Turning Retirement Plan Upside Down

[littleb]

So here is what is suppose to happen:

We will be debt free in a few weeks and are planning ER this year. We bought our land last year and plan on selling our house, our vacation house and using the money to build our retirement house on the land. So this is our nice safe retirement we have planned with enough money to last us 35 years. (hopefully) We plan to travel a few times a year based on finances.

We are age 56 and 59 and in excellent health.


I read an article this week where many retirees stated their number one regret was not traveling when they were financially or physically able.

We both love to travel but have been confined to weekly vacations due to a life of commitments and work.

After reading the article I realized this might the only window we have to travel without many restrictions. We have thought about the RV thing but really don't want to be tied down to campgrounds where we "might" get a decent site. Getting around in a car is so much easier and faster.

So this is the new plan:

Take a set amount of money to travel for 3 - 12 months and incorporate a travel plan to drive and visit parts of the country we have never seen. Maybe plan to stay at hotels using discounts or VRBO's where we can cook and relax more. Our plans would include hiking, cycling, site seeing and eating local fare.

I don't have all the logistics ironed out but after working for 40 years maybe this plan is not that crazy.

Life is short.

 

[W2R]

Sounds like a good plan, for you! You might want to wait until after your 3-12 months of travel, before building your new retirement house. You could just put everything in storage, and go. What a great way to begin your retirement.

Personally I don't like traveling but once you hit your mid 60's, many people find that it gets physically harder to travel.

Also I was surprised to find out how physically demanding it was to move to my retirement house last summer, at age 67. If I had it to do over again, I'd pay for the moving company to do all the packing and I'd just stay in an extended stay place while they moved everything.

 

[Souschef]

Travel now!

I have encountered many widows and widowers that lost their spouses before they were going to travel.
My wife and I were both widowed, met and married in 2007 when she was 64 and I was 69. Since then we have been on 45 trips. Some were cruises, some were train trips, some were independent travel.
As we have aged, we found it more difficult to deal with time changes and the demands of organized tours (bags outside at 7 AM, on the bus at 8AM).
We are now planning only independent travel within North and Central America. Our next trip is to Santa FE and Taos with a rental car.

 

[HadEnuff]

As long as you are comfortable with the finances, absolutely. Enjoy.

I did a bit of it before i retired, and I found as I got older, and enjoyed it less. Especially international air travel. Lines, lines, lines....uncomfortable plane seats, airport seats...jet lag..never bothered me when I was young and flexible...I'm very glad I did it then and enjoyed it while it was still enjoyable for us.

 

[Slow But Steady]

As far as the lodging is concerned, another option would be to rent timeshares, which almost always have kitchens. Tugbbs.com is a site dedicated to timesharing. They advocate buying resale rather than from the developer. There's a section of the site that's limited to last minute (45 days or less) rentals that cost no more than $100 per night. Here's the first listing from that section:


Blue Ridge Village (4/23-4/30 2 BDRM), $200

Seven night rental at beautiful Blue Ridge Village in Banner Elk located in the mountains of Western North Carolina. 2 bdrm, 2 bath unit. Saturday check in located in Phase I. Just $200 for the entire week.

A perfect place to get away from the everyday grind, Blue Ridge Village is set in the woods of Banner Elk where you can unwind, relax and breathe in the clean mountain air. Whether you are a hiker, skier, sightseer or shopper, you will have plenty to do around the resort. The scenic backdrop of the Pisgah National Forest is a playground for nature lovers of all types.

Please PM if interested in this rental or other possible dates.


Blue Ridge Village (4/23-4/30 2 BDRM), $200 - Rentals Offered

If you want to plan farther ahead, you have to pay $15 per year to join the site. There are also other sites dedicated to timeshare rentals.

In any case, don't ever go to a sales presentation.

 

[whatnot]

Sounds like an excellent adventure!

 

[Teacher Terry]

My husband and I have been doing a lot of travel the past 3 years. YOu never know when you won't be able too. We usually go 2x's/year for a month at a time. WE have an RV but we also take cruises and go to Europe. We hate guided tours where they tell you what to do all the time-seems like a special kind of hell)

 

[RunningBum]

As far as the lodging is concerned, another option would be to rent timeshares, which almost always have kitchens. Tugbbs.com is a site dedicated to timesharing. They advocate buying resale rather than from the developer. There's a section of the site that's limited to last minute (45 days or less) rentals that cost no more than $100 per night. Here's the first listing from that section:


Blue Ridge Village (4/23-4/30 2 BDRM), $200

Seven night rental at beautiful Blue Ridge Village in Banner Elk located in the mountains of Western North Carolina. 2 bdrm, 2 bath unit. Saturday check in located in Phase I. Just $200 for the entire week.

A perfect place to get away from the everyday grind, Blue Ridge Village is set in the woods of Banner Elk where you can unwind, relax and breathe in the clean mountain air. Whether you are a hiker, skier, sightseer or shopper, you will have plenty to do around the resort. The scenic backdrop of the Pisgah National Forest is a playground for nature lovers of all types.

