Retirement, pros, cons, opinions and advice

[sacre]

Don't let your wife retire....
"We should....."

 

[danny]

Greed being a human trait, Some folks are greedy for money and some are greedy for their time to do things that are important to them. I’m greedy for “my time”. Once you have enough money and maybe some to spare then everything else is just extra that you won’t be enjoying from the grave. YMMV

Nobody has ever figured out how to invent the perpetual motion machine or find a way to buy back time. Some "Cat", however, is going to come by and pollute this posting, saying that he retired but missed out on being able to work and make more money.

Danny

 

[Rob01]

Greed being a human trait, Some folks are greedy for money and some are greedy for their time to do things that are important to them. I’m greedy for “my time”. Once you have enough money and maybe some to spare then everything else is just extra that you won’t be enjoying from the grave. YMMV

Bingo! As a buddy says when he is trying to get me to do something “it’s only money. You can make more”. But not so with the time you have on this earth.

 

[Will Henry]

Nothing beats a nice, big fat paycheck every week.
Am I the only guy over 75 in this whole discussion that can say that.?

Technically, my wife owns the campground (taxes), and I do maintenance work for the company. This means I have to depend on her for the check. Every week? Big fat? I wish. She's notoriously cheap. My wife could fix the nation's deficit in one year. Some people might have to skip a meal or two though. WH

 

[Kracken McGraw]

But then on the other foot, how about if you live a long time. Them assisted living places start at about $5000 a month, how much money do you really have.

 

[CJ6]

But then on the other foot, how about if you live a long time. Them assisted living places start at about $5000 a month, how much money do you really have.

Nearly triple that if they have to dispense meds.

 

[ckaberna]

But then on the other foot, how about if you live a long time. Them assisted living places start at about $5000 a month, how much money do you really have.

Once you get in one around here 3-4 months is sufficient if you have only government funding. That’s all they will allow you to survive. YMMV.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Once you get in one around here 3-4 months is sufficient if you have only government funding. That’s all they will allow you to survive. YMMV.

I not exactly following what you said. I didn’t mean a nursing home situation, I was referring more to a nicer assisted living where they provide you meals and other services based on your needs.

 

[ckaberna]

I not exactly following what you said. I didn’t mean a nursing home situation, I was referring more to a nicer assisted living where they provide you meals and other services based on your needs.

Maybe what I was referring too was the nursing home vs assisted living.? I just know what happened with my 96 yo grandmother. Sad situation all around.

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Maybe what I was referring too was the nursing home vs assisted living.? I just know what happened with my 96 yo grandmother. Sad situation all around.

Sure sorry to hear that.

 

[jackieschmidt]

Maybe what I was referring too was the nursing home vs assisted living.? I just know what happened with my 96 yo grandmother. Sad situation all around.

My mother passed away at 86. The last five years of her life were spent in an assisted living “resort” that did indeed cost around $4000 a month. My two brothers and I paid what her insurance would not cover.
But it had just about everything. She had a massive stroke just two weeks before she passed. Up until that time she was comfortable and well taken care of.
That was not a nursing home.

 

[distinguished]

Retirement is highly over rated. What good is it to not have to put up with other people's crap or not spend all day from before sunrise til dark making money for a company that will replace you before the casket is even closed. It is horrible to be able to sleep in when you still wake up by 4am! No one should be able to spend so much time with their German Shepherds! Having to fix up the boat that hasn't been in the water for a decade. What's worse is that your gun collection is to the point that you begin to think about down sizing but can't decide which one's to let go! You do have plenty of time to do things for the neighbors though! Going to go finish cutting the grass at the neighbor's house that passed away last year now.

 

[NorCalMikie]

Not too long back, ran into an old customer "vineyard owner" that I had worked on his cars for a long time. He asked me what I had been doing for the last few years since I retired? My reply? Any damn thing I want to, and it doesn't include working on your or anybody else's cars either!!

Talking about the cost of board and care homes? December of 2019 is when my sister died. I WAS paying just at $3000.00 a month. We would go and visit her (2.5 hour drive from my home) at least once a week and the owner would pull me aside and say he needed to talk to me. I knew ahead of time what he had to say. More $$$$!! Knowing the cost of just about EVERYTHING, no, issues with paying more as long as they kept up the quality of her service. She went in at around 80 pounds and within a few months, she was up to about 110 pounds. They fed her and she ate.
Bitched about the food but she ate!! She could be a bitch at times and NO WAY was she going to live with me and the wife at MY HOUSE!!! Had the wife's Mom with us for 8 years till she died. Watched her take her last breath.
She NEVER caused any problems. Set her up to watch Cowboys on TV and watch her fall asleep. Outlive all of her brothers and sisters cause she was WELL TAKEN CARE OF. Died at 91.
My big sister on the other hand wouldn't have lasted a week at MY HOUSE without something falling on her. And after the Wife dealing with her Mom for 8 years, wasn't about to have her go thru that with MY sister!!
Everybody knew, beware the rath of Aunt Mary!! Warned the wife about her and sure enough, she went after the wife one time. After that, the wife got REAL SMART and didn't take and CRAP, off of her.
Sister asked the owners of the care home, how much is it costing her to stay here? Their reply? None of YOUR business, your brother is taking care of it!! And I KNOW it pissed her off to "no end" to know that I was spending HER $$$ for HER care. Always spending HER $$$$ on HER.
Good thing she had it OR she would have ended up living under a bridge after the City and County got after her for back taxes and late fees.
And lucky for me I was RETIRED and had the time to spend taking care of and HER $$$$ affairs. Anybody else would have been lining THEIR pockets with HER $$$. Saw a couple of her so-called "friends" trying to make that move. Cut ALL them off short!!
Would I do any of it again? Only if I had to. It WAS a learning experience, and you learn something new every day. I DID learn that you can't fight City Hall. Just cut the check and move on. If you NEVER had ANYTHING, there's nothing they can get from you.

