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Can I retire on $500K?
Me | 8/19/2019 | Me

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.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS: retire; retirement
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To: freedumb2003
My needs are small: A roof over my head, booze in the blender....

Gave up on ever finding that lost shaker of salt?

81 posted on 08/19/2019 10:03:00 AM PDT by Oratam
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To: angelrod
The only advice I would give is do not take social security early! It’s a big difference between taking it early, at full time etirement age or even taking it at 70 would give u 20-30% more than taking it early. If u live long, taking it no earlier than full retirement is the best move for u.

If you take SS early, the break even is about age 83 in absolute dollars. Its even longer than that if you include investment returns and factor in inflation. In other words, it is rarely financially beneficial to wait until full retirement to take SS.

82 posted on 08/19/2019 10:04:30 AM PDT by Go Gordon (I gave my dog Grady a last name - Trump - because he loves tweets.)
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To: freedumb2003

Yes, but don’t retire. Always have a business going selling a product or a service.


83 posted on 08/19/2019 10:04:56 AM PDT by conservative98
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To: freedumb2003; All
By the way, lest we forget: according to the current Census webpage, the median household income in the U.S. is $57,652. I believe that's 2017 data. If you have your house paid off and kids through school, you can live a median income lifestyle on less than that. Pick your retirement location carefully. If you want to live big, travel big, or run with the high rollers, that's a different matter.

The real challenge for most of us is whether we can maintain our pre-retirement lifestyle. If we are willing to relocate or downsize, it's not hard to live comfortably on a surprisingly low income.

While still working, most of us live in major metro areas. Just as a thought experiment, go to Zillow and look at small towns an hour or so outside the commuter perimeter of your current city. Pick somewhere that has a few amenities or geographical attractions to make the place interesting; for me, that would start with a bit of history and/or mountains or rivers. (If you live in Kansas, this might be tough.) You can still be in reasonable daytrip range of whatever museums, sports arenas, colleges, or other urban amenities to which you have grown attached, but live for a fraction of the cost.

84 posted on 08/19/2019 10:06:32 AM PDT by sphinx
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To: freedumb2003

Jimmy Buffet ain’t who you think financially nor live style - love his music though!


85 posted on 08/19/2019 10:07:44 AM PDT by ldish (Have had enough...you??????)
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To: Mouton

“The big kicker is I am in good health.”

Nailed it.

Freedumb does not know what a disastrous future lies ahead of him.

The number one job of divorce attorneys is to find out the total value of all assets. Then drag on divorce proceedings till everything is gone. And I mean everything.

Then as we enter into retirement age - health problems escalate.

Oh well. Millions of people subside on Social Security and Medicare.


86 posted on 08/19/2019 10:08:14 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd
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To: ldish

Sorry “life style” - just look at his last name to know that.


87 posted on 08/19/2019 10:09:11 AM PDT by ldish (Have had enough...you??????)
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To: freedumb2003
and probably net $80K/yr or so as a contractor

So you're not retiring?

88 posted on 08/19/2019 10:09:47 AM PDT by 1Old Pro
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To: freedumb2003

As another poster said mid-thread, it all depends on your expenses.

First step, determine what those are going to be. I recommend tracking “everything” (and I mean EVERYTHING spent via cash, credit cards, checking,etc) using an app like Quicken. Don’t skip anything - those “small” expenses can and do add up to thousands of dollars per year.

Next, get over to www.early-retirement.org or www.bogleheads.org and post your detailed info (expenses, income, assets, liabilities, etc) there along with a request for people to assess your situation. There are quite a few very smart folks when it comes to personal finance (including some guys that have written major finance books, run their own CFP firms, who are quoted in WSJ and CBS MarketWatch, etc) on both forums, and not to say we don’t also have some pretty smart finance folks here on FR, but it’s not the main thing focused on like it is on either of those other two sites.

Good luck - but the net is that until you have a VERY good handle on your expenses and can share that info, it’s not really a question that can be answered with any confidence - and if someone tells you it can...RUN.

BTW, the generally accepted rule is that you can “safely” withdraw 3-3.5% (used to be 4% and SOME will say it still is, although “3.5% is the new 4%” overall) from an investment portfolio with a 60% stock, 40% bond split. Ditto the advice about anyone saying that you can withdraw more. There are actually some very good calculators/apps that Bogleheads and ER folk use to do Monte Carlo and other types of simulations that will help show the likelihood of success if you were to retire with a certain level of assets, liabilities and expenses.

Lastly, it wasn’t clear if your pension (and $80K expected income from contracting) was pre or post taxes. That will also make a big difference, as will your age and options for covering healthcare until you get to Medicare age..

Good luck..


89 posted on 08/19/2019 10:10:07 AM PDT by jstolzen
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To: freedumb2003

All depends on where you live.

