S/O age at retirement from homeschooling-how will you *afford* to not work?

[HappyGrace]

I will be 52 when we finish hs'ing, and dh will be 62. After being on only one income for all these years in order to homeschool, there will be no question that I will have to work! We are very frugal, but have no savings, and very little in our 401k.

 

How are y'all swinging it that you will not have to work, be able to travel, etc., after presumably being on one income for the homeschooling years? I would LOVE to not have to work when I am done, especially as I'm not really trained for anything and would probably have to either go back to school, which I wouldn't want to do at that time, or work retail or something. :bigear:

[LauraGB]

Dh and I are self employed. We own two businesses. One we've had since the kids were born, and we are hoping to phase out sooner than later, but is/has been our primary source of income for over a decade. The second we started about 3 years ago, relies primarily on a hobby of dh's, is completely different from the primary, and will hopefully carry us into retirement. It's not as if I don't work aside from family and school. It's not easy doing "everything else" that dh does not - he's the thinker, inventor, creator sort of fellow, I do everything else :001_rolleyes:. Trust me - sometimes I really want to quit. But, we both do our jobs rather well, so hopefully it will work out.

[TravelingChris]

Dh is active duty military. He will either be retired by the time I am retired or getting near it. Even now if he stopped he would get more than 50% of his current pay without the housing and food allowances. He is planning to work at a position that probably will pay at least as well as his current job so basically he will have 1.5 or more times his current income. SInce we can live comfortably supporting three children now, in four years, we will only be primarily supporting one. I think we will be able to manage just fine.

[jld]

Well, probably no one really knows how things will go, even with careful planning. So many things could happen that could necessitate changes we can't even imagine (the cost of paying for the recent economic crisis, environmental disasters, death/long-term illness of a spouse, etc).

 

But for now, basically the plan is that when I'm done homeschooling, at age 56, I will be available to help older dc with their children, or just finally enjoy being alone with dh, going with him on business trips, etc. Like other posters, we have always lived fairly modestly (okay, I guess that's relative) and plan to continue that. We have saved regularly for retirement, and hopefully will be okay. Not rolling in the dough, but okay. I'm also open to employment, if necessary.

[HappyGrace]

I hope my OP didn't sound too nosy! I didn't mean it like that-just looking for ideas to see if there is anything we can start doing from now to make things better for us then (that is 11 years from now.)

 

I'm so happy for those of you that are working things out so well! :hurray: It will be so nice to have that to look forward to. So far nothing sounds like viable options for us though. I plan to start praying more about this and see how the Lord leads.

[mommaduck]

I will be 52 when we finish hs'ing, and dh will be 62. After being on only one income for all these years in order to homeschool, there will be no question that I will have to work! We are very frugal, but have no savings, and very little in our 401k.

 

How are y'all swinging it that you will not have to work, be able to travel, etc., after presumably being on one income for the homeschooling years? I would LOVE to not have to work when I am done, especially as I'm not really trained for anything and would probably have to either go back to school, which I wouldn't want to do at that time, or work retail or something. :bigear:

I will be in my late 40's and look forward to going back to work or restarting my own business.

[Guest Dulcimeramy]

I'm with you. All of our worldly resources are going to the raising and educating of these children. There'll be zilch for us at the end.

 

Right now my retirement plan is this:

 

My son, Henry, wants to be a farmer. He is going to build a house for DH and me on his property so we can have cows, chickens, and a huge vegetable garden.

 

My son, Jonas, is going to open a gluten-free restaurant and he wants me to work in it all day with him. So I'll have a small paycheck, and food from the restaurant to take home for supper.

 

My oldest son, Nathaniel, intends to be filthy rich. He'll pay for whatever else DH and I need.

 

They are 9, 11, and 13, so I'm not depending on any of this, but isn't it sweet that they've thought it all out? :D

 

Our grownup plan is for DH to work past retirement age and for me to upgrade my training and get a job. We plan to live extremely frugally so we'll have a little money for our old age maybe.

[phathui5]

Us: I'll be 41 when my youngest turns 18. That'll give me at least 24 years to work before I retire, if I choose to retire. I imagine that I'll be able to save up enough in that time for us to be ok, especially if dh is working also. That's one of the benefits of having started our family "early."

