Posted on 08/19/2019 9:03:32 AM PDT by freedumb2003
Can I retire on $500K?
Soon to be ex-wife and I had the last of all our blow-outs. 25 years married, no kids, own the house outright, $1.7 MM (maybe 2), zero debt, 60-something.
Reached out to Cordell Cordell the only law firm I know of that will take care of the man side of things.
soon to be ex-wife does not work.
You can retire on almost any amount if you adjust your lifestyle accordingly.
You start with $3,300 a month. Easy to live off of in Panama.
Then you have $500K clear. That gives you about another 2k per month income, invested in index funds over time. Even 5K a month is big money in Panama. Enough to afford a maid, a gardener, and a girlfriend or two...
If you start making babies, though, Panama requires you take care of them.
True That.
What is amazing is UTUBE. There are at least 20 different videos on UTUBE that show you how to do almost anything around your home.
I learned how to fix cracks in my plaster ceiling by watching UTUBE videos. Many of them were from contractors in Great Britain where they have millions of old houses with plaster walls and ceilings.
Thanks for the advice. Again, this is why I am posting here. But this seems to not be about depression more than a realization of my life decisions that led me here.
>>Getting a divorce right before you plan on retiring is basically always a pretty bad idea when you are the man<<
Truer words were never spoken/typed. Staying married right before you plan on retiring also is bad if you are the man.
I don’t think there is a return point for the marriage. Maybe something will change but I doubt it. But thank you for your kind and thoughtful words.
Even though I myself own several of the dividend paying stocks you mentioned, I would not rely on individual equities alone as a retirement income strategy. Most every investor needs a balanced portfolio (some combination of stocks / stock mutual funds and bonds/bond mutual funds) that’s appropriate for that person’s risk tolerance.
Individual equities are HIGHLY risky for all the obvious reasons. Go look at GE as an example. Or worse, CTL - one of the highest paying dividend stocks in the S&P 500. They were paying a $2.16 / sh dividend until they cut it to $1/sh. That was AFTER exec management promised up and down that they were “comfortable with the dividend for the forseeable future” - about 2 weeks before they cut it.
YMMV. While dividend stocks can be a PART of an income strategy, there should be a more diversified, broader foundation in place also..and on a $500K portfolio..not sure I’d even recommend you invest in individual equities..
I also wouldn’t count on getting 5% returns..history has not shown that to be a safe withdrawal rate (SWR). Lots more discussion on that point on the forums I mentioned up-thread..4% max..3.5% better, or you may risk running out of $$ in retirement..
Similar story here. Living quite welloSS...house paid off, no CC debt. County living, home paid for,500 yearly taxes.
You're probably going to want to relocate to a cheaper location. The big question is where to. You may end up trying out more than one.
The 80/20 rule is important. In any area, the top 20% enjoy a good life, and the 80% struggle. It's normal to be in the 80%, nothing to be ashamed about, but anyone having experienced life in both will tell you: you want to be in the top 20%. Different countries have different pecking orders. Many American men in the 80% here are surprised to find out they are in the top 20% elsewhere, and find a new happier outlook on life. That said, the average expat returns to America after 7 years abroad, most often for Medicare as medical costs skyrocket in old age.
IMHO, invest the 500K into a plain ol' taxable account spread out among many mutual funds in many asset classes. I highly recommend Paul Merriman's Ultimate Portfolio as a guide on how to pick the funds (mine is like his with a few tweaks).
Pick a steady withdrawal rate that you'll stick to each year. Good rules of thumb is between 3% to 5%. So 4% of $500K is only $20K. You know better than the rest of us is that plus your pension is enough to live on.
I assume a 10% growth per year for my investments (not retired yet, but soon). So withdrawing 4% per year means most years your portfolio will grow 6% net (10% growth - 4% withdrawals = 6%). This is basically your own built in Cost Of Living Allowance increases.
Hahahahaha!
Unless you want to live like a king in the king's palace in some big, overly expensive city, you don't need $500,000 to retire on. Especially if you get a contractor's job earning $80 grand a year. And if not, you're telling us you can't live comfortably on $3600 a month in pension and SS benefits?
My wife and I retired ten years ago (we're in our early 70s) and live very comfortably on our SS income plus a pension retirement check totaling $3300 a month. We are free and clear of any debt
We took $200,000 cash out of our retirement funds (against my investment advisor's advice--"What if you need that money to live on?) to build a new house with no mortgage. We live on 30 acres in rural Florida and raise beef cattle for fun. We have 30 head of Angus beef cows.
We are not rich but we are much better off financially now than when we worked full-time in the big city and had all kinds of debt and expenses to live there.
We travel when we want but we don't go out socially much at all (we don't waste money at restaurants since it's a distance to the big city where the restaurants are.) We put up our own beef in the freezer and vegetables and fruit we grow too. Our expenses are very low so we bank much of our monthly retirement income. And we don't have $500,000 in the bank. We've been doing this for ten years now. Most people like us want a slower pace when you get older. The fast lane is not for us.
The idea that you need millions of dollars to retire on is a myth perpetrated by investment advisors. Unless you want to live the high luxury life in the fast lane. Or unless you don't have any retirement income and have to live on the interest off the $500,000 by itself. But you have monthly income.
Good luck no matter what you decide to do. But if one person can't survive on the numbers you've cited, you're doing something wrong.
Yep, a valuable resource for sure.
Honest question...I’m not trying to insult you.
But if you live in Spain and, I assume, don’t intend on returning, why do you care about voting for DJT?
I’d be interesting in hearing from anyone else who has decided to live out their days abroad. Thanks.
Looks like you can do pretty well on $500K if Tonga suits your needs.
Of course, you’d have to make due with only 5 acres and 2 bedrooms, but it has fruit trees and a sandy beach. Cheeseburgers in this paradise are self-serve.
Reading these responses has been very helpful and make me feel like retirement can be done well on my income. I’m glad I moved from Southern California back home to Texas in anticipation of retirement. My California county pension pays for my mortgage, and thanks to working 16 years in California my SS and 401K are quite good. I am using savings for home repairs when necessary, and European travel a couple times a year. If I ever want to consult or work part time, I could - but I enjoy volunteering at historical museums which gives me some structure to my calendar.
Agree. Sounds like freedumb would benefit from monthly B12 shots to get through this (energy, happiness, and clarity of thought). And as other freepers commented, I would try to settle it out of court. Cash lump sum.
PS - in addition to cutting the dividend by > 50%, CTL went from high $20s/sh ($28’ish) to under $10 (!) in the course of less than 18 months.
If you buy individual dividend paying stocks, consider this as a very possible scenario. Watching your retirement portfolio take a 50+% hit on any part of it is not fun, regardless of how much income a stock may be paying you.
That’s why broader, diversified mutual funds are generally much less risky.
Just because I don't live there doesn't mean I don't have family to care about or a future SS check to protect. Is there some sort of rule that says once you leave Country A for Country B you no longer have to worry about what happens in Country A?
You misinterpret the tone of my post. I’m just trying to understand. Best of luck to you.
$3,600 per month guaranteed, and additional assets? And you’re worried about surviving? You’ve got to be kidding me.........stop your bragging.
Okay 2.50.
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