Friday, July 22, 2022

Friday Free For All- Other People's Next

      It's Friday so that mean no theme, just ramblings in my post. I've stuff on the brain that's nice to get out. I have that whole feeling of being on the sidelines thing this week as I read about or learn from others big changes. DH and I just sort of plod along one day to the next. It's not a complaint, just realization. We don't have any imminent nexts. We have today's. It gives me time to think about what others have going on, and how I can learn from their next. 

Living in Own Homes as Long as Possible

     Both DH and I come from families where many elders lived out their lives in their own homes. The exceptions were well into their 90's or had a debilitating stroke or heart attack younger, but they still were past 80. We've got family and friends now, our generation, that are starting to plan for aging in their accomodations. I'm glad the oldest half of my siblings are all in homes that are essentially one level living. Well, the exception is my 70 year old brother who lives at least 50% time camping and hiking, so home is partially wherever he pitches his tent or parks his camper. 

     DH's sister, while by square footage didn't down size, they left a beautiful, but stair filled home and large yard, for a home that has all living needs on main floor, and a small low maintenance yard. This sister lives like she still thinks her body can do what it did in her 20's, and unfortunately paid the consequences with some falls and serious injuries. Her husband has heart issues. I'm glad for them( and their kids) that perhaps she really does know she's not invincible, and I hope this house is their home for 30 or more years. 

     I like my house, but yes, it has two sets of stairs and no main floor bedroom, bath, or laundry. For this reason, we know we'll eventually need to move. I'm paying attention to how different accomodations work for our peers, then we'll decide and move about the same time I retire. 

Not my house now or in future, but
it's a cute one, with lots of stairs.

Later Life Career Changes

     There's retirement and then there's career change. When is someone considered retired, but earning a little on the side, or really, just made a career change later in their life? Maybe it's the economy, maybe it's boredom, but I keep learning about people "retiring" only to see they started a new job with seemingly the same number of hours. Is retirement when the bulk of your living costs are covered with previous earnings, investments, or pensions? Is retirement when the new job earns less than the one retired from, but comes with less stress? I'm curious if others have noticed more of this retiring only to then later go back to full time work in an entirely different field. 

Travel on the Decline?

Here's another, not really trend, but awareness I'm seeing; less travel, less desire for travel by our peers. This really might be a result of Covid. The travel industry sure took a bite and has not rebounded. Flight cancellations, understaffed accomodations, and just staying local or visiting family or friends seems to have more appeal. Maybe it's because our peers did enough travel when younger and just want to appreciate their own homes. I know when we do move, I want my home to feel more like an oasis and maybe that's the approach many are taking. I want my family no matter where they live, to want to visit us because it's conducive to guests. What are your thoughts? In my head, or do you also see less travel interest by those older than 55?

     That's my mind dump for the week. I'm a life gawker right now, but looking to learn, not looking for train crashes. Please join in the conversation in the comments, or add your own Friday Free for All thoughts.


25 comments:

  1. We downsized when we moved from Florida to Illinois 17 years ago. We wanted a lower cost of living so that we could save more money, have less monthly expenses but also because I did not want us to spend all of our time maintaining and cleaning. We did downsize on a home but it still has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms but is a one level ranch which I felt was important for the future. We also had one of the bathrooms gutted and took out the shower and put in a walk in shower which really came in handy when the big guy broke his ankle. No dreaded stepping over the tub into a shower. Our back yard is a quarter of an acre. Smaller but still good size. We have a riding mower so right now it's not an issue. In the future it may be but lawn service can be added to the monthly budget rather easily.
    I've mentioned before that we really do not have much desire to travel anymore other than close day or weekend car trips. We did do a LOT of traveling in the past. I think after 9/11 traveling seemed to get more and more difficult and now with Covid even more so.
    I do try to make our home very comfortable so that we enjoy being here.
    Have a great Friday Sam! I enjoyed this post as always.

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    1. .25 acre is still a nice size yard. Your plan was smart- I hope to do similar but the where is the question. I really like seeing different places, so haven't nixed travelling idea. But, I want the industry to rebound better. We had no housekeeping on a 5 day, 5 night stay in DC, and a crusty old room that is as fine, but very expensive for the amenities in Chicago. I'd rather pitch a tent and buy a cot and save $159 a night for a bit.