 

For the OP: How's your financial situation now? I know having one income can be tough, but with a budget and a plan for saving, it's possible to at least be putting something towards retirement. And if it's something you're worried about, you could find a job that fits in with your homeschooling.

[Jane in NC]

Us: I'll be 41 when my youngest turns 18. That'll give me at least 24 years to work before I retire, if I choose to retire. I imagine that I'll be able to save up enough in that time for us to be ok, especially if dh is working also. That's one of the benefits of having started our family "early."

 

 

 

Funny, we have opposite perspectives. Having a nest egg in place is a benefit of starting a family later. While your child or children are growing, the investments and savings will hopefully grow as well.

[jld]

Thanks for mentioning this, Jane. I've read that it's important to start saving for retirement early, and let the savings grow over the years.

[Momma2Many66]

I am going to be spending an enormous amount of my "retirement" time on my little boat fishing and reading.

 

In between that, I will continue with my gardening (freezing and canning), cooking from scratch, thrift store shopping and living frugally. We enjoy living simply and it allows us the freedom of not incurring debt and being able to do more with less.

 

We follow Dave Ramsey's plan. We put money away monthly into future savings, even though we live on one moderate income. We scrimp and save, do without and wear it all out so that we can live better later. We have no cell phone service, no fancy satelite or cable, we eat at home, we live like no one else now, so later, we can live like no one else. We are currently working on baby step 6, paying off the mortgage. We should be done with that step in 5 to 7 years, which puts us right on target for baby step 7 (living like nobody else) by the time I retire from homeschooling.

 

My husband is two years younger then me, he will be 55 when I retire from homeschooling at 57. He will have his 25 years in with his job when he turns 58 and will be able to retire if he so chooses, he will then join me on my daily fishing excursions.

 

I was always raised and taught to live simply and it is how I am teaching my own children. From the time I was little my grandmother taught us "you have a today without, so you can have a tommorrow with".

 

I am looking forward to our future of "living like nobody else". :001_smile:

Edited May 3, 2010 by Momma2Many66

[Ellie]

Well, probably no one really knows how things will go, even with careful planning. So many things could happen that could necessitate changes we can't even imagine (the cost of paying for the recent economic crisis, environmental disasters, death/long-term illness of a spouse, etc).

 

But for now, basically the plan is that when I'm done homeschooling, at age 56, I will be available to help older dc with their children, or just finally enjoy being alone with dh, going with him on business trips, etc. Like other posters, we have always lived fairly modestly (okay, I guess that's relative) and plan to continue that. We have saved regularly for retirement, and hopefully will be okay. Not rolling in the dough, but okay. I'm also open to employment, if necessary.

Yup, that sounds like our plan. Oh, wait...it's what we've been doing for the last 15 years. :-)

[2squared]

We are very lucky to have saved well before we had kids. Actually, it was mostly me. Dh came with debt, but we attacked that and then still had some time to save agressively.

 

Things we are continuing to do:

1) Retirement savings is extremely high on my priority list. If we can't save appropriately, I will go back to work.

2) We live debt free and are determined to continue.

3) We should have our house paid off by the time dh is 55. At that point our oldest will be 23 and our youngest 15.

4) Dh is in the reserves which is extra income now but just as important, he is earning time toward a military pension and military retirement healthcare.

5) We carefully monitor dh's earning power. He took this current job at a very, very low wage (for us). If his earning power doesn't increase like we need, then we will have to pull the trigger on something else.

6) We carefully guard against job losses and other significant hits to our income. If dh's current job doesn't work out for some reason, he can immediately ask for more reserve assignments to maintain our income stream. A more challenging option would be for me to go back to work while he stays home - challenging only due to geographic location. I should still be able to outearn dh. I do maintain my prior professional contacts.

Edited May 3, 2010 by 2squared

[HappyGrace]

We live carefully-all meals cooked from scratch, no processed foods, etc-mostly organic, but I shop in bulk, etc. All our clothes are from consignments shops or hand-me-downs, etc. We have very little debt except the mortgage, but dh has to pay child support for one (just one more year). We do all we can to live carefully-no cell phones, no cable, etc. I try to buy curriculum used where possible, and if not, I keep it in perfect condition and always resell. All that type of thing. We have occasional splurges, but rare. Even with all this, there isn't anything left to put away.

