Is your retirement financially difficult or comfortable?

Liberty said:
Doing embarassingly good here folks. So much to be grateful for. Do wish they had decent dental insurance set up for us oldsters though...lol. Those crowns and root canals do add up!
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Pre retirement dental bills were my biggest medical expense every year. I was on a high deductible plans for many years, at $4,500 per person deductible and a family of four even routine dental is expensive. Now with a Medicare advantage plan I'm so very happy with all that's covered. I went yesterday for a cleaning and ex rays, no charge. I have an old filling needs replaced, will cost me nothing. I think I paid $250 for my crown last year, I use to pay around $1,400.

It's such a relief to be at a point in life where every day isn't full of struggle and stress. Truly a blessing.
 

Teacher Terry said:
I have saved for retirement since young. Unfortunately when my second husband and I divorced after 22 years 3/4ths of the money was hidden. Then I remarried and we were together for 23 years. We divorced and my income and assets were split in half so definitely have less than I planned on. I was fine until inflation hit and then I cut everything possible to live on my monthly income and not use my savings. I am planning on one more trip to Europe and then done traveling. I will save my savings for true emergencies.
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@Teacher Terry I understand what you say about divorce and splitting assets as I went through the same. But I'd rather have only half of the assets than be married to that half-assed ex-husband of mine 😅

Like you, I hope to explore parts of Europe again then I'll be done with international travel. Maybe I'll hit the road and explore more of the USA at that point.
 
Leann said:
@Teacher Terry I understand what you say about divorce and splitting assets as I went through the same. But I'd rather have only half of the assets than be married to that half-assed ex-husband of mine 😅

Like you, I hope to explore parts of Europe again then I'll be done with international travel. Maybe I'll hit the road and explore more of the USA at that point.
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I initiated the divorce because he was a serial cheater and had went from being a loving person to critical and difficult to live with so my life is better in all ways except financially.
 
Leann said:
@Teacher Terry I understand what you say about divorce and splitting assets as I went through the same. But I'd rather have only half of the assets than be married to that half-assed ex-husband of mine 😅
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I divorced at 48 and can say without hesitation I would never have been able to retire at 57 if I had remained married. I was married to a reckless spender and even though I always made good money we struggled trying to get ahead. I divorced and kept the kids with me, bought the house again, paid spousal support, kids expenses plus college, and still managed to get financially comfortable.

Those of you that married someone you were financially compatable with should count yourself blessed

The thread about living frugally is what really got me thinking about this subject. All those years of making smart financial decisions are so worth it when you can live comfortably in retirement. It doesn't mean you have to be a cheapskate, heck I've spent a lot of fun money in my life, but I always evaluated the value of what I spent money on. (and still do)
 
Our house is mortgage free, our tenants rent payments cover all of our month to month costs, including utilities, insurance, property taxes and maintenance. Each of us gets the Canada Pension, plus the Old Age Pension plus 2 private pensions from previous long term employment we had . Our 10 year old car is paid for, so are all the appliances in the house ( 3 living units in the house ). No debts at all. We have a $15,000 emergency fund in a savings account " Just in case we need it ". JimB.
 
Spouse fortunately has full pension with excellent benefits. I worked in various industries and by sheer good luck learned about insurance, banking/finance, and financial planning.

We are spenders. Always have been and always will be. Fought through some financial bad luck, finally got interested in saving in our mid-40's. Although our progress was haphazard, we kept whittling away at it - holistic financial planning is a BIG complex subject! - and finally got our ducks in a row. The last bull market really helped, as did a moderate inheritance.

Took early retirement - I'm older so retired 2 yrs before he did. Been 12 yrs now and our planning has made all the difference for us. We both worked but made less money than most of the people we know, so good luck, fortunate timing, and properly strategizing has enabled us to enjoy a good retirement without much worry.

Fingers crossed our health holds up, and I hope the same for everyone here. Rich or poor, one's health can never be taken for granted.
 
C50 said:
Those of you that married someone you were financially compatable with should count yourself blessed

The thread about living frugally is what really got me thinking about this subject. All those years of making smart financial decisions are so worth it when you can live comfortably in retirement. It doesn't mean you have to be a cheapskate, heck I've spent a lot of fun money in my life, but I always evaluated the value of what I spent money on. (and still do)
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My wife and I have always lived frugally, but never did without anything we needed and most things we really wanted. We always lived below our means. The only one who didn't buy into the program was Junior. He never agreed with my choices like -

"Let's see, you want me to spend money on cable t.v. so you can spend more time watching television"

"I'm glad to hear all your friends have telephones, if there is ever an emergency you will always be able to borrow one"

I'm very happy with the financial decisions my wife and I made over the years. Life in today's times would be very scary if one was financially insecure, times are already scary enough.

p.s. In spite of the suffering Junior endured, he turned out o.k., he is an M.D. at one of the top 10 hospital systems in the country and a professor at their Med School.
 
C50 said:
Pre retirement dental bills were my biggest medical expense every year. I was on a high deductible plans for many years, at $4,500 per person deductible and a family of four even routine dental is expensive. Now with a Medicare advantage plan I'm so very happy with all that's covered. I went yesterday for a cleaning and ex rays, no charge. I have an old filling needs replaced, will cost me nothing. I think I paid $250 for my crown last year, I use to pay around $1,400.

