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Index » Radio Paradise/General » General Discussion » Can you afford to retire? Page: Previous  1, 2, 3, ... 19, 20, 21  Next
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Steely_D

Steely_D Avatar

Location: The foot of Mount Belzoni
Gender: Male


Posted: Nov 26, 2024 - 6:07am

 kurtster wrote:

When you convert that CD, get a check.  Do not transfer it.  Redeposit it wherever and keep 1k out.  If asked, you took a vacation.

nuff said.


But...I thought electing Trump would turn things around, make it better for the Little Guy, get us a better health care system, provide more jobs with those filthy immigrants deported, and we'd have less taxes to pay with no Department of Education and Elon Musk maximizing government efficiency. 
Surely, the future is brighter than "hide your money in your mattress."

BTW, as another side of that "hoard your money" coin, my literally brilliant brother (whom I've extolled on these fora) cashed out his retirement et al into gold back in the day. Because, of course, it was to circumvent the horrible times to come. Now his home was destroyed by two hurricanes and he lives in an old car at a truck stop (for the showers), going to the ruins of his home by day where there is no power nor water. He won't give that place up, and I suspect that somewhere in the ruins are some leftover pieces of his retirement.


the_jake

the_jake Avatar

Location: Beside the Proboscis
Gender: Male


Posted: Nov 25, 2024 - 6:28pm

6 months is the recommended period to have available in case of emergencies.
Can be very hard to attain when living from check to check.

Portugal is looking good right now to me.  Alas, I am not quite to Medicare age. 
Too many family requirements as well to leave the country long term.
Maybe someday, I hope.  Not terribly far into my future.



kurtster

kurtster Avatar

Location: where fear is not a virtue
Gender: Male


Posted: Nov 25, 2024 - 6:03pm

 GeneP59 wrote:
Yup I’ve been doing that for a while. But you didn’t hear that from me. You know what I mean.  
I pay for food when I do go out with cash especially when it’s with a group. I do the same with friends and have them pay me back in cash too. And yes it’s getting harder to do that nowadays.
 
When you convert that CD, get a check.  Do not transfer it.  Redeposit it wherever and keep 1k out.  If asked, you took a vacation.

nuff said.
GeneP59

GeneP59 Avatar

Location: On the edge of tomorrow looking back at
Gender: Male


Posted: Nov 25, 2024 - 5:53pm

 kurtster wrote:

I would start collecting jacksons and stuffing them in your mattress so to speak.  Problem is that it is getting harder to use that stuff.  You don't want to use it anywhere that has a membership or loyalty card involved in a transaction.  The record of that transaction is kept almost indefinitely now.  Warehouse clubs and grocery stores for example.  Use it for car repairs and stuff like that are one time major purchases and involve no patterns.  Back in the old days, the boss where I worked spent a ton of it eating out all the time.  People like you and me can't even afford to go to Micky D's so that ship sailed long ago.  There are also reporting thresholds for the size of that kind of transaction.  IIRC banks must report amounts exceeding 6k.  Learn these things.  Make yourself as unpredictable as possible when it comes to these kinds of things.  You still have to maintain some sort of normalcy though in order to keep questions to a minimum.  Once upon a time when using using a debit card at the grocery store there was an option for some additional cash back with your transaction.  Use it for a jackson and put it away.  Little things like that.  Become a tree top flyer.  It is the only way and how much longer this is possible is unknown.  Is what it is and it requires a completely new way of thinking if you are not already used to doing these things.  A friend or family member asks you to stop somewhere and pick something up for them, use a card and let them pay you back in jacksons. Set a goal of accumulating a stash big enough to sustain you for 2 months should the shit hit the fan.  Better than doing nothing.  Remember, this is for all the marbles.
.

{#Whistle}

Yup I’ve been doing that for a while. But you didn’t hear that from me. You know what I mean.  
I pay for food when I do go out with cash especially when it’s with a group. I do the same with friends and have them pay me back in cash too. And yes it’s getting harder to do that nowadays.

Red_Dragon

Red_Dragon Avatar

Location: Gilead


Posted: Nov 25, 2024 - 5:30pm

Portugal is looking more attractive all the time. They permit you to import up to five cats/dogs (we have three kittehs). All they require is that they be microchipped (which ours are) and a certificate of good health from a veterinarian. No quarantine!
Steely_D

Steely_D Avatar

Location: The foot of Mount Belzoni
Gender: Male


Posted: Nov 25, 2024 - 3:56pm

 GeneP59 wrote:

Yup that’s what they told me. I have a 10k Roth CD so I wouldn’t have to pay a monthly fee at BoA and a SBLI Life insurance of 6k towards burial and the told me everything must go before I could collect.

WTF is wrong in this country when billionaires F over everybody and nothing happens but people that are barely get by need to have no money to live on nothing. We need a Robin Hood to steal from the rich and give to the poor.



Trump will look out for the common man; that's what he said, anyway.
GeneP59

GeneP59 Avatar

Location: On the edge of tomorrow looking back at
Gender: Male


Posted: Nov 25, 2024 - 3:53pm

 kurtster wrote:

 You can only have $2k in the bank (which means that you can have no emergency money), no life insurance policies and then to add insult to injury they will go and investigate all your banking records for the previous 5 years looking for anything funny.  

