What's new
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

The “I want to retire soon” thread (1 Viewer)

@shuke

People I like on YouTube with regular videos where I feel like I've learned a lot:

Darryl Rosen (@TheRetirementGuyYT)
Rob Berger (@rob_berger)
James Conole (@RootFP)
Kevin Lum (@foundryfinancial)
Erin Talks Money (@ErinTalksMoney)
Bogleheads (@bogleheads3687)

Find stuff relevant to your situation. There's a lot out there. But you need to be careful who you listen to. I feel pretty good about this group. I've learned so much in past year, and I feel much, much more comfortable now that I have a handle on our situation and that we are very much on track. And now we're doing a few different things to position ourselves better. Everything from which assets in which type of account to tax strategy now and in early retirement and later retirement.

I also work in probate/estate planning at a law firm, so lots of overlap there.

One of the biggest takeaways is that many people who should be very comfortable with their retirement still just refuse to spend because they're afraid of running out. Within a certain target audience obviously, they say the biggest issue right now is people not spending enough in their 50s and 60s because of this.

My wife and I are early 50s. Now that we have a good handle on things, we're taking that lesson to heart. Traveling a lot now. Planning to do two weeks in Italy next year, etc. Enjoy it now while you're alive and while you still have your health.

Soon enough, you won't want to or won't be able to leave your house. You don't need much money then.
It's a tough deal. Under 3 months into retirement in my 50s and by all measures should have plenty of money but it still freaks me out. We have a lot of remodeling to do, land to landscape, can we afford the pool this year? Should but haven't planned a vacation yet. While working we did at least two per year.
I’m working to have all of that done before retiring, but I’m older than you. Just don’t want any debt or big upcoming expenses. Fully remodeled the inside of the house last year from the ground up including all new furniture throughout. Starting outside hardscape/landscape now. Last thing we’ll do is get Mrs Smails the car she wants with cash. I’m sure we’ll have surprises later on but taking care of what we know about now
 
I retired at the end of December. For reference I'm 62, not married, and have no kids - so my workable numbers are going to be different than most. I do have a manageable mortgage with about 2/3 of the home value being equity. I have no other debt.

A couple of things I went through or learned:

1. I just missed the open-market deadline for health insurance and took a COBRA plan that matches the plan I had when working. My problem was my company's EAP either explained COBRA to me incorrectly or I misunderstood. Many thanks to @matttyl here for helping my dumb *** understand how this works. So I'm carrying COBRA until November, then we'll see if I want to switch.

2. If you're gonna sign up to draw SS, leave yourself plenty of time. It'll be basically two months from the time you're submitted to start drawing.

3. Don't try to do this over the holidays :wall: The way the calendar fell this year, that basically blew two weeks of getting anything done. Then we had a major snowstorm right after New Year's that nuked another week of finding available the folks you need.

4. My company dragged their feet on letting the company that handles my 401K know that I didn't work there anymore, so I'm still in the process of getting that rolled over to another plan. I think the employer has a certain amount of time to do this and they waited until the last second they could (one of the many joys of working for a multi-billion $$ global company). Anyway, should be resolved by next week.
 
@shuke

People I like on YouTube with regular videos where I feel like I've learned a lot:

Darryl Rosen (@TheRetirementGuyYT)
Rob Berger (@rob_berger)
James Conole (@RootFP)
Kevin Lum (@foundryfinancial)
Erin Talks Money (@ErinTalksMoney)
Bogleheads (@bogleheads3687)

Find stuff relevant to your situation. There's a lot out there. But you need to be careful who you listen to. I feel pretty good about this group. I've learned so much in past year, and I feel much, much more comfortable now that I have a handle on our situation and that we are very much on track. And now we're doing a few different things to position ourselves better. Everything from which assets in which type of account to tax strategy now and in early retirement and later retirement.

I also work in probate/estate planning at a law firm, so lots of overlap there.

One of the biggest takeaways is that many people who should be very comfortable with their retirement still just refuse to spend because they're afraid of running out. Within a certain target audience obviously, they say the biggest issue right now is people not spending enough in their 50s and 60s because of this.

My wife and I are early 50s. Now that we have a good handle on things, we're taking that lesson to heart. Traveling a lot now. Planning to do two weeks in Italy next year, etc. Enjoy it now while you're alive and while you still have your health.

