Retirement Targets
- Thread starter yowza
- Start date
Its been an experience being retired a year in May, so far its been great, we actually have more money coming in that when both of us were working from our pensions, SS and investments. We got an investment statement last week, for the quarter the made a little over 6% allowing us to stay on target of taking out 4 grand a month with ease.
Our fuel bill for driving has dropped from $300 to $400 a month down to around $100 to $150 a month.
Our fuel bill for driving has dropped from $300 to $400 a month down to around $100 to $150 a month.
I will let you mow my lawn and hoe in the garden to help relive those memories, no pay of course,
Volunteer work. Great retirement gig!I will let you mow my lawn and hoe in the garden to help relive those memories, no pay of course,
If you're getting close to retirement, I'd highly recommend using newretirement.com. It's taught me a lot of tax strategies that I plan on using when I retire. The only shortcomings it doesn't have is ACA planning pre Medicare and how to work it to get discounts. I was going to wait to use the pay version until I retire but I thought I'd spring for it, since it's so useful.
I can not second this enough (I have had it since Dec, 2022). I am actually setting up Retirement Planning Coach as a potential post-retirement part time gig at very low rates using New Retirement as the program. Like most planning packages, NR takes all of your inputs and shows your current status (net worth, account breakdowns, etc.). In other words, same as many packages that shows past results and current status.
Where it shines is, it then guides you through potential futures (you can setup 10 variations) with how you will access and use those funds. All the inputs are controlled by frequency (recurring monthly, quarter, yearly or one time), rates, etc. You can try variations where you do Roth conversions, SS at different ages, part time work, big expenses early in retirements, etc. and all of these potential futures are evaluated and presented with tax, saving, etc. implications with full Monte Carlo simulations. NR even has built in "explorers" to help you with SS, Roth and other options and suggest optimum choices. All potential futures are based off the same current status (since it is already completed and can't be changed) and only the different future moves/choices impact the outcome of that scenario.
NR has two weeks free access and then there is an annual subscription ($120). I HIGHLY recommend you take a day and look at the software and input your numbers. If you are over age 55 or 5 or less years from retirement, it probably will help you guide into retirement and worth the subscription. Under age 50, the two weeks evaluation will help you understand your current status and potential futures, but I don't know if it would be worth it to continue annual subscriptions (maybe one year to get more time in the software). I will probably continue my subscription at least 2-3 years into retirement (next March) just to make sure things still make sense and see how the future is impacted with different money moves.
There are several videos on YouTube to assist in understanding some of the software options. I could attempt to answer any specific questions if you DM me.
I should look at that as I plan on retiring in about 9 months
I like to listen to Josh Scandlen as he is down to earth and straight talker. Says most CFPs use scare tactics to get people to invest more and work longer than necessary so they can earn higher fees. In this video he talks with Derek Tharp, who is an Iowa State grad and first 4 minutes they talk Iowa State. Good video on retirement withdrawal rates (and a couple of digs in on U of Iowa). Derek has his own YouTube channel which looks like there is good info there too.
I am retired. This should be obvious, but there is so much you just can't anticipate. I thought we were fine at first, but now I wonder. As you get older, a lot of you, like me, will be more and more risk averse. So your investments languish as you play it safe. Then insurance goes up 30%, utilities go up significantly, the cost of Coca Cola doubles, all within just a couple years. Taxes just seem to hit you everywhere you turn, and especially once you get to RMDs on your untaxed savings (starting in a couple years for me). The future cost of living just really looks expensive to me now, which I didn't sense when I retired. I just feel now like most people are going to need more than what they think.
Insurance, medical costs and inflation are the killer in retirement. If you have a way to control the first two, it helps greatly, inflation is the luck of the draw. We have kept interest rates low for years keeping inflation in check, and then the pandemic hit and up it goes. Corporations are now using this to keep prices on their goods and services higher than normal to fatten their bottom line.
I retired in 2016 at 63 and started SS the next year. Had a nice 401K and wife had a decent pension from retiring from the Postal Service. We actually have a bigger nest egg now than when we retired and really haven't changed our spending. Very lucky but having a defined pension really makes a difference--it's to bad they are almost all going away.
Same but in CR.
Have talked to 3 or 4 different outfits, and they all basically want to give you access to their "secret sauce stock portfolio", but charge you 1% (or more!). Eff that.
You have no idea, nor can they make any promises what you will make. If the fee is based on portfolio gains, I am in. If it is based on portfolio balance, I am out.
My advisors always project out, taking inflation into account. But I don't think they predicted what has happened the last few years. Luckily I have 20+ years left.
Wait, that's not the flex I think it is, is it?
The more I think about it, a good CPA may be way more valuable than a financial advisor. Financial advisors rarely seem intelligent or brave enough to dive into tax planning.
That said, in limited attempts, I’ve had a tough time finding a CPA that wants more business (kind of the opposite of advisors in every way I guess). Thankfully I have quite a few years to find someone…