Yup that’s what they told me. I have a 10k Roth CD so I wouldn’t have to pay a monthly fee at BoA and a SBLI Life insurance of 6k towards burial and the told me everything must go before I could collect.

WTF is wrong in this country when billionaires F over everybody and nothing happens but people that are barely get by need to have no money to live on nothing. We need a Robin Hood to steal from the rich and give to the poor.

black321

black321 Avatar

Location: An earth without maps
Gender: Male


Posted: Nov 25, 2024 - 11:08am

 islander wrote:


Can I have your slippers brought over?


Yeah, we have some scary ass bugs.


ha. 
desert heat is more to my liking...not so much the hot/humid stuff
I'm at 7,500 ft in CO....and we are still getting those dang cluster flies in the house!
islander

islander Avatar

Location: West coast somewhere
Gender: Male


Posted: Nov 25, 2024 - 10:57am

 black321 wrote:


I'm there with you...not sure i can handle the heat....and the bugs in some of those "retirement" communities


Can I have your slippers brought over?


Yeah, we have some scary ass bugs.
black321

black321 Avatar

Location: An earth without maps
Gender: Male


Posted: Nov 25, 2024 - 10:48am

 maryte wrote:

I may be the only person I know who wants to retire where there's less sun, less heat. I crave four seasons.



I'm there with you...not sure i can handle the heat....and the bugs in some of those "retirement" communities
islander

islander Avatar

Location: West coast somewhere
Gender: Male


Posted: Nov 25, 2024 - 10:10am

 maryte wrote:

I may be the only person I know who wants to retire where there's less sun, less heat. I crave four seasons.



Send me a postcard. I had to go find a blanket for the bed last night.

This may just be accumulated experience. I spent some time in my 20s working in a spot @ 11K ft, where we had to put duct tape on the inside of our zippers to stop the cold air from blowing into our snow gear. I'm over that.
buddy

buddy Avatar

Location: Rocky Mountain Way
Gender: Male


Posted: Nov 25, 2024 - 8:49am

 maryte wrote:

I may be the only person I know who wants to retire where there's less sun, less heat. I crave four seasons.


That was one of the top reasons I relocated to Colorado from Texas in 1993. That and mountains.

black321

black321 Avatar

Location: An earth without maps
Gender: Male


Posted: Nov 25, 2024 - 8:44am

 kurtster wrote:

I was out on disability because of the cancer the last 8 years before my normal out at 66½.  Unable to contribute during those last 8 years which has the biggest impact on your final draw.  The wife went down the same time because of her car accident.  So neither one of us was putting in.  It really, really hurt.  If I was to quit working and just had the SS to live on, due to income guidelines for Medicaid we would be forced to go on it. 

I just got done doing some reading.  In Ohio, a couple whose gross monthly is under $2137 per month is required by law to go on Medicaid.  From what I have been reading the .gov can then force you to sell assets.  You are only allowed one car.  I have two, a 2019 Honda with 3 years to go on the loan and a 2004 Civic which is obviously paid for.  I would have to sell it regardless of its worth.  The value of having a spare car is priceless these days.  You can only have $2k in the bank (which means that you can have no emergency money), no life insurance policies and then to add insult to injury they will go and investigate all your banking records for the previous 5 years looking for anything funny.  Anyone who tells you that if you have nothing, no one is going to bother you, is full of shit.  I have a lot of research ahead of me to figure out how to maneuver through all of this and not raise any flags in the process.

I've been shucking, jiving and hustling hard and have been moving money around using 0% balance transfers for the past 5 or so years getting stuff paid down and next month, I'll pay off all our credit cards and just have the car note left.  My credit score is floating around 800 through all of this.  My credit score all by itself knocked $100 a month off of our car insurance.  I long ago learned the art of cash flow and credit and have used all of my knowledge to keep the balls in the air. 

At 72, me actually showing up and working some place is about over and I am going to have to find some work at home gig.  I've been looking at those for the last 5 years and haven't found anything that will pass the sniff test yet.  The point being is that if your income falls below a certain amount, the .gov will take over your life and you lose all kinds of options and choices, regardless of your talents and abilities. 

And anyone who wants to go and throw this shit in my face in the poly threads, fuck you and your horse.  I haven't made it this far by being stupid. You try living on 2k a month and then get back to me on that or STFU.

After working jobs, families...your whole life, and then having to worry about your healthcare (coverage and costs) when you're in your "golden years" is a real tragedy.
Of course, rich folks can manage through it all, creating trusts to protect their assets, while middle and lower income folks get clobbered, once again. 
Proclivities

Proclivities Avatar

Location: Paris of the Piedmont
Gender: Male


Posted: Nov 25, 2024 - 8:40am

 maryte wrote:

I may be the only person I know who wants to retire where there's less sun, less heat. I crave four seasons.


