Was it the little things or the big things that have impacted your retirement finances?

The Great Recession for me, 2008-2012. Some experts said it should have been called a Mini Depression. It was like a financial explosion šŸ’£ in my life and hoped-for career. Then I went looking for a new career, but really, by that time I was 50 and in California and if you are 50, female, and in California, there's only one place that really wants you and that's the sidewalks.

Here is your tent.

It did not help that simultaneously my mental health was severely comprised by a very bad Kaiser Permanente PCP. I was so mentally sick that it never even occurred to me, "Gee, maybe I need a better doctor?"

THEN, in addition to that, all sorts of crap was going on with the family members I was helping deal with their own problems, so that whole period, from 2007-08 to about 2015 was just a giant **** storm.

My own personal earthquakes, followed by a tornado, followed by a Cat5 hurricane, followed by temporary dementia. I am speaking metaphorically because I don't want to share all the personal details. In the midst of it all my mother died. That's no metaphor.

Financially, it wiped me out. And who cared? NO ONE. No one in local or Federal government, certainly not the banks, no one gave a flying fart. I will hate Wells F***** and Bank of Avarice and all the rest of the criminal banks for ever. So sorry to hold that grudge. :(. Not very Christian of me. ā›ŖšŸ˜¢

It has left me with a lot of PTSD and even when I had an opportunity to buy a condo in an area I didn't like, when they were very cheap, I could not summon the courage to do it. I kept thinking, "If I buy a home they will just take it away again." "They" meaning the state or federal government or the banks or any invisible group called "they" who have more money and power than me, and that's just about everyone.

That's what I have learned about America: if you have anything nice, everyone will try to take it from you and hardly anyone will try to help you keep it. That's what the Great Recession taught me.
 

Last edited:
Colleen said:
I was watching a channel on Youtube I had subscribed to a while back about this guy that was retiring before age 65 and he wanted to see if he and his wife, who already collects SS, can live mainly on SS. Every month he gives an update on their "living expenses". It's been about 8 months for him in retirement and he started collecting SS in January.

It's interesting because out of their combined SS income each month of $3783, they spend all but maybe $150-$200 a month. They don't have a mortgage but they have big ticket expenses like $1,000/month on groceries for just the 2 of them. They go to Costco/Sam's and buy bulk. Not just once in a while but every week. They also spend $250/month on cable. They spend $250/month on eating out. They also spend $100/month on lottery tickets. They spend all of it.

I kept wondering what his wife would do if he died first. The other day, he had a video addressing that very question that someone had asked and here's what he said. He said his wife would get $2523/month (his current SS) and he has a $200,000 life insurance policy that he pays $160/month for now that she would get. He said she could live for the next 15+ years on all that. So she would be living on $1100/month plus his SS.

My frugal mind says....why spend every penny you're getting now? Why not scale down some of those things you're spending money on and sock it away as an additional cushion. Maybe I'm nuts since I learned a lesson the hard way.
Click to expand...
They do not sound very financially wise to me. $1,000 a mo. on groceries? WTH are they eating and how many times a day? $250 for CABLE?! Have they not heard of streaming?
 
VintageBetter said:
They do not sound very financially wise to me. $1,000 a mo. on groceries? WTH are they eating and how many times a day? $250 for CABLE?! Have they not heard of streaming?
Click to expand...
we run 1,000 a month on groceries here in ny and itā€™s just my wife and i .

each shopping trip runs 225-275 or so. up from 189 two years ago
 

Cornhusker said:
Health issues affected my retirement some, but buying houses has really put a dent in my plans.
I'm only getting rent off one house, my daughter and her family live in one and stepson lives in one.
I rent one to my ex-wife and I live in the other 2.
That's why I can't retire yet.
Click to expand...
This can surely be a terrible trap. Fortunately I only have one son. He has ricocheted around several properties I owned . As his mental illness got worseā€¦so did the condition of the homes. I would sell..he would go to anothet. I ended up deeding him one simply because I was at wits end. It is trashed and currently unliveable. I moved him in with us. More control. But thru this mess I lost probably 250000. Sorry you are stuck.
 