 

I may start trying to look into ways to prep better for the future years-whether it's getting a little job to sock some away, or whatever.

[Dandelion]

In our case, DH and I both worked for a major high tech company for many years during the tech boom (of course, we were also both laid off during the bust but that's another story). Because of that, we both have solid 401Ks and were also able to put a lot into savings and investments over the years.

 

DH was also an active duty military officer for over a decade and has served in the Army Reserves for the past 9 years (activated and deployed for 1.5 years during that time) so he will be eligible for full military retirement benefits.

 

This past year, DH started up his own company and it's doing very well. His business is such that he could continue managing it part-time (basically checking in a few times a week) once he "retires" (he plans to retire around age 50 - he's 42). I'm currently working on starting up a business as well (very part-time - less than 10 hours a week right now). My plan is to grow the business as the kids get older and continue working at least 2 days per week (maybe more) during our retirement. Income from that business is not factored in to our retirement plan, but it's something I enjoy and it's flexible enough to allow us to take time off whenever we want to. We would be ok with just DH's military retirement benefits, our 401Ks, and other investments for retirement - but since we both enjoy what we do (and can do so part-time and still have time for travel, etc.) we'll likely both continue working for awhile.

 

Other than that, we live debt-free (other than our mortgage, which will be paid off in the next 6 years), we've been paying into the kids' college investment plans since they were born (so they should be all set - unless they decide to go ivy league!) and our insurance premiums should go down if I can manage to go for at least a year without a speeding ticket... :tongue_smilie:

 

At least that's the plan for now (as much as the future can be accurately planned for)...! ;)

[Ester Maria]

Real estate. :)

[Wheres Toto]

When our youngest turns 18 I will be 46 and DH will be 59. We're currently doing very well without me working but I was in the full time workforce until my son was born so I have a 401K, social security (joke) and a lot of job experience/skills that I am continuing to maintain. DH has an even better 401k, stock accounts and a great employment contract so that we're in good shape even if the company is sold or closes down. We also have good life insurance and savings for the unforeseen.

 

We started out late which was very good for our financial status but bad for our mortgage status - we have to expand our living space to fit all of us before the two younger kids can no longer share a room. So, we will probably continue to have mortgage payments for a long time to come. Once the kids are old enough, if necessary I will return to work. My field I have a lot of options for part time, off hours and at-home work.

[KidsHappen]

Well, my original plans were to write a book while homeschooling the kids and then manage a big box book store once they had left home. However, changes in circumstances has led to a change in plans. I suffer from chronic pain and I am bi-polar so I am rarely running on all cylinders. It is possible given a few really good hypo manic periods I could finish the book but I don't think it is likely that I stand a chance of being hired at the level I am qualified for given my mental health status so something else we are considering is opening a family bookstore perhaps in a touristy location, maybe one that specializes in something you might not find in your average book store. Now it would just be a matter of coming up with an area of specialization and a location. I am leading towards a used book store near a university that buys and sells textbooks and other college focused books. I guess we need to work out a business plan for this and see if it is even feasible.

 

Theoretically though, my hubby could continue to support me for as long as he can work. He is in a growing field where income is still rising. Once we pay off our martgage, car and student loans and children leave home there will be more income and less outgo so we should be able to make it ok. Plus my hubby gets VA medical retirement benefits so that helps and our family is really good about hanging together and helping each other out. So even though I don't have exact plans, I feel pretty comfortable that we will be ok.

Edited May 4, 2010 by KidsHappen

[DawnM]

We have been setting aside 15-16% since we started working. I worked for 16 years in the public school system, so I have some retirement there. DH has worked in the corporate world for 15 years now and has a decent retirement with them. DH also does estate and retirement planning as part of his job as a CPA, so he has run all the numbers.

 

We may have to have him work a little past 62, but many in his field do. But, that isn't really necessary, it just would give us a good amount more if he works until 65 or 67.

 

We follow a Dave Ramsey type plan (we do Crown Financial, but very similar) and have these as our goals right now:

 

1. A paid off house by 2020

2. Offer local college for kids and home living for free

(anything more they will have to pay the difference)

3. Up our retirement contributions to 20%

4. Save, save, save

 

Dawn

[elegantlion]

We will have a simple lifestyle.

