Whew! I finally got in!

[Harmony]

Hi folks, just wanted to say 'hey' and I'm soooo happy to have found this forum....I know NOTHING about retirement planning, and I want so bad for husband to retire....they're working him 70+ hours per week, on call 24/7, with NO guaranteed days off! He's 60 years old, and the work he does is hard on his body. He also has arthritis, which makes it doubly worse. I really want to keep this guy around a lot longer....after all, he is my best friend.

He FINALLY got a two week vacation starting today. So, I want to know how to begin this process with him before he gets back to work.

We currently have three rental properties in our small town, with not much income from it really. Am thinking about buying more that will produce more income....so he can retire.

I'm not savvy at all, so help me get started, okay? Where should I begin? He's worked for this company for 30 years, and there have been bad times before. But there is hope of things settling down a bit soon with the hiring of new people to take on some of the work. But I still want to be ready to retire soon. I don't think he can last much longer at this pace.

We also have an 80 year old Alzheimer's parent, and a ten year old nephew to finish raising.

HELP!

Any and all advice greatly appreciated!

[Corporateburnout]

Harmoney,

Welcome to the board. You don't give much details other than your husband's job is too hard and you would like him to retire soon. Do you have a sizeable nest egg to generate the income you need? how much income do you need to retire on? If the rental properties you own are not generating much of an income an you sell them to generate some income from the proceed?

I'll bet if you give some details a lot of the people on this forum would be more than helpfull.

[astromeria]

Welcome, Harmony--and good for you for raising your nephew!

Sounds like your hubby needs out of this particular rat race ASAP. Has he had a physical recently to be sure he's not about to keel over from physical or emotional stress? If necessary, can he take a leave of absence to restore health, or go to part-time status, or take a less-demanding position at his company or elsewhere?

But first....Where are y'all at finance-wise? Do you know what your annual expenses are and if they'd be less if he retired (no need to commute--perhaps no need for a second vehicle, no need to buy work clothes, no need to pay into Social Security, and so on)?

And second...if hubby retires, how will you generate income? Are you working? Will you and/or he recieve any pensions? If so, when can you start to collect? Do you have savings in bank accounts, IRAs, 401ks, and/or taxable investments? Do you know how much you'll receive from Social Security starting at age 62 or starting at age 66? In other words, there are more ways to replace your household income than just via rental properties (and I would be reluctant to invest in real estate just now, with values falling in many markets, unless I was a true-blue real estate maven).

Feel free to divulge as little or as much personal info as you feel comfortable with. We can offer better advice if we know more, of course. Many of us (including me) have revealed our ages, pensions, inheritances, how much we've saved, how we invest, etc.

PS--Does your town offer any financial assistance to help raise your nephew or care for your parent? I'm thinking about things like reduced-price school lunch or tutoring or sports equipment/fees for your nephew, and medications or respite care for your parent.

[Harmony]

Hi Everyone! I'm going to be doing some homework tomorrow! But first I have appointments to go to. I'll get back with you when I have a little more detail to deliver

I know we have a 401K and stuff like that, but I don't know much else.... yet!

I've made some really bad choices....I think....because I'm too soft hearted for my own good, and people take advantage of me too much. That's why my rentals aren't paying much. I'm not a good landlady, I guess. A good person, but not a good 'business type' person.

See y'all tomorrie with more info!

Later taters,
Harmony

[chris2008]

Hello,

A good first step would be to record all your expenses in writing for at least 3 months in detail. No sophisticated software is necessary, paper will do.
Just do it every day at a certain time.
Add up once per month. You can define categories as you like.
This will not only provide an overview on how much you regularly "need", it will also allow you to check how much of these expenses only occur because of DH's work.
In addition, a lot of people who keep detailed record (including me) have found that this alone reduces expenses by 5-10%.

You might also want to check out some ideas on www.slnet.com or the book "Your money or your life." by Vicky Robin & Joe Dominguez.
A summary is given at http://www.yourmoneyoryourlife.org/f...ut-summary.asp
The investment recommendations there (bonds only) do not fit to everybody's taste, but they provide help to analyse your lifestyle and find options to retire early.

Chris