Please PM if interested in this rental or other possible dates.


Blue Ridge Village (4/23-4/30 2 BDRM), $200 - Rentals Offered

If you want to plan farther ahead, you have to pay $15 per year to join the site. There are also other sites dedicated to timeshare rentals.

In any case, don't ever go to a sales presentation.

Trying to figure out what a skier will do at this NC resort in late April, which is mud season. This does show that good deals are to be had in the very off season.

 

[Alan]

We have been implementing a similar plan to OP. I was 55 and DW 54 when we retired 6 years ago and every year we have traveled 5 to 7 months / year using mostly VRBO rentals and their overseas equivalents in Europe, Canada and Australia.

This year we setting up a permanent house in England and settling down into a more regular pattern.

Both our mothers either died or became disabled in their early 60's which is one of the reasons we wanted to retire early and get all major travel desires done in our early years.

This time last year I found myself in the ER with a heart problem, which turned out to be A-fib, and this week DW heard from her sister that she has breast cancer and will be having a lumpectomy and radiation therapy in a few days time. Life is great until it isn't.

 

[Senator]

I was tied down too. Vacations always taking classes, or working on rental rehabs.

My plan may work for you?

I am planning on traveling quite a bit. I plan on keeping my paid-off home, and leaving every 2-3 months for a few weeks at a time. We have a dog so that complicates things jut a bit. I have thought about getting a house-watcher renter.

I plan on buying a 5th wheel and truck (2017 F350, aluminum body). MN is a great place sometimes of the year.

Or we may fly Spirit air for some impromptu vacations. The idea is to be in MN ~2 weeks every two months.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I would recommend just trying out different lifestyles and see what works for you. We planned on downsizing and slow traveling initially and instead ended up improving our current house and doing more local events and day trips than long term travel. We also have a pet so we're considering buying an RV to make it easier to take him along.

 

[NW-Bound]

Some people do not like to travel, and that's fine. People like us who love to travel need to do it while we still can.

...This time last year I found myself in the ER with a heart problem, which turned out to be A-fib, and this week DW heard from her sister that she has breast cancer and will be having a lumpectomy and radiation therapy in a few days time. Life is great until it isn't.

I was in perfect health, and barely 6 months into my full retirement found myself in a situation that could put me 6 feet under (I am OK now). Life has a way of throwing you a curveball when you least expect it.

We travel by different means like RV'ing, fly and drive, and taking cruises. For domestic travel, we have been to most major cities in the US, some multiple times. Now, RV'ing works out well for us to explore the back road and some corners of the country that fly-and-drive travel may not get us there. And in these remote corners, the motorhome is a better place to sleep in than some unknown roadside motels on a road trip.

Ah, the joy of sleeping under the giant redwoods or sequoias of California, or within walking distance to the Bryce Canyon spectacular rocks, or by the ocean in Olympic Park Kalaloch beach, on the shore of the Lawrence River downstream from Niagara Falls, among the volcano rocks of Crater of the Moon National Monument ...

For people who are travelers instead of campers, a small motorhome is better than a big RV. It gives you better mobility. And when you need room to stretch out, there's nothing to prevent you from checking into a hotel or a condo. We have taken 2-month+ long treks in our 25' motorhome (with a towed car for daytrips and excursions), but we also check into rented timeshares for 1-week stays to rest. The motorhome lets us bring more "stuff" and also food provision to let us feel more at home.

 

[bclover]

One piece of advice that I got from here that I do really love is "nothing is set in stone" or at least until you kick the bucket.

As many know, after working 35 years my husband lost his battle with cancer before he made it to 55. NO way in heckdom did I ever think I would be a widow at 52. I am a walking poster child of many regrets.

When we were first married we got an opportunity to spend some time in Portugal and I remember us rushing back to "start our careers". lol and the trips we put off to save for retirement. My 22 year old has an opportunity to study abroad, I'm all but throwing him on the plane but you should hear the comments I get because he won't be 25 with 10K saved for retirement. I'm hoping what he will have will turn out to be much more valuable.

Unfortunately as Alan said, life is great until it isn't and one has no idea when it's going to turn.

Go, enjoy, live.

 

[Senator]

Unfortunately as Alan said, life is great until it isn't and one has no idea when it's going to turn.

Go, enjoy, live.

And when it turns, it often turns fast and never comes back. Sometimes you have a short warning, sometimes not.

 

[ivinsfan]

YMMV, but for us, the window we like being away from home is a max of 4-5 weeks usually in the cold weather. We rent VRBO for a month or so, settle in and live like locals.

It's relatively inexpensive, usually very comfortable and enjoyable. Our taste would be to split the 3-12 months into chunks. To me 3-12 months at a time is more like nomading and just not my cup of tea.

 

[kcowan]

We are age 56 and 59 and in excellent health.
<snip>
Take a set amount of money to travel for 3 - 12 months

If you are interested, you should do overseas travel first. The wear and tear will be higher and require good health.

Local travel would be better as a second phase.

Finally, cruises would be great if you find mobility compromised.

