Retired at 55, spending more money.

[mugwump]

Hi, I retired three years ago at 55, and spent a few years doing part-time contract work. Now I'm really retired, and I find my new hobbies take more money, particularly travel costs, because everything seems to be 10-20 miles away. A few weeks ago I totaled my 11-year old car on the way to class, so we are going to try going a few months without a second car. Rather than paying gas and parking fees, I will be spending more time and paying for public transportation.

[arebelspy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mugwump A few weeks ago I totaled my 11-year old car on the way to class, so we are going to try going a few months without a second car. Rather than paying gas and parking fees, I will be spending more time and paying for public transportation.

Yikes! Glad you're okay.

Good luck on the one-vehicle experiment.

[donheff]

Time to take up cycling as an ER hobby.

[mugwump]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donheff Time to take up cycling as an ER hobby.

I agree in principle cycling would be the way to go. But today there are 6 inches of snow on the ground, and I would have to cycle at least 10 miles. I'm afraid I'm a little too wimpy for that.

[mugwump]

I've done some quick mental calculations: The depreciation on the car was about $700 a year, plus average maybe $200 a year for repairs, and about $300 for registration and insurance. My husband did all the routine maintenance. So we will have about $1000 savings a year, to be conservative. The bus fare to my favorite hobby, auditing classes a few towns over, will cost $300-$500 dollars a semester, depending on how many days I attend. This past semester, with driving part-way and paying local busfare, I spent about $200. The more I think about it, the better I like this idea. It takes an extra 40 minutes on the bus, but I can read.

[Amethyst]

Whoa! $300 for registration and insurance? That seems very cheap indeed!

Quote:

Originally Posted by mugwump I've done some quick mental calculations: The depreciation on the car was about $700 a year, plus average maybe $200 a year for repairs, and about $300 for registration and insurance. My husband did all the routine maintenance. So we will have about $1000 savings a year, to be conservative. The bus fare to my favorite hobby, auditing classes a few towns over, will cost $300-$500 dollars a semester, depending on how many days I attend. This past semester, with driving part-way and paying local busfare, I spent about $200. The more I think about it, the better I like this idea. It takes an extra 40 minutes on the bus, but I can read.

[mugwump]

Well, we saved only $60 on the insurance when we canceled the car, because we had no collision on the car and we lost the 2nd car discount. Also, we had to increase the miles driven on our truck, since it is now the only car. Registration has been low because the car was so old.

BTW, cancelling collision on that car was a good bet because the accident wasn't my fault, so we got paid by the other person's insurance.