Retirement - looking for savings ideas

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22dog22

22dog22

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2010
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Location
northampton ,pa
Looking to hopefully retire in about 2 years { can see the light at the end of the tunnel}, working on trying to pay down house mortgage and 2nd mortgage amounts prior to retirement. but will still have a mortgage to deal with, 2nd mortgage should be paid off, have worked on cutting cuts where possible for the future. i know we have people here that are retired and looking for you ideas/ways to live when retired. i am in eastern Pa. near Allentown . just about have the 69 Cuda road ready, want to be able to go to shows with car . added knee knocker A/C need to get charged , still working in fine turning engine and brakes. working on this for about 8 years !

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Retired a little over a year ago, wife still works for now. Waiting for SS at 62, nine months away. If it still is intact.

Anyway age matters a lot because of Soc. Sec. (62) and reverse mortgage (65).
The simple answer is to cut expenses by eliminating debt/interest on debt. Which you mentioned already.
If you have any bank savings accounts gaining minimal interest, move to the newer style accounts that get around 2%. Then you can still get to your money easy and at least get some return.
Put the yearly max in separate IRAs for you and your wife. That amounted to a $14k tax deduction in 2019 for us. If you can afford it. I know we won't be repeating this year.
Possibly convert home equity into cash and make it work for you. If you know about that stuff, but seems that is a job in itself. One I don't enjoy.

just a few ideas I've been thinking about...
Work part time for hobby money or find an inexpensive hobby like reading...lol. Under the table cash is the ultimate.
Make goods at home and sell them for cash. Evaluate your skills. I'm working my way up to making small wooden items like birdhouses, magazine racks, planter stands, etc. People snatch that stuff up around here.

Oh and last but not least, finish the car at any cost! That is your legacy.
 
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Little known secret is your SS is weighted towards your last 3 years income before retirement. So we threw most of the income on my wifes and she retired first, I'll probably work til 66 and a few months. It will make over a $500/month difference on what we draw. They say got into retirement with minimal debt and a reliable car. Good luck! BTW agree on finish the car! Looks great.
 
living within your means is key IMO. avoid credit card debt totally. I was surprised what a huge difference paying off all mortgage debt made. It's a good goal to have - things get much easier/more fun after that. Avoid car loans. get to a point where any necessary new car purchases are strictly cash deal if you can. Yes - avoid car dealers and banks # vultures..worked in banking 35 years.. when necessary your local credit union is usually your best bet.. fwiw

ps love the car
 
wife and i will work till we are both at least 65 , so we can sign up for health care, and try to work till full SS income 66 years 4 months !, i work for time for a insurance company 30 years as an auto appraiser, and work part time at Home Depot 20 years, will most likely still part time at Depot as long as i can. have been looking to the cost to retire, healthcare expenses, taxes, monthly costs !!
 
Go through your last three years of check registers\bank statements and put your fixed expenses on a spreadsheet. That will give you an approximation of your required cash flow. Add in any debt load and you will be pretty close.
 
Remember your Medicare part B will come out of your SS check when you start drawing it. Lay up all the parts you can, then sell them when you retire. That is how I am paying for my Colt project. Pray the stock market and your 401 (if you have one) recovers before you walk away.
 
Dave Ramsey would have some great advice. If you haven't already, he is worth the look
 
Get a time machine. You shouldda been doin this thirty years ago.
 
Retired almost two years ago. I didn't start 30 years ago, as Rusty suggested, but the last ten, I worked pretty diligently towards it. As I paid off debt, I increased my 401K contribution. The last 5 years I was putting in 25% of my pay. That went into an investment account, that hasn't been touched, other than to add to. Also worked for an ESOP. (employee owned company) The stock from that is still sitting there, and growing. I did buy a new truck after I retired, but paid cash for it. I've worked a little part time, and done some odd jobs for extra spending money. For the most part, I can live on my Social Security. Only bills I have, are the ones that you never get rid of. Taxes, insurance, utilities, etc. I am an easy keeper.
 
Look at your expenses, What do you want to do? Travel, kids, cars? Pay off mortgages and all other debt. Have an emergency fund.
 
Get everything paid for (House, cars, credit cards) before you retire. You probably won't have extra $$'s to pay those things off after you retire.
 
In the last 2 weeks my 401 lost $36000.
I pulled it out to stop the hemorrhage.
Hoping to retire in about 2 years ,at least there is something left.
 
Mouse action said:
In the last 2 weeks my 401 lost $36000.
I pulled it out to stop the hemorrhage.
Hoping to retire in about 2 years ,at least there is something left.
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Ouch! I haven't looked at our Roth IRA'S. Afraid too. LOL We didn't start with much so not too much to loose. My cd's keep plugging away at 3 1/2%. Not much return but pretty safe.
 
I retired at 61 almost two years ago now. I saved money on every paycheck and tried to keep car payments under control. I haven't started my SS yet as I gonna try and run it up higher after I turn 66.
 
69conv said:
Little known secret is your SS is weighted towards your last 3 years income before retirement. So we threw most of the income on my wifes and she retired first, I'll probably work til 66 and a few months. It will make over a $500/month difference on what we draw. They say got into retirement with minimal debt and a reliable car. Good luck! BTW agree on finish the car! Looks great.
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For SS, you get an 8% raise each year at age 68, 69, 70. Where else can you do that? Due to chronic illness, I don't plan on living too long so the choice to draw SS at age 62 is an easy one.
I started a 403b (like a 401k) and put everything into a fixed 3% fund. Over my life, I've had about as much luck with stock as I do when I go to Vegas. I don't like gambling so I erased it.
If you have an expensive hobby as it looks like you may, I'd keep working. Hobbies keep a guy happy.
Another thing we did is stop going out to eat and cook more at home. Better food for less. Seems like the less you spend on food, the healthier you eat.
Buy the pricey things you want while you are working.