 

eta: There is years of deep thought, internal struggle, and acceptance in the above sentence.

[HappyGrace]

We will have a simple lifestyle.

 

eta: There is years of deep thought, internal struggle, and acceptance in the above sentence.

 

Very poignant. I need to go on that journey in my mind and see where it takes me.

[cdrumm4448]

We had been contributing to our 401Ks, Roth IRAs, and investing in the stock market before we ever had kids. Compounding is the key, which takes time. DH is 45 so he has a ways to go until retirement. I will probably work at something when homeschooling is done, but hopefully I will get to choose what I want to do regardless of pay. Actually, before I started homeschooling I worked at home as an in-bound call operator for Live-Ops. I really loved it, but had to stop since I found I didn't have time for it any more. I would love to do something like that again.

[Heather in AL]

You know, I don't know.

 

If things remain the same, we should be fine. We have been saving in retirement accounts (401K for dh and IRAs for me) and paying extra on the house (a form of saving---thankfully, our area was pretty immune to the housing crisis).

 

We will also have two fewer mouths to feed (and BOY can my almost-15yo-ds eat!), two fewer people on the car insurance, and most likely will have moved to a smaller house, so our expenses will have been reduced.

 

If things change, I'm not really sure. We don't need a lot of things or money to be happy, and we don't spend a ton of money, so depending on 'what' changes, I still may not *have* to work. And while I don't necessarily *want* to work, I might just do so to get out of the house and bring a little money in.

 

On the one hand, it seems like a lifetime away, yet in reality, it's a mere five years. :001_huh: I guess I had better start thinking more about the 'after', eh?

[Mejane]

My husband was raised by very fiscally conservative (read cheap!) parents. He's been contributing to his 401k since he started working at 22. It used to drive me crazy when we could barely pay our bills, but now 20+ years later, we have a nice amount saved. I know that doesn't help you, but it's what I advise my own kids now. We've also lived frugally, and I look forward to working again when the kids are gone.

[applesing]

I am with you, OP. We do have some retirement savings from back in our dual income days, but living only on dh's current income makes things extremely tight for us right now. We are unable to add to that retirement savings, so I am planning on working after dc graduate from high school. I pray that dh and I will be healthy enough in our 50's to continue working so that we can build up the savings we need for our later years.

 

The financial pinch is the most difficult aspect of homeschooling for us. And we live simply -- very simply.

[2squared]

We will also have two fewer mouths to feed (and BOY can my almost-15yo-ds eat!), two fewer people on the car insurance, and most likely will have moved to a smaller house, so our expenses will have been reduced.

 

I had similar thoughts about retirement being cheaper because everyone will be out of the house, but then I started thinking about healthcare costs. I expect that money we spend on the kids will be diverted to paying healthcare expenses. :001_unsure: I also expect that we will move into something smaller, but I expect that our smaller place will be just as expensive. We will want more amenities and services than we currently have. Then, again, I'm not sure how to entice the kids to visit if we don't have space for them to visit.

 

I also see my in-laws, and I see that they still spend a lot on their kids. It's a little here and there, but it all adds up. Every time they visit, they bring food for our pantry or something we need for our house. It's not a lot for us, but if they do this for all 9 kids, it certainly adds up for them.

 

I also look at my mom who has to fly to see all her grandkids. That adds up too.

 

So, I guess I'm not expecting retirement to look tons different in terms of outflow. If we can barely afford food, obviously we won't be doing any extras, but that's not how I want to live out the end of my life.

[FaithManor]

We are not saving very much at the present time. The interest rates are far lower than what we pay on our mortgage and the capitol we borrowed to renovate this 100 year old structure. So, we are working on being debt free. We should be completely out of debt with decent cars to drive in four years or possibly a little less.

 

That will seriously cut-down on our retirement income needs. We are also putting a 35 year guaranteed roof on our house this summer. That will last us until DH is 81. We have good homeowners insurance so any damage should be covered by either warrantee or insurance. We have been upgrading everything as we go so that it will all be in good shape for our elder days.