I hear ya'.

maryte

maryte Avatar

Location: Blinding You With Library Science!
Gender: Female


Posted: Nov 25, 2024 - 8:32am

I may be the only person I know who wants to retire where there's less sun, less heat. I crave four seasons.
islander

islander Avatar

Location: West coast somewhere
Gender: Male


Posted: Nov 25, 2024 - 8:10am

 NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote:

I often fantasise (yeah, I'm a dreamer) about buying 4 hectares on an island off the coast of Auckland and building a whole lot of self-sufficient huts on the property and inviting every RPeep who is strapped for cash to come and live in one. We'd have our own garden, make our own wine and the Gulf still has some fish in it, or we could grow mussels in the bay. We could put Patty and Kurtster in a hut down the bottom of the hill if we had to (just messing with yer Kurt), but it would be allcomers on a needs-based principle.

Not going to happen, but it was a nice idea while it lasted.




I'll kick in to help with the self sufficient bit. We've cut our power bill down south from several thousand dollars a year to a couple of hundred dollars and most of that is just for peak/backup availability. We could go to zero pretty easy (some convenience cost).  There is a place just up the way a bit where I can buy a hectare at a pretty good price. All kinds of things roll through my head for that, but mostly I don't want to work that hard / have that much responsibility anymore. Maybe if I had a good man or two to get this project off the ground...


Oh, and we have surf: 

geoff_morphini

geoff_morphini Avatar

Gender: Male


Posted: Nov 25, 2024 - 7:52am

 NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote:

  sure you would.   No surf there though, it's on the lee side of the island surrounded by an archipelago.

That’s the only part of NZ I haven’t visited. Definitely on my wish list. I’d join the compound!

NoEnzLefttoSplit

NoEnzLefttoSplit Avatar

Gender: Male


Posted: Nov 25, 2024 - 4:12am

 kurtster wrote:

Just saw this after my rant.  No worries. 

I always wanted to do a tropical island thing, too.  A surfing destination kind of place.

I would be happy to be the cannabis cultivator.

  sure you would.   No surf there though, it's on the lee side of the island surrounded by an archipelago.
kurtster

kurtster Avatar

Location: where fear is not a virtue
Gender: Male


Posted: Nov 25, 2024 - 3:07am

 NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote:
 I often fantasise (yeah, I'm a dreamer) about buying 4 hectares on an island off the coast of Auckland and building a whole lot of self-sufficient huts on the property and inviting every RPeep who is strapped for cash to come and live in one. We'd have our own garden, make our own wine and the Gulf still has some fish in it, or we could grow mussels in the bay. We could put Patty and Kurtster in a hut down the bottom of the hill if we had to (just messing with yer Kurt), but it would be allcomers on a needs-based principle. Not going to happen, but it was a nice idea while it lasted.
 
Just saw this after my rant.  No worries. 

I always wanted to do a tropical island thing, too.  A surfing destination kind of place.

I would be happy to be the cannabis cultivator.
kurtster

kurtster Avatar

Location: where fear is not a virtue
Gender: Male


Posted: Nov 25, 2024 - 2:47am

 GeneP59 wrote:
If I can hold out for 2 1/2+ years for full SS which would cover I figure at least my house taxes. I didn’t put into SS for all those years taking care of mom and 8+ years taking care of dad. So I’m on the very low rung on the amount I would get. So many problems I wish I didn’t have to deal with at this point of my life.
 
I was out on disability because of the cancer the last 8 years before my normal out at 66½.  Unable to contribute during those last 8 years which has the biggest impact on your final draw.  The wife went down the same time because of her car accident.  So neither one of us was putting in.  It really, really hurt.  If I was to quit working and just had the SS to live on, due to income guidelines for Medicaid we would be forced to go on it. 

I just got done doing some reading.  In Ohio, a couple whose gross monthly is under $2137 per month is required by law to go on Medicaid.  From what I have been reading the .gov can then force you to sell assets.  You are only allowed one car.  I have two, a 2019 Honda with 3 years to go on the loan and a 2004 Civic which is obviously paid for.  I would have to sell it regardless of its worth.  The value of having a spare car is priceless these days.  You can only have $2k in the bank (which means that you can have no emergency money), no life insurance policies and then to add insult to injury they will go and investigate all your banking records for the previous 5 years looking for anything funny.  Anyone who tells you that if you have nothing, no one is going to bother you, is full of shit.  I have a lot of research ahead of me to figure out how to maneuver through all of this and not raise any flags in the process.

I've been shucking, jiving and hustling hard and have been moving money around using 0% balance transfers for the past 5 or so years getting stuff paid down and next month, I'll pay off all our credit cards and just have the car note left.  My credit score is floating around 800 through all of this.  My credit score all by itself knocked $100 a month off of our car insurance.  I long ago learned the art of cash flow and credit and have used all of my knowledge to keep the balls in the air. 

At 72, me actually showing up and working some place is about over and I am going to have to find some work at home gig.  I've been looking at those for the last 5 years and haven't found anything that will pass the sniff test yet.  The point being is that if your income falls below a certain amount, the .gov will take over your life and you lose all kinds of options and choices, regardless of your talents and abilities. 

And anyone who wants to go and throw this shit in my face in the poly threads, fuck you and your horse.  I haven't made it this far by being stupid. You try living on 2k a month and then get back to me on that or STFU.
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