Soon enough, you won't want to or won't be able to leave your house. You don't need much money then.
It's a tough deal. Under 3 months into retirement in my 50s and by all measures should have plenty of money but it still freaks me out. We have a lot of remodeling to do, land to landscape, can we afford the pool this year? Should but haven't planned a vacation yet. While working we did at least two per year.
I’m working to have all of that done before retiring, but I’m older than you. Just don’t want any debt or big upcoming expenses. Fully remodeled the inside of the house last year from the ground up including all new furniture throughout. Starting outside hardscape/landscape now. Last thing we’ll do is get Mrs Smails the car she wants with cash. I’m sure we’ll have surprises later on but taking care of what we know about now
You never know how things will change in retirement. Two years in we decided to buy a bigger house in a better neighborhood. It is 35 years old and could use a full remodel, but we love the neighborhood. We will do projects slowly to avoid paying taxes all at once on money taken out of investments to fund these projects. One great side effect is that the value of our new home has increased 50% according to Zillow. That is much more than our $$ would have increased in our other investments. This has not effected our other activities in retirement much at all.
 
@shuke

People I like on YouTube with regular videos where I feel like I've learned a lot:

Darryl Rosen (@TheRetirementGuyYT)
Rob Berger (@rob_berger)
James Conole (@RootFP)
Kevin Lum (@foundryfinancial)
Erin Talks Money (@ErinTalksMoney)
Bogleheads (@bogleheads3687)

Find stuff relevant to your situation. There's a lot out there. But you need to be careful who you listen to. I feel pretty good about this group. I've learned so much in past year, and I feel much, much more comfortable now that I have a handle on our situation and that we are very much on track. And now we're doing a few different things to position ourselves better. Everything from which assets in which type of account to tax strategy now and in early retirement and later retirement.

I also work in probate/estate planning at a law firm, so lots of overlap there.

One of the biggest takeaways is that many people who should be very comfortable with their retirement still just refuse to spend because they're afraid of running out. Within a certain target audience obviously, they say the biggest issue right now is people not spending enough in their 50s and 60s because of this.

My wife and I are early 50s. Now that we have a good handle on things, we're taking that lesson to heart. Traveling a lot now. Planning to do two weeks in Italy next year, etc. Enjoy it now while you're alive and while you still have your health.

Soon enough, you won't want to or won't be able to leave your house. You don't need much money then.
It's a tough deal. Under 3 months into retirement in my 50s and by all measures should have plenty of money but it still freaks me out. We have a lot of remodeling to do, land to landscape, can we afford the pool this year? Should but haven't planned a vacation yet. While working we did at least two per year.
I’m working to have all of that done before retiring, but I’m older than you. Just don’t want any debt or big upcoming expenses. Fully remodeled the inside of the house last year from the ground up including all new furniture throughout. Starting outside hardscape/landscape now. Last thing we’ll do is get Mrs Smails the car she wants with cash. I’m sure we’ll have surprises later on but taking care of what we know about now
You never know how things will change in retirement. Two years in we decided to buy a bigger house in a better neighborhood. It is 35 years old and could use a full remodel, but we love the neighborhood. We will do projects slowly to avoid paying taxes all at once on money taken out of investments to fund these projects. One great side effect is that the value of our new home has increased 50% according to Zillow. That is much more than our $$ would have increased in our other investments. This has not effected our other activities in retirement much at all.
I always thought downsizing in a house was the way to go in retirement. I'll do neither for now.
 
I retired at the end of December. For reference I'm 62, not married, and have no kids - so my workable numbers are going to be different than most. I do have a manageable mortgage with about 2/3 of the home value being equity. I have no other debt.

A couple of things I went through or learned:

1. I just missed the open-market deadline for health insurance and took a COBRA plan that matches the plan I had when working. My problem was my company's EAP either explained COBRA to me incorrectly or I misunderstood. Many thanks to @matttyl here for helping my dumb *** understand how this works. So I'm carrying COBRA until November, then we'll see if I want to switch.

2. If you're gonna sign up to draw SS, leave yourself plenty of time. It'll be basically two months from the time you're submitted to start drawing.

3. Don't try to do this over the holidays :wall: The way the calendar fell this year, that basically blew two weeks of getting anything done. Then we had a major snowstorm right after New Year's that nuked another week of finding available the folks you need.

4. My company dragged their feet on letting the company that handles my 401K know that I didn't work there anymore, so I'm still in the process of getting that rolled over to another plan. I think the employer has a certain amount of time to do this and they waited until the last second they could (one of the many joys of working for a multi-billion $$ global company). Anyway, should be resolved by next week.