I've been extremely fortunate (financially) in my retirement. I started work for my last company in 1973. One of the perks was a stock match of 6 percent of your salary. The accounting Manager (great man!) advised me to put all I could into the company stock, and LEAVE IT ALONE and let it grow.

I actually managed to do that for the next 33 years - which in hindsight surprises the heck out of me. The end result, between the monthly pension, SS, and stock dividends (now RMD), had been one wonderful blessing.
 
PeppermintPatty said:
I feel so bad for you. You should have asked for help. You obviously didnā€™t understand what you were signing which is a real shame.

Oh a positive note, you seem to be doing really well. If you can afford your house, try and keep it. Itā€™s a good investment.

Itā€™s good that you have such a good interest rate. Try and hang on to it.

Iā€™m sincerely sorry that this happened to you.
You seem to be handling it so well. Youā€™re a strong women Colleen.
Click to expand...
I'm doing fine. Thanks for your concern. I watch my expenses very closely but I'm not struggling like a lot of senior folks I know. We had a good savings so I do have something to fall back on if I need to. I don't need much so I spend very little. I'm keeping the house for now. It's cheaper than rent and I have the freedom to do what I want with it. I'm very Blessed :)
 
VintageBetter said:
They do not sound very financially wise to me. $1,000 a mo. on groceries? WTH are they eating and how many times a day? $250 for CABLE?! Have they not heard of streaming?
Click to expand...
I know, right?? That's nuts. Even when my hubby was still here, we spent on average $120 maybe twice a month. This Youtuber gets a lot of comments telling him that they could make better choices with groceries by not spending so much on packaged, prepared foods and instead buying fresh ingredients and cooking. All I can figure out is, his wife must not be a very good cook or household manager. She must not have much to say about what is spent or she is clueless.

Another thing he gets a lot of comments about is their cable bill ($250). It's been suggested to him many times about streaming and Roku but he says they refuse to give it up right now. Oh, well. Such a waste of money on all their expenses that I quit watching. Hope they don't find out the hard way some day that they should have put more money away instead of spending every dime.
 
I've only been retired for 2 years, so most of the financial impacts to my retirement are yet to unfold.

The impacts in the first two years have been big things but with positive effects. The price bubble for houses in 2022 felt like winning a little lottery when I sold my house, and then the depressed state of the stock market during the several months after I sold my house was the perfect time to put half of that money into investments and the other half into downsizing to a one bedroom condo.

Those things have made me both happier (love my condo and the community it is in), but I feel much safer financially. My original retirement plan would have had me living on the very bottom edge of middle class (and without enough money for home maintenance), but now I have enough for all the necessities, plus a modest amount of travel and fun.

I still worry a lot about finances and the future, but realistically I know that I have enough to get by for the number of years left. If I die as early as my father did, then I only have 7 yrs left. If I last as long as my mom, then I have 16 yrs left. According to actuary tables, I've got 17 yrs remaining, but Social Security website predicted I have 19 or 20 more years. If I was a rational person I'd pay much more attention to taking care of my body and worry less about dollars.
 
Groceries here have skyrocketed. 3 years ago I spent 200/month and now spending between 350-400/month. I eat a small breakfast, a big lunch and a piece of string cheese for dinner. I do have a few friends over for dinner a few times a month.
 
Colleen said:
I know, right?? That's nuts. Even when my hubby was still here, we spent on average $120 maybe twice a month. This Youtuber gets a lot of comments telling him that they could make better choices with groceries by not spending so much on packaged, prepared foods and instead buying fresh ingredients and cooking. All I can figure out is, his wife must not be a very good cook or household manager. She must not have much to say about what is spent or she is clueless.