 

When our last child graduates, I will be 50 and will go back to my music busines. I used to provide wedding and banquet music, Bach recitals and such, plus did music therapy. It will only be part-time so that I don't end up with every weekend from May - August booked to weddings, summer outdoor concerts, local community orchestras, and such. It's good money - I charge $200.00 for weddings, more if I have to meet several times with singers from out of town, thus making my Fridays crazy affairs, $100.00 an hour for the Bach recitals, and $20.00 per 30 minutes for the music therapy. I charge $25.00 per hour for accompanying for solo and ensemble but I tend to cut the parents a break and not charge for my travel time since regionals aren't that far away or for all of the rehearsal time. That makes it more likely that the parents can afford the accompanist. I'll play for say, 15 kids, and make $750.00 for that Saturday's work.

 

All of that money will be set aside or invested in something for retirement. We currently buy silver because the stock market has been so volatile during our married years that we haven't made a single cent on it (neither through 401K's or Roth IRA's) since we've been married. We have taken a loss on every penny we've ever invested in his 401K. I've been doing a lot of reading about those and though the darlings of employers and many financial planners, economists say they are the worst thing you can do with your money because the pay out is so low that you lose a huge amount in buying power due to inflation because the interest is so low unless you go with the risky investments. We don't make enough money to go risky. So, since silver tends to appreciate at a greater rate of return, that's one of our investments.

 

We'll also do hobby farming and sell fruits and vegetables at the local farmer's markets.

 

We probably won't travel much but we will plan maybe two very special vacations during our 50's/60's.

 

DD chose to go to paramedic school before nursing school. The cost was $4350.00 plus the $700.00 we paid for her E.M.T. training which she needed first. We did pay for all of this. She is almost guaranteed a job through the teaching hospital she is taking her training at because she has impressed everyone. She'll be making $45,000.00 per year with benefits and living at home. So, in a few years she'll have enough money to pay cash for nursing school at her top choice private university. Best of all, her biology, anatomy and physiology, psychology, pharmacology, and some of her clinicals will all transfer because she is doing this through an accredited teaching hospital. Therefore, she won't be starting out as a college freshman. She is going to take her gen-ed requirements at a local community college during the years she is working (can't do it right now because paramedic school is VERY INTENSE) and then transfer those as well. She'll have about two years of college left for her B.S.N. and she'll be about 22 when she enters college full time.

 

We like this plan and will be trying to replicate something similar with the boys. DS #2 is an animal nut....loves the farm work and especially sheep and horses. He can get ferrier and sheep shearing classes at our Ag school in Lansing and he only needs to be 16 to take them. They are usually one week intensive classes so we will either camp in the area or let him stay with a family we know that lives near the campus. Our plan is for him to have a gap year or two and have a sheep shearing/ferrier business. We have only one sheep shearer and ferrier for a three county, rural farming area and these guys just run their legs off.....plus they have to be booked months in advance or the farmer is sunk....don't even think about failing to keep an appointment. We have high hopes that ds will be able to save his college funds.

 

Ds #1 is going to tutor in reading, writing, and English (he is pretty gifted in these areas and a good natural born teacher) throughout high school and save his pennies. We'll see how much he can put away. He has a real talent and we think a gap year of traveling, similar to what S.W.B.'s boy is doing, would be great for him. But, if he doesn't have enough saved, then we'd have to address the value of using it on travel vs. putting it to college tuition.

 

DS #3 wants to raise sheep and alpacas (premium fleeces) on his grandparent's property and sell the wool. We need to do more research and see if he can make any money at this. I suspect that since we don't have enough property to raise their hay and grain, that he won't be able to clear a profit. This child is also my resident rocket scientist type and may be able to get a 4-H mentoring/ internship teaching in the summer science programs. These are paid internships. We'll see...but this kind of thing.....gap years and then college...is how we intend to finance their educations.

 

Faith

Edited May 3, 2010 by FaithManor

[Tree House Academy]

My dh and I are preparing for retirement. I will only be 42 and dh will only be 52. I am not sure if I will ever "have" to work, but for my own satisfaction, I probably will work...at least part time. We do have savings and we do have 401K and stocks all in preparation for retirement. Right now, I am 30 (almost 31) and dh is 40 (almost 41).

