Out retirement accounts have already recouped the money our financial advisor gave us less than 2 months ago to pay off the mortgage.
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In my book, male offspring are family as much as female offspring.
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Of course they are family!
But generally they canât wear the jewelry themselves and IMO, it makes sense to give it to the family member who can actually use/wear the pieces.
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I just started a new thread about the jewelsâŠso maybe this one can get back on topic.
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Our income from work fluctuates because we are basically self employed so canât really set a percentage to save but instead have a monthly ânutâ that we need to live off every month for our daily expenses. This doesnât include large expenses like property taxes or discretionary spending like a vacation. Anything above the nut goes into a money market account to cover us for the months (like summer when I donât really earn a check) to cover any months weâre short. I also own a small business separate from my part time job but am the only employee and take no salary as it all goes to my 401k with the max employer match that weâre able to squeeze out. If the day comes that I need to take a check (which may be soon) then I will do that.
Discretionary spending, the taxes and some other expenses come out of my investments that Iâve had for 30 years. My first degree is in Finance and I monitor things as closely as I can and while Iâm a little nervous as of late, Iâm still in it for the long run, but also do skim from time to time and take some profit and if I can will also buy back same investments when low. Doesnât always work. But this has generally been a good way to sock away some cash to have on hand for a rainy day, pay for a vacation, as well as continue to put money away for retirement in our IRAs when able. Itâs not always easy. I donât know what is enough. My last going to college will give me a better sense of monthly expenditures and if our nut can actually be lowered since college and those expenses are paid from 529 and other accounts we set aside. Lowering it would help so we can save more for retirement.
I think itâs funny your financial advisor âgave youâ money 
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I guess it does sound funny! I feel fortunate that our FA is someone that I have known for 45 years. He knows what our goals are and has been instrumental in advising us in our investing to be able to get there.
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Multiply annual pension and social security funds by your expected life span and add the rest of your savings. If that equals 20x your last income youâll be fine.
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@showmom858 our DD2 is moving to a bigger city with quite a jump in rent costs. Fortunately we do have a friend of a friend who has been a realtor in the area a long time, and will be looking to help her with an interest free loan to get her down payment to where she does not have to take out PMI - once she is ready to purchase a property. She has been promised to be making more money within a year which I think will happen plus she can work OT; she is going to have to tighten her belt on spending to accelerate her savings - but does have some funds saved and an investment that can get liquidated once the time comes. She is grateful she has a Roth IRA that I set up and it is doing nicely - and she can roll over her state retirement funds into that Roth IRA (she will need to pay the taxes but that is OK - she is 25 and lots of years to have that after tax money grow). Her âdecent salaryâ is going to be âmore decentâ in private industry (she is an engineer).
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Wow @srparent15 you and I have been big posters on this thread, but you are 70 posts ahead of me (ha ha, not competing, but I guess we both like to âcontributeâ our thoughts!).
Kiplingerâs Aug 2021 magazine just arrived and had their âGreat Places to Retireâ section with cover story. Cover picture is Lake Havasu City AZ - my parents purchased a lot there in the 1960âs and planned to move there if my grandfather would not allow my dad to learn more in the construction business - and grandpa complied. Grandpa died in an auto accident and good thing dad knew the business. So instead of being a WI gal, I could have become an AZ gal in early elementary school. Parents did sell the lot.
One of Kiplingerâs places listed is Auburn AL. There are better cities in AL to retire to IMHO - but for people that love AU - and having some of the benefits described.
For me, 12 more weeks to retirement! I submitted for obtaining Medicare A & B, and changed DH from Medicare A to Medicare A & B. Now waiting for the cards to arrive and moving forward on the other insurance pieces (Medigap and Drug plans).
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Thanks for the post. We no longer get Kiplinger mag but did for a few years. It is fun to see their retirement city samplings
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Auburn has been described to me as a liberal oasis on AL. Is that, plus the fact that it is a university town, the draw? Or is it something else?
@Colorado_mom in addition to the 7 cities, there was a one page article âI Found the Perfect Place to Retireâ - it was a N VA townhome owner and wife who were honing in on the Carolinas or in Staunton VA --they rented a condo for two weeks in a mountain resort near Staunton Va. Central VA had a lot to offer and they had looked at what makes the good ratings in VA. They tested the waters, looked at two houses both in the same neighborhood - made an offer and their offer was accepted. On selling their townhome in N VA, they did the work - new paint, new floors; staging expert (he noted set out a bowl of green apples, not red ones in you kitchenâŠ). Record time and record price - low inventory and eager buyers. Sweet spot of booming US home sales.
I like reading the stories from different areas of the country and different perspectives.
Good article in this issue on investing âLessons from Top Investing Gurusâ. Since I have been researching ETFs for DDâs money move from her account with state retirement funding going into her Roth IRA, I have invested some of her available cash and now am putting together info once the roll over takes place after her last day of work for the state on Friday.
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Richland WA is not that inexpensive. If you want anything with a view, next to the river, in nice condition⊠that will cost a small fortune. Plus, 100 degrees plus in the summer, below freezing in the winter⊠if you can stomach that, it is not a bad place to live.