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    2. No housekeeping for the 5 day stay? That is just unacceptable. I haven't even asked how much our Chicago stay is going to cost us. I probably do not want to know.

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  2. Interesting observations and I agree, Covid, and my recent bad air travel experiences since Covid, have put a big damper on my travel desires. I loathe flying and will only get in a plane to visit child/grandchildren. Early last year, before prices went crazy, I bought a tiny retirement home (720 sq ft plus basement for tornadoes) two minutes from hospital, Aldi, Target, walking parks, and in a major college town. I “retired” and then went right back to my job, “part time” and live in my small, tacky, one story cheap ( it cost 25 grand during the Great Recession) work house during the week. With inflation, prices escalating, I have no plans to permanently retire unless I can no longer do my job, or politics forces me to quit completely. I also don’t know what I would do with my spare time and, for real, would go apply at one of the fast food restaurants near retirement house to keep active. You see, Alzheimers seems to be very prevalent in my mother’s family, and I am terrified of losing my mind, so I want it to stay active, physically and mentally. As long as I can still work, I figure I am ok. Cindy in the South

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    1. Now there's an interesting approach- weekend, week day. We always would have our space at the lake if we relocate in retirement. It's year round for visiting. I had no plane issues, but hotels were lacking.

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  3. I didn't heed your advice: I commented on that blog you no longer visited, to the claim that the U.S. had "open borders." My foot. Now I'm angry...oh, why didn't I listen? I need to stop reading her hate speech.

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    1. I haven't return so have no clue what her current views are, but can't imagine based on what you said, she's changed her views. I wasn't aware she had anti immigration views, if that's what you're saying. I don't go where I'm not welcome, though if she ever read my blog and chose to comment, she'd be welcome here if she would be willing to let people counter her opinions with they're own.

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    2. Basically repeating what Tucker "Testicle Tanning" Carlson said in response to my comment. Open borders and immigration are the root of all evil. I won't go near that blog again.

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    3. Quoting Tucker Carlson for anything is an immediate loss of any credibility. He's a buffoon who had to be defended under the case that Fox "news" is branded as entertainment and no reasonable person would take reporting as factual. I'm glad I'm not wanted as a reader, saves me some head shaking and jaw drops.

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  4. I checked out a couple of popular FIRE blogs a few times, but found the bloggers really had not retired early, they'd just done a career change to self employed. One had quit a high paying IT job to do high paying IT contract work from home, his wife blogged they were proud that he retired but they didn't need to access savings or retirement funds because he was earning enough to live on. Um, that sounds like a change in employer to me! I really only travel now to visit family, and I expect that will continue when I retire. I think you're smart to plan on moving into a more suitable house when you retire. Get everything on one floor.

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    1. I think it's misleading to say Retired Early, and may make people heed advice that's really not accurate. Now, being Financially Independent and working when they please, I get.

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  5. Traveling with COVID is a pain, actually much of traveling is a pain, but I find it worth it especially if you are with fun people. Traveling with Sluggy and her husband is a hoot. We should all book a cruise together. That would be fun. Well at least for us ladies.

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    1. Having met Sluggy and her husband, I know my DH and hers hit it off ( I think, lol). That would be a good time.

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  6. My two-story house was perfect for retirement. Everything was on one floor to live. I did not want an upstairs bedroom, so I used the parlor as my bedroom from the beginning. There were six rooms plus bathroom and laundry room on the first floor, plenty of room for living and sewing. I figured the three rooms and full bath on the second story were for company or storage. I could always put in a stair chair lift for my convenience. But, it's gone now, so no more thinking about that.
    However, even as a young, able person, I never would live in a house without a bathroom where I could easily access it from kitchen...lol. Same with laundry. I even had a door cut from bedroom aka parlor to bathroom.
    The full bath upstairs made the upstairs amenable for having guests.
    But, the plan failed...lol.
    I briefly dated a man who retired from a very comfortable state job at 50 because his mother died at 50 and never got to retire. He then took a job standing at a monitor in a motel checking people into the motel for their stay. He was miserable. He was 6'5" and hurt from hunching over the monitor. His feet were permanently, it seems, swollen because of complication of diabetes which he would not manage well. I saw how he ate. He refused to move his body because he was retired and hired someone to clean and mow. That was over 20 years ago, and I doubt that he is still alive because he made snap decisions and never thought through anything.