[Tap]

How do we swing it.....I work part time. I didn't start a retirement savings until I was 30yo so put 20% of my income in to various retirement funds. I also have a pension from my employer that I have worked for for 14 years. It isn't huge since I only work part time, but since it was started when I was 25 it has the benefit of time. Dh saves the same 20% and we just live on what is left. As we close in on 40yo, it is amazing to see how much is in those accounts now. We can see a real retirement in our future.

 

Several of our friends are surprised that we didn't upgrade our home or cars with the income we make. To us, we would rather pay off a modest home, have no car payments, live frugally and invest in our futures.

 

If my children stay in this area, I hope to be able to help them with their children. We won't be paying for our children's college but we hope to minimize their expenses in other ways.

[Chris in VA]

I don't know.

 

Dh will have a decent pension, our house will be paid for (but hopefully we'll sell it and find something cheaper in a different area--I hate the current area and the current house)--we drive our cars into the ground, so we'll probably only get one or two more cars in our lifetimes.

We will have debt from college.

 

When dd is in college, I'll probably work part time babysitting or pet sitting, if my health holds out. Dh will be 60 when dd is out of college, and I could see him retiring from this place and doing some teaching/writing/supply ministry or being a professor somewhere at a Seminary or even in Jerusalem at St. George's, until he's 70 or so. That would give us enough income to get the kids married off.

 

Then they can step up and we can mooch off of them. :D

[Jane in NC]

 

All of that money will be set aside or invested in something for retirement. We currently buy silver because the stock market has been so volatile during our married years that we haven't made a single cent on it (neither through 401K's or Roth IRA's) since we've been married. We have taken a loss on every penny we've ever invested in his 401K. I've been doing a lot of reading about those and though the darlings of employers and many financial planners, economists say they are the worst thing you can do with your money because the pay out is so low that you lose a huge amount in buying power due to inflation because the interest is so low unless you go with the risky investments. We don't make enough money to go risky. So, since silver tends to appreciate at a greater rate of return, that's one of our investments.

 

 

I realize, Faith, that you are sharing your point of view, but I am questioning your statements in this paragraph. I have invested in the market since around Black Monday 1987 and have had much greater success than you. Your last line on the rate of return of silver truly surprises me. In general, metals and metal futures seem to be much riskier investments than many stocks. Which economists say to stay out of the market? :confused:

 

Of course, there is no guaranteed rate of return for any investment. But not all stocks are risky, in my opinion. Maybe it is my disposition--I can stomach fluctuations in the stock market over time. Not everyone is so inclined, I know. But I couldn't stomach investing in the metals market! Truly, to each his (or her) own!

 

Jane

[Laura Corin]

I'm starting to work three mornings a week. Once I've built a track record (and taken a computer course to have evidence of modern skills) I'll look for something more lucrative. I probably won't make a lot, but I'm younger than husband, so I want to be bringing in something reasonably worthwhile for the couple of decades.

 

We could survive through retirement without my working, assuming that husband works for another fifteen years or so and we live frugally but I just want to do my best to make things easier.

 

Laura

[jld]

Even gold, Jane?

[Jane in NC]

Even gold, Jane?

 

Sure gold has risen dramatically but how many individual investors were buying the metal before the price jump? When I was in my 20's, one of my friends inherited money, put it all in gold when it was at an historic high (this was around 1980)--then the price fell. I learned a lesson from his mistake. Don't put all your money in one place!

 

Hedgers may buy gold, but for individuals? None of the personal finance columnists I read suggest it.

 

What's your take?

[nono]

We had no debt when we met. That has continued. Then, when my husband and I got married, we lived on 1 income for 6 years before I quit work to stay home with our first child.

 

It's given us a cushion.

 

ETA: I'm also pretty old. I'm in my mid-40s now...

Edited May 3, 2010 by nono

[i.love.lucy]

This thread is making me depressed. It seems like everyone else has it all together sometimes. We have some poor choices under our belt and years of struggling. Right now we are making it on dh's income but there isn't anything left over for all the savings we are supposed to be doing - college, retirement, emergency fund, car replacement, extra house payments, vacation, etc. Sometimes it scares me to death. But the alternative is plopping the kids in ps so I can work and we aren't willing to do that.

