Glad you brought that up.

I recently retired so I had looked into this earlier in the year. If I recall correctly, I think it's in the ~$68K range (4x the poverty rate). I suppose it varies depending on the number of dependents. And if 12/31 you happen to be a penny over the limit, you have to pony the subsidies back up. (I hope I got that right).

Then the wife says "Let's build our retirement home."

Our son lives out there. Been out there more than I can count. Like you said, small town feel - but not sure how long that will last, it is 'growing up'. Wife is out there as I type. Seriously thought of buying a winter home back in ~2008 during the housing crash, but a bit too soon w/respect to retirement and didn't want to play long distance landlord at that time.

Where at in Maricopa are you at? You can PM if you want (don't derail the thread).

Our son lives across the tracks from the Wallymart. Don't recall the community name, but a new build. Actually kinda neat since it has a 'mother-in-law' suite and they do the AirBnB with it (we get free stay since my wife helped set it up, ). Top rated, always booked, and it brings in a rather fair amount of income. Prior to that we stayed at Ak-chin (like there's any other place to stay. lol)

Great town to live in, definitely wouldn't mind getting a place out there at some point.

I was wondering the same thing. Almost a month into retirement and I can't say I've spent much at all other than the normal bills. Just for the heck of it, I filled up my truck right when I bailed out to see how long it would last, still at >3/4 of a tank. Covid played into it some, although we aren't in any sort of lockdown. More of just being busy around the house than anything. May have to add some Stabil in the truck!

I was doing a mix of going into the lab at work and WFH. Plus the last few months I went part time at 20 hours. So when I finally left, it wasn't that bad.

The hardest part was actually going part time (and I could work any hours I wanted). But I felt like I was always 'on the clock' regardless. No one really took notice of me being part time and would schedule meetings, call me up, ask me to do something, etc. No biggie in the big picture. They need help, so I was glad to assist in making the transition smooth for them.

Still doesn't feel like I'm retired tho, for some reason.

Unless you trade thru Robinhood!

I was worried about that. Free time on my hands, one click on the Amazon link, and off I go on a spending spree. Hasn't happened (yet).

I sort of loaded up on fun things to do (i.e. upgraded the 3d printer, bought a Raspberry Pi, upgrading the solar in shed, learn to play the guitar, etc.) ahead of time to keep me busy once I bailed ship and from being stuck inside since it's winter. Nothing extravagant, just fun stuff to tinker with while I adjust. Plus there's a long list of house handyman stuff to keep me busy for awhile until spring.

One thing I specifically did was to improve the pin lineup while I was employed the last year and a half. To the point an upgrade or trade is pretty easy on the budget. The lineup really changed a lot the last year.

The wife wants me to get a new truck since my 2006 Colorado is nearing 200K miles. I'm actually the opposite now - I don't drive nearly as much. Runs good, looks good, so why bother. Maybe someday.

Of course, health insurance is a hit to the budget, but I planned for it. Other than that, spending has went down.

Wow, that's a lot of miles! I have the 4 cylinder, manual, Z71 4WD ext cab, bought new (employee discount). Mostly babied unless I'm hauling yard stuff for our home/yard. Do my own maintenance for the most part. No serious issues. Hauls a pin just fine.

I've had an engine check light on for almost 100K miles. P305 code I think, which is common. Not worth fussing about it. I think it's a overly sensitive timing sensor. Heck, I'd be worried if it went off! I'm surprised light hasn't burnt out by now.

Both the new Ranger and the updated Colorado look nice. Not sure which one I would pick if I had to buy new.

You don't take the Colorado on the beach?

Apologies for partially turning this into the 'my vehicle in retirement' thread. We can keep it to a minimum. It is kind of an interesting topic tho, considering the cost of a vehicle nowadays, and given the possibility of reduced income.

I retired at the end of 2020, then lived off my savings this year. So my income was almost zilch, with the exception of some residuals coming in from the place I retired from. So this was a good year to convert a bunch of IRA's over to Roth's.

I was always worried about living off my savings for the first year, but it was surprisingly easy. SS (taking at 62) kicks in at the start of 2022, and some of the cash producing funds will also kick in too.

The China/Taiwan riff looks like it might be coming to a head, so I'm watching that with respect to the markets.

And to fix them!

When I retired (age 61, not the 40s-50s you mentioned), I decided to go the COBRA route. We could have paid less w/the Affordable Care Act (ACA, i.e. Obama Care), but the deductibles were WAY higher, plus the COBRA also had the dental insurance and prescription drugs included. I also looked into just buying a health plan outside of the of the ACA, but they had max limits that I wasn't happy with, and you could eat up the limit rather quickly if something serious happened - that could be financially devastating.

Plus with all the worries associated with just walking away from a good job - COBRA was just something that didn't change in my life (same doctor, same dentist, same prescription plan). And because of COVID, COBRA was good for 1.5yrs.

