Just curious who else is living super frugal

[DennisK]

Ok so curious, who here plans on full retirement? And at what age? What plans have you made if you are planning already.

So we have a multi step process going here. We are still fairly young sorta, so I guess it should work out. Not depending on social security or anything because that will be bankrupt way before we hit that age. Pay off everything including mortgage before 50. THEN we save a large chunk each month because our bills are wicked low toward retirement. I am working on a business start up now so hopefully that will play into the plan.

So hoping to retire from working for others around 55. The idea is that I will have a business going before then and then we can work for ourselves until we are about 70. Otherwise we will probably be working for someone else till we hit 70. Thank God we come from long lived stock because otherwise we would have no time to enjoy being old farts.

So whats your plans?

I “retired” at the age of 55. I’m 68 and am enjoying life very much. But even the best of plans can take a very sharp turn on you. Sickness and/or a death in the family is one example; so make sure your plans can hold together while you go into a tailspin. As far as the idea of “retirement” is concerned, I certainly don’t know where the “retire” part comes in. There was a time when I was - inactive, immobile … I guess you would call it “retired”. Weight increased, blood pressure increased, cholesterol worrisome – then SHE showed up. She is still in her 50’s, and she has strong opinions about everything; especially this acreage. Now, I am running around in tight circles, arms waving in the air, eyes rolling in my head, and every imaginable chore is demanding my immediate attention. Weight is down, blood pressure is good, and my cholesterol is causing my doctor to smile. I’m exhausted. I’m happy. And I am totally confused as to what retirement really is! You can plan for it, I guess, but first you need to define it, and then you must realize that plans rarely follow your expectations. But go ahead and plan, and then be prepared for change. Your business may be something you would want to hold onto.

 

[Chick N Haus]

One of my very good friends told me when we were getting close to retirement and health care was not going as carefully planned. If you want to give God a good laugh, just tell Him you have a plan. Amen.

 

[mickey328]

Yep...life is what happens while you're busy making plans. I've heard retirement is twice as much husband; half as much money? When you get right down to it, it just means you're not longer doing a "regular" job with a "regular" paycheck. It's what you do with that time that makes the difference. Sounds to me like you're much happier and healthier now than before, Dennis. The big difference is that instead of money, you're now being paid with better health and much more satisfaction and contentment...retirement is GOOD!

 

[jbirds2012]

I “retired” at the age of 55. I’m 68 and am enjoying life very much. But even the best of plans can take a very sharp turn on you. Sickness and/or a death in the family is one example; so make sure your plans can hold together while you go into a tailspin. As far as the idea of “retirement” is concerned, I certainly don’t know where the “retire” part comes in. There was a time when I was - inactive, immobile … I guess you would call it “retired”. Weight increased, blood pressure increased, cholesterol worrisome – then SHE showed up. She is still in her 50’s, and she has strong opinions about everything; especially this acreage. Now, I am running around in tight circles, arms waving in the air, eyes rolling in my head, and every imaginable chore is demanding my immediate attention. Weight is down, blood pressure is good, and my cholesterol is causing my doctor to smile. I’m exhausted. I’m happy. And I am totally confused as to what retirement really is! You can plan for it, I guess, but first you need to define it, and then you must realize that plans rarely follow your expectations. But go ahead and plan, and then be prepared for change. Your business may be something you would want to hold onto.

aawww honey, that is soo sweet, "quote" " I am the luckiest girl in the world "

 

[stoopid]

Haha so true.
You always need a backup plan to CYOA.
And that is your OWN butt, not plural butts, as significant others sometimes make plans before you two have even met....

 

[HeatherLynn]

Mickey,
Have you considered Montana? We lived in the Denver area for years and the winter climate where we are is within a few degrees all the time. It is a well kept secret. Everybody thinks Montana is all the same and is the temperature on the national news (which is east of the divide). Our kids, grandkids etc. come visit us and wish they could find jobs and move back. We did avoid the blistering heat of Denver this year. We are just far enough north. We have lower population, great chunks of land are still available at really reasonable prices. People are good neighbors, no big city attitudes. We are a little older than you. We retired in 2010 at 65 and moved for good in 2011 from Denver. We have 8+ acres on a little lake, no animal limits. Dh just built us a beautiful coop and pens this year. Working on the best chicken math, we got 50+ straight run birds of varying breeds.( Just enough for our personal use lol.) We are just about to go through our first rooster thinning and our new girls are about to lay, exciting times.



