Starting to think about it in Michigan

[dkb4552]

Hi everyone,
I'm 62 and will be 63 in February of 2012. I've done sales work most of my life but don't really have a lot in an IRA. My wife is 61. We do have some inheritance money to add to the pot at some point. My wife's folks both passed two years ago, but their house is still for sale in this lousy market. And my mom is in her nineties with some provided for us also. I've had a part time lawn care business since 1999 that has done very well. But a couple of years ago I had to hire a helper since it was getting hard to do. I had prostate cancer 3 years ago but no sign of it since removal. But it did slow me down. Really would like to retire in the next year or two, but it seems entirely dependent upon those inheritance sums. What do you think?

 

[REWahoo]

First, never, ever count an inheritance as "real" until the money is in your personal account.

Second, no one here can answer your question without considerably more information, including your expected annual expenses in retirement and expected income. Also, what about medical insurance until you are 65?

 

[pb4uski]

Welcome dkb4552. You need to think through how much you need to live if you were to retire given your current lifestyle, and be sure to include medical insurance costs. Then think through what sources of income would be, which would include withdrawals from your nestegg, any pensions, social security, etc. If the sources of income exceed your costs of living then you would be ready.

I would be hesitant to retire banking on inheritances, there are many things that can go wrong that reduce or delay receipt of inheritances.

 

[Midpack]

Like REW noted, we'd have to know a lot more, and we understand you may not be comfortable sharing more. FIRECalc: A different kind of retirement calculator would be a very good place for you to start, and maybe ballpark answer your question yourself. Best of luck, lots of good help here if you decide you want more...and welcome to our community.

 

[obgyn65]

Hello dkb4552 - have you entered your details in this free tool :

Merrill Edge| See Where You Stand

What do you think?

 

[haha]

Starting to think about it in Michigan

You're not alone man. I recently read that the average man thinks about it 18 times/day, the average woman 9 x.

Welcome aboard!

 

[dkb4552]

Thanks for the responses...all I know is that for a lot of baby boomers, this is all going to catch up to them fast like it did me. I tried to plan many times, but life events change plans a lot. We have a financial planner who thinkgs we'll be fine, but I still like to check things out. Is this site fairly new?

 

[dkb4552]

Apparently it's not so new now that I look back at some of the join dates of members. Anyway, great to discuss with people who understand.