Planning for retirement

[mizzou22]

How detailed are ya'll in your retirement planning? - and I'm not talkin about the financial details. I'm talkin about the living details. The country, the state, the town, the house, the travelling, etc. Is it too early to start planing those things?

If ya'll have started making those plans I'd love to hear them. Share.

[Robert the Red]

We're just starting to think about them.* Figure on retiring in 6 years.* Live in the DC area, but would like to move back to the mountain West.* Am thinking of Salida CO (where my sister lives), but although it is pretty it is kind of isolated.* Also thinking of Warsaw Poland for part of the year (wife is from there).* Am thinking of 2 small places to live, but have to decide between 3: the US West, Washington DC, and Warsaw.

As far as traveling, we figure on a few trips a year (besides commuting).* We travel pretty light and inexpensive. Warsaw would be our hub for European travel, and (if the Mideast calms down) travel to Egypt, Jordan, etc.* Colorado for hiking and skiing.* But Washington has most of our friends.

Maybe would tutor math in local schools (wife and I are both PhD applied mathematicians) or community colleges, for some 'fun'.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mizzou22 How detailed are ya'll in your retirement planning? - and I'm not talkin about the financial details.* I'm talkin about the living details.* Is it too early to start planing those things?

Many of us are retired engineers or obsessive-compulsive extremely thorough planners. There's no such thing as too many details. In fact some are such detailed planners that they'll never get around to the FI or RE parts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mizzou22 If ya'll have started making those plans I'd love to hear them. Share.

We already have, you're just late to the party. You don't have to wait for us... just search the old posts for keywords like "location", "country", "RV", "travel", and so on.

[REWahoo]

I realize this thread is more about the "fun" part of retirement planning but part of the drill for those of us retiring in situ is usually making sure you get everything ship-shape around the house while you still have a paycheck coming in. I thought was pretty dilligent about doing so, looking at all the appliances and systems at the house, and going ahead and replacing anything that looked like it was questionable to go another year or more. We replaced the refrigerator and computer and bought a new big screen HDTV prior to pulling the plug.

In the best tradition of Murphy's law, here's the score so far in the 10 months since retiring:

- Replaced the diswasher
- Replaced the microwave
- Replaced the water softener
- Repaired the heat pump (still under parts & labor waranty, phew!)
- Had the septic system pumped

Plan all you want, and I wish you the best of luck. :P

[peggy]

DH and I are planning to retire within the next five years. (Meaning: December 31, 2010 is our target date, but there are a couple of factors that could move the date up some.)

We already know the area where we want to retire and have been visiting it on vacation for the last few years, even went house-hunting two years ago. With the equity from our current house, we expect to not have a mortgage, or to have a ridiculously small one.

We've talked about trips we want to take, and have ranked them in order of interest or priority.

As for day-to-day living, we both have hobbies and interests that we want to devote more time to, and we've discussed taking part-time, low-stress jobs strictly for the benefits (i.e., bookstore employees generally get a significant discount, and both DH and I are avid readers), but that's not set in stone.

So we're making general plans, nothing specific. We'll adapt and adjust as it gets closer to time.

[brewer12345]

I think it depends on how far you are from the magic date. DW and I are minimum 8 years away, so we have not spent a lot of time planning out the specifics. I have some hazy notions of setting up a financial planning practice part time, travelling more, and possibly buying a second home in CO or NM at some point, but that's about it. When we are closer to the day, it will be a little easier to see what life will be like.

[kat]

Well, being self-employed I keep fudging it a bit, whether I'm already RE, or just catching up on billing, or just biding my time before I jump back in.

I discovered some things that work for me and might not be transferrable or applicable somewhere else....

My region, a river valley in some beautiful mountains in New York, rarely sees bubbles or busts in any part of the economy. With that moderation, and my LBYM instincts, I paid off my mortgage four years after buying my house when I was 30. I recently discovered the joys of using my parents' second home as my own getaway place, which they like me to do. My other needs are modest by nature. I love to travel abroad but seem to need three years in between before I make more plans, and the money is secondary. It's all pretty easy.

Only recently it's dawned on me the future will be even easier financially with a couple aces in the hole.... a trust my parents' created, and the option to sell my house. So I've tried using FireCalc differently, trying on the reality that this might be as "tough" as it gets. It feels sacrilegious somehow.

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kate My region, a river valley in some beautiful mountains in New York,

kate, where in NY are you?

[kat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 kate, where in NY are you?

Eastern upstate, if you use NYC as the reference as the whole state seems to do. But closer to NYC than the Canadian border if you're using a map; hugging the Hudson.

My region seems to survive the busts better than other areas of upstate, with water to sell and taking in garbage and some "tech valley" boasting. (Did you hear they're using windmills in some places in NY now, for energy? And Saratoga has some new ways to promote gambling.....)

Where are you?

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kate Eastern upstate, if you use NYC as the reference as the whole state seems to do.* But closer to NYC than the Canadian border if you're using a map;* hugging the Hudson. My region seems to survive the busts better than other areas of upstate, with water to sell and taking in garbage and some "tech valley" boasting.* (Did you hear they're using windmills in some places in NY now, for energy?* And Saratoga has some new ways to promote gambling.....) Where are you?

I'm in Monmouth County, NJ (home of the most corrupt local politicians in the US), but I grew up in Queens and have friends who live in Oneonta. I think upstate is beautiful, although I don't get there as often as I 'd like. You are east of the Catskills, I presume? Up toward Albany?

[kat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 I'm in Monmouth County, NJ (home of the most corrupt local politicians in the US), but I grew up in Queens and have friends who live in Oneonta. I think upstate is beautiful, although I don't get there as often as I 'd like. You are east of the Catskills, I presume? Up toward Albany?

That's right! Just about every Thursday I head up to the Adirondacks for a great hike with friends, wine and poetry on the summit, a long relaxed barbecue later. Being self employed is good!! (But they're off being ski bums until after the grass shows :.)

[yakers]

My wife & I had some detailed plans and some dreams. She is 58 and retiring in a few weeks. I am 55 and expect to work about 18 months more. We have one son still at home in high school so that is a key part of our life and financial issues. If he gets a scholarship or goes to a cheap school then I'm probably done with work. We had hoped to travel extensively including working for Habitat for Humanity or the Heifer Project overseas for a while. I also have this dream about living on a canal boat in England for a year. Then our first grandchild arrived and now my wife wants to stick closer to home.
Financial plans are in a spread sheet, travel plans in our head and dreams in our heart.

[kat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by yakers Financial plans are in a spread sheet, travel plans in our head and dreams in our heart.

Nice!

[Sarah in SC]

Oh I love that Heifer International project! I want to work in logistics for disaster relief in Central America/West Indies/hurricane alley, but I know it will have to wait until DH can go with me--he hates for me to travel alone without him. I'd love to work with the chicken program they have at Heifer, though. So many great organizations out there!
We have lots of "spreadsheet dreams" as well.

[Momtwo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kate That's right!* *Just about every Thursday I head up to the Adirondacks for a great hike with friends, wine and poetry on the summit, a long relaxed barbecue later.* Being self employed is good!!* (But they're off being ski bums until after the grass shows* :.)

Pretty area! Clifton Park was my hometown. We left there 5 years ago for the sunny SW. NY's gloomy weather, snowy, cold winters and high taxes were the main reasons for leaving.