I’m trying so hard not to laugh. Vince is so serious. He’s taking all this retirement planning so seriously. I figure at this point . . it is what it is and there’s not much we do to change anything. He’s calculated and re-calculated. He keeps emailing me cash flow charts and spreadsheets. If everything is fixed when he retires . . . then it is what it is, right? Am I missing something? The only thing we can really change is when to start taking social security and how much we spend.
Vince: If I wait til I’m 68 to start taking Social Security, this is how much we’ll get.
Me: I think we should plant the elderberries where we tried to grow blueberries.
Vince: But, if I wait til I’m 69, this is what we’ll get.
Me: They need lots of organic matter. Good thing we get plenty of rabbit pop.
Vince: Before I start taking social security, we’ll have to take some money out of savings.
Me: We’ll need to put bird netting over the elderberries to keep the birds out.
Later . .
Vince: What year did you say you were going to start taking Social Security?
Me: Whenever you tell me to!
Vince: No, we talked about it . .
Me: I don’t remember
Vince: You’re not helping.
Me: But all I want to do is plant elderberries and you’re not helping either!
Later . .
Vince: How much did we decide we need to live on?
Me: I don’t know. I can live on almost nothing.
Vince: Right! What’s our monthly budget?
Me: I don’t know. I’ve kinda forgotten about the budget.
Vince: You’re not helping.
Me: So . . can we go plant elderberries now?
He closed his computer, stood up and said: “It is what it is!” I read him the first paragraph of this post. One might think we’re on the same page but I would bet my yarn stash that before dark, he has that computer out, calculating, recalculating and asking me questions and I seriously doubt any elderberries will get planted today.
I think it’s just the fear of the unknown. Like so many, Vince has worked non-stop for 50 years, except for a week off here and there for vacations. We’ve saved, we’ve planned for retirement. It’s hard to pull the plug and stop working and instead of adding to the savings/retirement, start withdrawing. We’ve taken money out of savings for buying a house or buying a car (and you know how seldom that happens!). It’s hard to do things in reverse and know that we’ll probably never put more money in savings, but instead, we’ll be withdrawing. It’s just the next step in life and I’ll admit that it’s a scary step. Once he retires, while he could maybe go back to some kind of job, it wouldn’t be a job with the pay and benefits that he’s worked hard to have so . . I understand his apprehension, but really . . it’s time to start enjoying life . . days to do what we want to do; days with little to no responsibility; days where we can come and go as we please without looking at the calendar or the clock. I’m ready! I think Vince is ready too. Though he’s going to research and calculate and research some more . . right up til the last minute!
But . . what about my elderberries?? 🙂
Kay Sorensen says
I think the most important thing in retirement is for each person to have a passion. Then everything else can fall into place. Living among mostly retired people I see so many men that have no passion or interests and they are standing outside the door of our quilt meetings just waiting for their wives to be done so they can give them a ride home. How sad.
quiltinggail says
I’m with you! Can you calculate how much money a good elderberry crop will save? Perhaps that’ll be the motivation to get them planted! 🙂
Judy Laquidara says
A lot! 🙂
Sherry Moran says
It’s such a different concept for many people, but, the last 15 years have been the best years of our lives! We have a 30 ft rv and have been in 48 states and 6 Canadian provinces. Can see our grand whenever and are in the best financial shape ever! Go for it! Our house is paid for, we pay all bills off every month, and so far, we have our health.
Katherine says
I understand the concern about drawing down savings. Even though we (and our financial planner) say we have enough for our plans to retire, it will be tough when we stop saving and start spending. Health care costs are the scariest thing currently.
Dorothy Matheson says
I retired early at 49 (no choice and job ended.). I worked 5 more years part time but we were just blowing the money and that really bothered me. So I quit to be home and available for me and for my family. The years between stopping work and getting social security at 62 and getting medicare at 65 were harder. Now not so hard as I have fainthearted some because my brother died and my Mom is wanting to give me gifts all the time. So it is easier. I do have supplemental insurance from my retirement so medical so far has not been a problem. And I have had 4 major surgeries and many many scans over the last several year. And my husband has also had lots of health issues.
I spend as much on fabric as you do yarn. But otherwise not so much.
Love the retirement and you can make it work and Vince will find it hard not to shop so much but I bet you will not have a problem. Just stay out of Walmart. I limit to once a month. And the book store is my other big downfall.
Dorothy
Susan says
You aren’t the kind of people to go into debt. You’ll have what you have, and you’ll live within those means. That’s a habit. It wouldn’t surprise me if you managed to find a way to save a bit here and there, too. =)
Joyce says
Retirement is getting closer for me too. There are some days I think I’ll be bored when I retire, but when I think back on my parents and their retirement, I think I’ll have plenty to do. The scary part is the idea of spending the money instead of saving it. Right now, I don’t think I have enough saved, but I still have a few years to go…
Linda in NE says
With the way the price of dried elderberries has skyrocketed you’d better get those elderberries planted!
You both might as well take Social Security as soon as you can get the full retirement amount. You never know what might happen in life, and with your savings (or pension if Vince gets that) you will be fine.
On another note, I know you always seem to have something to keep you busy and that probably won’t change in retirement. Has Vince given some thought to what he will do to occupy himself after he retires? The could be just as big a concern as whether or not you will have enough money to live on. Sitting in a recliner waiting to die isn’t much to look forward to.
Nelle Coursey says
You know, it is what it is. You will know how much money you have to spend and you can live on that. If you need to make a purchase, you can do that and pray you don’t need to have anything extra for a while. If you don’t think you can afford it, then don’t buy it. I think you both will be just fine if he will just sit back and relax and not stress this! Besides it is only money and like you said he can get a job somewhere for a while if you need extra. I took mine at 65 and the age they said I needed to do it was 67. I don’t think there is that much difference. I can go get a job now and I don’t have to give up any of my SS and also I could be contributing to more SS if I got a job. With my SS and retirement, I am making more sitting home on my butt than working! Why would I want to stress myself out that much? We don’t have a lot of extra money, but we have food, heat, electricity, water, the basics. What more do I need? I can buy a little yarn here and there so I am happy.
Kathleen says
Your post could have been about me and my husband. He was an engineer and loves his spreadsheets. They bore me to tears. I zone out when he talks all that nitty gritty stuff. I know what we have and that our spending is ok, so leave it at that. We love retirement – it really is the best time.
Rosalie says
I started taking ss at 62. Husband had suggested it but I resisted until I did the math and figured out it would be 15+ years before I would be getting more out of the system by waiting 3-5 years before starting to draw it. I feel sure that Vince has figured it every which way.