Call anytime, neighbor.
 
@shuke

People I like on YouTube with regular videos where I feel like I've learned a lot:

Darryl Rosen (@TheRetirementGuyYT)
Rob Berger (@rob_berger)
James Conole (@RootFP)
Kevin Lum (@foundryfinancial)
Erin Talks Money (@ErinTalksMoney)
Bogleheads (@bogleheads3687)

Find stuff relevant to your situation. There's a lot out there. But you need to be careful who you listen to. I feel pretty good about this group. I've learned so much in past year, and I feel much, much more comfortable now that I have a handle on our situation and that we are very much on track. And now we're doing a few different things to position ourselves better. Everything from which assets in which type of account to tax strategy now and in early retirement and later retirement.

I also work in probate/estate planning at a law firm, so lots of overlap there.

One of the biggest takeaways is that many people who should be very comfortable with their retirement still just refuse to spend because they're afraid of running out. Within a certain target audience obviously, they say the biggest issue right now is people not spending enough in their 50s and 60s because of this.

My wife and I are early 50s. Now that we have a good handle on things, we're taking that lesson to heart. Traveling a lot now. Planning to do two weeks in Italy next year, etc. Enjoy it now while you're alive and while you still have your health.

Soon enough, you won't want to or won't be able to leave your house. You don't need much money then.
It's a tough deal. Under 3 months into retirement in my 50s and by all measures should have plenty of money but it still freaks me out. We have a lot of remodeling to do, land to landscape, can we afford the pool this year? Should but haven't planned a vacation yet. While working we did at least two per year.
I’m working to have all of that done before retiring, but I’m older than you. Just don’t want any debt or big upcoming expenses. Fully remodeled the inside of the house last year from the ground up including all new furniture throughout. Starting outside hardscape/landscape now. Last thing we’ll do is get Mrs Smails the car she wants with cash. I’m sure we’ll have surprises later on but taking care of what we know about now
You never know how things will change in retirement. Two years in we decided to buy a bigger house in a better neighborhood. It is 35 years old and could use a full remodel, but we love the neighborhood. We will do projects slowly to avoid paying taxes all at once on money taken out of investments to fund these projects. One great side effect is that the value of our new home has increased 50% according to Zillow. That is much more than our $$ would have increased in our other investments. This has not effected our other activities in retirement much at all.
I always thought downsizing in a house was the way to go in retirement. I'll do neither for now.
We down sized ten years ago. Then my wife decided she wanted something with a water view. We can also now walk to the beach instead of drive. Plus she needed more room for her stuff. Much better neighborhood with lots of amenities.
 
@shuke

People I like on YouTube with regular videos where I feel like I've learned a lot:

Darryl Rosen (@TheRetirementGuyYT)
Rob Berger (@rob_berger)
James Conole (@RootFP)
Kevin Lum (@foundryfinancial)
Erin Talks Money (@ErinTalksMoney)
Bogleheads (@bogleheads3687)

Find stuff relevant to your situation. There's a lot out there. But you need to be careful who you listen to. I feel pretty good about this group. I've learned so much in past year, and I feel much, much more comfortable now that I have a handle on our situation and that we are very much on track. And now we're doing a few different things to position ourselves better. Everything from which assets in which type of account to tax strategy now and in early retirement and later retirement.

I also work in probate/estate planning at a law firm, so lots of overlap there.

One of the biggest takeaways is that many people who should be very comfortable with their retirement still just refuse to spend because they're afraid of running out. Within a certain target audience obviously, they say the biggest issue right now is people not spending enough in their 50s and 60s because of this.

My wife and I are early 50s. Now that we have a good handle on things, we're taking that lesson to heart. Traveling a lot now. Planning to do two weeks in Italy next year, etc. Enjoy it now while you're alive and while you still have your health.

