What to Buy/Repair/Upgrade BEFORE retiring?

[TheQuestionGuy]

Working on a list to avoid big expenses during retirement.
These are items on this list for this year as we prep for early retirement.

• Purchase accordion store shutters to avoid having to manually put up those steel ones.
• Replace dishwasher which is about 15 years old and rusting.
• Get new springs, wheels and grease hinges for garage door.

Putting off new vehicle. Hoping current one has a few more years.

What items did you address prior to retirement?

 

[COcheesehead]

FYI, get a credit limit increase on your credit cards.
Otherwise I didn’t try and pick off anything in advance other than obvious replacements.

 

[RetiredHappy]

None. We get a new car every 3 to 5 years, so it is just on normal cycle. Home maintenance is always going to be there, so just plan for those lumpy expenses when they come along. You can always have a sinking fund where you set aside $5K to $10K (depending on size / age / type of home) a year for home repairs. Our lumpy expenses are very lumpy, and simply come out of our investment accounts as needed.

 

[MBAustin]

We bought and remodeled our retirement house and I bought a new car before I retired - but all of that was part of our plan long before. I had originally expected to continue w*rking another 4-5 years but realized after covering all of those major expenses that we had enough for me to walk away from the corporate BS for good. YMMV. But RetiredHappy is correct - you will always have "lumpy" expenses so just expect them.

 

[Flyfish1]

We did a huge remodel on our retirement home before we moved in. Added AC , total kitchen rebuild, bathrooms , new paint , landscaping, new deck, new master bedroom suite remodel. New furnace, new hot water heater, new front walkway. Tons of money. Plus, I paid off my truck lease.

 

[jollystomper]

We did some major repairs/renovations that were more likely to be things we should never have to spend on again:
- Replaced and upgraded the roof
- Renovated the bathrooms
- Replaced and repaved the driveway

We had replaced several major appliance about 5 years before I retired, so part of our retirement expense plan was to account for a 10 year replacement cycle - if they lasted more than 10 years, good for us. In retirement we have replaced our washing machine, heat pump, hot water heater, and well pump, but since the expenses were expected and planned for there was no impact on our spending. But we are prepared to replace our other appliances that are now 10+ years old when the time is right.

 

[ls99]

Attitude.

 

[SnowballCamper]

We had our house built for aging in place, so paddle style door handles and faucets, zero threshold shower, etc. I wouldn't preemptively replace any working appliance these days. We've replaced two refrigerators and a gas cooktop since everything was brand new about 8 years ago. Just be prepared for the expense, everything is a thousand dollars these days, or twenty times that.

 

[TheQuestionGuy]

Hmmm, new shower would be nice for list too.
Frame is rusting and the soap film is about an inch thick.

 

[sdtech]

Actually did the opposite. Spent the first two years of retirement remodeling our daughter's and our own house. Did all the labor myself so it was much cheaper than if I had to pay someone while I was still working.

 

[RetiredHappy]

Hmmm, new shower would be nice for list too.
Frame is rusting and the soap film is about an inch thick.

Soap film can be removed... probably by professionals. We don't have soap film problem because we squiggy after a shower and have cleaners every 2 weeks who do a good job in keeping everything clean.

 

[Aerides]

It's always good to stay on top of repairs but...

Don't put them off now because "well I'll do that in a couple years before I retire" - if if needs to be done, just get on with it. If you're holding off replacing a car that is already going downhill, you aren't ready to retire (financially).

Don't think that because you've done them right before retiring that you've somehow reduced your expenses for the next few years. Lumpy expenses have a habit of cropping up when you least expect them, sometimes to the tune of 10's of 1000's per year. That hvac/car/roof/house/remodel/whatever, you thought was your last, rarely is, if you are lucky.

The rest depends on your age.

 

[TripleLindy]

My retirement decision was made over a weekend, so no time to contemplate repairs. I did build a storage shed while contemplating - does that count?

In all seriousness, repairs are going to pop up all the time. Just make sure your retirement budget accommodates them just like your budget did while working. No different other than your income is derived from a different source.

My bigger issue would be making sure you’ve paid off all debt, including your house, ideally.

 

[RetiredHappy]

My bigger issue would be making sure you’ve paid off all debt, including your house, ideally.

Debatable if you have a 2.5% or 2.75% mortgage rate.

 

[TripleLindy]

Debatable if you have a 2.5% or 2.75% mortgage rate.

