# 5 expenses = no retirement?



## Micheal (Jan 28, 2009)

In reading a recent article they listed 5 expenses keeping a person from retiring. I could maybe list more but the 5 they gave were:
1. Stock market drop - the hit taken by 401K's, IRAs, etc 
2. Boomerang kids - you thought they were gone for good; but......
3. Divorce - income and assets maybe cut in half?
4. Lifestyle changes - new expensive hobby or maybe major health issues.
5. Poor planning - live for today, not worried bout tomorrow; opps it's here!

Me? I went through #1, 2, and 4, but because I didn't get caught up in #5 I'm fairly certain I am doing OK (to date). 
Oh, as to #3 we haven't mentioned it in eons........ but there was a time a long long time ago...........


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## unregistered168043 (Sep 9, 2011)

I'm out of the market. No kids, no wife. My hobbies are growing my own food and wood chopping so I think I'm safe there.

I have to hope i stay healthy and plan for tomorrow.


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## yikes (Jan 23, 2011)

health
house
cars
women
kids


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## Bentley (Jul 10, 2008)

1. Made it through the 08/09 market decline okay. I bought several dividend paying large cap positions 2 weeks after the bottom.

2. Both kids are grown and self sustaining with great jobs, and marriages.

3. Nope. For better or worse. 39 years now.

4. I love to garden, and work around my 4+ acres here. Naturally, I needed a 30 x 40 shop, nice tractor, and lots a 3 point tools....he he
Also found out last year that I had an aggressive prostate cancer.:Bawling::Bawling:

But such is life.

5. I think we've done okay here. Homestead is paid for, both (late model) vehicles are paid for. Tractor is paid for. We've developed two rental properties (paid for) that provide a nice supplemental income, and we've saved 22 times our desired annual income, and SS starts in 3 years.

If the Lord took me tomorrow, I will have had a blessed life, and my family is taken care of.

B


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## TxGypsy (Nov 23, 2006)

1. I'm doing pretty good in the market considering.

2. No kids to boomerang.

3. I'm keeping a LOT more of my money since I got rid of the bum.

4. The money I'm saving by no longer supporting the ex I'm spending on my hobbies....ie. the farm.

5. Obviously this isn't a problem for me as I retired young.

The answers so far seem to indicate that homesteaders don't fall into the same traps as most folks.


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## Mike in Ohio (Oct 29, 2002)

Couldn't have beern much of an article - based on your post, the author clearly does not understand what an expense is.

1. Stock market drop - is not an expense;
3. Divorce cutting income and assets in half - not an expense;
5.Not planning - is not an expense.


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## Michael W. Smith (Jun 2, 2002)

As Mike pointed out, some of those things are expenses.

1. A drop in the stock market. That isn't an expense. The best scenario is to diversified. (But even then, it's no guarantee you won't have a loss.)
2. Boomerang kids. Well, being my kid is only 14, he hasn't flown the nest yet. But even if a kid does come back to the nest, hopefully they are "doing something" to contribute to the family.
3. Divorce. Depending on the couple, incomes can be slashed drastically - think of the stay at home wife who has suddenly found herself single again, because her husband has found a new wife 20 years younger. Sure the wife gets half of the husbands pension funds and retirement accounts, but her income will have dropped drastically.
4. A hobby is a choice. But health issues could cause considerable extra expense.
5. Poor planning. Again - that is a CHOICE. And for the most part, most people "living for today" don't seem to worry much about retirement.


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## gilberte (Sep 25, 2004)

I think health insurance is high on the list of reasons folks can't retire when they planned to, between that and fuel cost it's scary.


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## Huntmo1 (Nov 30, 2011)

I'm surprised "mortgage" wasn't on the list. I know that for most people, that is the largest bill they have to pay. I can't wait until I no longer have a mortgage...that will give me a lot more flexibility.



Micheal said:


> In reading a recent article they listed 5 expenses keeping a person from retiring. I could maybe list more but the 5 they gave were:
> 1. Stock market drop - the hit taken by 401K's, IRAs, etc
> 2. Boomerang kids - you thought they were gone for good; but......
> 3. Divorce - income and assets maybe cut in half?
> ...


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## Micheal (Jan 28, 2009)

Mike in Ohio said:


> Couldn't have beern much of an article - based on your post, the author clearly does not understand what an expense is.


The article was posted at MSN/money/retirement and was written by one of the regular columnists....... Guess it is up to the individual to draw their own conclusion(s).


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## Scott SW Ohio (Sep 20, 2003)

lanewilliam21 said:


> I'm surprised "mortgage" wasn't on the list. I know that for most people, that is the largest bill they have to pay. I can't wait until I no longer have a mortgage...that will give me a lot more flexibility.


I think mortgages are pretty cheap these days, unless you bought during the bubble and/or for some reason cannot refinance. When I was first in the market for a house 30 years ago, a good rate for a mortgage was a bit more than twelve percent. Today our rate on a 15 year mortgage (just refinanced) is 3 percent, no points. Add to that the fact that we paid about half the original asking price for our house when we bought it early last year, and the monthly payment seems pretty nominal. I think there are a lot of folks in this kind of situation with their mortgages these days - both my brother and my boss are.


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## Micheal (Jan 28, 2009)

lanewilliam21 said:


> I'm surprised "mortgage" wasn't on the list. I know that for most people, that is the largest bill they have to pay. I can't wait until I no longer have a mortgage...that will give me a lot more flexibility.


Why a "mortgage" wasn't on the list???
Most of the advice given, either professionally or novice, states that the less debt carried into retirement the better. Most even say that "no" debt is the ideal way to retire........ soooo they "assume" that the mortgage has been paid off......... or at least not a problem.
Although the list from what I read, it is the unexpected and not the planned for expenses that keep people from retiring.


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## sherry in Maine (Nov 22, 2007)

so sorry about your cancer Bentley-

How are you doing?


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## Bentley (Jul 10, 2008)

Sherry, thank you for asking. I'm doing okay.....for now. I had the surgery in July of 2010, and started androgen depravation injections in Nov of 2010 for a 2 year period. I get my (hopefully) last injection next week. As long as my psa stays at non detect, it will be great. If my psa begins to rise, I will have to go back on the Lupron. :Bawling:

Time will tell, but my Lord is in control, and for that I'm thankful.

B


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## emdeengee (Apr 20, 2010)

Mike in Ohio said:


> Couldn't have beern much of an article - based on your post, the author clearly does not understand what an expense is.
> 
> 1. Stock market drop - is not an expense;
> 3. Divorce cutting income and assets in half - not an expense;
> 5.Not planning - is not an expense.



I think the article should have been called 5 situations and/or choices that equal no retirement or retirement delayed.

Expenses that would delay retirement are mortgages, consumer debt (credit cards), education loans that you assumed for your children, back taxes and medical debt.


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