Maricar19 Account Talk

Which TSP option/s did or will you choose upon Retirement?

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Maricar19 said:
You are on the money, SL. I should start recording our daily/monthly expenses for the next 6-8 months before we really submit our retirement papers. We only see the obvious monthly bills, like cable, cell phone, utilities, car insurance, etc. i guess we never paid attention to the $5 here and $10 there. And my vet bills...
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MC,

LOL !!! I'm kinda anal about expenses (I'm an Engineer by training...so my Wife would say : "Kinda ???" :D ) but I have used Quicken for a lot of years, so in my retirement planning, it was easy to look back over the last 10 years and see what my "average" expenses were...including those odd-ball unexpected big-ticket things...they average out over the long term...it's good to get a handle on what your routine expenses will be !

...and Vet expenses ? TELL me about it !!! In 2014, we spent $3K on emergency surgery on our "Big Dog"...our German Shepard Dog (GSD), Book !!! :eek: He came down with "bloat" ! ...caught it in time, 'cause we'd seen it before...now THAT was an "unexpected retirement expense" !!! He's fine, now !!! :smile:


Stoplight...
 
DreamboatAnnie said:
...Oh I can think of lots of benefactors for your left over money! lol :D Actually, I immediately thought of your niece. But I am sure there are several relative s that would appreciate some help once its all said and done. Take care!... and best wishes on your retirement and your investments!!! :smile: DBAnnie

P.S. Live long and prosper!
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THANKS, DBA !!!

But that, there, is the rub......so we have no Kids ; the Nieces and Nephews are the first "line", while the Grand-Nieces and -Nephews are the second line ! In this day of "blended Families", etc, it's tough to decide !

Yes...we're SO proud of, and close to, the Grand-Niece, on her mission in Peru...she's DEFINITELY on the list !!! (Just a shameless plug for her : Check out her blog posts...that Kid can write ! Grace Reaching | Without Borders "Come Eat My Cake !)

OTOH...what do you do with all the others ? Do you leave money to the Family that you barely know ? Do you leave money to the "losers", to help them out, even though they haven't done crap with their lives ? Do you leave money to the successful ones, who don't really need it, 'cause they are doing well ???

Geez...this is a topic for a whole new thread...Sorry, MC, for hijacking your thread !!! :D


Stoplight...
 
Last edited:
I didn't expect the gravity of my 10% exposure until this morning....it changed my perspective...maybe I should limit it to 5% every month after the last IFT...
I ususally catch the good drips until my new IFTs are in.
This time ..it didn't work.
 
Continuation of #22

RETIREMENT and HOUSING

Upon retirement, we plan to sell our house and buy a smaller house.
1. Should we invest the proceeds (equity) in the stock market and apply for a mortgage to buy the smaller house?
Currently, my APR is 2.99% and the probability of getting the same APR or slightly higher (3.49%) is 85%.
2. Or should we use the proceeds to outright buy the house?

Right now, the option to stay in the house is not so appealing despite the low APR.
1. Too many bedrooms and bathrooms to clean;
2. Summer - Almost 2 hours to mow the grass (I have no riding mower) and weed out the flower garden;
3. Winter – shoveling snow is a pain in the back even with a snow removal machine
4. Winter gas and summer electric bill, $400/month (spring and fall seasons is between $180.00-$240.00);
5. Taxes $8300 per annum (school, county and township);
6. Home insurance –not too bad $1100.00 per annum.
 
Maricar19 said:
Continuation of #22

RETIREMENT and HOUSING

Upon retirement, we plan to sell our house and buy a smaller house.
1. Should we invest the proceeds (equity) in the stock market and apply for a mortgage to buy the smaller house?
Currently, my APR is 2.99% and the probability of getting the same APR or slightly higher (3.49%) is 85%.
2. Or should we use the proceeds to outright buy the house?

Right now, the option to stay in the house is not so appealing despite the low APR.
1. Too many bedrooms and bathrooms to clean;
2. Summer - Almost 2 hours to mow the grass (I have no riding mower) and weed out the flower garden;
3. Winter – shoveling snow is a pain in the back even with a snow removal machine
4. Winter gas and summer electric bill, $400/month (spring and fall seasons is between $180.00-$240.00);
5. Taxes $8300 per annum (school, county and township);
6. Home insurance –not too bad $1100.00 per annum.
Click to expand...

Why wait for retirement? Take a road trip to south Florida. :drive:
 
jpcavin said:
Which city would that be? :scratchchin: I am in Pensacola. The only hurricane I remember was Ivan in 2004.
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MC,

Me too....but I wasn't here in 2004 ! :eek: Co-workers told me horror stories....

OTOH, hurricanes get "sensationalized" by the media. Unless you want to live right on the beach or a bay (which we couldn't afford anyway !), you can take the proper steps to "prepare". I lived through several, growing up in the Tampa area, and the Wife lived through several in the Hollywood area. Like any other weather event, you have to respect them, pay attention to them, and "prep" (or even evacuate !) if a particularly nasty one heads your way....you get a LOT more warning than, say, a tornado in the plains !

IMHO, the ice storm we had back when we were living near Baltimore was WAY worse than any hurricane we've been through :D


Stoplight...
 
Maricar19 said:
Do you live more towards the inland?
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I live near the Gulf of Mexico on the Florida Panhandle. Like Stoplight said, you have to respect the advice given by the weatherman. Prepare by having emergency supplies for at least 3 days and some cash. Evacuate if/and when they tell you to. I hated the Freeze we had in February 2014 more than any hurricane. I was not here for Ivan, I evacuated. However, my neighbors went through a horrible ordeal. Evidently, it came in the darkness of the night. They could not "see" if a tree was coming at them or not. All they could do was huddle in the closet and wait it out in terror. Just make sure you have a generator for your fridge and fan and a hobby to keep you entertained in the event the electricity goes out.
 
I lived in Charleston SC and remember when Hurricane Hugo centered his eye right over my house, at night!hurricane.jpg
 
Maricar19 said:
JP, when you came back, how was your house?
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Trees down everywhere. One fell across my driveway but it was gone when I came back. My neighbors cut it up...bless their hearts. The only damage to the house was when my ex and neighbor decided to cut down a damaged tree and they clipped the corner of the roof. :eek: :banghead::alcoholic:
 
Maricar19 said:
Nnuut, how did you make out? Was your house damaged?
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Yes there was 8 trees down 1 hit the house and one hit my Camaro Z28!! I cut all the trees up and hauled them to the street. No Electricity for 2 weeks, water for 1 week. They are a lot of fun at night!:eek:
 
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