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Old 12-12-2016, 11:09 AM   #61
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Been reading along the whole time..

I formally retired when I was 58, I'm now 66. When I retired I did it with a wad from my employer, 401 and match, company stock option and cash payout that I invested privately and did well.

SS pays all my bills and if I need funds for say, a new car, I go to my IRA and withdraw it. Not into payments and I learned a long time ago that cash is king in negotiating the best price on whole goods.

My wife retired a year ago (Federal employee) so we carry government employees healthcare as well as Medicare. No health related bills whatsoever.

The only debt I have is rental properties and that pays for itself and then some.

Farm is paid off...
Vehicles and RV are paid for
Up North property is lien free
Farm equipment is almost paid off (thats a deductible business expense)

If I want something, I buy it. I have exactly one credit card and all my purchases, minus cash ones go on that card and it's a 'rewards' card so I get 'rewarded' for using it.

No issues here other than RE taxes and utilities, all easily manageable.

Life is grand. I would have retired sooner but the company I worked for had a 55 1/2 requirement.

Too bad those days are gone for the younger set. No early retirement for them.
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Old 12-12-2016, 01:20 PM   #62
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ependydad View Post
I've hit a point in my life that I'm thinking of sweet sweet retirement OR at least cutting back so we can live off of less and so that I can work less.


Does anyone have reading suggestions/recommendations?
Not sure if you've come across this blog before or not:

Wheeling It – Living the Fulltime RV Dream with 12 Paws, 40 Feet and the Open Road

But I enjoy reading it - its a couple who full time in their MH. I got reading originally because it had some interesting info on boondocking. Nina writes the RV blog and her husband, Paul writes his an investing blog:

Investing For A Living | The path to worry free investing

I really like some of his tips / techniques. Worth a read, since they tie the RV lifestyle together with saving & investing to pay for it. Now, they don't have kids, so that changes some things, but still a good read. And, of course, you have to build up a significant savings to live off investments, but a lot of his ideas are worth a look even for smaller investments.

Can definitely relate to the thoughts behind creating this thread. My wife and I have reached the point where its more about having time (and financial freedom) than about having stuff. We've really shifted our focus to getting rid of debt and building savings so we can do what we want.
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Old 01-23-2017, 06:00 PM   #63
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We are fans of Dave Ramsey. I was debt free except my house when the IRS hit me with a garnishment because they thought I had over claimed mortgage interest. If it wasn't for the 3 month emergency plan and a meager AF retirement, I would have lost my home. Took 3 years to convince them that I had legit 1098s from one of the many mortgage companies that pull up stakes with the housing bust. My now husband had been widowed only to learn the real depth of his late wife's spending. He had already paid off a large chunk when we met, and after getting married, we were able to jointly attack the debt.
I lost my job in 2012, but wasn't forced to accept the first thing that came around. That's what being debt free of consumer debt meant for us. We are still grinding out two mortgages, each with a second, but my house is starting to bob above water, so it will go on the market within the next year.
OK, that's kind of a long-winded testimonial to the power of not living off credit. I listen to the Dave Ramsey podcasts. He does a three hour show weekdays, and the podcasts are free.
While you are on your journey, it's important to get the kids involved. They don't need to know the minutiae of your finances, but a general understanding about why this is important to the family unit is vital. It's also important for you and your wife to be on the same page. You need the same why to work together. Talk about what you can do once you reach that debt-free stage. I know you have a strong marriage, you've lived in that 5th wheel for nearly two years without killing each other. A lot of Dave's fans say working the plan, equal say in the budget, common goals, communication all brought their marriages to a higher level.


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Old 01-23-2017, 06:45 PM   #64
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These audio books changed our lives:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0175P82RA...ng=UTF8&btkr=1
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Old 01-24-2017, 12:31 AM   #65
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Originally Posted by ependydad View Post
Does anyone have reading suggestions/recommendations?
At one point in my life I had over $30K in consumer debt, having used credit cards to finance a DIY major home renovation. By focusing on payoff and flipping 0% cash advances, we got it paid off in a few years with minimal interest paid. That was in a period of looser credit (no-cost cash advances) but the principal remains the same.

Suggestions:

YNAB (You Need A Budget) to help you get your spending under control. I use it and recommend it highly. $5/month subscription, no obligation, free trial. The vendor is very supportive of new users with little budget experience. Free live online workshops where you can ask personal questions by phone or chat. You don't have to be a subscriber to participate. You can take the classes repeatedly and ask different questions.

Bogleheads.org forums for investment and personal finance advice from smart, successful people, many of whom have been in your shoes. Be prepared to bare your financial soul if you want to get anything meaningful out of it. If you do, the advice will be specific and personalized. You can also lurk and learn from other people baring their souls. They also have a useful wiki.

Undebt.it to help you develop a debt pay-down plan. Free for basic snowball/avalanche plans. $12/year for more options. (There are free alternatives like spreadsheets and other tools if you search the web.)

As to the different debt payoff methods, the "snowball" and "avalanche" approaches serve different people's personal needs. Snowball is good for those who need to see accounts disappear to feel they're making progress. Avalanche is for those who want to use their dollars most efficiently in getting out of debt and don't need immediate gratification.

Personally, I'd use a combination of the two if I had a few smaller debts along with bigger debts and could pay off the small ones quickly, regardless of interest rate. I wouldn't waste much time at that but it might feel good to kill one or two first. Also, the minimum payments would be freed up to apply to other larger debts, highest interest rate first.

Transferring debt from high-interest accounts to lower-interest accounts can help reduce overall costs, if the transfer fee doesn't make it more costly than it's worth. If you consider a 0% transfer, do that only if you're certain you can pay off the 0% debt before the teaser rate expires. Build that into your plan.

Good luck. You can get out of debt. You do have to live within your means, but don't let occasional setbacks stop you.
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Old 01-24-2017, 12:44 AM   #66
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Texan79423 View Post
Debt free is impossible. ...
I disagree but a prudent amount of debt can improve both your current and future standard of living with minimal financial risk.
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Old 01-24-2017, 12:55 AM   #67
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What I did was take a look at what I could reasonably expect to take in a year in retirement (Social Security, Work Pension, and an annual sustainable 401K withdrawal - 3% of principle remaining on January 1st of each year as a single distribution).

Then 3 years before we retired, my wife and I tried to live on that amount for those 3 years.
That's a good idea. We have another year before both college kids are off the payroll. We can start living on our estimated retirement income after that to see if it will work. If not, we'll adjust our retirement date plans or and/or lifestyle expectations.

I have another year of so of work after the kids are out, depending on how long it takes me to pay off the fancy new truck. That will be outside our simulated retirement budget, since we wouldn't have to pay it in retirement.

Once the truck is paid off the only remaining debt is a 15 year mortgage. It's a modest payment but not reasonable to think we can pay if off before retirement. I consider a fixed-rate mortgage to be a hedge against inflation, anyway.
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RV: 2020 Rockwood Mini-Lite 2507S, Propride 3P hitch w/ 1400# spring bars

Camping nights: 2021, 52; 2022, 99; 2023, 88; 2024, TBD (Est: 80+)

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Old 01-27-2017, 10:17 AM   #68
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I would have been hard to retire before age 65 due to health insurance. My company, I was the CEO and worked there for 38 years. I have $1,300,000 in retirement account and SS of $3,450 per month, wife and I. But with no help on health insurance after you retire, I would be hard, very hard.
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