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Anyone else not focused on retirement?


ChrisL

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43 minutes ago, Prophet Zacharia said:

but I see a mortgage in retirement as simply shifting money from one investment to another.

I never looked at my home as an investment.  I figure I've got to live somewhere, so it becomes an expense.  

21 minutes ago, Philander Seabury said:

But often the demands of the job make it tough to take and enjoy them.

There were vacations, where my company laptop was on just about every night.  (yeah I'm glad I retired)

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2 hours ago, Prophet Zacharia said:

Curious to know why having a mortgage payment into retirement is an issue for her, assuming there’s enough annual income to cover all other needs. I know not having a mortgage is a piece of mind and a way of minimizing needed savings entering into retirement, but I see a mortgage in retirement as simply shifting money from one investment to another. But I’m probably on the minority in this point.

She's all about getting rid of debt. She encourages people to downsize if they still have a mortgage. You can live on very little if you don't owe anyone.

She is big on HSAs. It's tax free on contributions and withdrawals. If you have $5k in medical expenses, it might take a $6k withdrawal from a 401K to pay the $5k because of the taxes, but only $5k from an HSA. You can also save old out of pocket medical receipts and use HSA money down the road.

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3 hours ago, Bikeguy said:

I never looked at my home as an investment.  I figure I've got to live somewhere, so it becomes an expense.  

There were vacations, where my company laptop was on just about every night.  (yeah I'm glad I retired)

I am fairly good about resisting logging in oot side of work hours, but not 100%. 
Company email on my phone though is convenient. I can quickly scan to see if I need to get involved. Almost always it can wait. :)

 

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12 hours ago, ChrisL said:

At 55 YO retirement is not something I think about at all. Now I’m financially planning for it, but I am in no way mentally ready to retire and have no finish line age in mind.  65, 67, 70... who knows...   I’m even mentally planning on one more job change.  Not that I want to but sometimes shit happens beyond our control or situations change.

I get the feeling most here are either retired or nearing retirement. Same in my family, my siblings are either retired or counting the days...   I often feel like the odd ball for not wanting to count the days...

About 2 years ago I felt the same as you.  But something has happened and I turned the corner and now think of how I can cut out early.  But my life has slowed down here in B'ham and after a year of settling down, I may just revert.  I have an open mind.

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7 minutes ago, Prophet Zacharia said:

But it is. You may never need to tap into the equity in it, but in most cases, it’s quietly growing.

It's a great investment.  Later in life you may cash in by selling it and downsizing or you have a place to live without monthly payments on mortgage or rent.  No debt is the best place to retire from.  Future medical expenses or sudden very expensive repairs on the house are my greatest fears.  This year when womaxx retires we will face for the first time in decades a life without employer paid medical insurance.

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37 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

Someday when you're old you might consider selling and moving into a condo.  You can never tell.

The only way it would be cheaper and less maintenance would be if I lived in a van down by the river. 

That might not be that bad, I would only have to move 800 feet from where I live now. ..a thousand feet if I want to live next to the water falls. I would be closer to the taverns and the pizza place. ..win win

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I have my eye on retirement. More focused the last few years. I don’t hate my job, but I am done with it. I’m ready for a change even if it means working in a totally different field my last working years. 
I have retirement savings. I would like more, but a partial pension from a former employer for both of us will help some. We will also have some rental income after MIL passes. Splitting 3 ways means we won’t be able to live off it, but it will be a supplement. I intend to stay in the work force until Medicare kicks in. Can’t afford to be without medical coverage. 
Current house will be paid off in 5 years. We will likely be moving before then but equity in the house and downsizing should make it possible to finance little if any. 

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20 hours ago, Prophet Zacharia said:

I’m 50. I’m saving with a desire to be able to retire at 55. I don’t know if that will be feasible, a lot will depend on the status of health care reform/insurance over the next few years. And I may defer that decision until closer to 60, but it’s good to have choices.

Sadly (but also joyfully), we're on the same page with this issue.  55 is was my goal, but the damn healthcare & insurance BS in the US prevents any semblance of planning for those "gap" years.  Retiring closer to 60 seems more the reality, but it is very annoying to think I can have all the plannable stuff sorted out, but get hung up by the challenges of simply keeping the risk of bankruptcy at bay due to healthcare & insurance considerations.  Heck, even with relatively good coverage now, the threat of monstrous medical bills is still a possibility during my working years.

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My mom lives modestly but comfortably on what is left of their savings. She is so glad they traveled as much as they did before Dad’s health declined. She still plans to do some Senior bus tours with her sisters and travel to see her sons and grandkids, but is very content to have a small town to live in with friends and neighbors near who will watch out for her and take time to have a coffee or a lunch out. 
I was in the home of a wealthy retired gentleman yesterday. He’s a year older than Mom. He stayed active in his company and didn’t retire until he was 75. He says he enjoyed his work, but in hindsight, wishes he had started to step back 10 years earlier. He asked if I was saving. Told him I was. He said that was good, but spend a little along the way. He has too many friends who passed away and never got to enjoy “someday “. 

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