Soon enough, you won't want to or won't be able to leave your house. You don't need much money then.
It's a tough deal. Under 3 months into retirement in my 50s and by all measures should have plenty of money but it still freaks me out. We have a lot of remodeling to do, land to landscape, can we afford the pool this year? Should but haven't planned a vacation yet. While working we did at least two per year.
I’m working to have all of that done before retiring, but I’m older than you. Just don’t want any debt or big upcoming expenses. Fully remodeled the inside of the house last year from the ground up including all new furniture throughout. Starting outside hardscape/landscape now. Last thing we’ll do is get Mrs Smails the car she wants with cash. I’m sure we’ll have surprises later on but taking care of what we know about now
You never know how things will change in retirement. Two years in we decided to buy a bigger house in a better neighborhood. It is 35 years old and could use a full remodel, but we love the neighborhood. We will do projects slowly to avoid paying taxes all at once on money taken out of investments to fund these projects. One great side effect is that the value of our new home has increased 50% according to Zillow. That is much more than our $$ would have increased in our other investments. This has not effected our other activities in retirement much at all.
I always thought downsizing in a house was the way to go in retirement. I'll do neither for now.
We down sized ten years ago. Then my wife decided she wanted something with a water view. We can also now walk to the beach instead of drive. Plus she needed more room for her stuff. Much better neighborhood with lots of amenities.
Stuff is the worst. Get rid of it!!
 
@shuke

People I like on YouTube with regular videos where I feel like I've learned a lot:

Darryl Rosen (@TheRetirementGuyYT)
Rob Berger (@rob_berger)
James Conole (@RootFP)
Kevin Lum (@foundryfinancial)
Erin Talks Money (@ErinTalksMoney)
Bogleheads (@bogleheads3687)

Find stuff relevant to your situation. There's a lot out there. But you need to be careful who you listen to. I feel pretty good about this group. I've learned so much in past year, and I feel much, much more comfortable now that I have a handle on our situation and that we are very much on track. And now we're doing a few different things to position ourselves better. Everything from which assets in which type of account to tax strategy now and in early retirement and later retirement.

I also work in probate/estate planning at a law firm, so lots of overlap there.

One of the biggest takeaways is that many people who should be very comfortable with their retirement still just refuse to spend because they're afraid of running out. Within a certain target audience obviously, they say the biggest issue right now is people not spending enough in their 50s and 60s because of this.

My wife and I are early 50s. Now that we have a good handle on things, we're taking that lesson to heart. Traveling a lot now. Planning to do two weeks in Italy next year, etc. Enjoy it now while you're alive and while you still have your health.

Soon enough, you won't want to or won't be able to leave your house. You don't need much money then.
It's a tough deal. Under 3 months into retirement in my 50s and by all measures should have plenty of money but it still freaks me out. We have a lot of remodeling to do, land to landscape, can we afford the pool this year? Should but haven't planned a vacation yet. While working we did at least two per year.
I’m working to have all of that done before retiring, but I’m older than you. Just don’t want any debt or big upcoming expenses. Fully remodeled the inside of the house last year from the ground up including all new furniture throughout. Starting outside hardscape/landscape now. Last thing we’ll do is get Mrs Smails the car she wants with cash. I’m sure we’ll have surprises later on but taking care of what we know about now
You never know how things will change in retirement. Two years in we decided to buy a bigger house in a better neighborhood. It is 35 years old and could use a full remodel, but we love the neighborhood. We will do projects slowly to avoid paying taxes all at once on money taken out of investments to fund these projects. One great side effect is that the value of our new home has increased 50% according to Zillow. That is much more than our $$ would have increased in our other investments. This has not effected our other activities in retirement much at all.
I always thought downsizing in a house was the way to go in retirement. I'll do neither for now.
We down sized ten years ago. Then my wife decided she wanted something with a water view. We can also now walk to the beach instead of drive. Plus she needed more room for her stuff. Much better neighborhood with lots of amenities.
Stuff is the worst. Get rid of it!!

“The things you own end up owning you.”
-Tyler Durden
 
I retired at the end of December. For reference I'm 62, not married, and have no kids - so my workable numbers are going to be different than most. I do have a manageable mortgage with about 2/3 of the home value being equity. I have no other debt.

A couple of things I went through or learned:

1. I just missed the open-market deadline for health insurance and took a COBRA plan that matches the plan I had when working. My problem was my company's EAP either explained COBRA to me incorrectly or I misunderstood. Many thanks to @matttyl here for helping my dumb *** understand how this works. So I'm carrying COBRA until November, then we'll see if I want to switch.

2. If you're gonna sign up to draw SS, leave yourself plenty of time. It'll be basically two months from the time you're submitted to start drawing.

3. Don't try to do this over the holidays :wall: The way the calendar fell this year, that basically blew two weeks of getting anything done. Then we had a major snowstorm right after New Year's that nuked another week of finding available the folks you need.

