Article - 35% of Millionaires won't be able to retire

[Samsung4321]

The problem is after so many trips originating from home, I have exhausted most of the interesting points along the way

I see aerodromes with fields of RVs parked nearby waiting for owners to fly in.

 

[RetireBy90]

For me the point of it all is to LBYM and become FI. If you want to extend working past the FI point that is what is important, what you want to do. We fought the spending extra dollars that came in and saved them but still enjoyed ourselves. We do spend on some nice things and also stay on base when we can with little amenities. But we have the choice to do either. Just one voice.

 

[marko]

One of the more pleasant surprises of travelling business class was the ability to use the fancy lounges (United Polaris lounges and the equivalent Lufthansa and Royal Jordanian ones in Frankfurt and Amman). The best was our last. On the way home, we had a five hour layover at OHare and spent it in the United Polaris lounge. After over 17 hours of travelling from Amman, it was grand to be able to take a long hot shower, shave and change into clean clothes, and then enjoy a good meal and a couple glasses of wine while we waited for our plane to Hartford.

There you go! And a lot of them are able to let you board directly from the lounge via a separate airplane door, avoiding the crowd and chaos at the gate. (Nothing quite like getting to your seat with a glass of Scotch from the lounge in your hand)

After logging over 4 million air miles, I can say that there are more perks to an up-front seat than just the seat. (some places even have a VIP TSA security checkpoint hidden in a separate area)

If you're going to travel, concede to your age, get a Town Car to the airport, fly up front, tip the guy to handle your luggage, and don’t try to do it like your college days....it just doesn’t work.

If you don't fly First/Business, your heirs will.

 

[explanade]

When I worked, I managed to do 4 one-week international trips, especially towards the last years of my job when I would accrue a month of vacation a year.

It was good for doing city trips, get aquatinted with them, maybe a few day trips and it let me maintain FF status.

So once in awhile, I redeemed miles for business class tickets.

Now in retirement, particularly the last few years, I've just been buying business class tickets outright. Before the pandemic, you could find business class tickets to Europe for $1800-2500. Sometimes I'd have to buy business class tickets to London and then buy a separate ticket to France or Italy.

Most of the time, the cheapest biz fares are $3700-4300 or so. Most I paid for a fare was like $5300 to Australia.

I earned the highest tier on United this year and have a bunch of Plus Points, which you can use to upgrade to higher classes. But the story is that there are so many elites with PPs that it's difficult to get upgrades, especially out of a hub like SFO.

So I'm pondering buying Premium Economy tickets and using the PPs to get upgraded to business.

I do about 4 international trips, most of them 2-3 weeks. Obviously I could combine two of them and stay 1-2 months in Europe and move around. But have some responsibilities back home and I like returning to routine, as much as taking these trips to break up routine.

I've dealt with having my luggage delayed, getting sick, missing flights, long flight delays. Still haven't dissuaded me from traveling less.

Maybe take up other pursuits to BTD ...

 

[NW-Bound]

Hmmm... Look how the market is going down.

Have you looked at the drop of your stash today?

How many business-class tickets to Sydney would that buy?

 

[daylatedollarshort]

We thought we would downsize and travel in retirement but haven't felt the urge. We live well on about half our income so could spend the rest on travel, but I'd rather save it or give it to our kids. We live in a place with nice weather most of the year and a lot to do without having to travel or spend a fortune, and so far that has kept us entertained. We can take a ferry to Sausalito for lunch, catch a play in the city, hike in a Redwood park or go wine tasting in Napa and not have to pack or stand in a TSA line, or spend a fortune, since we watch for specials and discounts, so that is the kind of stuff we do most weeks.

 

[Car-Guy]

Hmmm... Look how the market is going down.

Have you looked at the drop of your stash today?

How many business-class tickets to Sydney would that buy?

Look at it this way, it's better that the market drops like a rock than the plane.

Actually I'm buying today... Stocks not tickets.

 

[marko]

Hmmm... Look how the market is going down.

Have you looked at the drop of your stash today?

How many business-class tickets to Sydney would that buy?

Share prices go up, share prices go down,
but the dividend per share
--which pays for that airfare (and everything else)--
comes in the same,
year after year.

MF year-end dividends start next week.