By myself I could live on the $1300/mo if I scrimped, but I live in the midwest where cost of living is lower. If you go tropical it will depend on locale: Florida vs Virgin Islands vs Costa Rica, etc

Assuming the 500k can get you 5% a year then that would be ~ another $2k/month.

$3300/month is basically lower middle class at $40k/year.

Note that isn’t including your SSA - so you could delay a bit there if you wanted.


90 posted on 08/19/2019 10:10:58 AM PDT by reed13k (For evil to triumph it is only necessary that good men do nothing)
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To: PGR88
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.

You may need to re-visit some of the blue chips. Currently, AT&T is at 5.83%, Verizon is at 4.25%, Exxon is at 5.10%, Altria is at 6.88% and Ford is at 6.7%. There are great opportunities to get great blue chips now, lock in the $/dividend, and watch the dividends increase each year.

91 posted on 08/19/2019 10:13:04 AM PDT by Go Gordon (I gave my dog Grady a last name - Trump - because he loves tweets.)
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To: freedumb2003

“then maybe I can throw $1MM at her and be done?”

ABSOLUTELY! If she accepts.

It’s how I settled my first marriage. I paid cash with my share of the existing assets.

Oh man, that hurt. On so many levels.

But at least I didn’t have to pay her alimony. Didn’t have to write checks, didn’t have to see or hear from her. And I was still young enough at 40 to recover nicely.

then, I went a did it again.


92 posted on 08/19/2019 10:18:27 AM PDT by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: Carpe Cerevisi; freedumb2003

If there is any internet forum I would ask this question on, it would be this one or the IBD or Bloomberg areas. Quite a few FReepers are financial professionals, advisors, brokers, bankers, financial planners. I have a few FINRA series qualifications myself...

He has not gotten any “bad” advice in the comments. The themes expressed are accurate and common sense:

- FD2003 does not not even have to touch the $500k or SSI while he is getting the pension and working.
- Where he lives and the associated cost of living are crucial.
- His personal spending habits and health issues are also crucial.
- Expat or RV living is an option, as is foreign employment or “work from anywhere” contracting.
- It is possible, but as is the case with all human endeavors, some thought, common sense, self-awareness, and decent coaching will bring about the better result than taking the course of action the Nike way...


93 posted on 08/19/2019 10:21:50 AM PDT by L,TOWM (An upraised middle finger is my virtue signal.)
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To: rktman

“And, she and her new boyfriend will be happy as clams living off her alimony.”

Just be happy that somebody else has to deal with her sh!t now.

Let go. Move on. Start over and never look back.


94 posted on 08/19/2019 10:22:32 AM PDT by Mariner (War Criminal #18)
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To: CodeToad

RE: Reliable retirement investment is 5%, so $500k nets $25k/year.

Where does on get reliable, safe 5% investment?


95 posted on 08/19/2019 10:29:55 AM PDT by SeekAndFind (look at Michigan, it will)
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To: conservative98

For cash.

I think I could make a living off of my local Facebook town page. It is amazing how little people know what to do around a house.

There was a post last week by a woman who wanted someone to remove the kitchen cabinet above her fridge. She had purchased a new fridge that was too tall to fit under the existing cabinet. I tried to explain to her that she literally had to remove probably 4-6 screws to take it down.
You could tell she was afraid. Some people are totally clueless when it comes to home repairs.


96 posted on 08/19/2019 10:30:11 AM PDT by woodbutcher1963
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To: freedumb2003
I am just too damn tired. I wake up every morning wanting the day to be over.

Reading through your posts... you are suffering from fairly severe depression. You are at the end of your rope and not really in a good position to be making decisions that will chart out the direction for the rest of the time that you have left. I do not know what your marital situation was but the worst thing that you can do to screw up your retirement is alienating your wife and getting a divorce. All the best laid plans go out the window at that point.

If you look in the mirror there is a much better than a 50-50 chance that the divorce had a whole lot to do with you and the issues you created by not taking better care of yourself and neglecting your wife as a result. If there is some way to reconcile at least until you can get yourself in a better place mentally, physically and spiritually you should make that your first priority no matter how annoying you currently find your wife to be. Get some kind of counseling and figure out how to appreciate each other again and enjoy your retirement without being on a shoestring budget.

Getting a divorce right before you plan on retiring is basically always a pretty bad idea when you are the man.

97 posted on 08/19/2019 10:30:43 AM PDT by fireman15
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To: FatherofFive

I agree.


98 posted on 08/19/2019 10:31:30 AM PDT by wintertime (Stop treating government teachers like they are reincarnated Mother Teresas!)
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To: woodbutcher1963
Some people are totally clueless when it comes to home repairs.

Yep, thus the growth of TAKL and Home Advisor and Angie's List.

99 posted on 08/19/2019 10:32:11 AM PDT by 1Old Pro
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To: freedumb2003

Millinos of Americans have retired on nothing in the six counties that voted for the evil pygmy witch...


100 posted on 08/19/2019 10:32:39 AM PDT by northislander
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