We did not get a land line in TV, where we are snowflakes, and we cut it out a couple of years ago in Atlanta, where we still live.

I agree with Ohiogirl's numbers, as well.

sigh of relief here
 

Army Guy and PT,

you're making me feel a lot better about living within our means, and probably living quite well by our standards. Both of you, from your many posts, seem to be very practical, sensible people who are more analytical than I am.

Like OBD, if the money's not there, we won't spend it. Or, if I find we really need more income, will try to supplement with a part-time job. I keep wondering anyway if I might want to work some anyway, although I keep meeting Villagers who said they thought the same thing, but now don't see how they could fit work into their busy schedules.

Having said that, it's a good thing Ohioboy is not as frugal or we would never have any fun!

I write this during a packing break. We are loading up the Budget truck tomorrow with I can't believe how much more stuff. Just a few pieces of furniture, mind, since we already did this 4 years ago to furnish our place for renting. Dropping off some pieces at my kids' houses along the way, but most of it is clothes, more kitchen stuff, and just misc. STUFF. I hope it fits, but if not, I'll likely be weeding out further once we're in. And I've moved 22 times in my adult life! One thing for sure, shouldn't need clothes, furniture or kitchen stuff for years to come.

Ohiogirl, I have had some of the same thoughts about working that you mentioned. Although we have saved and cheap to live in TV I am one of those types who never thinks we have saved enough. With that said, over the past year and a half with going down every weekend since we bought, I also don't know how I could fit working into our schedule! It would take all the fun out of living in TV! So I guess if I think we need to cut back to save, I will just get one less drink at Happy Hour! :pepper2:

Army Guy

Th advice I get ...
 

From my retired friends, the advice I get is to learn and "spend" the money we have so diligently saved for so many years. This is the time we have saved for and when it's gone, we'll move in with the kids ... ..or the friends :loco: ... Seriously, they told me this was a very hard transition and mindset.

During my quest to determine affordability in TV, I didn't do anything different than I have done my entire working lifetime. I looked at what would be "reliably" coming in and what I could afford. I consider pension and social security [in a few years] as reliable. Investments in 401K, stocks, etc., I considered as unreliable.

From my experience, the house issue is the biggest issue with the Villages. Your retired income will determine what type of home you will buy and whether you have a mortgage or not. Other than the amenity fees & bond, you would probably have the remaining expenses no matter where you live [retire] ...water, cable, internet, food, medical, etc., etc., etc... This is where a good spreadsheet comes in handy to balance everything.

As others have indicated, you can live in TV on $25K or $2.0m Regardless your income, you'll be playing the same golf courses; eating in the same restaurants and dancing to the same music in the squares.

Cheers....

What a great thread for some of us "worriers". It certainly has helped put my mind at ease a little bit. In a few months I will be eligible (at age 62) to collect social security of $1800/month. The year after that my wife will collect $900/month for a total of $2700/month or $32400/year. We have group of investments that pay dividends that cover our CYV mortgage, amenity fee and bond. From what everyone is writing it appears that if we lived without eating out a lot, we could do it without ever touching our savings and other investments. Here is a typical day I spent in the villages when I was there last month. 6am-2mile walk (free). 7am-swim laps at seabrook (free); 930am-civil discussion group (free); 11am-line dance lessons for 2 hours (free); 2pm-two happy hour beers and free peanuts on the porch at Cody's watching the world go by ($6); 4pm-pennecamp pool talking with great neighbors (free); 530pm-happy hour double and dancing at LSL ($5); 8pm-a delicious linghuini and white clam sauce at pizza bravo in LSL ($14). There is no where else in the world that I could have that great of a day for $25!!!! Living in the villages...priceless!

If you can live on what you have where ever you are
 

you can also live in TV.
My sister's ONLY income is SS and she lives in the historic section.
People who have had to live within their means know how to do it and they also do it successfully here in TV.

