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.
Yeah! This guy should break down and actually consult an expert, perhaps a CFP or a lawyer. What idiot asks legal advice and financial planning on the internet?
“And you will pay alimony for the rest of her life, about 50% of your historical gross earnings.”
“It’s a formula.”
Alimony is still awarded I believe, but only as necessary. If your wife was a kept woman, 50% forever is quite likely.
“Child” support is usually how a man gets screwed in the modern USA, now that women are expected to work after marriage.
I’m not a lawyer, but my parents were divorced in Alabama, since New York would not grant my parents a divorce in 1963.
Expect assets to be split 50/50, always in “community property” states like California.
You have no property rights to Social Security. Social Security is paid by the grace of Congress. Ask your lawyer about Social Security and state pension matters.
>>Good grief...you’re asking for financial advice on a forum?<<
That is a really great question (sidenote: you should never say “that is a great question” in a meeting since it implies the other questions were not very good, but as you said this is a forum LOL).
I know FR has many people and am looking for real life experiences as opposed to financial planning sterile analyses.
I’m sorry for all you just went through.
I hope you get great answers on how to stay afloat in your new Jimmy Buffett life!
First, I’m sorry to hear about your marriage. If you are still inclined to seek female companionship, be sure to factor that into the expenses. With that type of income, you WILL be a target so beware.
I retired this year at 62 and took Social Security early to make it work. I also realized I could not make the numbers work while staying in the U.S. so I have moved to Central America. For now, I’m making it on about $1650/mo but I can cash in a second pension that will add $700-$800 per month but the payout improves the longer I wait.
I’m also unattached with no kids and decent health.
I mention all of this to say I would *love* to trade places with you financially so if I can make it work, so can you.
$500k is really nothing today.
My wife and I are 58 and have zero debt also. However, our household fixed cost per year is almost $50k ($1500 month health ins, 8k annual property tax, utilities, food and all other insurances, basic house maintenance, cable etc)
Have to consider a major illness such as a stroke and end up in a nursing home at $6k per month or more and it will eat that 500k in no time.
Sell the home and downsize to a low cost area and you would be fine.
We continue to work because we are terrified of running out of money even though our CFP said we could retire now.
We are self employed and will still continue to work because we are healthy and like what we do but we are expecting another 2008 style crash with all the record household and national debt.
I would never retire to another country where my gringo skin is in the minority.
Mexico, really ?!
With the large amounts of money involved, I’d suggest getting a second or even a third legal opinion.
>>Location, Location, Location.
The usual places (NY, CA, etc..) will drain you dry fast.<<
JIMMY BUFFET, man! JIMMY BUFFET! A backpack and a bar on a beach somewhere! b/c WHY NOT?
And already this thread has given me a ton of ideas on how to do that. Philippines? Milasia? Mexico certainly is an option as I know it well.
The hard part is divorce. Big damn money hole.
That says it all. Also you have to be true to yourself in financial evaluation. Your biggest plus is no kids and no mortgage. You may have to re evaluate the RV, boat on the lake and ORV hobbies if you indulge there.
IMO Financial planners are full of it when they tell you you have to have millions to retire. If their advice is that great why are they older than me and still working?
There are lists on the internet of places like Slovenia, Spain, Ecuador, Thailand, the Philippines that you could probably do just that.
Do a google search. There was a click bate article list on Facebook not too long ago that listed 15 countries.
Slovenia seemed the most attractive to me.
If you generally use your pension and SS to live on and limit your savings withdrawals low you will be OK. Generally you don't want to pull out more than 4% of your savings per year. People quibble over that percentage (4% vs 5% vs something else) but it's a general rule of thumb. 4% of $500K is 20K per year. Adding your pension and SS comes to about $64K per year and then you might have to share that SS with ex. Then you said you might continue to work which means you defer SS.
Only you can decide how much is enough to live on. You generally save what you can and you have what you have and need to throttle your spending accordingly. You live in Texas so you have no state taxes which is good.
The main ingredient in retirement planning is how much you will SPEND each year.
I’d be wary of moving overseas.
I don’t think I could live as well as I do in Florida anywhere outside the USA.
I expect the dollar to take a pounding in the future because of federal financial mismanagement.
It isn’t necessarily a bad idea. Freepers are some of the smartest people out there.
Well from what I understand about SS the 2300/mo is yours however the 1300/mo from the state may not, but you may have left out a bunch of details of the circumstances.
If you have 500K in the bank and are still earning 80k/yr net then your not really retired are you, and can further build on the 500K. Is that 80K net part time?
As others have said it will depend on where you live and life style.
If you want to stay in the US, get a cheap place in a rural/semi-rural area with low property taxes (and lower utility/grocery/fuel costs) and it shouldn’t be a problem. Or you can go outside the US and your dollars will go even further, but then you have to worry about laws on whether non-citizens can even buy property, local instability, crime, etc. There are quite a few countries though where it is pretty stable and you can get a “retirement/investment” visa that allows you to own property and have most of the rights of citizenship as long as you can show you have a certain amount of assets and plan to spend them in that country.
>>We are self employed and will still continue to work because we are healthy and like what we do but we are expecting another 2008 style crash with all the record household and national debt.<<
I am just too damn tired. I wake up every morning wanting the day to be over. I have been working pretty much nonstop since 1972. A few brief breaks and that is it.
My needs are small: A roof over my head, booze in the blender, food in a small fridge. I don’t even care about RX. Let my afflictions carry me where they will.
I have 3 million AA miles. 1900 Marriott nights. Life time status with both. I have seen all I want to see and been in too damn many places not home.
And home is now a meaningless concept.
“soon to be ex-wife does not work”
On of my uncles was a builder. His wife took care of paying the bills, sitting at open houses and dealing with the bank.
I think my definition of “retire” is work b/c I want to not b/c I have to.
You can certainly live well on $3000-4000 a month in many decent places in the world. Or $2000.
Spain for instance.
Private Medical insurance (Medicare won’t work) is @$200/mo
Rent for a very nice 800 sqft 1-2 Br apt runs $600-$800 or so most places.
Not in city center Barcelona or Madrid, but certainly in Malaga or Sevilla, etc.
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