Retiring, full timing and (very) early planning

[cKarlGo]

Some time ago, I decided that I wanted to full time after I retire. Recently, I realized just how quickly the time is flying past and I want to begin planning both logistically and financially.

Can anyone recommend some reliable resources that they've used on how to plan for a full timing retirement?

Thanks!

[Koop]

BarbaraOK wrote:

cKarlGo wrote:


Me either. Certainly not when my entire future is hanging in the balance.

I can remember 2 young kids 47 years ago, newly married, who headed out from Seattle to Oxford, Ohio with the hope that a job and acceptance to the graduate program at university would be waiting, with a car that burned a quart of oil and a quart of transmission fluid every 200 miles or so, $200 in family gifts in our pockets, and all of our clothes and other worldly possessions packed into a 1962 Mercury Meteor, on the 23rd of December 1966. And we had complete confidence that things would work out - and they did. :B

Not quite as adventuresome now, but we still try to limit the planning so that we can experience some wonder in our lives.

Barb

If this was posted on Facebook I'd click "Like".

[cKarlGo]

Rlaubert wrote:
My wife and I will be hitting the road next year (Fall 2014). We recently sat down with a financial planner who took our goals, income, savings, etc and drew up a plan for us. We actually sat down with 4 different planners and three of them were only interested in the money we were going to invest ($50,000 from an insurance settlement). The last guy was a true professional. He asked a lot of questions, understood the Military retirement system, SS, and even a little bit about the RV lifestyle. He provided a lot of different situations and how we would fair with each. Described the insurances we would need to cover life changing events etc. Even had a budget of sorts worked out for while we were traveling. With his help, we determined we can travel, we won't have to workamp unless we want to.
I would highly recommend finding a financial planner to work with. It will give you piece of mind if nothing else.

Excellent suggestion. One I hadn't previously considered. Thank you!

[Rlaubert]

My wife and I will be hitting the road next year (Fall 2014). We recently sat down with a financial planner who took our goals, income, savings, etc and drew up a plan for us. We actually sat down with 4 different planners and three of them were only interested in the money we were going to invest ($50,000 from an insurance settlement). The last guy was a true professional. He asked a lot of questions, understood the Military retirement system, SS, and even a little bit about the RV lifestyle. He provided a lot of different situations and how we would fair with each. Described the insurances we would need to cover life changing events etc. Even had a budget of sorts worked out for while we were traveling. With his help, we determined we can travel, we won't have to workamp unless we want to.
I would highly recommend finding a financial planner to work with. It will give you piece of mind if nothing else.

[BarbaraOK]

cKarlGo wrote:


Me either. Certainly not when my entire future is hanging in the balance.

I can remember 2 young kids 47 years ago, newly married, who headed out from Seattle to Oxford, Ohio with the hope that a job and acceptance to the graduate program at university would be waiting, with a car that burned a quart of oil and a quart of transmission fluid every 200 miles or so, $200 in family gifts in our pockets, and all of our clothes and other worldly possessions packed into a 1962 Mercury Meteor, on the 23rd of December 1966. And we had complete confidence that things would work out - and they did. :B

Not quite as adventuresome now, but we still try to limit the planning so that we can experience some wonder in our lives.

Barb

[gitane59]

FW_Michele wrote:
We're completely debt-free, and have two S&B houses - one we live in and one we rent out. The intent is to sell one, and continue renting the other, when we go full-time.

When we're done, we'll move back into the current rental.

My DW and I would like to do the same, however the thought of having to hire someone to manage a rental property when we are not near the rental property is a major concern for my DW. How do you plan on managing the rental property from a distance?
We are also from Canada and wish the full-timing lifestyle was more embraced and accepted up here in Canada.

[cKarlGo]

ttempleton wrote:
No plan, just do it if u want to. Life is too short

"Russians don't take a dump, son, without a plan."

-- Admiral Painter, The Hunt for Red October

Me either. Certainly not when my entire future is hanging in the balance.

[ttempleton]

No plan, just do it if u want to. Life is too short

[Scott16]

cKarlGo wrote:
Some time ago, I decided that I wanted to full time after I retire. Recently, I realized just how quickly the time is flying past and I want to begin planning both logistically and financially.

Can anyone recommend some reliable resources that they've used on how to plan for a full timing retirement?

Thanks!