As has been said some where above....it doesn't matter whether you have a manufactured home or a custom million dollar house, the occupants ALL get to use the same amenities in TV.

btk

Saved on phone with Village move
 

We did just the opposite...Land line only.....Had smart phones with EVERY ADD-ON but found out we were DUMB after reading the fine-line of taxes etc. on bill.....Also found out that 99.9% of calls made could have been made at home after we retired, no rush, matter of fact, that is an understatement, giggle....I will agree that it is good to have a cell phone for emergencies, and will get one when that happens, ha ha, giggle, just kidding!...Really will probably get one of those cheapos at Wally-world at $7.00 a month...Saved about $200 a month.

Making savings last through the retirement years is something we all are concerned about. T. Rowe Price has a tool that anyone can use, based on your own circumstances, that will calculate the probability of your savings never running out. It's called a Monte Carlo analysis, and the software looks at thousands of possibilities and is used throughout the financial services industry. It helps you understand how much you may have available to spend each month from your retirement savings, the likelihood your retirement savings will last throughout your retirement, and options to make up for potential shortfalls.

http://www3.troweprice.com/ric/ric/public/ric.do

I'm no financial genius, but I'm a detail person, and I have developed my own Excel budget spreadsheets for different retirement scenarios. This Monte Carlo tool helped me understand my savings needs and the probability of running out of money. And it's easy to use - the software is very user-friendly. And it's free. My only caution is that you read and fully understand the notes on the first page. Software can't do everything, and T. Rowe Price explains the limitations of the software.

Monte Carlo is a good analysis, but the critical piece of information you need is not available. If it were available, the answer would be much simpler.

The one piece of critical information we are lacking is: How long we will live

memason is entirely correct about life expectancy - but the software does allow you to use different ages to calculate the probabilities. I think it defaults to age 90, which is way out of whack from my thinking. Personally, my spending pattern at 90 would be nowhere near what it would be at 65. So I tend to use age 80 or 85 as my life expectancy.

You can increase your social security payments by delaying when they start. You might want to think about using some of your investments for living expenses for a year or two and then start SS.

Thanks for the info. What I intend to do is take my social security when I am 62, then pay it back in full at 66. This (I think) will allow my investments to keep growing and then I will be able to get my full ss benefits.

Could you explain this better? I've never heard about that. Could you provide some math as an example?

Thanks,

keep up to date
 

I have seen stuff somewhere that indicates the gov is aware of this and may take steps to not allow this glitch "payback" anymore." I'm really glad I'm retiring at basically 60 yrs of age and can decide, after 2 years or retirement, when I want to start taking my SS.

Here is a link to an article from Kiplinger about the Social Security payback and the possible change that could happen. Within this article is a link to an earlier article on maximizing SS.

http://www.kiplinger.com/features/ar...disappear.html

Boomer

Russ:

You can take your SS at 62 and pay back the amount you have received at 66 and then get your SS, with no reduction in benefits.

For myself, working for the railroad for my entire life, I have never paid SS. Railroad workers have their own retirement system and can retire with full retirement at the age of 60.

You can take SS at 62 and then pay back all of the money that you received from SS and then get the full amount of your retirement at 66. I have no idea what you saved (unless you count the interest you made from the money you got) and I think that this program has been rescinded.

I am already on RR Ret and the only time I paid in SS was for a few months before working for the RR and the time in military. I don't see the benefit of taking the 4 years of SS if you're just going to pay it right back when you get to be 66. If you can survive without SS for the 4 years, why not just quit work at 62 and not apply until you are 66?

You might also look at file and suspend. You half to be at full retirement age and one of you would have to have had minimal earnings to make it worth while. The one with the higher earnings files at normal retirement age and then suspends before collecting. The spouce can then claim on the suspended spouses benefits with no loss in benefits to that spouse. Other spouses benefits increase about 8% a year until 72.

You might also look at file and suspend. You half to be at full retirement age and one of you would have to have had minimal earnings to make it worth while. The one with the higher earnings files at normal retirement age and then suspends before collecting. The spouse can then claim on the suspended spouses benefits with no loss in benefits to that spouse. Other spouses benefits increase about 8% a year until 72.