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    1. That's how my brothers house is. They now only use upstairs for their guests and grandkids. I'm sorry your housing situation
      had to change with the roof issue. Our house is pretty typical style in this part of the country. That man didn't think things through- I'm sorry he misunderstood retirement from a job or retirement from work.

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  7. I'm focused more on the Financially Independent part of FIRE, vs the Retirement part. My own definition is that I don't "have to" work anymore. All of our expenses are covered by investments/savings. I will likely choose to do something (maybe even with close to FT hours), but it would be based on whether I want to, not because I need to. I may also take long breaks where I travel, spend time with my aging parents, etc. Or, work at a non-profit for nothing. For me, it's about having enough money to have all options on the table, vs needing my current income to pay for our expenses.

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    1. Yes, the lumping both FI with RE is quite misleading. I think I'm past true retire early, but the financial independence of not having to take on work once I leave my job is my focus too.

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  8. I think retirement for me is leaving full time work and having the financial resources to choose how I spend my time. That might be a little bit of work one day or not, just depends how I feel.

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    1. I think I'm aligned with you. Not having to work my ful time job and picking and choosing is my retirement plan.

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  9. I’ve lived in several 2 story homes but never one without a bathroom on the main floor. That had to be a pain but guess you are used to it. The old house I grew up in just had 1 bathroom which was near the kitchen and no shower- we got used to it. As you might know, I have no plans to retire as long as my health is good. I’m almost 75. I like my job and before I worked, I did lots of volunteering and never was paid a cent. It’s nice to get a check now! Of course, the plus is I make my own schedule. In fact I’m going out this AM to see 4 clients. I like to visit them on the weekends when they don’t have a day program and are always so cheerful. Nan

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    1. Multilevel homes where bathrooms are up or down is pretty prevalent in Minnesota. Plus, many older two stories only have an upstairs bathroom. Even many newer 2 stories only have 1/2 bathrooms and no real bedroom on main floor, so no showering even if a non bedroom got converted for sleeping. You sound like you have energy to burn and making your own schedule sounds great. Can you take months off if you choose?

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    2. Can’t take off months unless I would get a leave of absence like everyone else- I have to have 2 contacts monthly with my clients; if they live in the family home, I only have to see them quarterly but everyone else needs to be seen monthly. I go over abuse, neglect and exploitation with them, discuss rights and monitor medical issues plus get to chat which I am good at lol. We’re allowed 43 clients by state law. One contact can be a call, text, email, etc to them or one of their supports.

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    3. Interesting. I think I'll likely move to short term project work or subbing because ince I leave my current job, I'll want to have freedom to not have to be anywhere for extended periods of time.

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  10. I had set myself up to be able to do editing/translation work from home in my retirement but when I saw that I could easily manage on my pension I just thought "nope, not gonna happen" and let it all go. I know I'm lucky in that I have a defined pension, of course! As for travel I still have a few long haul places I would like to go, but with the world being as unstable as it is right now I'll pass until at least next year. While I love travelling I do find it very tiring so I might even decide to just stick to Europe and Africa later, who knows. I have to say though that I know I would just LOVE your 70 year old brother - the camper guy! Good for him!

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  11. I was very fortunate in retiring from the state after 40 years with a nice pension. Also as a RN I was lucky to return to work in a “intermittent position” which means for sick calls or acuity changes I get called to pick up a shift, with being able to say no at any. So I sometimes work, enjoy catching up with colleagues (most have changed!), feel I can still contribute to the care of others and make extra money. It’s funny if I have special projects or needs it sure gives me the incentive to work more. I will say my job is VERY hard and often when I leave my shift it’s with the mindset of how wonderful I don’t have to do this every day anymore. It is in a much needed category but is emotionally and physically draining plus dangerous at times so at 68 not sure how long I can do it but for now it’s good.

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