Note to Heather:
When we were younger and planning for retirement, we worked on all of the things you are doing. Living frugally, separating needs from wants, paying cash for our cars, shopping at thrift stores, maximizing retirement savings, paying off and improving our retirement home before retirement. BUT, the defining deal breaker for us and all of our friends turned out to be something that we had no control over, HEALTH INSURANCE.

Yea we talked about the health insurance deal. I don't know at that time what things will be like or what we will do. I figure our best bet now is to get healthier and really watch how we live. More movement, more natural foods. Something we have worked on slowly but honestly right now we are thinking, omg we are closing in on 40 and we gotta get a handle on everything before we have problems. Good genes means we might have a dang good chance of outliving our funds so we are being pretty careful with our planning. I can only hope we can be as lucky as his grammy. She took no meds until about 4 months before she died at 93. I think on that we all just have to cross our fingers.

 

[Chick N Haus]

I have worked in health care where I have had to look at and/or take people's health histories for many years, first as an ER nurse, then as an employee health nurse for a major hospital. Two things that really stand out are first in the ER that if it weren't for alcohol, drugs or stupidity- ER people wouldn't have jobs. Also, you would be surprised at how many people who say come in for an unrelated injury are on mood altering drugs like paxil,etc. Second, in employee health, athletic injuries when you are young and active and over-use will come back to haunt you in your old age. So, all of the people who are serious joggers and bikers. get knee and hip replacements and suffer from back pain. Life may be long, but it will be painful. Moderation really is the key and learn to deal with life. There shouldn't be a pill for just being alive. That's my soap box, says great-grandma.

 

[HeatherLynn]

Ok so remember the conversation a bit back about grocery store meats? Well we all sat down for a talk and in talking to everyone else in the house I am not alone in having stomach issues whenever we buy " fresh" meat from the grocery. They wanna rip out my gall bladder without me even having stones because I have these gall bladder like attacks but when I eat meat from the butcher I have no attack at all. My mom and son both have milder issues but we linked it all up to when we eat fresh meat from the commissary. Holy crap we were paying more for meat and it was harming us too. Now that just bites my bum I swear.

Its time for the winter stock up. Mom and I have both been saving and we are going to the butcher for some decent meat i can actually eat. The upside is fear about eating that remaining meat has resulted in me having at least 6 servings of veggies and fruit a day. Apple a day lowers the numbers of copays I must fork out.

 

[DennisK]

Since this subject was brought up earlier in this thread, I have been thinking of those chemicals that I personally used on my horses - wormers, for example. Horses that are kept in confined quarters must be wormed because they are eating close to their own droppings which contain a lot of fly larva. I suspect the same applies to cattle. Scott pointed me toward the Serengeti pasturing practice which I learned depended a lot on the dung beetle which cannot live in pasture used by wormed cattle. Worming chemicals pass through the animal and continue on into the soil. When I was in the city, we kept horses in a stable which produced tons of manure. This was trucked away by a local farmer. Wormers were only one type of chemical used on those horses, and as I watched the farmer haul away the manure littered with old gaz pads, and empty syringes, I wondered if all that stuff would end up in the vegetables we buy at the store. I now wonder if the same problem can be found in cattle lots. These cattle lots would crowd these animals in a small space and then feed them corn to fatten the beef. I wonder how many chemicals are given to them, or should I say, given to us?

 

[Hangtown Farms]

Ok so remember the conversation a bit back about grocery store meats? Well we all sat down for a talk and in talking to everyone else in the house I am not alone in having stomach issues whenever we buy " fresh" meat from the grocery. They wanna rip out my gall bladder without me even having stones because I have these gall bladder like attacks but when I eat meat from the butcher I have no attack at all. My mom and son both have milder issues but we linked it all up to when we eat fresh meat from the commissary. Holy crap we were paying more for meat and it was harming us too. Now that just bites my bum I swear.

Its time for the winter stock up. Mom and I have both been saving and we are going to the butcher for some decent meat i can actually eat. The upside is fear about eating that remaining meat has resulted in me having at least 6 servings of veggies and fruit a day. Apple a day lowers the numbers of copays I must fork out.

we bought part of a free range cow.. best meat I have ever ate and was afordable