 

[DogBuster]

Retired from UPS in 2011….never missed working for a minute

27 years and 1.2M miles on the road…rural Utah pkg driver

Also have 10 years underground UMWA coal mining

Have enough to do with summer hay growing…property upkeep etc

Living in Utah the next outdoor adventure is around the next corner

 

[DogBuster]

Yes

We have trees

 

[jonbearman]

Get rid of your old phone number and dont tell anyone you did it because you will be asked to do non stop favors. Honestly it is the truth.

 

[DShortt]

Nobody has ever figured out how to invent the perpetual motion machine or find a way to buy back time. Some "Cat", however, is going to come by and pollute this posting, saying that he retired but missed out on being able to work and make more money.

Danny

That 'Cat' has no one to blame but themselves for that.

If you reach retirement age and still worry about money one of 2 things happened.
1 - catastrophe you didn't plan for.
2- still don't know how to be happy with what you have.

Either way, the one at fault looks back in the mirror.

 

[danny]

That 'Cat' has no one to blame but themselves for that.

If you reach retirement age and still worry about money one of 2 things happened.
1 - catastrophe you didn't plan for.
2- still don't know how to be happy with what you have.

Either way, the one at fault looks back in the mirror.

There is a number 3) People spent all of their money, or did not make enough, or did not plan for and allocate funds for their future, or various combinations of these

Agree with that, and also have to add that I have found that some guys are just not going to leave work (retire) and go home. That may be because they found out that the wife does not want them around home, they thought that over the years that work was the only thing that you needed to know about and did not develop other interests. When that happens, all of a sudden they sit around with nothing to do, then either shrivel up and die, or go back to work till they die. Another reason might be avoidance of things at home: a wife, needed home repairs, having been saddled with divorced or unmarried daughters living at home with kids, and probably other issues like that .

Danny

 

[hoz53]

Not too long back, ran into an old customer "vineyard owner" that I had worked on his cars for a long time. He asked me what I had been doing for the last few years since I retired? My reply? Any damn thing I want to, and it doesn't include working on your or anybody else's cars either!!

Talking about the cost of board and care homes? December of 2019 is when my sister died. I WAS paying just at $3000.00 a month. We would go and visit her (2.5 hour drive from my home) at least once a week and the owner would pull me aside and say he needed to talk to me. I knew ahead of time what he had to say. More $$$$!! Knowing the cost of just about EVERYTHING, no, issues with paying more as long as they kept up the quality of her service. She went in at around 80 pounds and within a few months, she was up to about 110 pounds. They fed her and she ate.
Bitched about the food but she ate!! She could be a bitch at times and NO WAY was she going to live with me and the wife at MY HOUSE!!! Had the wife's Mom with us for 8 years till she died. Watched her take her last breath.
She NEVER caused any problems. Set her up to watch Cowboys on TV and watch her fall asleep. Outlive all of her brothers and sisters cause she was WELL TAKEN CARE OF. Died at 91.
My big sister on the other hand wouldn't have lasted a week at MY HOUSE without something falling on her. And after the Wife dealing with her Mom for 8 years, wasn't about to have her go thru that with MY sister!!
Everybody knew, beware the rath of Aunt Mary!! Warned the wife about her and sure enough, she went after the wife one time. After that, the wife got REAL SMART and didn't take and CRAP, off of her.
Sister asked the owners of the care home, how much is it costing her to stay here? Their reply? None of YOUR business, your brother is taking care of it!! And I KNOW it pissed her off to "no end" to know that I was spending HER $$$ for HER care. Always spending HER $$$$ on HER.
Good thing she had it OR she would have ended up living under a bridge after the City and County got after her for back taxes and late fees.
And lucky for me I was RETIRED and had the time to spend taking care of and HER $$$$ affairs. Anybody else would have been lining THEIR pockets with HER $$$. Saw a couple of her so-called "friends" trying to make that move. Cut ALL them off short!!
Would I do any of it again? Only if I had to. It WAS a learning experience, and you learn something new every day. I DID learn that you can't fight City Hall. Just cut the check and move on. If you NEVER had ANYTHING, there's nothing they can get from you.

took off work 8 years to take care of my dad before i was retired and before i was ready to retire. Im poor now because of it but id do it again in a second. Lotta people out there worse off then i am.

 

[bobcat93]

Well im greatfull i made it out alive.
Get ready for a new chapter in life.
It can get very spooky out in the void. That is what i like to call retirement..the big void. Free of everything but what i allow in.
Look at your retirement like a fresh start. A clean canvas..now start painting your picture. What do you want your life to look like. Once you have a clear mental image in you head of what you want..then its just a matter of using your time to make it so.
Now is your time to make, do, or achieve all those things you didnt have time to do earlier because life showed up and you got busy.
Learn to relax your grip on the steering wheel of life bro..no more white knuckles..its time to let some one else take over the driving.
This time for you.
Use it wisely.
Dont waist it being full of anger and resentment because things didnt work out the way you wanted it too..in 50 years none of it will matters anyway.
The career was something for you to do..its not who you are...its just what you did for food.