Five myths about retirement
 

It's not all golf and grandchildren. Many people spend years planning for retirement and think they have it all figured out, until they actually retire.

Read the rest of the story.

The budget can be harder than you think so make sure you estimate on the high side.
You might eat out more, travel etc.

I was one of those forced to retire because of health issues.

I would have worked until my company threw me out because I enjoyed my work so very much. Conversely my wife worked passed her max age for retirement to compensate for the difference.

I absolutely agree with the author of the Five Myths

Interesting article - thanks for posting it. From the article:

"3. You'll regret buying that second home.

A dream of some retirees is to buy a second home to live in part time, and eventually sell their primary home. The advice from advisers: don't. "Our experience with the second home has generally been that they are expensive, a hassle and a mistake," says Neil Hokanson, a financial adviser in Solana Beach, Calif. "Clients could stay at the Ritz-Carlton when they go to their second-home area for far less, and with none of the hassle of frozen pipes, neighbor disputes, volatile housing values.""

In reading talk of the villages, it seems a number of people have done just that (purchase a second home in the villages and rent it out until they are ready to move to the Villages full time). This article says that's a bad idea, but in reading some posts here it has worked out for people. If you have purchased a second home in the Villages, how is that or did that work for you? This is something my wife and I are considering.

The real estate market in The Villages is unlike any other in the country so this probably is not as risky as if you were buying somewhere else. You know with real estate it's all about LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION and you can't get a better LOCATION then here.

My comments - point by point

1. I was retired by the company I worked at for 34 years and sent to another company to help with the technical move of the infrastructure. They retired me two years later. The separation salary helped move to TV.

2. I have no plans to get back into the workplace. The retirements from above accelerated my retirement as I was planning on retiring in two to three years anyway. It did mess up my planned pension but I was ready.

3. I could never afford a home in NJ and TV because of NJ taxes.

4. Between Medicare and my work retirement insurance I am doing just fine.

5. After year two, we quit eating out so much. The benefit was twofold. We saved money and we lost weight. All restaurants need senior citizen menus.

Z

Agree with caveman
 

Agree about eating out but it's also a social event. We tend to meet friends and eat out at lunch and cook at home for dinner. That way we have our (cheaper) big meal earlier in the day, a light meal in the evening, and sleep better at night. Plus we can adjust our evening meal easily at home to make up for any sins during the day.

Z caveman
 

Couldn't agree with you more.

We only eat breakfast and lunch out. We occasionally eat lunch with friends. The prices for the dinners are too high and they feed you too much - plus we hate waiting to get into a restaurant.

Z