It's such a relief to be at a point in life where every day isn't full of struggle and stress. Truly a blessing.
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Who do you have your advantage plan with? Wondering if they do cove all hospital expenses like the standard medicare supplement does.
 
Liberty said:
Who do you have your advantage plan with? Wondering if they do cove all hospital expenses like the standard medicare supplement does.
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My plan is Anthem MediBlue Preferred. I pay an extra $42 a month for the dental/vision enhanced package. That also gives me other benefits like $300 a year for health related purchases, they even sent me a $500 debit card to use for any dental expenses not covered. Here's a coinsidence, the dental is thru a company called Liberty, sounds like a perfect match for you!
 
I'm doing okay, financially. I don't have any desire to travel or buy expensive toys. I'm a homebody and am content working in my woodshop or watching a movie. I have some cash just sitting in the bank, which is probably not a good thing to do with money since inflation is making it worth less and less every day while investments are going through the roof. I just don't have any desire to spend time researching that kind of thing and I've never been a good investor. I'm too much of a pessimist. I always think stocks are going to go down at the slightest hint they're weakening, so I sell, and then it takes off. I'm a buy high, sell low kind of investor. :rolleyes:
 
I am comfortable in retirement. Our house and my 6-year old car is paid for. My hubby's car is leased, and we will most likely buy it in March 2023. I often exceed my monthly budget due to costs for travel or entertainment. I need something to look forward to. This month, I am determined to stay within my budget. My costs for clothing (suits, shirts, ties) has reduced dramatically. I rarely buy clothes or shoes anymore. I have been surprised at how little I spend vs. when I was working.

My Social Security payments are not nearly as much as I need to pay off my credit card bills, but I withdraw from the cash in my financial accounts. It is still minimal. My hubby is working, so he pays for everything he needs. Our health insurance is through his company, so I have declined Medicare Part B for the coming year.

I would like to say I have been lucky, but that is only part of it. I've have worked closely with my financial advisor for over 20 years and have socked away every dollar I could into my 401k when I was employed, so when my company terminated my job in June 2020 I had no regrets.
 
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It depends on what my point of view day to day is on whether I'm doing OK financially or not. There are some days when I think that all of our good money management and saving has really paid off and some days - like when I look at what the stock market's doing - that my stomach just sinks.

We are living on my private pension. More than what SS would pay here in the U.S. but less than what I would like. Because I am getting a pension, my SS will be so small that I will not claim until age 70 which is in 7 years. In a year's time my hubby has two small pensions that will kick in, so will help out.

We are supplementing my pension with some 401k withdrawals and income from a rental property. We have had some unexpected expenses but they are covered by the 401k and rental income. Really, we are doing fine, it's just when I see what is happening to our investments in the stock market, it is really bothering me.
 
Uptosnuff said:
It depends on what my point of view day to day is on whether I'm doing OK financially or not. There are some days when I think that all of our good money management and saving has really paid off and some days - like when I look at what the stock market's doing - that my stomach just sinks.

We are living on my private pension. More than what SS would pay here in the U.S. but less than what I would like. Because I am getting a pension, my SS will be so small that I will not claim until age 70 which is in 7 years. In a year's time my hubby has two small pensions that will kick in, so will help out.

We are supplementing my pension with some 401k withdrawals and income from a rental property. We have had some unexpected expenses but they are covered by the 401k and rental income. Really, we are doing fine, it's just when I see what is happening to our investments in the stock market, it is really bothering me.
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Here in Canada the amount of our Government pensions is not affected by any private pensions we receive. If our annual total pension income is greater than a certain amount we do have to pay , but we are also allowed to use a number of legal tax deductions as we rent part of our house to tenants. All of the money we spend to operate as landlords is tax deductible, so it balances out. JimB.
 
C50 said:
My plan is Anthem MediBlue Preferred. I pay an extra $42 a month for the dental/vision enhanced package. That also gives me other benefits like $300 a year for health related purchases, they even sent me a $500 debit card to use for any dental expenses not covered. Here's a coinsidence, the dental is thru a company called Liberty, sounds like a perfect match for you!
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Thanks, but most advantage plans have an annual "out of pocket" hospital deductible, which was why i am asking if your's does or not - looks good if you don't ever have possible annual out of pocket hospital deductibles?:

https://www.65incorporated.com/topics/out-pocket-medicare-costs/can-you-explain-out-pocket-limit/
 
NorthernLight said:
It depends which pension(s) you're receiving. There are 3 levels (CPP, OAS, and GIS), all based on different criteria, so it's kind of complicated.
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Both my self and my Wife get CPP and OAS, plus 2 private pensions from previous employers. Me city of Toronto, her University of Toronto. Neither of us would qualify for, or need the GIS supplement. CPP because we both contributed to it ( me since 1965, her since 1969 ) and OAS as Canadian citizens. JimB .
 
Liberty said:
Thanks, but most advantage plans have an annual "out of pocket" hospital deductible, which was why i am asking if your's does or not - looks good if you don't ever have possible annual out of pocket hospital deductibles?:

https://www.65incorporated.com/topics/out-pocket-medicare-costs/can-you-explain-out-pocket-limit/
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Sorry, misunderstood. Yes my plan deductible is $3,400 max out of pocket per year. As for hospital specify deductible I'm honestly not sure if there is one or what it would be.
 
That’s really tough Ruthanne. I bought pet insurance because even though I have the monthly payment Maltese often have expensive health issues when older. Vets in Nevada are really expensive.
 

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