Hello, my name is Susan, coming to you live from shaky Southern California…I’ve been lurking around for a couple of months and have decided to throw my two cents in…
I’m planning on retiring in about a year and a half at 55, although my better half will be retiring in about 7 years, give or take a few, depending on how his company is doing financially.
I am somewhat perplexed how so many of you can live on what you do…in San Diego, the cost of living is out of control. We spend about $6,000 per month for expenses and that does not include traveling, which we have decided to cut out altogether, does not include a car payment or a housekeeper. I realize that we could easily cut down our expenses by about $1,000/mo when I retire, but that’s still $5,000 per month, or about $2,500-$3,000 for me (yes, I spend more than my partner).
When I retire January 31, 2010, I will be receiving about $40,000 per year in income; however, that is pretaxed; I may have a “small business” on the side just to make sure that my taxes are very low; however, I don’t plan on spending a lot of time at it.
I know, stop complaining, living in paradise; but the real question is: how did you psychologically go from paying for what you wanted, to trying to live on a tight budget month after month after month?
I’m planning on retiring in about a year and a half at 55, although my better half will be retiring in about 7 years, give or take a few, depending on how his company is doing financially.
I am somewhat perplexed how so many of you can live on what you do…in San Diego, the cost of living is out of control. We spend about $6,000 per month for expenses and that does not include traveling, which we have decided to cut out altogether, does not include a car payment or a housekeeper. I realize that we could easily cut down our expenses by about $1,000/mo when I retire, but that’s still $5,000 per month, or about $2,500-$3,000 for me (yes, I spend more than my partner).
When I retire January 31, 2010, I will be receiving about $40,000 per year in income; however, that is pretaxed; I may have a “small business” on the side just to make sure that my taxes are very low; however, I don’t plan on spending a lot of time at it.
I know, stop complaining, living in paradise; but the real question is: how did you psychologically go from paying for what you wanted, to trying to live on a tight budget month after month after month?