We are doing a bike/barge trip on the Moselle in June as part of 30 days from Amsterdam to Paris.

 

[LARS]

FWIW the study that said biggest regret boomers had was not traveling was paid for by... wait for it... British Airways.

Not saying the conclusion isn't correct, but...


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[Bamaman]

My husband and I have been doing a lot of travel the past 3 years. YOu never know when you won't be able too. We usually go 2x's/year for a month at a time. WE have an RV but we also take cruises and go to Europe. We hate guided tours where they tell you what to do all the time-seems like a special kind of hell)

We too are perpetual travelers. At our campground, we've seen so many people work until they're 65 years old and to quickly come into bad health. It's so sad to see the wives working setting up their campers while the husbands cannot get out of their chairs to do anything.

We're traveling while the getting's good, and have been on 5 major trips in the last 2 years--twice to Europe this year.

We avoid organized tours not because of a lack of control, but because we can take two independent trips for the cost of one tour. And we can take three ocean cruises for the price of one river cruise.

2016 is a turning point for us, and we're trying to slow down our traveling. We're going to stick to our RV for week long trips and stay some at our lake house 20 minutes from home. That's good enough for us.

 

[ivinsfan]

Bamaman,why is 16 a turning point? Are you traveled out, or feel you have done it and want to swap things out? We seem to be turning to one month VRBO car trips and don't enjoying the big trips as much as we used to.

 

[ShortInSeattle]

I like your plan littleb!

We're gearing up to do a lot of travel in our 40s. Probably not full-time travel but taking off for 2-3 months each year.

I like all parts of travel. Planning. Leaving. Traveling. Coming Home too.

SIS

 

[Teacher Terry]

This happened to my Dad too. By the time he was 54 he was too sick to travel. My Mom traveled with friends. We started traveling in our 40's but have really ramped it up now the past few years. Europe takes more physical stamina as many things are not very accessible if you have mobility problems. Our 27 ft RV lets us take all 4 of our dogs so we don't need to leave them behind. WE semi-retired when my hubby was 53 and I was 58. 4 years later we are glad we did.

 

[simple girl]

We have been implementing a similar plan to OP. I was 55 and DW 54 when we retired 6 years ago and every year we have traveled 5 to 7 months / year using mostly VRBO rentals and their overseas equivalents in Europe, Canada and Australia.

I have so enjoyed following your journeys over the years!!! You have certainly made the most of your early retirement!

This time last year I found myself in the ER with a heart problem, which turned out to be A-fib, and this week DW heard from her sister that she has breast cancer and will be having a lumpectomy and radiation therapy in a few days time. Life is great until it isn't.

I am so very sorry to hear this! I'm only on the boards intermittently lately. I hope your heart issue is well controlled now and also hope your SIL finds this to be an ugly bump in the road that she eventually will only see far, far in the mirror!


Death/fear of death is a gift, IMO. It is a great teacher. No one is promised tomorrow. I make an effort to wake up every day and remind myself of that. It helps me appreciate even the mundane things on a daily basis. Living my life like this helps me have less fear that I will have regrets someday about how I have lived my life.

 

[Alan]

I have so enjoyed following your journeys over the years!!! You have certainly made the most of your early retirement!




I am so very sorry to hear this! I'm only on the boards intermittently lately. I hope your heart issue is well controlled now and also hope your SIL finds this to be an ugly bump in the road that she eventually will only see far, far in the mirror!


Death/fear of death is a gift, IMO. It is a great teacher. No one is promised tomorrow. I make an effort to wake up every day and remind myself of that. It helps me appreciate even the mundane things on a daily basis. Living my life like this helps me have less fear that I will have regrets someday about how I have lived my life.

Thank you, we have really really enjoyed our travels, and hopefully my wife's sister will make a full recovery. (An Aunt of hers had a lumpectomy in her 70's and made a full recovery, living well into her 80's)

I don't expect the heart issue to be too much of a limiting factor for now, but my cardio doc says he expects it will get worse as time moves on, particularly once I am past age 65 so we are really pleased to have got in the travel we have so far.

 

[Music Lover]

FWIW the study that said biggest regret boomers had was not traveling was paid for by... wait for it... British Airways.

Not saying the conclusion isn't correct, but...

I'm retiring in a week and it seems that 90% of people then state that it's great that I will now be able to travel on a regular basis. When I tell them that I'm not particularly interested in travel, the next comment is almost always "Well, then what will you do?"

I didn't realize that travel was mandatory...

 

[Bestwifeever]

FWIW the study that said biggest regret boomers had was not traveling was paid for by... wait for it... British Airways.

Not saying the conclusion isn't correct, but...


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

I noticed that in a different story about this study, which also pointed out that not traveling more is the biggest regret... of people who like to travel

We do enjoy traveling and pretty much will go anywhere, any time. It must be very hard to have long-held plans disrupted by illness and death of a beloved partner, and sympathy and condolences to our members who have experienced this. A good friend said having had something to look forward to with his loved one was sad but he still found a measure of happiness that they had had plans, if that makes sense.