4. My company dragged their feet on letting the company that handles my 401K know that I didn't work there anymore, so I'm still in the process of getting that rolled over to another plan. I think the employer has a certain amount of time to do this and they waited until the last second they could (one of the many joys of working for a multi-billion $$ global company). Anyway, should be resolved by next week.
I think they do have to let the 401k know you are no longer an employee. But there isn't any reason and in most cases you don't have to move it to another plan if you are happy with it where it is.
 
I retired at the end of December. For reference I'm 62, not married, and have no kids - so my workable numbers are going to be different than most. I do have a manageable mortgage with about 2/3 of the home value being equity. I have no other debt.

A couple of things I went through or learned:

1. I just missed the open-market deadline for health insurance and took a COBRA plan that matches the plan I had when working. My problem was my company's EAP either explained COBRA to me incorrectly or I misunderstood. Many thanks to @matttyl here for helping my dumb *** understand how this works. So I'm carrying COBRA until November, then we'll see if I want to switch.

2. If you're gonna sign up to draw SS, leave yourself plenty of time. It'll be basically two months from the time you're submitted to start drawing.

3. Don't try to do this over the holidays :wall: The way the calendar fell this year, that basically blew two weeks of getting anything done. Then we had a major snowstorm right after New Year's that nuked another week of finding available the folks you need.

4. My company dragged their feet on letting the company that handles my 401K know that I didn't work there anymore, so I'm still in the process of getting that rolled over to another plan. I think the employer has a certain amount of time to do this and they waited until the last second they could (one of the many joys of working for a multi-billion $$ global company). Anyway, should be resolved by next week.
I think they do have to let the 401k know you are no longer an employee. But there isn't any reason and in most cases you don't have to move it to another plan if you are happy with it where it is.
I understand. I want it to be in a place that's more flexible according to my needs and I have one.
 
I always thought downsizing in a house was the way to go in retirement. I'll do neither for now
We’ll “rightsize”. Probably a more expensive place but smaller. We love the neighborhood and location while we have kids in school but priorities change when circumstances change.
 
@shuke

People I like on YouTube with regular videos where I feel like I've learned a lot:

Darryl Rosen (@TheRetirementGuyYT)
Rob Berger (@rob_berger)
James Conole (@RootFP)
Kevin Lum (@foundryfinancial)
Erin Talks Money (@ErinTalksMoney)
Bogleheads (@bogleheads3687)

Find stuff relevant to your situation. There's a lot out there. But you need to be careful who you listen to. I feel pretty good about this group. I've learned so much in past year, and I feel much, much more comfortable now that I have a handle on our situation and that we are very much on track. And now we're doing a few different things to position ourselves better. Everything from which assets in which type of account to tax strategy now and in early retirement and later retirement.

I also work in probate/estate planning at a law firm, so lots of overlap there.

One of the biggest takeaways is that many people who should be very comfortable with their retirement still just refuse to spend because they're afraid of running out. Within a certain target audience obviously, they say the biggest issue right now is people not spending enough in their 50s and 60s because of this.

My wife and I are early 50s. Now that we have a good handle on things, we're taking that lesson to heart. Traveling a lot now. Planning to do two weeks in Italy next year, etc. Enjoy it now while you're alive and while you still have your health.

Soon enough, you won't want to or won't be able to leave your house. You don't need much money then.
It's a tough deal. Under 3 months into retirement in my 50s and by all measures should have plenty of money but it still freaks me out. We have a lot of remodeling to do, land to landscape, can we afford the pool this year? Should but haven't planned a vacation yet. While working we did at least two per year.
I’m working to have all of that done before retiring, but I’m older than you. Just don’t want any debt or big upcoming expenses. Fully remodeled the inside of the house last year from the ground up including all new furniture throughout. Starting outside hardscape/landscape now. Last thing we’ll do is get Mrs Smails the car she wants with cash. I’m sure we’ll have surprises later on but taking care of what we know about now
You never know how things will change in retirement. Two years in we decided to buy a bigger house in a better neighborhood. It is 35 years old and could use a full remodel, but we love the neighborhood. We will do projects slowly to avoid paying taxes all at once on money taken out of investments to fund these projects. One great side effect is that the value of our new home has increased 50% according to Zillow. That is much more than our $$ would have increased in our other investments. This has not effected our other activities in retirement much at all.
I always thought downsizing in a house was the way to go in retirement. I'll do neither for now.
The thing that helped out the most was we bought a second home where we planned to retire in a resort community when the prices were down, then rented it out for several years which covered most of the cost of the house. Then we moved there after my wife was offered early retirement. After a few more years I retired and then home prices went up, so we were able to sell and get into a nicer community.
 
