When you retire, you don't get a break on having to replace your things .

[Butterfly]

A person is lucky if most appliances last much beyond the warranty, today. We've replaced virtually all our appliances in the past 5 or 6 years, and I suppose we were lucky that most of them lasted 12 to 15 years. But then, that's part of home ownership...a person needs to put replacing items in their budgets. Renting absolves the renter from such charges, but you can bet the landlord prices those expenses into the rent.

We've got an ancient Montgomery Wards freezer in the basement....bought in the early '70's, and still works good....try finding something that lasts that long, today....good luck.

I've got one of those ancient Monkey Wards chest freezers from the same time. Mine's still chugging on, too.

 

[dseag2]

Just remembered the roof will need redoing in about 5 years.

I can see the merits in renting if prices are reasonable and stable. They definitely aren’t here.

Yes, we went through a hail storm and were advised our roof was close to needing replacing. Our homeowners insurance has always been affordable, but we learned the deductible for replacing our roof is over $11,000, so we said forget it. Unless it becomes unlivable it will become someone else's issue.

 

[IrisSenior]

Well, no, we don't get a break on replacing things but most stuff does wear out and/or breakdown and need replacing. Being retired means we have the time to do those things and hopefully they last a long time. We have done so much in and out of the house in the last couple of years that I would just like to hop on a plane and leave the place for several weeks!

 

[AprilSun]

As mentioned earlier, the quality in appliances today isn't as good as it used to be. Plus, so many if not all of them come with computer parts now. I was talking with my repairman several months ago about it and I told him how I hate the computers in appliances today. He said that I would be better off to keep patching as long as I can get the parts. That is what I will do until the parts are higher than a new machine or I can't get them.

 

[Paco Dennis]

Entropy plus crappy new products, what can we do? We didn't plan for the demise of some important things that has really cut into our savings. Just in the last week our washer AND stove/oven died. We are using an electric skillet, microwave, toaster oven and a big crook pot and will do so until we either HAVE to have one, or we hit the lottery (which we do not play ). Now we are back 25 years ago taking our laundry to the laundromat.

 

[Liberty]

We are still living in our own home and have replaced many things. Right now our refrigerator is living on borrowed time. The cost has sky rocketed over the years but what bothers me most is the quality.
Just replaced a Maytag washer and dryer and they are both a piece of junk. Maytag was considered top of the line but not any more.

Suggestion here...be sure to get the extended warranty on your fridge. We replaced ours 4 years ago and got the extended warranty from Home Depot. We've really used it and it paid for itself the first year. Knock on wood, after finally getting a service man that understood French door bottom freezer drawer "leveling" and getting a new ice maker, its been humming along beautifully. I do love the design.

 

[Liberty]

Entropy plus crappy new products, what can we do? We didn't plan for the demise of some important things that has really cut into our savings. Just in the last week our washer AND stove/oven died. We are using an electric skillet, microwave, toaster oven and a big crook pot and will do so until we either HAVE to have one, or we hit the lottery (which we do not play ). Now we are back 25 years ago taking our laundry to the laundromat.

You know, I use the small (several years old) counter top oven way more than the other "2" regular size ovens in my kitchen. Suggest you check them out. They are wonderful to roast and bake about anything except a big turkey. Never dreamed I'd use it much except for baking store bought pizzas.

Nice surprise and it was inexpensive, too.

 

[Gary O']

a person needs to put replacing items in their budgets

Yup

Renting absolves the renter from such charges, but you can bet the landlord prices those expenses into the rent.

and yup

 

[squatting dog]

Retired??? no such thing in our life.
I took an early retirement when I was 55. Since that time, we've owned 5 house's, so there has been no rest.
But, Let's just cover the last 11 years..........
1st, rented out our Arkansas home (which by the way we hand built ourselves) and bought a house in Florida.

Florida house #1... tore out and rebuilt the kitchen entirely. New appliances. closed in the lanai. re-roofed house. new a/c unit. Installed in-ground sprinkler system. removed carpet and tiled entire house. replaced aging board privacy fence. painted the outside of the house, and all of the inside rooms as well. Replaced all windows with energy efficient ones. bought a new huge refrigerator and had to knock out a wall and expand the room so fridge would fit in kitchen. Sold house for a profit and headed back to Arkansas to bounce non paying renter.

Arkansas... Upon returning and getting the law to remove the deadbeats, we started repairs. They had stolen all appliances, half the cabinets, all the light fixtures, including the ceiling fans, and even some of the wiring. We had to completely rebuild the kitchen.
Somehow they had leaked water in bathroom and rotted floor. Had to repair the floor, and install a new shower and toilet. Not to mention the mountain of trash, (and I mean mountain), they left behind. 22,000 dollars later, and a whole lot of sweat, we had it back to livable. Now, the everyday chores included bush hogging about 25 acres of the 38 we had, cutting up any dead-fall in the woods, and then splitting and stacking the winter firewood supply. Mowing and weed wacking and spraying for bugs,the 1 acre fenced piece of yard for the fur babies. Then, I re-did our private road (hauled the gravel in our dump trailer, spread the gravel with the box blade on the tractor).

Florida house #2... the latest acquisition. This time, I just closed up the Arkansas house. (never will rent out again).
Again, a house that needed a lot of love. All new appliances, paint the house, fence the yard for fur babies, work on the driveway, try to clear some of the jungle growth around the property, and not finished yet. Starting to sound like a broken record ain't it.

 

[Ruth n Jersey]

@squatting dog to bad about the house in Arkansas. My son in law had that happen as well. I hope they don't get into the house again even though you closed it up. My son in law found the outside water faucets broken and water flooding his back yard.
You did a beautiful job with the house in Florida. My son does cabinetry and inside renovations for a living so I know the time and work that goes into the job. Enormous satisfaction though.

 

[tortiecat]

After years of owning our own places, I'm now happy to be renting.
If any thing goes wrong, or needs replacing I just call the rental
office to have it repaired or replaced.
My late husband was a very handy repair man who kept our
homes in good condition. It seems to me that the younger
generation have no idea how to replace or repair anything.

 

[squatting dog]

@squatting dog to bad about the house in Arkansas. My son in law had that happen as well. I hope they don't get into the house again even though you closed it up. My son in law found the outside water faucets broken and water flooding his back yard.
You did a beautiful job with the house in Florida. My son does cabinetry and inside renovations for a living so I know the time and work that goes into the job. Enormous satisfaction though.

Thank you for those kind words. I feel I must keep busy if for no other reason than to keep demons at bay. (that and to keep the little lady happy of course) I had closed up my Arkansas house, but, I decided to let my friend live in it so there would be someone in it for reasons you mentioned. All I asked was he pay the difference in the electric bill. This person is one I trust as he's the one I helped when his son passed away suddenly. We have since helped him sell his 2 houses and a bunch of land he had.