Another thing he gets a lot of comments about is their cable bill ($250). It's been suggested to him many times about streaming and Roku but he says they refuse to give it up right now. Oh, well. Such a waste of money on all their expenses that I quit watching. Hope they don't find out the hard way some day that they should have put more money away instead of spending every dime.
Click to expand...
Roku has really expanded their offerings in the past few years. Much of it is terrible, reruns of horrible shows from the 60s and 70s, but some of the free TV streaming on Roku has some good movies from the past, and there are many news stations from all over.

Pre-made, packaged foods are incredibly expensive and yeah, since most of us are are retired or semi-retired, we should have time to cook now.

Do they buy alcohol? Beer and wine add up too. I don't drink so that saves me a ton.
 
The one big thing that has impacted my finances in retirement was investing as much as was allowed into my 401k while I was working. It is all in the stock market, which has been on a roll for the past few years. I was in it during the Great Recession and although it was a nail-biter it came back. I know there will be down years ahead, but I'm in it for the long haul.
 
seadoug said:
The one big thing that has impacted my finances in retirement was investing as much as was allowed into my 401k while I was working. It is all in the stock market, which has been on a roll for the past few years. I was in it during the Great Recession and although it was a nail-biter it came back. I know there will be down years ahead, but I'm in it for the long haul.
Click to expand...
I never took an economics class in college or high school so when the Recession happened, I learned from NPR, the NY Times and PBS what was going on.

But with the simultaneous rise of Internet shopping, trading, combined with the birth of DACA and so many other factors affecting the economy, I didn't know what would happen next with employment or housing. Some people said it would slowly bounce back, but then there is still the issue of finding steady employment that pays a living wage.

Even today, I drive a hybrid hatchback car as my Rescue Ship. In case of a big earthquake or genuine foreign enemy or U.S.-made inflicted apocalypse, I can live in that thing.

Yes, I know that's kind of crazy and negative, but I have 10 years of college under my belt and I always thought COLLEGE was my Rescue Ship. That has not been true for me and many thousands of American women. There are holders of graduate degrees who are homeless. Not many, but they exist.

To say I do not trust leaders from those years, on both sides, would be an understatement. Now that I have learned a little bit about economics, I also know it didn't have to happen.

But we were expendable.
 
This may be hard for some to accept, but the only time the market price of a given stock is relevant, is when you buy it, or sell it. Keep in mind that over time, stocks have been on a roller coaster, with peaks and valleys. But, the majority have gradually headed upward in "value".
 
Mobilman44 said:
This may be hard for some to accept, but the only time the market price of a given stock is relevant, is when you buy it, or sell it. Keep in mind that over time, stocks have been on a roller coaster, with peaks and valleys. But, the majority have gradually headed upward in "value".
Click to expand...
that isnā€™t true at all.

it may not be important to you at that moment in time but that value is important regardless if you sell or not .

a retirement initial draw rate is based on that value .

in fact with the method i use my yearly allowable draw is set by portfolio value .

rmds are set by value as well as asset based loans .
there is no such thing as only on paper .there is just you not needing to know or caring

there is no difference whether i sell a position and buy something else or whether i keep the same asset in play , except for maybe taxes.
 
Well, mathjack is correct on one thing, and that is the end of year value (for those of us over 70) does indeed matter, as it sets the value for the next years RMD.

But, otherwise, I agree with Warren Buffet, who basically said what I originally wrote. And of course I added a caveat, in that others may well find the premise hard to accept.
 
I'm paying a good portion of my granddaughter's college tuition, something I didn't expect to have to do. We thought she'd get full scholarships until graduation because she's brilliant, but she only got a full scholarship her first year. Due to various circumstances beyond my son and her mother's control that negatively impacted their finances, they cannot afford to pay the tuition upfront. Like @officerripley pointed out with her situation, I'm the only one who has the means to do that.