@shuke

People I like on YouTube with regular videos where I feel like I've learned a lot:

Darryl Rosen (@TheRetirementGuyYT)
Rob Berger (@rob_berger)
James Conole (@RootFP)
Kevin Lum (@foundryfinancial)
Erin Talks Money (@ErinTalksMoney)
Bogleheads (@bogleheads3687)

Find stuff relevant to your situation. There's a lot out there. But you need to be careful who you listen to. I feel pretty good about this group. I've learned so much in past year, and I feel much, much more comfortable now that I have a handle on our situation and that we are very much on track. And now we're doing a few different things to position ourselves better. Everything from which assets in which type of account to tax strategy now and in early retirement and later retirement.

I also work in probate/estate planning at a law firm, so lots of overlap there.

One of the biggest takeaways is that many people who should be very comfortable with their retirement still just refuse to spend because they're afraid of running out. Within a certain target audience obviously, they say the biggest issue right now is people not spending enough in their 50s and 60s because of this.

My wife and I are early 50s. Now that we have a good handle on things, we're taking that lesson to heart. Traveling a lot now. Planning to do two weeks in Italy next year, etc. Enjoy it now while you're alive and while you still have your health.

Soon enough, you won't want to or won't be able to leave your house. You don't need much money then.
It's a tough deal. Under 3 months into retirement in my 50s and by all measures should have plenty of money but it still freaks me out. We have a lot of remodeling to do, land to landscape, can we afford the pool this year? Should but haven't planned a vacation yet. While working we did at least two per year.
I’m working to have all of that done before retiring, but I’m older than you. Just don’t want any debt or big upcoming expenses. Fully remodeled the inside of the house last year from the ground up including all new furniture throughout. Starting outside hardscape/landscape now. Last thing we’ll do is get Mrs Smails the car she wants with cash. I’m sure we’ll have surprises later on but taking care of what we know about now
You never know how things will change in retirement. Two years in we decided to buy a bigger house in a better neighborhood. It is 35 years old and could use a full remodel, but we love the neighborhood. We will do projects slowly to avoid paying taxes all at once on money taken out of investments to fund these projects. One great side effect is that the value of our new home has increased 50% according to Zillow. That is much more than our $$ would have increased in our other investments. This has not effected our other activities in retirement much at all.
I always thought downsizing in a house was the way to go in retirement. I'll do neither for now.
We down sized ten years ago. Then my wife decided she wanted something with a water view. We can also now walk to the beach instead of drive. Plus she needed more room for her stuff. Much better neighborhood with lots of amenities.
Stuff is the worst. Get rid of it!!
I'm afraid that the wife would go along with her stuff.
 
@shuke

People I like on YouTube with regular videos where I feel like I've learned a lot:

Darryl Rosen (@TheRetirementGuyYT)
Rob Berger (@rob_berger)
James Conole (@RootFP)
Kevin Lum (@foundryfinancial)
Erin Talks Money (@ErinTalksMoney)
Bogleheads (@bogleheads3687)

Find stuff relevant to your situation. There's a lot out there. But you need to be careful who you listen to. I feel pretty good about this group. I've learned so much in past year, and I feel much, much more comfortable now that I have a handle on our situation and that we are very much on track. And now we're doing a few different things to position ourselves better. Everything from which assets in which type of account to tax strategy now and in early retirement and later retirement.

I also work in probate/estate planning at a law firm, so lots of overlap there.

One of the biggest takeaways is that many people who should be very comfortable with their retirement still just refuse to spend because they're afraid of running out. Within a certain target audience obviously, they say the biggest issue right now is people not spending enough in their 50s and 60s because of this.

My wife and I are early 50s. Now that we have a good handle on things, we're taking that lesson to heart. Traveling a lot now. Planning to do two weeks in Italy next year, etc. Enjoy it now while you're alive and while you still have your health.

