Retirement the AlteCocker Way
AlteCocker is traveling a lot. AlteCocker has a nice house but all the travel has caused AlteCocker to rethink whether she wants to keep it. It will be put on the market in April 2017 so AlteCocker can have more money for travel. She will move into a 2 bedroom condo she already owns.
AlteCocker is about the oldest baby boomer you would ever meet. She was born in 1946--10 months after her father returned from World War II. They wasted no time in those days. Life has had its ups and downs, of course. There was marriage, two kids, and a divorce and recently two major surgeries (shoulder replacement as a result of an accident and a spinal fusion to get rid of smashed disk that has caused problems for years). Trained as a lawyer, AlteCocker had the tools to earn a living but was never the kind of lawyer who made big bucks. She did make provision for her retirement. Mostly it was by buying property. She owns 3 condos that she rents out. Currently TWO of them lack tenants because the tenants just moved out. When there is a move out, there is always a need to paint and fix. AlteCocker keeps on top of repairs, but they can eat up any profits quickly. However, if you don't make them, your unit is not going to rent. SEP IRA funds rapidly disappear once you retire--especially if you have major home repairs.
So, AlteCocker's funds are not unlimited. Her house has a mortgage (and a topped up equity line due to upgrades on her house--including a major nonegotiable repair in the basement that involved digging into the foundation when the basement flooded a couple of years ago. Surprise, you are out money again!
So, the plan has started. AlteCocker will continue to travel. Keeping the house has become ridiculous. She has constant maintenance and she can't put that off when major trips are in the offing because she does not want emails about a flood in the basement when she is in Thailand or Timbucktu (OK, she is not really going to Timbucktu; it is an exaggeration; there is a war there).
Home exchange largely makes this possible. OK, Chiang Mai, Thailand, is an apartment rental, as home exchanges are hard to get in Asia, but SE Asia is very reasonable. However, don't plan to live on Social Security. That is impossible. If AlteCocker had to do that, she would be living in poverty. The only problem with travel in old age is you have your aches and pains--and all seniors have something wrong that requires medical attention. Please, seniors, don't tell AlteCocker about it. She has her list of nonlubricated body parts as well. She won't talk about them, if you don't talk about yours. She would rather hear about your trips.
If it were not for home exchange, AlteCocker would not be able to rush around the world as she does. Maybe she would sit home complaining about her ailments. For you young whippersnappers, travel now when you have your health. For the AlteCockers out there, don't stop until you have to! Whippersnappers: If you want to continue to travel make provision for your old age; you could be around for a very long time and you don't want to be living in a studio in Florida counting pennies.
AlteCocker is about the oldest baby boomer you would ever meet. She was born in 1946--10 months after her father returned from World War II. They wasted no time in those days. Life has had its ups and downs, of course. There was marriage, two kids, and a divorce and recently two major surgeries (shoulder replacement as a result of an accident and a spinal fusion to get rid of smashed disk that has caused problems for years). Trained as a lawyer, AlteCocker had the tools to earn a living but was never the kind of lawyer who made big bucks. She did make provision for her retirement. Mostly it was by buying property. She owns 3 condos that she rents out. Currently TWO of them lack tenants because the tenants just moved out. When there is a move out, there is always a need to paint and fix. AlteCocker keeps on top of repairs, but they can eat up any profits quickly. However, if you don't make them, your unit is not going to rent. SEP IRA funds rapidly disappear once you retire--especially if you have major home repairs.
So, AlteCocker's funds are not unlimited. Her house has a mortgage (and a topped up equity line due to upgrades on her house--including a major nonegotiable repair in the basement that involved digging into the foundation when the basement flooded a couple of years ago. Surprise, you are out money again!
So, the plan has started. AlteCocker will continue to travel. Keeping the house has become ridiculous. She has constant maintenance and she can't put that off when major trips are in the offing because she does not want emails about a flood in the basement when she is in Thailand or Timbucktu (OK, she is not really going to Timbucktu; it is an exaggeration; there is a war there).
Home exchange largely makes this possible. OK, Chiang Mai, Thailand, is an apartment rental, as home exchanges are hard to get in Asia, but SE Asia is very reasonable. However, don't plan to live on Social Security. That is impossible. If AlteCocker had to do that, she would be living in poverty. The only problem with travel in old age is you have your aches and pains--and all seniors have something wrong that requires medical attention. Please, seniors, don't tell AlteCocker about it. She has her list of nonlubricated body parts as well. She won't talk about them, if you don't talk about yours. She would rather hear about your trips.
If it were not for home exchange, AlteCocker would not be able to rush around the world as she does. Maybe she would sit home complaining about her ailments. For you young whippersnappers, travel now when you have your health. For the AlteCockers out there, don't stop until you have to! Whippersnappers: If you want to continue to travel make provision for your old age; you could be around for a very long time and you don't want to be living in a studio in Florida counting pennies.