laddered CDs. I know the rates aren't great, but my comfort level is greatly increased by knowing that I am likely to be able to take care of any emergency without stress. I am sorely tempted to buy a new car with bluetooth and other fancy new tech capabilities. My current car is a 2008, very reliable, no dents or scrapes--paint still sort of shines, newish tires, newish battery and less than 29K miles. (Bought while living in Philadelphia--public transportation everywhere.) So, I have decided new car is foolish. Maybe later?
I think insurance supplements and Medicare will take care of any/most future medical problems. However, although I like taking care of my own household, I'm experiencing too many aches and pains, not to mention exhaustion, to think that will last. So, expecting to spend savings on household help. And, maybe a couple of short road trips--particularly if I do buy a new car.
This is a financial retirement thread that many can hopefully if interested participate in. If in retirement it is for many a basic question that hopefully is answered.
If in the years prior to retirement what is your plan for hoped for extra monthly/yearly income.
Most if not all of us have once we retire a fixed income coming in beyond our control. For most that income is some combination of Social Security, Pensions, and eventually RMD's.
This is important for you to remember when reading or participating in this thread. The amount of that income is not important and the input of someone with 30K net income living on 20 is just as important as a person with 200K living on a amount less than that.
All to often retirement income discussions is a back and forth on needs vs wants.
Guess what once you reach a certain age what you have coming in is what you have whether you want or need it.
So if you are fortunate to reach that point what is your strategy of handling that money?
Savings account
Pass book savings or CD's
After tax investment account
Do you invest in a growth style, balanced or conservative manner
Money under your bed
Sure you have a emergency fund target amount and when you reach that do you change your options.
I read post where a person says they expect to have 30, 50, 100 or more thousand income in retirement and they only plan to live on a amount less that that.
What triggered my thought that this could/might be a helpful topic was a post in another thread where the person said that by delaying SS they would have a combined 90K SS benefit and would be living on about 60k. Cool so what happens with the difference?
I have been active here for 13 years and lurked for a good time before that. This is a topic I wish had been more discussed back then.
Now in my 70's and retired 13 plus years the chickens are in the yard.
We put it in our savings. Thanks to having relatively low living expenses ( no debt), and decent incomes, it can be a substantial amount. The savings is used for emergencies, cash expenditures for higher ticket items we need, or want, and transfer into conservative growth funds. We've also helped out family members financially as needed.
I don't have kids, and don't need to save for myself any more (otherwise I probably would not have retired). Except for a few dates to keep in the back of my mind (the years in which I have to start Medicare, soc security, and each of the deferred annuities, and a consideration of selling some of the property and moving), my plans extend only as far as the next year or two. Any extra income rolls over into the travel fund for the next year. So many places left to see, so little time! (and so many books to read, with so little time as well, but books cost practically nothing. But wow, so little time! Only now when I am fully retired, I realize how much time it takes to research a future trip, or read a book, if you do it at a leisurely pace (and, after decades of extreme stress, I refuse to do things at any other pace except leisurely - what would be the point of retiring into a different stress??). TIME, not money, is truly what is in short supply, if a person wants to thoroughly examine everything that interests her).
I missed researching for trips, I learned so much in the planning phase to be my own travel agent.
I don't need much to live on. Everything's paid for and we've got good insurance. At present can't think of anything I need. I suppose our biggest expense is groceries.
I have spent a considerable amount on planting flowers, bushes and trees. Looks nice and gives me something to do at home in the nice months.
We take a couple of long trips and some other shorter ones. Once a year I take the excess out of checking and deposit it in my savings account. It's ample and uncomplicated enough that I've never felt the need for a budget. I think DH sets aside a certain amount every month for his personal expenses.
I keep in mind that circumstances can change in the blink of an eye for what that's worth. Guess I'll have to ask for help sorting things out when I need it. There are many Senior services available that can help you make decisions when the time comes.
I have been on pension for 19 years. I am paid roughly $1580 a month, and my Dw gets around $200 a month from her pension. We have been saving about half of our income, in 2016 we used our savings to buy a commercial real estate, which we rehabbed. We got the Certificate-of-occupancy in 2020 and we filled it with tenants. The rehab went way over budget and we had to borrow to get the capital to finish the work [we mortgaged our farm]. So now with rental income, my Dw is putting all rental income toward paying off our debt [after paying property taxes, utilities and insurance first that is].
Like another poster, I have no interest in more investing than what I already have. Extra money is for travel, travel and experiences. Well, at least when there is a safe vaccine and things open back up.
I picked-up an annuity early on in retirement, with the objective of activating it 10+ years downstream to offset probable inflation.
7-10+ years later, when the activation timing became actuarially advisable, we still didn't 'need' the added income. Therefore, I've re-purposed a large chunk each year towards the college expense of grandkids. Our now 'older kids', who are saving towards their own retirement, find this even more useful now, than perhaps later, as an inheritance, after our grandkids are raised.
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