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.
Or, getting a Truck, to pull an RV and become a rolling stone. Maybe 5 or 6 moves a year.
I am living quite well in Spain on a good bit less than that. I don’t do any side jobs and I’m not collecting SS yet, which would be about the the same amount as you. We bought a house but you could just as easily rent. We know 2 Americans who rent a frontline seaside Penthouse apartment for about 1500 Euros/month plus they have the option of being able to walk away on a moment’s notice if things ever turned ugly here, or even if they just want to try living somewhere else. We live about 600 meters away from the beach with a lovely sea view. We own our house but still we would leave it in a heartbeat if we had to. Hopefully we won’t ever have to. We haven’t regretted our move for a minute. I even still get to vote for DJT come next election.
Bottom line: on the money you have you could live like a King.
Like others say, more information is required. But so long as you are mostly debt free, live within your means, and you have $3600/mo in SS and pension coming in, the $500K principal should be fine. Just don't touch it until you absolutely have to - as long as you are still working, just let it grow.
Whatever you do, take no debt into retirement. Estimate your living costs going forward, add in a bit of cushion. Remember 500K today will not be worth 500K in 20 years, probably will have a purchasing value of less even with dividends or interest accumulated.
What I did is leave my 401, IRAs alone. Living on pension. The big kicker is I am in good health. That is why I left my 401 and IRAs alone, they are my fall back if my health goes away.
Good luck
That’s definitely a relevant issue.....your spouse not in approval of FR contributions.
A smart spouse looks at it as a valuable investment ;-)
You couldn’t rely on $500K alone. The best yield, blue-chip dividend stocks are paying only 2-3% (oil sector is a bit higher) but that would only give you $10-15K/year in dividend interest. It also exposes you to a very high stock market.
CDs and bank interest is crap, thanks to global central banks
your pension is a help as will social security coming as well. Without a woman or kids around, life will be inexpensive.
I personally enjoy working, so I’m not at your age, but God willing, I will keep going well into my 60s. I would keep working, but that’s me.
I’m so sorry. Hoping you can get this done quickly, make a clean break and get the pain over and done with so you can move on. I assume you’ve done everything possible, including counseling, trial separation, cooling off period, etc. But financially it sounds like you’ll be more than fine. Obviously don’t take SS early if you can possibly help it, just to be extra safe.
Good grief...you’re asking for financial advice on a forum?
Location, Location, Location.
The usual places (NY, CA, etc..) will drain you dry fast.
You can live ok in low cost of living areas without state income tax, but high property taxes can erode any savings you make.
You can go frugal nomadic in an RV and easily live off of that plus your income.
Set up domicile in a state without income tax. South Dakota caters to RVers in this regard. Roam the roads, go where you want, stay as long as you want, then move on. Follow the 70 degree temperature line year round. Work from your RV. Easy with today’s wireless technology.
My investment advisors lowered that to between 3.5% and 4.5% sometime about 10 or 15 years ago based on market return at the time. So it may be wise to be a little more conservative if the goal is to sustain the account for several more decades.
Not me!..........
I knew someone who did that!......
>>And you will pay alimony for the rest of her life, about 50% of your historical gross earnings.<<
That is my big issue. If I were to argue I was about to retire in 2 years anyway (and have had discussions with a RL financial adviser about that) then maybe I can throw $1MM at her and be done?
Given you were there was such an option on the table?
But I am quite angry and will die broke before I support her beyond 1/2 of our net worth. I have been thinking about an end-life scenario anyway so have nothing to lose.
This is just end-life in slow motion. Thank GOD we have no kids. People get splashed but no one gets hurt.
All I can tell you is what my Father told me years ago, people live to what they make.
That’s why someone making $30,000 a Year can live comfortably because they planned their life around that number while someone making $300,000 a year can end up barely getting by because they didn’t plan well.
Do you plan on spending your Money traveling? Do you like driving expensive Cars (my weakness)? Do you plan on dating a Kardashian? If you answered no to these questions, you should do just fine living off your Pension and SS.
You also have a paid off House worth a bunch of money. Many people your age are still paying off a Mortgage.
The rest of your money you can squander to your hearts desire. You only live once FRiend.
It is a very forgiving country. Probably, you can “survive” on nothing.
LOL!
It all depends on what’s important to you -— what you would consider a good lifestyle. You are going to have to pay for a place to live, which will probably be your biggest cost. Smalltown TX you can buy a whole house for $50,000 -— not the biggest or nicest but livable and comfy. Plus, you will be the new guy in town and the center of attention for the casserole brigade, so that will cut down on food costs a bit at least initially. I suspect you already have a car or two, so keep them in good repair and drive them until you have to replace them. But, if you’re a big city guy who likes to go to the high dollar restaurants 3-5 times a week, take in the shows and concerts, drive a new car every year, etc. -— well, Bless your heart, I wish you good luck and a great life.
Thanks, RB!
That is sort of my plan. I speak Spanish not too bad and it gets better daily here in Puerto Rico (although it is this gawdawful PR dialect).
I bought a double-wide in a gated community on a golf course in Florida for under $100K. I live comfortably on the interest from my 401K, Social Security, and a $640 monthly pension.
Everything depends on the lifestyle you want to live.
Call Dave Ramsey - seriously.
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