Just tossing out some ballpark numbers, ACA or purchasing an outright insurance plan would have been in the $700-$800/mn range. COBRA is just over $1K

So while I spent a little more, I think it was worth it in the long run.

There's also the faith-based insurance plans, but they aren't really insurance, more of a shared expense plan. They also negotiate with hospitals, etc. for a discount rates too. I know someone that has had a plan for years, and he and his wife are very pleased with the coverage and the cost is very reasonable. I was just was a bit leery about going that route, but might revisit in the future.

I'm definitely not an insurance guru, so maybe someone else with more experience can chime in.

Early on I was doing the 401Ks, but decided to toss some extra into Roth's we purchased and also thru a payroll deduction. So a mix of both.

I agree, but I think there's some good 'food for thought' here. If nothing else, I think it helps to maybe have a better discussion with a person's financial advisor based on some comments. Wouldn't use the advice as gospel if I was steering my own financial ship tho. To me, its good people are asking these questions because they are doing some upfront thinking.

Rest assured, we've brought up that question a lot w/our financial advisor over the years, and again every time we run the numbers.

BTW, not discounting your comment at all - it's a very pertinent question.

I think it's been raided for decades. But since money is being paid in by mandatory deductions, it will be paid.

+1 for this ^^. A lot smarter to bump up the savings now and let time be on your side. Amazing what it can turn into after 20 years if you stick to your guns.

What does your 401K have w/resect to management of the funds and your timeline? i.e. If you're 40, stick in this portfolio, if you're 50, put it here instead, or maybe some low risk portfolios, some high risk, bonds, etc.? Or is it a more of a DIY?

I retired on 1/1/2021. I did COBRA the first year of retirement. Planning ahead, I saved up enough to live off of cash the first year in order to convert some IRAs to Roths (helping to help minimize taxes due to no work income). But because of the IRA/Roth conversions being treated as income, we wouldn't qualify for the Affordable Care Act (ACA, i.e. Obama Care) subsidies since the cliff for subsidies was around $68K. If your income went a penny above the limit on Dec 31st, you'd have to pay the subsidies back. COBRA was pricey at ~$1.1K/mn. I could have just outright bought insurance, but those had max plan limits. COBRA didn't.

Fast forward to 2022, the subsidies cliff went away (it just decreases now) and the ACA plan we signed up for is only ~$233/mn. Just a huge difference. Yes, the deductibles are very high, but if you think about it...I was essentially already paying the deductibles w/COBRA because of the high premiums, whether I got sick or not.

So far we've used the ACA plan for just minor stuff (common meds, some PT) and I have to admit...the copays are lower than our super-duper COBA plan. We may get a low cost supplemental plan for things ACA doesn't cover, but wanted to let the dust settle first.

I've been thinking about that too (buying a 2nd home...but more of a winter 'getaway house' in a warm climate than an investment). More and more articles are showing up about mortgage applications slowing down. There's a national mortgage chain headquartered in a nearby town, and they are definitely seeing a drop in applications, resulting in some layoffs. But we're also considering just utilizing AirBnB's and traveling around might be a better option. No maintenance to worry about, water heaters to leak, roofs to replace, taxes, etc. Just keep the primary residence.

We seriously thought about buying during the 2008 dip, but didn't want to own a 2nd home 1800 miles away at that time in my career (now retired). Not sure what's going to cause another crash (i.e. loan defaults or just a big slowdown due to interest rates).

Another plus of AirBnB would be to let you experience a lot of other locations so if you do decide to get a 2nd home (or just outright move), it's in a location you really enjoyed.

After the crash in 2008ish, there were some really decent prices out near Phoenix. Builders were going crazy putting in additions as fast as they could prior. Even on a good day, I thought this was insane.

Even tho I could have done it, just the thought of an empty property that far away didn't set well. Son was out there, but didn't want to burden him. Wife could have went out in the winter for 2-3 months and visited the son if she wanted (cheap direct flights made it very convenient). But the upkeep...ins., taxes, maybe some utilities, and you always run the risk of someone just 'moving in'. Plus I didn't want to be a long distance landlord. Bit my lip and put it behind me.

Of course, those houses probably are x3 or x4 the 2008 selling price now. Still don't regret my decision tho.

401K: Plus you'd get dinged for tapping into it before age 59.5.

But that looks like it's used for exceptions, not the typical early retirement?

That's because we're all too busy enjoying retirement!

Personally, I do a little volunteering now (probably not enough). Old job twisted my arm a bit at a weak moment, so I do a little 'work from home' for them. But my hours can be zero/wk and that's OK with them. More about helping my friends than money. Just a few hours a week typically. Made a big dent on the 'little jobs around the house list' I had put off knowing I was close to retirement.

Marketwise, I did have one fund that had exposure in banking, and that took a hit recently. But the other funds treaded water pretty well.

