<p>I really don’t care how old a flight attendant is. Like colorado_mom, I think having someone competent and experienced may be more important than someone who might be stronger and more likely to panic. It really depends upon the person. There are some older flight attendants who are so cranky and tired, they are just plain rude. Please, retire NOW. And other older ones who are so good, helpful, relaxed, they have it all figured out. How strong do they need to be, the exit doors are not that hard to open. Other passengers will help if another passenger acts up, if someone is threatening, I don’t think we’ll all sit there and wait for the FA to take him down.</p>
<p>Since this is a college site- how we handled college as parents clearly has impacted our retirement plans.</p>
<p>I love my job and would not mind working until I am 100 but since I am lucky to have a pension there comes a time where it is just silly to stay.
That said I am noticing several of my co-workers with around the same length of service as me are retiring and I could not think about it yet.</p>
<p>I realize that the difference in that was how college/car purchase/weddings were handled between parent and child. Those funds placed in a retirement account or not clearly make a difference in the ability to retire.</p>
<p>I do not regret my choice at all but do realize I am lucky that I love my job.</p>
<p>Oh and inheritance also is a huge difference maker even fairly modest estates.</p>
<p>^That’s true about the inheritance. I know a few people who retired after getting inheritance although they loved their job.</p>
<p>To change the topic a bit, if you need a lump sum down the road in a year or two and plan to finace it by getting a mortgage, would get the mortgage now or wait until later? I don’t like to carry a debt and inclined to put it off as long as possible. On the other hand, it seems to make sense to get it now when the interest rate is still low and start paying it off sooner. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>One of my high-school friends just started working as a flight attendant this year. She is 50.</p>
<p>Anyone who has watched a marathon or Ironman competition knows there are plenty of people who are completely physically fit well into their 60s or 70s.</p>
<p>@sally305, I agree that age is not the determinant of whether a person will do well in a crisis that involves using some physical strength. But, especially on US carriers, I am concerned when I look at some of the flight attendants, especially older ones, as to whether they are at all in shape and able to do what would be needed in the rare and unfortunate circumstances in which strength and composure were needed. On one Air Canada flight a few years ago, all of the flight attendants were very heavy and one couldn’t walk down the aisle without bumping into my shoulder with her hip. She might or might not have physical strength but certainly would be lacking in stamina.</p>
<p>@busdriver11, there are a bunch of flight attendants who clearly no longer like doing their work. It would be great if there were an easy path out for them that didn’t involve starting over in the job market with little relevant experience. It does seem to me like a job that would be loved by people in their 20s and by a few for much longer even after the excitement/novelty of traveling has worn off.</p>
<p>@tom1944, it is indeed a gift to love your job. </p>
<p>@Iglooo, you are asking about our bet on where interest rates will be in a year or two. If we were good at this, we’d be outperforming Bill Gross. But, I think it is fair to say that there are still factors depressing the interest rates and that it wouldn’t be surprising if interest rates stayed low for a while but and that they could jump up suddenly at one point. When that happens? Ask Bill Gross?</p>
<p>@shawbridge, No I am not asking about the interest rate. I am asking if it would make sense to get a loan you don’t need yet in advance. If it’s a 15-yr mortgage, I would be paying it off starting now for 15 years or wait and start pay it off later.</p>
<p>If you get it now, you will have to get a bigger loan so that you have the desired amount on hand when you need the money, since you will be paying down the principal for a year or two.</p>
<p>A bigger consideration might be, will you be able to get the loan in a year or two? Your job situation could change, your health could change, and if you are out of work when you need the money you will have no chance to get a mortgage.</p>
<p>A compromise might be to get a HELOC if you can, and not tap it until you need it. Then when the time comes, you can either get a 15 year at that time and close the HELOC, or use the HELOC for the funds you need.</p>
<p>What notrichenough said. </p>
<p>As far as the mortgage, I was going to agree with notrichenough, but I think I’d need more details. For a HELOC, you’ll probably pay a couple of points higher in interest. However, interest rates are really low right now, but then you’d have to pay closing costs. I guess it depends upon how much money you’re talking about, and how long you think it would take to pay off. I can tell you all sorts of ways to get cheap money for short periods of time, but it depends upon how much you’re looking for.</p>
<p>So…how much, and how long to pay it off?</p>
<p>How are the HELOC interest rates? Are they as good as a 15-ty mortgage for a primary residence? Is the interest payment tax deductible? I know I can get a mortgage in retirement.</p>
<p>My favorite HELOC is with Pentagon Federal. Home owner occupied rates are 3.75, and have been that for many years. I don’t think there is any costs as far as getting the HELOC. The great thing about them is that they keep having these deals saying that whatever money you take from the HELOC in the next few months, you can get at a rate of 1.99% for a year. So we keep paying off the HELOC with a HELOC from another bank as soon as the year ends, and then we withdraw the entire amount back again for another year. Just constantly recycling it to keep that 1.99% rate.
