36k a year to live on with no debt...I believe I can make a go of this as the life style of my wife and I is quite simple, don't demand much...some golf and a little travel will work just fine for us..health is good and expect to get medicare at age 65 12k per year my SS 10k per year wife SS 14k per year from savings Live in Wisconsin , cost of living is reasonable... Thoughts?????
You can do anything you set your mind to and that's a good thing.
Me, I'm not counting on my SS being their when I reach the age of getting it (the age keeps going up and the fellows in Washington really like the interest free loans we give them out of our SS account! :)
I'm pretty much depending on me to retire myself. But I'll be able to do that just fine.
I have friends living only on SS now, and it's a pretty meager wage, I'll tell ya!
I see two problems with your plan - covering extraordinary expenses (e.g., replace a vehicle, put on a new roof, etc.) and inflation. Although your SS has a cost of living kicker, what about your investments? Can you withdraw $1400/month adjusted for inflation for the next 20-30 years?
savings consist of: CD's mutual funds stock I-bonds pension's From the above , i should be able to earn about 4% interest a year and withdraw at least 14k to 18k with our ever touching the principle. Plan on having new car before retirement. As we age we will also spend less and lose the desire to travel/golf etc... thus having the principle continue to grow..Have insurance to cover all other problems that might occure...
I have read many warnings about assuming that your expenses will decline over time in retirement. Although I agree that the desire to spend will go down as we age, there will still be basic inflation and new medical expenses in the future.
I also try to think back... If I had retired 20-years ago, would I have budgeted for Internet access or my cell phone and satellite TV costs? And who knows what the next 20-years will bring?
I am trying to plan for about a 2% annual increase in income over retirement to help offset these unforeseen things. Added along with declining desire to spend, hopefully that'll do it, but who knows?
Now living on about 30k per year and have been monitoring all spending so this is pretty accurate i think. Have been doing all the things we want to do and have vacationed to Mrytle Beach, SC and Gulf Shores,AL in Feb. and plan on 2-weeks in Phoenix in Nov. All travel fell in our 30k budget..We dont skimp on things but are probably more frugal then average...when we party, we party if you know what i mean..Both work part time now to get the health insurance and earn the 30k a year..Have no debt so all income goes to household expenses and the good life...FYI--green fees are $720.00 a yr for a membership at our club (27 hole championship course...
As someone else noted, be sure to factor inflation in there. Also taxes. Those two things eat away at retirement income. Around our area, property taxes on homes increase every year regardless of supply and demand or the marketplace.
And Medicare requires substantial deductibles and other money, and is likely to require more in future. I saw a stat in the paper that a couple age 65 will spend out of pocket a couple hundred thousand dollars for healt services if they live to their expected age...and that's WITH Medicare.
I wish you all the best, but, personally, I would want at least double that amount to even begin to feel secure. Social Security and Medicare are wobbly. Health costs are rising twice as fast as the inflation rate. Taxes never go down, only up.
All the above replies voiced some concerns. I would too. How would one know that ailments esp. chronic ones would not sneak up on him/her? Illnesses such as diabetes, high blood pressure or cardiac problems has a very high medical expenditures. Although you both are healthy now, there is no guarantee that you will be ok next year or 2, 3, 4 ... from now that you will have the same health status. If you plan to really live on that amount of money/mo, you both should definitely change your life style in the sense of diet and exercise. Eat plenty of friuts, vegets, whole grains and legumes. Cut down meats, fatty foods and high glycemic index food items. Walk 10000 steps each day will keep your heart healthy. Before you do any exercise, get a complete physical exam first and discuss your changes with the physician.
I retired last year at age 54 from my very stressful job, after 30 years. I have a pension and my husband retired after 33 years with the county, and he has a pension also. I have a small 401k, I started later in life after kids were grown and gone, so not as large as what "THEY" say we should have. That all being said is right now we are living on about $4000 a month, we live in Iowa, so I believe our cost of living should be close to yours. Our home is paid off and we have no debt.
AFter doing some traveling by car last winter to Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Florida and have the time was spent in hotels and half with relatives, we found that although our entertainment costs were not that high it was a fairly expensive 6 weeks. We had hoped when we retired we could go South for the winter and just relax, but with unsteady gas prices, health insurance with my former company changing, and the uncertainty of other prices, we are scared.
I have gone back to work for my company as a consultant, and my hubby is looking for part time work, and we are hoping to pad our savings and try again in a year or two.
If we were happy to sit home and just find hobbies and activities to do around the house we would be fine, but we both want more, to travel and meet people, to have new experiences, just afraid we were a little premature.
Don't forget the old extended care possible problem. Along with some other pitfalls it is something that must be considered. Many a retirement plan was waylaid by unexpected extended costs. I think your situation is a bit on the "iffy" side and would like to see a larger nest egg. I probably would consider continueing to work for say 3 or 4 years especially if in good health. Those years will go by quickly and you might be able to enjoy that retirement a little more peacefully. Whatever you decide[ed] good luck and good health. may all your drives be straight and your putts"gimmes".