 

[NW-Bound]

Share prices go up, share prices go down,
but the dividend per share
--which pays for that airfare (and everything else)--
comes in the same,
year after year.

MF year-end dividends start next week.

Hey, I like to be reminded of that.

I have to bring up Quicken to look at its report again. The total dividend and interest in the trailing 12 months is more than what I spent, and that does not even include SS.

Still, to reduce the pain when I finally gather the courage to upgrade from premium economy to business class, I still sell covered call options to make some extra, just to be safe.

Earlier today before the market tanked badly, I managed to sell some options on my stronger stocks that had not sunk along with the rest. Made $976 cash today. Well, that's before the trading fees of $6 or so.

 

[explanade]

For Feb or March, still in their peak season, it's around $8k and up.

Australia was relatively late to open back up for travel so there's a lot of demand though even before the pandemic, these were typical prices.

NZ is in the same boat, though seems a bit less.

 

[DrRoy]

How long were you gone?

After spending 1 month in northern Italy, we both decided that doing that once per year was plenty. In the past, we took European trips as long as 6 weeks.

When RV'ing, we could be gone for 1-1/2 to 2 months.

Two weeks for CA and a Mexico cruise, 5 weeks in TX and NM, 3 weeks for a Viking Danube cruise and extra time in Italy, 3 weeks in WA, and 2 weeks for NM again and CO.

 

[NW-Bound]

Two weeks for CA and a Mexico cruise, 5 weeks in TX and NM, 3 weeks for a Viking Danube cruise and extra time in Italy, 3 weeks in WA, and 2 weeks for NM again and CO.

I counted 15 weeks for $40K of expenses, as you mentioned.

This year, I travel for 5 weeks, 4 weeks in France/Italy and 1 week in Texas, all self-guided fly-and-drive with a rental car. Expenses: $14K.

We cannot travel more than that in a year, even though we can afford it.

 

[SJhawkins]

Is that not true with any air travel, unless one enjoys the layout and decor of different airports?

RV'ing is different, because I stop along the way to explore. The problem is after so many trips originating from home, I have exhausted most of the interesting points along the way, and have to go quite further out to get something new.

The whole airport flying thing I'm mosty over with and I'm still a few years out from retirement!

The best part about the RV/camper thing, having your own bathroom, priceless! Second best part, your own bed! Those were the best parts I recall from having a travel trailer.

 

[Samsung4321]

We cannot travel more than that in a year, even though we can afford it.

Travelling from Aus is such a pain due to the time in airports and aeroplanes that it is better to spend 3 months away at a time. Leaving house and garden in care of neighbours becomes a consideration.

 

[Samsung4321]

The best part about the RV/camper thing, having your own bathroom, priceless! Second best part, your own bed!

Aus seems to have more "Vacation Rentals", often at fair prices off season:

https://eurobodalla.com.au/accommodation/self-contained/

 

[NW-Bound]

The whole airport flying thing I'm mosty over with and I'm still a few years out from retirement!

The best part about the RV/camper thing, having your own bathroom, priceless! Second best part, your own bed! Those were the best parts I recall from having a travel trailer.

About RV'ing, yes. However, when one gets older, driving becomes a chore too.

When I first picked up RV'ing in 2012, I had never camped in my life, let alone owning any camper or motorhome. So, I surfed the Web to read as much about this activity as I could. What are the pitfalls? What rig maintenance to expect? Where to stay? What to go see?

I followed quite a few RV blogs, particularly of full-timers, and most of them seemed to get tired after a few years and dropped back to a fixed home, some only after 1 or 2 years.

 

[RobbieB]

I'm into a fixed home and a boat that we can sleep in.

 

[DrRoy]

Two weeks for CA and a Mexico cruise, 5 weeks in TX and NM, 3 weeks for a Viking Danube cruise and extra time in Italy, 3 weeks in WA, and 2 weeks for NM again and CO.

I counted 15 weeks for $40K of expenses, as you mentioned.

This year, I travel for 5 weeks, 4 weeks in France/Italy and 1 week in Texas, all self-guided fly-and-drive with a rental car. Expenses: $14K.

We cannot travel more than that in a year, even though we can afford it.

We actually spent a little over $50K. It was a Covid catch-up year, as several things that were postponed came through. It was actually more travel than we prefer. The WA trip was unusual as we usually never take a trip in the middle of summer, but that is the low rain season for WA and I do landscape photography most places that we go.