Understood. It’s a peace of mind thing for me. I remember paying off our mortgage when the balance was mostly principal. Debt is my enemy.

 

[CO-guy]

Hmmm, new shower would be nice for list too.
Frame is rusting and the soap film is about an inch thick.

Is it just the shower frame? You mentioned a dishwasher, but I'd be curious to know how old the fridge is. How old is the stove, the HVAC system, the roof, and the windows? These things have life expectancies and it would be unfortunate to spend the firs few years of retirement with major home maintenance issues.

 

[COcheesehead]

Understood. It’s a peace of mind thing for me. I remember paying off our mortgage when the balance was mostly principal. Debt is my enemy.

Debt is just a tool. You can build yourself up with it or you can pound your finger. All depends on your craftsmanship.

 

[TheQuestionGuy]

Is it just the shower frame? You mentioned a dishwasher, but I'd be curious to know how old the fridge is. How old is the stove, the HVAC system, the roof, and the windows? These things have life expectancies and it would be unfortunate to spend the firs few years of retirement with major home maintenance issues.

Stove and Frig about 5 years.
HVAC replace probably 12 years ago
Roof shingles replaced probably 10 years ago.
Looked into replacing the windows but that was going to be $30k.
I see houses older than mind with the standard plain windows so figure going to let those slide.

 

[Golden Mean]

Understood. It’s a peace of mind thing for me. I remember paying off our mortgage when the balance was mostly principal. Debt is my enemy.

Debt is just a tool. You can build yourself up with it or you can pound your finger. All depends on your craftsmanship.

I agree. I would rather have 300k+ sitting in the market and pay 4% on a loan than "own" my house.

So my advice of something to do before retirement is to get a mortgage if it's your plan to buy soon. It's much harder to get a home loan without income, even with significant assets.


P.S. Woot! I finally figured out how to nest quotes in this new(er) forum software. a) Click the 3 dots "More Options" on the top right of the text box window (i.e. the tool/box you are going to type your reply into). b) Click the two brackets "Toggle BB Code". Then you can cut and paste a quote within the body of another reply. c) Click the two brackets again to see the format of the text you just changed.

 

[Onda]

Upgrade what needs to be upgraded so the house/condo can safely sit empty when you travel. That means good insulation, a reliable heating system, backup heat, leak prevention, updated plumbing shutoffs, and electrical systems you trust.

 

[Onda]

Debatable if you have a 2.5% or 2.75% mortgage rate.

But it still requires higher monthly cash flow to cover that mortgage payment, and many retirees value lower fixed expenses more than maximizing theoretical returns. A low rate looks great on paper, but peace of mind from fewer mandatory payments can matter just as much

 

[RetiredHappy]

But it still requires higher monthly cash flow to cover that mortgage payment, and many retirees value lower fixed expenses more than maximizing theoretical returns. A low rate looks great on paper, but peace of mind from fewer mandatory payments can matter just as much

Like what I had said, debatable. Take that lump sum and put in a MYGA, and it pays double the mortgage interest rate.

 

[gman57]

Nothing, why fix what may not be broke. Just add 7k-10k to your yearly retirement budget. Over the years that's what you'll add via the new car, new roof, new boat, other big ticket items. Example: new 50k car over 10 years adds 5k/year to your budget.

 

[COcheesehead]

Like what I had said, debatable. Take that lump sum and put in a MYGA, and it pays double the mortgage interest rate.

I did mortgage arbitrage for years and we basically lived in our house for free. Earning almost double our mortgage rate.
We love our new home, but it came at the cost of getting rid of the sweet low interest rate mortgage because the mortgage market has changed from where it was and the opportunity to over earn your mortgage, in a low risk way, just doesn’t exist anymore.
We are debt free, but having your money work for you is also a big advantage.

 

[YellowSubmarine]

Working on a list to avoid big expenses during retirement.
These are items on this list for this year as we prep for early retirement.

• Purchase accordion store shutters to avoid having to manually put up those steel ones.
• Replace dishwasher which is about 15 years old and rusting.
• Get new springs, wheels and grease hinges for garage door.

Putting off new vehicle. Hoping current one has a few more years.

What items did you address prior to retirement?

Carry no debt into retirement. That will cover most concerns.
We got our suburban home ready for sale, e.g. resand/finish the hardwood floors and donated so much stuff as we decluttered 27 years of inventory. Property taxes in Columbus were unwarranted with no school aged children. It was time to move on.