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We drove to GA from CT and on the way back stopped in Staunton at a place known for its pies. I have to sayâŠwe sort of rushed it to get there before they closed and it was SO worth it. I canât remember the name of the place but it was really good.
ETAâŠ. Mrs. Rowe's Family Restaurant and Bakery - Staunton, VA 24401 | Welcome
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Good article.
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/a-womans-guide-to-making-the-most-of-social-security/
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Belated thank you to SOSConcern & others for the tips!!!
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@shawbridge looking at what the article said â one doesnât have to live in Auburn to gain what is said there - many spots in Alabama can offer IMHO better living - but it depends what you are looking for. IDK if they are using the 66,259 people population to be w/o counting the students (as the article says, nearly 30,000 students - AU FT 22,000 UG plus the 8,000 graduate students). Auburn and Opelika AL are right next to each other (Opelika population 31,400). IDK how the area population factors in the students.
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute â there is that at UAH (Huntsville) â I imagine at other universities across the state of Alabama there are similar things. There are often âlife long learnersâ near college campuses; before Covid I know UAH offered a lot via Osher.
There are enough medical things as they site to make that âcheck boxâ â but again if you want to be near the bigger medical areas (AL has two medical schools - one in Birmingham at UAB, and one in Mobile at University of South Alabama, USA). The bigger areas have the greater diversity of specialists. In Huntsville, I have gotten familiar with the specialists and the medical facilities; Having the level 1 trauma center, which is also available in Birmingham and Mobile but IDK other places. If one lives close enough to Jacksonville FL where there is a Mayo Clinic location, but there also is one in Birmingham. My DDâs FIL travels from coastal GA to the Jacksonville clinic for his Parkinsonâs Disease (they donât live on the beach but about 20 minutes inland - and it was his last work location before retiring and they purchased the one story house with that in mind).
AL has a number of Robert Trent Jones Golf locations on the âtrailâ and of course one can look at golf spots if one is really liking that. One decides if they want to live on a golf course or near a golf course and then look at all the other factors.
We had friendsâ parents move on a golf area - all the properties were right there and they had a golf cart to travel around the golf course; it was in the Carolinas (from White Plains NY, sold the paid for house and had two pensions) first in a house and then in something smaller in the same golf community before moving near their DD (in WI) due to momâs health (dementia and osteoporosis); they got a house and there was local golfing there too. Once the mom died, the dad eventually sold the house and moved into assisted living back in NY and lived into his 90âs.
If you like big time collegiate sports, rival UA (Tuscaloosa) offers the same (and UA has been a lot more successful with their football program and a diverse amount of other sports too). Tuscaloosa has a city Northport that also is right next to it â Tuscaloosa has some luxury places that alum purchase and live in. I imagine AU has something similar there. In Alabama, when we arrived in 1983, people pretty much decide - are they AU or UA fans, and that is football, since no pro football teams in the state. SEC is a strong college conference. But if a family has ties with kids/grandkids at other colleges/Universities, or their ownâŠ
I doubt that a performing arts center or specific museum is going to be a major factor for a retiree unless they have some specific ties.
Alabama has many wonderful state parks and walking trails. One can make a day trip or overnight trip to many of them living at various places in the state.
Some people like coastal or near coastal living. For Alabama, there is a climate change about mid-state (Birmingham) going north â so those LA (lower Alabama) locations are warmer in the winter months (Mobile got snow once in 30 years and it melted in a day). Some donât want to deal with hurricane possibilities but close enough to the beaches (which is a nice feature for beach people).
I did like the article about Staunton VA and the thought process the people went through in preparation.
A lot of thought needs to be gone through in making a big move in retirement. I was thinking of âbaby stepsâ until DH decided he wants to stay in Huntsville area, and no reason to sell the home we love!
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My Auburn student son and his peers are not conservative - we are all pretty much independents who lean left. They have no issues with the conservative students, and vice - versa - itâs more well rounded than people think. Two of the local Baptist churches are Cooperative Baptist, which is not Southern BaptistâŠso, it may be good for conservatives, but itâs also a great place if youâre not. The sports are awesome, football, baseball (great baseball park), basektball (nice arena), equestrian (several national championships), and the new performing arts center has been scheduling big names - some leave the Fox in Atlanta and head to Auburn. Although itâs hard to get tickets as theyâve sold a number of season tickets, it is something Iâd be interested in as a retiree. The only negative about retiring in Auburn or Opelika (next city over but they are kind of a merged suburb) is the healthcare. The local hospital âEast Alabamaâ is sort of a rural hospital, not quite, but probably not what youâre used to in a large city or large suburb. But, youâre 1.5 hours from Atlanta if you have time to make the trip.
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@threeofthree there are many AU and UA season ticket holders who have a RV and purchase season parking on campus (I imagine it works at AU similar as at UA). They roll in early and often stay late.
I am sure football season tickets are easier to get than Green Bay Packer season ticketsâŠand the Green Bay season ticket management KNOW when someone dies and therefore forfeits their opportunity for the next yearâŠ
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