 

[frank]

+1

All that more spending would do for me is either:

1) give me more *STUFF* to maintain and clean, or else
2) drag me away from my beloved Dream Home to travel to some place I'd less rather be, or
3) force me to endure experiences I wouldn't like very much, or
4) something along those lines.

+1

 

[Time2]

I have never spent that much in a year in my life. I will spend $12,XXX this year and I could have spent less. $40K/yr would be livin' large by my standards.

I live in a small town in Wisconsin. Paid off house, single, no kids or pets.

I don't know how you do it!
I also have a paid off home, no pets, and a frugal wife. Some spending on live at home son.
My yearly mostly fixed costs are $44k. And I probably missed some.

$2.667 Housing insurance- Includes an extra property
$1,222 Car insurance- 3 vehicles
$12,305 Health insurance- 2 people
$2,430 Property Tax- Home plus second property
$220 Auto Plates- 3 Vehicles
$2,811 Electric
$1,200 Water, Sewer, garbage
$12,079 Credit card- Covers fuel, food, etc. 3 people eating, spending on son
$600 Internet
$600 Cellphone
$6,000 Taxes

$44,001 TOTAL

 

[CaliKid]

They literally had an article just a couple of days ago stating people might be saving too much for retirement.

Yes, the that was done by the retailer stores of America organization. Lol.

 

[NW-Bound]

I don't know how you do it!
I also have a paid off home, no pets, and a frugal wife. Some spending on live at home son.
My yearly mostly fixed costs are $44k. And I probably missed some.

$2.667 Housing insurance- Includes an extra property
$1,222 Car insurance- 3 vehicles
$12,305 Health insurance- 2 people
$2,430 Property Tax- Home plus second property
$220 Auto Plates- 3 Vehicles
$2,811 Electric
$1,200 Water, Sewer, garbage
$12,079 Credit card- Covers fuel, food, etc. 3 people eating, spending on son
$600 Internet
$600 Cellphone
$6,000 Taxes

$44,001 TOTAL

Aaron has an uncommon budget.

But for people who have no mortgage, no car payments, no debts, and who do not have expensive hobbies or habits, and who do not travel, don't have extensive repair or remodeling work on their house, what do they spend money on?

One can only eat/drink so much, unless he drinks Louis XIII Cognac and eats imported Kobe beef each day. If you are into shopping Hermès goods and collecting Ferraris, then the sky is the limit.

 

[Time2]

Aaron has an uncommon budget.

But for people who have no mortgage, no car payments, no debts, and who do not have expensive hobbies or habits, and who do not travel, don't have extensive repair or remodeling work on their house, what do they spend money on?

I posted what about 70% of money income is spent on. We are in a position to spend much more, but don't have any great wants. I will get my son into a house one way or another, hopefully after we start SS in 2.25 years. We spent a lot of money on one child for a medical education and think we need to play catch up with the other. But, I want to wait until I have maximized Roths, before SS income.

 

[Music Lover]

But for people who have no mortgage, no car payments, no debts, and who do not have expensive hobbies or habits, and who do not travel, don't have extensive repair or remodeling work on their house, what do they spend money on?

I'm in that group. I also replaced my own roof two years ago, it cost $2000 for 30-year shingles and other material and a dumpster rental. A new hot water tank cost about $500 four years ago.

 

[aaronc879]

I don't know how you do it!
I also have a paid off home, no pets, and a frugal wife. Some spending on live at home son.
My yearly mostly fixed costs are $44k. And I probably missed some.

$2.667 Housing insurance- Includes an extra property
$1,222 Car insurance- 3 vehicles
$12,305 Health insurance- 2 people
$2,430 Property Tax- Home plus second property
$220 Auto Plates- 3 Vehicles
$2,811 Electric
$1,200 Water, Sewer, garbage
$12,079 Credit card- Covers fuel, food, etc. 3 people eating, spending on son
$600 Internet
$600 Cellphone
$6,000 Taxes

$44,001 TOTAL

My property tax is higher than yours as is my internet but I didn't spend a penny on healthcare or taxes is 2022. The stuff on your credit card category that you spent $12K+ on I spent maybe $2500 on but that is for one person while you are paying for 3.