Probably time for a new truck, old one is nearing 200K miles/17 years. Still dependable, but I'm a little leery of going on a long trip with it. Buying a car is still easy - but finding one is the royal PIA in my case. I'd like to buy local, not drive 200 miles for one. And the days of dealers swapping cars w/another dealership are about gone.

I wouldn't mind going on a road trip to Boca Chico, Tx to check out the SpaceX facility. Maybe watch them work on a rocket for a day. And stop at every little stupid thing along the way that looks interesting just because I can! Wifey wouldn't want to go on that trip.

Same here, we started at 62.

I up'd up my savings prior to retirement so we could live off of that the first year (age 61, so I wasn't drawing SS), then I did some IRA to Roth conversions. since I had no income (other than the conversions).

The other way to look at it is (in the example above) they have ~$100K from early SS. That means they didn't have to withdrawal $100K for a 401K, etc. (i.e. it's still in the market, hopefully making more money).

Ever since the building collapse in Miami, I've read articles that the condo maintenance fees have gone bonkers. Maybe that's just near the coast and not so much inland. Or perhaps for the older, bigger buildings. I don't have first hand experience, maybe some of the articles are click bait.

Are maintenance fees sperate from HOA? When I hear HOA - I think of yard work, painting, swim in the pool. Maintenance I think of structural, roofing, etc.

That's called an Airbnb.

Doesn't the ACA (i.e. ObamaCare) take care of that issue of the most part? I had ACA for a year (retired, then I went back to work 'on call' with benefits). Our ACA premiums were ~$250/mn (wife, me), the government chipped in ~$1700/mn.

Granted the deductible were high, but there wasn't any caps on coverage. For everyday stuff (PT, yearly check up at the Dr. office, meds, etc.), ACA actually was better than my employer's insurance, which I considered quite good. But I admit, we never had any major medical issues under ACA.

When I first retired, I took COBRA since my IRA to Roth conversions pushed me over the income limits for the ACA (subsidies are now revised as a sliding scale, back then it was a hard limit) - and COBRA was very expensive. Essentially, I had a high deductible plan - simply because of the high cost of COBRA (i.e. COBRA: Huge premium/low deductible, ACA: Low premium/high deductible - comes out the same in the end). Then when we could sign up for ACA - we were thrilled at the premiums. I could have bought private insurance, but most options had caps - wasn't going to take that chance.

One issue might be if his girl friend is working and is offered insurance thru work that meets the ACA requirements - you're sort of stuck taking the work insurance.

The catch is - You don't have to take the work and sign up for ACA if you want, but you won't get the government subsidies.

If you are going to live off of that for the next year(i.e. no other, or minimal income, that would be a great time to do some IRA to ROTH conversions.

I did the same, albeit I just saved up a bunch of money and used that for the following year to live off of.

I was just going to ask the exact question!

For some reason (OCD maybe), I started to read articles and watch youtube videos comparing the differences and pros/cons, and I might add a LOT of them. More than likely, it was because of the endless Advantage commercials on TV during the current open enrollment period sparked my interest. I bet there's a lot of different opinions depending on peoples experience. Hopefully, what I've read and watched is unbiased, but I consider it a good starting point nonetheless.

I'm one year out from signing up for Medicare. Short answer is I plan on signing up for a Plan N and Plan D (Plan D is changing for the better in 2024, and even more so for 2025). I considered Plan G+D as another option, but the rates for G are going up at a higher rate than N. I haven't talked to my agent yet, so my opinion might change. In either case (Advantage or Medicare), you'll have to have Medicare Plan A+B.

While the zero cost looks appealing, you can run up some big bills on an Advantage Plan and you have to stay within their guidelines (i.e. network, some tests might need prior authorization, copays, etc.). The somewhat tricky area is if you want to switch out of an Advantage to a Medicare Plan or vice versa (four states make it easy). The time to do it right is when you first sign up for Medicare because it is truly open enrollment (based on your birth date) - no medical questions asked. And once in a supplemental plan (not sure about Advantage), you're good for life unless you start to miss payments. Looking at what to choose, I looked at Advantage vs. Medicare, then if Medicare, what Plan (G, Ghd, or N). And I also considered future health concerns, not so much based on my age now now since I'm healthy. I prefer to think long term, not just a few years out.

Here's some starter videos to wet your appetite:

And some biased opinions:

No, "But I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night."

It's finger lickin' good!

Can you contribute to a HSA? Not sure if that's a good option or not for you, just tossing it out there since it's tax free.

And a pretty decent change to Medicare Part D, and an even bigger improvement in 2025 - both addressing the 'donut hole'.

Just curious, how many people have a Medicare Advantage plan vs. a standard Medigap Plan coverage? I turn 65 next Dec and I'm heavily leaning towards a Plan N (as opposed to a Plan G).