One reason is that the government is basically giving you a zero interest loan for 4 years. For example, if I get $32,400/year between my wife and I, then in 4 years I will have $129,600. However, if I take the $32,400 and can get 4% (no easy task these days), then in 4 years I should have $143,100, a gain of about $14,000. This is an option that is legally available to all. In fact it was told to me by social security.

Thanks for the info.

One item you also need to factor into this plan is taxes. You will be taxed on SS benefits if your other income with SS puts you in a taxable position. And my guess would be that if you can afford to save and invest it, you will be taxed on it. And probably at a much higher rate then you 4% required return.

Speaking of taxes -- am I correct that Florida does not have a state income tax? I always thought that was one of the draws for retirees, besides the weather and oceans. That could help out the budget of those who establish residency after living where state income taxes were a factor. But I don't know for sure what the status of Florida is now with that.

We do not own in TV, at this point, but for what it's worth, I think that unless someone is completely committed to the new home market because they are absolutely certain that only new will do, they should think about taking their time and giving the pre-owned market a chance.

I think finding the right pre-owned home can save you money. I am also a big believer in not buying as big as you can afford. In fact, I admit to getting a little tickled when I see people assume that the size of the house reflects net worth.

If you are not in a hurry to buy and/or you are not completely convinced that new is what you want, I suggest renting to get your bearings so you can really think about how much you want to spend and where you want to spend it.

Renting could be a really good investment, not that old "money out the window" thing at all. Well, sure, that's contradictory to all the stuff we have heard all our lives -- just like hearing that old "buy as big as you can afford" thing. I think the rules of real estate have changed forever.

I better get out of here this morning before I end up writing some kind of dissertation about why I think what I think about all this. You would all be lulled back to sleep if I did that.

Seeya.

Boomer

:BigApplause:

Thanks, mak, I was not sure.

I think there are some states that do not tax unearned income, but Ohio sure wants a piece of everything. I know it's not as bad as some other states, but it's bad enough. I am glad to hear that Florida still has no state income tax at all. Congratulations on next April's raise.

- - - - - - - - - -

While I am on the subject of taxes, I might as well throw in another of my thoughts. I think that if a pension and/or SS or other sources of income are in place, staying out of tax-deferred accounts, for a while, if possible, can work really well in some circumstances. Spending the taxable income first, and trying to do that as long as it makes sense, can give the opportunity for transition into a retirement budget by lessening the tax hit for a while.

Remember that old "3-legged stool" that retirement planning used to talk about. (Pension/SS/Investments) Well, that stool now, to be ideal, might need at least 4 legs, maybe 5. The 4th leg is health care coverage. A 5th leg would be to enter retirement without debt or with only very carefully considered debt, as with a mortgage that can be covered with cash flow that is known and certain.

Uh oh. I think I am off and running here.....just some thoughts.

But before I go, I want to say that I follow Ohiogirl's posts. I have a feeling that girl knows her numbers. And there are lots of other posters here, too, who are sharing their good insight. Thank you.

Good luck to all of you as you try to figure out what is right for you as an individual making those retirement plans and choices.

Boomer

If you wait until you're 70 y/o, you may then apply to SSA for the maximum accrued amount for your account.

What I did may not work for everyone, however, I collected on my deceased husband's SSA (which may also be your deceased and/or divorced spouse whom you were married to for at least eleven years) until turning 70 then transferred to my own SSA account to now receive the maximum amount.

All very legal and proper....b

From what I have read you get a refund or credit for the taxes paid. I have not tried to work it out so I do not know if you get dollar for dollar back or not. Understanding how taxes will work is an important part of this plan.
Also where the money is coming from for the repayment. Short term money earns very little. If you keep the funds in the stock market and it went up you could sell and be ahead of the game. If the market went down you could skip the repayment but then your benefits would also be lower. The point is everyone has a different situation and when to collect SS is a lot more complex than a lot of us know. Seek advice from the SS administration and anyone else you can talk to.