April Fool
Dryer sheet wannabe
Hi everyone:
My name is Carla and I plan to retire at the end of December 2011. I am 59 (nearly 60). I’ve been lurking on this forum for the past five years when I thought I would be retiring early. My workplace has a thirty and out policy so you can retire at any age. I was hell-bent on retiring at that thirty year mark. I never dreamed that there was anything anyone could say to make me change my mind. And then something happened. I found this forum.
I was in for a rude awakening. I did not have enough money! (I probably still don’t but oh well). Ready or not here I come! (or go?) I was struck by how much many of you have accomplished and felt a mixture of embarrassment and envy that I had not done as well. I, personally, have never made a lot of money so that goal of having at least a million to retire on has never been a reality for me.
Because of you and your wisdom, my reality looks a whole lot better than it could have. Thanks to you, I delayed my retirement for five more years and will have 35 years of service. Those five years just breezed by. It has made a huge, huge difference in my retirement pay and other accounts. I took some advice learned here and saved more money; changed a few other things and now I can retire, not in luxury, but can retire without fear. I least I think so and I do understand I don't have a lot of money but I think I can do this. Please tell me if I’m wrong and if not what I should be doing (anything except working longer. If I have to drag myself into that office another year, I going to flip out and that’s real).
I will have a lifetime monthly retirement check of $3,100 with a 3% yearly cola, After taxes and health insurance, I think I should have about $2,100. My husband gets a SS check of only $1000. We get about $1,300 for two rentals. To cover maintenance, insurance and property taxes on the rentals and my home, I plan to put the $1000 SS away in a separate account to cover it.
My expenses, if I pay my house off , will be at most $2000. I have no debt except my mortgage. I owe $19,000 more on it, at 3.1% interest. I wonder if I should pay it off. If not, that will add $382 more a month to my expenses.
So at present we can live only off my pension (excluding large purchases). I do have about $250K in 403 b Accounts, 250K In real estate, 50K in the bank which is earning me practically nothing. I keeping thinking I should move some somewhere else but have no idea where and how much. I do have the option of moving money into my existing 403b account. I have not done so as I was looking for something safe that pays more than the 3% I am now getting. There is another company offering me 4% but that's another discussion.
I also have a small, very part-time Ebay business which earns me about 500 to $1000+ a month (another tip I picked up here five years ago to help earn money towards my retirement.) When I retire, I’m pretty sure I’m going to give that up—too much work. But if I need money that will be an option.
Again, you have my sincere thanks. Sometimes people on forums do not truly comprehend the difference or impact they can make in a life. You helped me (a lurker) when I was about to probably make the biggest mistake of my life.
PS: Please excuse any grammatical errors in this post.
Carla.
My name is Carla and I plan to retire at the end of December 2011. I am 59 (nearly 60). I’ve been lurking on this forum for the past five years when I thought I would be retiring early. My workplace has a thirty and out policy so you can retire at any age. I was hell-bent on retiring at that thirty year mark. I never dreamed that there was anything anyone could say to make me change my mind. And then something happened. I found this forum.
I was in for a rude awakening. I did not have enough money! (I probably still don’t but oh well). Ready or not here I come! (or go?) I was struck by how much many of you have accomplished and felt a mixture of embarrassment and envy that I had not done as well. I, personally, have never made a lot of money so that goal of having at least a million to retire on has never been a reality for me.
Because of you and your wisdom, my reality looks a whole lot better than it could have. Thanks to you, I delayed my retirement for five more years and will have 35 years of service. Those five years just breezed by. It has made a huge, huge difference in my retirement pay and other accounts. I took some advice learned here and saved more money; changed a few other things and now I can retire, not in luxury, but can retire without fear. I least I think so and I do understand I don't have a lot of money but I think I can do this. Please tell me if I’m wrong and if not what I should be doing (anything except working longer. If I have to drag myself into that office another year, I going to flip out and that’s real).
I will have a lifetime monthly retirement check of $3,100 with a 3% yearly cola, After taxes and health insurance, I think I should have about $2,100. My husband gets a SS check of only $1000. We get about $1,300 for two rentals. To cover maintenance, insurance and property taxes on the rentals and my home, I plan to put the $1000 SS away in a separate account to cover it.
My expenses, if I pay my house off , will be at most $2000. I have no debt except my mortgage. I owe $19,000 more on it, at 3.1% interest. I wonder if I should pay it off. If not, that will add $382 more a month to my expenses.
So at present we can live only off my pension (excluding large purchases). I do have about $250K in 403 b Accounts, 250K In real estate, 50K in the bank which is earning me practically nothing. I keeping thinking I should move some somewhere else but have no idea where and how much. I do have the option of moving money into my existing 403b account. I have not done so as I was looking for something safe that pays more than the 3% I am now getting. There is another company offering me 4% but that's another discussion.
I also have a small, very part-time Ebay business which earns me about 500 to $1000+ a month (another tip I picked up here five years ago to help earn money towards my retirement.) When I retire, I’m pretty sure I’m going to give that up—too much work. But if I need money that will be an option.
Again, you have my sincere thanks. Sometimes people on forums do not truly comprehend the difference or impact they can make in a life. You helped me (a lurker) when I was about to probably make the biggest mistake of my life.
PS: Please excuse any grammatical errors in this post.
Carla.