My son is just recovering from paying off massive, unexpected debts due to my DIL's sudden passing and an unbelievably expensive car repair bill. During the months his car was out of commission, he had to take Ubers and Lyfts to work in another town because his shift starts at 4:00 a.m.. That expense added insult to injury. Anyway, he is now reimbursing me for some of the tuition and my granddaughter wants to start paying me back some of it as soon as she's able. I'd rather see her save for her first apartment after dorm life is over. I'm glad I can afford to help her in this manner without making a significant dent in my retirement portfolio.
 
OneEyedDiva said:
I'm paying a good portion of my granddaughter's college tuition, something I didn't expect to have to do. We thought she'd get full scholarships until graduation because she's brilliant, but she only got a full scholarship her first year. Due to various circumstances beyond my son and her mother's control that negatively impacted their finances, they cannot afford to pay the tuition upfront. Like @officerripley pointed out with her situation, I'm the only one who has the means to do that.

My son is just recovering from paying off massive, unexpected debts due to my DIL's sudden passing and an unbelievably expensive car repair bill. During the months his car was out of commission, he had to take Ubers and Lyfts to work in another town because his shift starts at 4:00 a.m.. That expense added insult to injury. Anyway, he is now reimbursing me for some of the tuition and my granddaughter wants to start paying me back some of it as soon as she's able. I'd rather see her save for her first apartment after dorm life is over. I'm glad I can afford to help her in this manner without making a significant dent in my retirement portfolio.
Click to expand...
This is an investment. I am glad you invest in your family.
 
OneEyedDiva said:
Damn MJ...what in the heck do you two eat??!! I'm averaging $130 a month. šŸ¤‘ But then again, I don't buy red meat and I learned early on how to make a dollar out of 15 cents as the saying goes.
Click to expand...
I gave up red meat many years ago too and I'm sure that has saved me a lot of food money over the years.

I also recently gave up Diet Soda, which is a real comfort drink for me in summer, but I read a couple of articles about how Aspartame, for reasons researches do not fully understand, actually does cause blood sugar spikes just like sugar does.

I'm trying to avoid getting diabetes like my mother had. Diabetes is tough on the body.

THEN, I read yesterday that Xylitol is another sweetener that causes heart problems!!! https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/06/health/xylitol-heart-attack-stroke-wellness/index.html

Immediately checked my sugar-free gum to see if this is in it. It is not.

I look at young people eating cheeseburgers and think, "Yeah, you have the metabolism to handle that."
 
Trade said:
Slogging away at the same state government job for 31 years to get that defined benefit pension was the best thing I did for my retirement finances. People who job hopped all their lives and ended up with only social security sometimes say I'm lucky. Luck had nothing to do with it. I had a plan and I stuck to it.
Click to expand...
I hear that.

I stuck it out a little longer. I also had hoarded and banked leave time I was able to apply toward buying additional service credit for prior jobs as a student, on Summer work crews during high school, time as a legislative appointee, etc.

Bailed at 55 during an early retirement incentive program. This came long during a period of forced cutbacks after decades under NAFTA and other destructive trade policies had gutted the tax base, wiped out tourism, and diverted wealth to the mega-urbanized coasts and offshore.
 
Colleen said:
I'm doing fine. Thanks for your concern. I watch my expenses very closely but I'm not struggling like a lot of senior folks I know. We had a good savings so I do have something to fall back on if I need to. I don't need much so I spend very little. I'm keeping the house for now. It's cheaper than rent and I have the freedom to do what I want with it. I'm very Blessed :)
Click to expand...
Iā€™m glad youā€™re keeping the house. Even if itā€™s a bit much, itā€™s a smart investment.
You ARE smart and very blessed.
 
Colleen said:
I kept wondering what his wife would do if he died first. The other day, he had a video addressing that very question that someone had asked and here's what he said. He said his wife would get $2523/month (his current SS) and he has a $200,000 life insurance policy that he pays $160/month for now that she would get. He said she could live for the next 15+ years on all that. So she would be living on $1100/month plus his SS.
Click to expand...
What will he do if she dies first? Is there an insurance policy on her life to compensate for the loss of her SS?
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top