Not sure what other banks rates are.</p>
<p>Depends what you do with the loan.</p>
<p>For example, A 3 percent rate may be low, but if you don’t make more than 3 percent with the proceeds, you lose financially. </p>
<p>To get a loan just to get a loan…</p>
<p>A relative just took out a heloc. I think the rate is 3 percent. The idea is to take that money and invest in mortgages that pay more. </p>
<p>There are a couple of issues with this.</p>
<p>One…while you are waiting to find mortgages…you are losing that interest.</p>
<p>Two…the mortgages you are investing in may not be safe. You have risk in getting paid back.</p>
<p>It doesn’t have to be mortgages. Could be real estate or other investments.</p>
<p>My point is you are borrowing and then investing in riskier investments to make more than your borrowing costs.</p>
<p>This can work. Billionaires do this. :)</p>
<p>Anyway…I think if you have a good idea what you are going to do with the money, and you can afford to lose… It can work.</p>
<p>We got a HELOC. Look for one with absolutely NO costs that you can keep open with no costs. Ours had no appraisal fee, no closing costs and no costs or fees of any kind at any time. That’s what we have. We got it and haven’t drawn on it but it’s there “just in case.” The max we could draw on it is about 33% of the FMV of our primary residence, which is far more than I can envision borrowing. </p>
<p>Another thing you can do if you need a lump sum in the future and have a great credit score and will have income to pay it off quickly is apply for and get a 0% (or low) intro interest rate CCard. Pay the minimum (or higher) every month while saving up to pay it all in balloon when interest will start. That was how we paid for a new van one year. </p>
<p>BD, that’s a great rate!</p>
<p>I am expecting a huge obligation coming up. I thought maybe I’ll get a mortgage/HELOC to pay it instead of paying with cash. If I get the loan sooner, I will be younger when it’s paid off but it feels silly to be sitting on a pile of money waiting to be used.</p>
<p>Yea, I prefer not to take out loans sooner than necessary. What about starting a saving account toward this known future obligation, then maybe you can borrow less?</p>
<p>Years ago, after our mortgage was paid off, we had an emergency fund but were also doing a home renovation. We got a HELOC with no fees, and kept it open for some number of years without ever drawing on it, “just in case.” Eventually it was closed by the bank for disuse, but we probably could have kept it open if we had just borrowed a nominal amount and paid it back. </p>
<p>Apply before you need it. Bankers will be happy to lend you an umbrella on a sunny day :)</p>
<p>Like HImom, I like the zero percent credit cards too. The very best deal ever is Slate (and you can get one for you and your husband, if married). It’s zero percent for 15 months, with NO balance transfer fee. I think they’ll approve a max of 25K on this card, and I think you can just put it into your checking account. No other deals out there that I’ve found, with no balance transfer fees. I don’t know how these people make money, unless many don’t pay it off when the rate goes up. You have to do the balance transfer within a few months of getting the card, though, for this deal.</p>
<p>As far as mortgages, I really like the PenFed’s 5/5 ARM. The rate is 2.75% for 5 years, then it can go up a max of 2% for the next 5 years (max rate ever is 7.75%). No points, no origination fee. They also have a rate reset option, up to 5 times during the loan, you can reset it to current rates by accepting a rate 0.25% higher. The only thing about PenFed is that they take a long time to do a loan, maybe even longer than the 3 month lock, but if it’s their fault (and it usually is, they’re just swamped), they don’t raise the rate on you for that. Unlike any other lender I’ve had, they don’t intentionally delay you to force a higher rate, they are just busy, and they are pretty picky about the paperwork.</p>
<p>I don’t know if I will stay mentally nimble enough to go through revising a loan application often. I am sure I will forget to look and end up paying more. I need to automize my finances somewhat.</p>
<p>Shuffling money around is a pain in the butt. I hope to not have to do this for too many years. I just hate paying interest.</p>
<p>The Slate credit card web site says “The fee for balance transfers is 3% of the amount transferred, with a minimum of $5.†” So maybe that deal isn’t available any more.</p>
<p><a href=“Chase Credit Cards - Page Not Found”>https://creditcards.chase.com/credit-cards/slate.aspx</a></p>
<p>My HELOC is at 3%. I’m debating writing a check against it to pay off the first mortgage, which is at 5%. We’ve only got another year to go though, the amount of interest we are paying is negligible.</p>