I am in the same position as you are. Have been planning to four years now six more to go. I have a note book going with all kinds of retirement information. A lot of the fulltime articles have been listed that is what i am reading up on. I thank the enjoyment in planning is what makes it so interesting, its a goal in life i want to Achieve.
My position is different, in that i live in Oahu Hawaii so have to move back to the Main Land US Just to start with. Lot more logistics involved.
Good luck, see you down the road.
Scott

[FW_Michele]

cKarlGo wrote:

BarbaraOK wrote:
Biggest problem at your age will be health insurance. You're still 'youngsters' but the body has this way of surprising you when you get around 60 and most times it isn't trivial, so make sure that you're covered.

I'm lucky that I get to keep my insurance, mostly paid for by my employer.

I'm lucky that I'm Canadian. 😉 Though I will need traveller's insurance.

[cKarlGo]

BarbaraOK wrote:
Biggest problem at your age will be health insurance. You're still 'youngsters' but the body has this way of surprising you when you get around 60 and most times it isn't trivial, so make sure that you're covered.

I'm lucky that I get to keep my insurance, mostly paid for by my employer.

The big wildcard I currently see is whether or not social security still exists in 2025. If it does, then I'm within $500-700/mo of my current take home, allowing for 30% in state and federal taxes on my pensions. If it doesn't, I'll have to reassess at the time.

I had planned to move back home to SC, but I have also considered FL simply because there are no taxes on pension income there. This website gives some excellent information on such things.

Thanks to everyone for their input. It's been very, very helpful.

[hitchup]

BarbaraOK wrote:
Really is no reason to downsize for 30 amps. Our coach runs just fine on 30 amps when necessary. In fact we invested in a 30 amp cord in addition to our 50 amp cord because we find so many places with just 30 amps. The only difference is that I have to be alert to what I already have going before running the washer/dryer, etc. Just takes a little practice, but really not much of a problem.

We've already tried 30amps a few times. In fact, just last Friday night we were just north of Knoxville, TN. We could only use 1 AC at a time and in the humid south, that isn't always pleasant. We even ordered our unit with PCS to monitor amps and allow us to use 30amps.

A 38' 5er with a tote on the back is quite long for many of the older campgrounds. A TC or Cls B will definitely be in our future.

[BarbaraOK]

Biggest problem at your age will be health insurance. You're still 'youngsters' but the body has this way of surprising you when you get around 60 and most times it isn't trivial, so make sure that you're covered.

Generally we find that people spend what ever they have to spend. If you are planning on less than $2500 a month then you are going to limit yourself. Not saying it can't be done, but it won't be as comfortable as it would be if you have more income from retirement plans/savings.

A lot of your expenses will be the same. So the first thing is to take a good look at what you spend your money on now, identify those things that will stay the same - like food, eating out, recreation, then look at the things that will change - mortgage goes away maybe replaced by RV Loan, utilities replaced by campground fees, more fuel, less on clothes (no more work clothes), and see what range your total is. Yes, a lot of people put their actual expenses on line, but we've put together some things to think about on our blog: Budget Considerations
Take a look and see what might apply to you. Obviously we all have things that are unique, so unless you are really into wine like we are, having a separate budget line for wine won't make sense for you.

Barb

[FW_Michele]

I'm impressed by the OP who is still over 10 years from retirement, and planning now. We're just starting to put our plans in motion. Bought our first FW and an F-350 Diesel Dually to tow her.

I'm 58, and DH is 53 - and we're trying to figure out if we can do this sooner than later. We're completely debt-free, and have two S&B houses - one we live in and one we rent out. The intent is to sell one, and continue renting the other, when we go full-time.

When we're done, we'll move back into the current rental.

I'm sure most of you full-timers know what it costs you on a monthly basis to live the dream - care to share?

[BarbaraOK]

Really is no reason to downsize for 30 amps. Our coach runs just fine on 30 amps when necessary. In fact we invested in a 30 amp cord in addition to our 50 amp cord because we find so many places with just 30 amps. The only difference is that I have to be alert to what I already have going before running the washer/dryer, etc. Just takes a little practice, but really not much of a problem.

As to not using all of your liquid assets, I will agree. In order to pay all cash we would have had to use one of the 401k accounts and pay a much larger tax bite (like OUCH on top of our salaries at the time) or finance part and use current income at a much, much lower rate to pay off the loan. Our 401k has since done very well in the market recovery, so we are ahead of the game and if, for some reason, we need the cash, it is there.

Barb