I'll probably think of a few more tips.
 
22dog22 said:
wife and i will work till we are both at least 65 , so we can sign up for health care, and try to work till full SS income 66 years 4 months !, i work for time for a insurance company 30 years as an auto appraiser, and work part time at Home Depot 20 years, will most likely still part time at Depot as long as i can. have been looking to the cost to retire, healthcare expenses, taxes, monthly costs !!
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Do you have an enhanced Medicare plan from an employer?
 
As mentioned, Make a firm list of monthly expenses. Start wacking it down asap. Eliminate unnecessary expenses or trim down, cable, phones, insurances, trips, eating out etc, also look to doing home repair and car repairs before hand.

Determine from your employer what will your pension be. Decide on when you will begin Social Security. Project your 401k to your retirement date now too. If you are married do the same with the spouse. Myself I decided to pull my SS at 62 and got my first check last month. If I waited to 65.6 approx it takes 12-13 years to catch up if you wait for the extra few hundred dollars. Go to socialsecurity.com now and make an account, review your salary history and be sure it is correct. They will provide actual amounts that you will receive monthly depending on your age when you pull it out.

It's about life style mainly and you expectations relative to monies. Be objective and proactive!

Marion
 
22dog22 said:
i will take a look at Dave Ramsey not sure who he is ?
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Google is your friend, in less words than you used to type this post ^^ you could have found him, he's easier to find than this site... even YouTube .. LOL. He's just one of the top radial talk shows in the world, and he gives advice on financials. He also has books, seminars, etc. Happy retirement. :)
 
I retire poor so it is all more of a challenge!! Medicare kicks in at 65. No debt is the key. No mortgage, no credit card debt, no car payment. NO high property taxes. You may or may not need to sell out and move! If physically able, get a part time job you actually enjoy. Drive that classic there and doubly enjoy the day. Make a little extra pocket money parting out a car doing a little side job here and there, all cash.
Remember you adjust spending based on income, no matter where rich or poor. Anyone can spend it all, no matter how many big $$ you have!! You adjust.
Back in Missouri. I heated with wood. I loved it. Cheap, cost me almost nothing. Good exercise. I lived in the sticks. I had some pasture I raised my beef, chicken, could have raised my pork but I hate hogs! No wild boar there. Garden. Freezer. Canned food. No, we did not t out 3 time a week like some. Mo. has very low property taxes. Cheap electricity. R/E is cheap compared to most acres. But I did not buy firewood, I took the saw and went to the neighbor's timber. I got slab wood from the local mill at $10 a cord and cut it up.
I built my own 1500 sq ft home, did it all except sheetrock. If I made a slight mistake I just called it rustic. I had sold my previous place, lived in an old camper for a few months. Once dried in, the wood burning stove done, I moved in and was good to go! Started with a pole barn dried in and went from there. Did it while working a 40 hr week before I did retire. OK so I got 2 solid weeks at home from the big ice storm!! Amazing how much you can do in 14, 14 hour days!!!
Life is what you make of it??
 
Been retired for nearly four years. You have to look at re-occurring monthly expenses, we went to a cheaper cell phone plan, went to a cheaper internet provider, changed cable TV providers,....you get the picture. When I got my 401K, my financial advisor asked if I had any personal thoughts on investments. I told him my thoughts were 1) no tech stocks, today's darling is tomorrow's has been 2) stocks in products that people can't live without, we have Johnson & Johnson, Kimberly-Clark, Boeing, GE,...you get the picture, and 3) any stock had to pay dividends. The stock value can bounce all over and the income is pretty consistent. Downfall is that return is only 3-4% but so far it's been reliable. Even with this current stock market debacle, we've been doing pretty well. We even took money out of our cash savings account and told our advisor to buy more of stock that met our criteria whose value has fallen through the floor. Just our experience, yours may be different.
 
I retired 2 years ago and my wife just pulled the plug. We got a reverse mortgage a year ago. We both had to be 62 (not 65). There are very strict laws to protect you on reverse mortgages (as a matter of fact, you have to have a meeting with a trained professional with no skin in the game to make sure you know what you are doing). They roll your current mortgages into the reverse, so no more mortgage payments. They base what you get out on the equity you have in the house after they pay off your existing mortgages. You can take the money in a variety of ways (we took a monthly payment that keeps coming until both of us are no longer in the house plus kept a nest egg that we could access in case we have a disaster). If you die or move out of the house, they sell the house, pay off the reverse mortgage and you or your heirs get what's left. I would heartily recommend that you see a professional and ask for advise.
 
str12-340 said:
I retired 2 years ago and my wife just pulled the plug. We got a reverse mortgage a year ago. We both had to be 62 (not 65). There are very strict laws to protect you on reverse mortgages (as a matter of fact, you have to have a meeting with a trained professional with no skin in the game to make sure you know what you are doing). They roll your current mortgages into the reverse, so no more mortgage payments. They base what you get out on the equity you have in the house after they pay off your existing mortgages. You can take the money in a variety of ways (we took a monthly payment that keeps coming until both of us are no longer in the house plus kept a nest egg that we could access in case we have a disaster). If you die or move out of the house, they sell the house, pay off the reverse mortgage and you or your heirs get what's left. I would heartily recommend that you see a professional and ask for advise.
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Mr. Reagan championed reverse mortgages. And Tom Selleck pitches them. Two of my favorite people that ever lived. That's a good start. I guess I don't understand the age requirements.

The only cons I can see is that after you are gone and they sell your property, your heirs have no say in the matter. And the loaner is not motivated to get your heirs max return, only to get what is coming to them. Also I was wondering how moving out works exactly and if you have any options or is the procedure fixed.

Happy retirement :)
 
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