How much financial risk are you willing to live with?

[Queen]

Turns out the answer for our little household is “not much”.

I guess I hadn’t realized how much our depleted saving was weighing on me; we’re not broke and still have a nice cushion but watching the balance tumble in just four years of retirement was sobering. So, the choices were live very poor and stop using savings (we’re not old enough for social security yet, so just have our smallish state pensions), or get some part time work and rebuild the savings. 

We chose work, doing things we like rather than the drudgery of our former careers. It’s nice to be able to quit if we want, change jobs if we want, and not feel the weight of everything riding on a paycheck. All of this personal revelation allowed me to wake up this morning feeling so happy. We’ll probably call it done again at 62 and do some more wandering.   

[RoamerRV428]

very interesting....we are in the exact same boat as you right now

hubby took early retirement at age 52 from his great paying job. We have been a little over 2 years living on what we set aside and boy the bucks disappear faster than one thinks even tho we put ourselves on a monthly budget.

I also AM SUPER shocked to watch our savings balance go down down down. I don't like it one bit LOL
It does drag on me just like you said. It worries me to no end that everything is going out and nothing is coming in.

chatted with hubby and he said in January he will get a job.....a full 40 hr per week EASY job and quit come June.
We need him off in summer cause the bulk of our traveling is done then when kid is out of school....then he is a hunter and goes to his hunt cabin in Sept up til Xmas doing his hunting thing he loves.

So.....we decided if he works full time for 5 months that will SO offset all the bucks leaving and drag out our retirement savings a lot longer.

Early retirement is a massive blessing but being a worry wart on financials and a super frugal person, that concept of it 'all going out' and 'no bucks coming in' is mind blowing to me.....we are such hard workers thru our lives and it got us this early retirement lifestyle....but geez it is hard to change our thoughts on financials still.

Our plan is he works and we use that money to live on for those 5 months and be super frugal (as we are frugal now, well hell I am a frugal to the max, he is a spender, but the good side of it when he works he can't be spending LOL)
Let the 5 months of income offset the rest of the year and drag out our retirement savings acct longer.

One thing is sure right like you said.....options. We have options how to roll that are SO NOT the rat race, in debt type options others must follow and that puts smiles on our faces. Options to make life work for you and not against you at this stage of our game in life.

We are also not willing to live with a ton of financial risk. I plan on going long into my old age years as my mom is 91 now, living at home doing very well and still out and about and one thing she always says is she never minds being ancient and old and getting some arthritis etc.....she never wants to be poor AND old at the same time. I SO get what she is saying. It is super important to be sure one can truly fund their old age. At least that is how it rolls around my lifestyle and thinking everyone's mileage will vary on how it goes down for them.

We will call IT ALL DONE in 4-5 years. As soon as kid is done with high school and we get her set up in college and safe and secure then it is 100% sell it all and roam free. We are 'so close' and chomping at the bit to do just that, wander with no concerns. omg we can't wait.

cool post. so there with ya on financials right now but the monster plus of it all is options open. Options that do not have to keep one tied down. Options means you can truly life how you want easier and without stress

[Queen]

I hear you, Roamer, options are everything. Pretty sure one thing that slapped us upside the head and ratcheted up our discomfort level was moving into a 55+ apartment building and seeing older folks living with some serious poverty! 70-80 years old trying to live on $700 a month social security, dealing with health/nutrition/transportation issues... it’s scary to think about living that way, so we’re hoping to fix it before we get too old to work.

[RoamerRV428]

yea no joke on that! It doesn't take much in life for a real effect to suck your money out from under ya real fast
scary as hell if ya ask me

Is there truly any safety in life?
not really but I sure as hell can try to buy me some within reason for what I can work with

[Queen]

Exactly. I’m not a person who lives in fear, I’m fairly reckless at times, but I can also still fix almost any screw up or folly right now. I don’t mind, since I’ve had time to see the reality of retirement, doing a bit now to ameliorate future issues.

[RoamerRV428]

yes us too

I am truly seeing the reality of retirement and how we want to handle it and all the family factors with the kid in college happening and making sure she does get a DECENT inheritance from us to make her life better down the road.....I am the same as you right now.

in that stage of taking early retirement, and it is time to evaluate it all again on the years we HOPE to have left and get our butts to SS income and all.


damn ya got me...what the hell was that word no one on this earth uses probably in a sentence....had to look that one up LOL

I do that reckless thing also. Dropped big bucks real fast and I wonder, should we have done that for NOW vs. holding those bucks for later, but that OLD saying, are ya gonna be around later? I mean working hard and then having the means to let some loose from the purse strings in big bucks is great obviously, but the 'should I have done that' comes into play but then my I might not be around another day and live for today comes into.....crap the balance of it all boggles the mind some days LOL

crap if we knew how long we both had I would plan and do different but it is all friggin' crapshoot

[Gr8ful]

I always kidded about retiring at 50 & broke my back at 49-3/4 just over 10 years ago. Blew out 4 disc, had a cage put in the front & back, couldn't walk unaided for a year but was lucky I'd taken out long term disability many years before. My wife had cancer surgery last week again & now has to do radiation. Now I have ALS & I'm to the point of barely walking so we're selling the farm & hitting the road when she's able in the ambo probably to the SW where I can shoot extreme long range. I'm still a blessed man, enjoy & learn everyday.
I used to love this quote “Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out ... It was funnier when I couldn't see home plate coming up fast but I've had a blast, done everything I wanted except fly a DC-3 which I will & I'm still enjoying life & will until they roll me in the hole. You can plan all you want but never know what will come up as the plan seldom works as planned so just do your best, enjoy life, have fun & roll with the punches.

[Queen]

Gr8ful, very sorry about the ALS diagnosis, that sucks utterly.

We realized planning was basically pointless after our failed move to Florida, we had done every possible bit of research, dotted every i and crossed every t, the Normandy invasion had nuthin on us... until I got sick. The docs simply couldn’t manage my asthma there, the attacks are always mold related and it’s the moldiest damn place around. If either of us got seriously sick like you’re facing, we’d bail tomorrow and go roam, for now we’ll play the odds a bit longer.

Sure hope you have a long healthy time ahead of you!!

[Cammalu]

Well said gr8tfl.

I’m kinda sweating it out right now on buying a larger used RV. How much to spend? It’s going to be the last one hopefully so we really need to get it right.

How much good time we have left is so up in the air. Neither of us is particularly health and both have had many injuries so will never get around all that well.

Do I spend now or save for later? What if there is no later?

All the what if’s have me stagnant and not moving forward at all.

Doing research I find the best bang for the buck - even though the buck makes me want to puke - is the Newmar. They are just built so much better.

I know it has to be diesel and have space for a king bed as we will have to have a couple of beds in that space somehow. I know I want kitchen counter space. I know it has to be able to tow our crap.

I’m stuck. There are a jillion models and options and I don’t understand anything.

[RoamerRV428]

I think in the end it boils down to how much crap has been shoved on us as people thinking we must plan and plan and plan. People live a lot longer now due to medical breakthrough. We are money involved as a life line to get thru this global world and our individual lives now and none of this can truly add any extra wonderful life filled minutes on this earth so how does one play the game?

ugh