Soon enough, you won't want to or won't be able to leave your house. You don't need much money then.
It's a tough deal. Under 3 months into retirement in my 50s and by all measures should have plenty of money but it still freaks me out. We have a lot of remodeling to do, land to landscape, can we afford the pool this year? Should but haven't planned a vacation yet. While working we did at least two per year.
I’m working to have all of that done before retiring, but I’m older than you. Just don’t want any debt or big upcoming expenses. Fully remodeled the inside of the house last year from the ground up including all new furniture throughout. Starting outside hardscape/landscape now. Last thing we’ll do is get Mrs Smails the car she wants with cash. I’m sure we’ll have surprises later on but taking care of what we know about now
You never know how things will change in retirement. Two years in we decided to buy a bigger house in a better neighborhood. It is 35 years old and could use a full remodel, but we love the neighborhood. We will do projects slowly to avoid paying taxes all at once on money taken out of investments to fund these projects. One great side effect is that the value of our new home has increased 50% according to Zillow. That is much more than our $$ would have increased in our other investments. This has not effected our other activities in retirement much at all.
I always thought downsizing in a house was the way to go in retirement. I'll do neither for now.
We down sized ten years ago. Then my wife decided she wanted something with a water view. We can also now walk to the beach instead of drive. Plus she needed more room for her stuff. Much better neighborhood with lots of amenities.
Stuff is the worst. Get rid of it!!
I'm afraid that the wife would go along with her stuff.
I did that once :bag:
 
@shuke

People I like on YouTube with regular videos where I feel like I've learned a lot:

Darryl Rosen (@TheRetirementGuyYT)
Rob Berger (@rob_berger)
James Conole (@RootFP)
Kevin Lum (@foundryfinancial)
Erin Talks Money (@ErinTalksMoney)
Bogleheads (@bogleheads3687)

Find stuff relevant to your situation. There's a lot out there. But you need to be careful who you listen to. I feel pretty good about this group. I've learned so much in past year, and I feel much, much more comfortable now that I have a handle on our situation and that we are very much on track. And now we're doing a few different things to position ourselves better. Everything from which assets in which type of account to tax strategy now and in early retirement and later retirement.

I also work in probate/estate planning at a law firm, so lots of overlap there.

One of the biggest takeaways is that many people who should be very comfortable with their retirement still just refuse to spend because they're afraid of running out. Within a certain target audience obviously, they say the biggest issue right now is people not spending enough in their 50s and 60s because of this.

My wife and I are early 50s. Now that we have a good handle on things, we're taking that lesson to heart. Traveling a lot now. Planning to do two weeks in Italy next year, etc. Enjoy it now while you're alive and while you still have your health.

Soon enough, you won't want to or won't be able to leave your house. You don't need much money then.
It's a tough deal. Under 3 months into retirement in my 50s and by all measures should have plenty of money but it still freaks me out. We have a lot of remodeling to do, land to landscape, can we afford the pool this year? Should but haven't planned a vacation yet. While working we did at least two per year.
I’m working to have all of that done before retiring, but I’m older than you. Just don’t want any debt or big upcoming expenses. Fully remodeled the inside of the house last year from the ground up including all new furniture throughout. Starting outside hardscape/landscape now. Last thing we’ll do is get Mrs Smails the car she wants with cash. I’m sure we’ll have surprises later on but taking care of what we know about now
You never know how things will change in retirement. Two years in we decided to buy a bigger house in a better neighborhood. It is 35 years old and could use a full remodel, but we love the neighborhood. We will do projects slowly to avoid paying taxes all at once on money taken out of investments to fund these projects. One great side effect is that the value of our new home has increased 50% according to Zillow. That is much more than our $$ would have increased in our other investments. This has not effected our other activities in retirement much at all.
I always thought downsizing in a house was the way to go in retirement. I'll do neither for now.
We down sized ten years ago. Then my wife decided she wanted something with a water view. We can also now walk to the beach instead of drive. Plus she needed more room for her stuff. Much better neighborhood with lots of amenities.
Stuff is the worst. Get rid of it!!
I'm afraid that the wife would go along with her stuff.
And half of yours.
 
Any thoughts on Invesco BulletShares ETFs?

I started using them to easily build bond ladders. In a taxable account so low cost ETFs and Municipal version.

BSMP - 2025
BSMQ - 2026
BSMR - 2027
Etc.
 
Any thoughts on Invesco BulletShares ETFs?

I started using them to easily build bond ladders. In a taxable account so low cost ETFs and Municipal version.

BSMP - 2025
BSMQ - 2026
BSMR - 2027
Etc.
Pretty low liquidity, but if you're holding to maturity that shouldn't matter. Does seem like a pretty easy way to build a muni ladder.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top