 

OTOH, I don't necessarily want to "retire" in the sense of how my inlaws did it. Work like a dog to retire and DO NOTHING. Literally they spent the last 25 years hanging around their house reading the paper. That doesn't seem like the kind of retirement I want. I'd rather work until I can't anymore at something that I enjoy - especially if it could only be part time so I can still take care of my home and family (help with grandchildren).

 

Right now we are just doing the best we can in the moment. We do have a meager 401k now that dh is employed by someone else and we will endeavor to contribute more to that. Otherwise I don't know what the future holds.

[Orthodox6]

I do not expect to find work when homeschooling is over because of blatant age discrimination. I shall be 62 when the youngest is graduated from high school.

 

I do not look forward to travel, because we never have had money to travel anyway.

 

With due pessimism, I expect to end my days neglected in some tumble-down county nursing home. I try not to think about this often.

[i.love.lucy]

I do not expect to find work when homeschooling is over because of blatant age discrimination. I shall be 62 when the youngest is graduated from high school.

 

I do not look forward to travel, because we never have had money to travel anyway.

 

With due pessimism, I expect to end my days neglected in some tumble-down county nursing home. I try not to think about this often.

Okay. Yes. This is more like it!

[Guest Dulcimeramy]

I'll probably be with Orthodox6 and Lucy. Over the hills to the poorhouse. Want to go in on it together if all other plans fail? We'll have a good library, at least.

 

Maybe our rich and successful (and very happy) children will pay some support so we can all afford meat once a week or so.

[FO4UR]

I will be 45yo when my youngest graduates HS.

 

By the time my dc are highschool age, I want to figure out what I want to be when I grow up and get serious about making it happen. I have a degree in music ed, so it wouldn't be a stretch of the imagination to spend the years I'm 40-45 updating my own education so I can work FT when they go off to college. I may decide to send them to school sooner, esp if we have a good dual-enrollment opportunity.

 

I don't worry about retirement. I know it's coming. I know I need to prepare. I know NOW is the time to teach and train up my dc so they are independent and not living in my basement when I'm 60yo.:001_huh::auto:

 

I like the idea of building the nest egg and letting it grow while HSing - smart! My 1st dc was a college graduation present, however...so we will have to go with "plan B.";)

[AHASRADA]

Honestly, I rarely, if ever, think about it (retirement). I am a planner by nature and, under normal circumstances, I likely would have some sort of plan established, but current life is not normal :001_unsure:.

 

My dh and I are not the debt-types, never had any aside from college loans and mortgage. We've always lived within our means and on one income. Unfortunately, this usually meant dipping into savings to pay for things like new appliances and cars. We were fortunate enough to build a great nest egg from selling 3 homes over 6 years, but that has been blown during 4 years of unemployment/attempting to start businesses.

 

So, to save my sanity, I have learned not to think much past the next 6 months. I make sure we have a plan to get by until then, hoping a job will materialize or a business with become profitable; if not, we create a new 6-month plan.

 

I would love to have the luxury of planning 10+ years out, but honestly, none of us knows what the future holds, so I just don't dwell on it.

 

Just so you don't think my head is completely in the sand: We do have a small 401k, I am a teacher by trade and currently do afterschool tutoring, so I could fall back on that, we have our children and family who support each other in difficult times, and my wonderful dh never stops searching for ways to make a dime (in additional to currently pursuing his Master's). :)

[Mrs Mungo]

I'll be 47 when I send my youngest off to college. If my dh retires from the military at 20-25 years (a likely scenario), he (at 42-47) would be making 50-62% of his active duty pay and will probably start another career. I will probably go back to school and/or pursue my own career once I'm finished schooling my kids.

[Orthodox6]

/

Edited May 4, 2010 by Orthodox6

[FaithManor]

Hi Jane,

 

Sorry I couldn't respond sooner.....my sister, visiting from Kentucky, flew out this afternoon and I was saying goodbye and whatnot.

 

We don't invest in metals speculation. I should have made that clear. What we are doing is rather short-term and helping us to get out of debt.

 

We had a source of junk silver (90% silver coins that are scratched up so they don't have the "collectible" value) that we could purchase for just about nothing. The person has been needing cash, doesn't have a source for selling them, and just wanted to someone to take the rather HUGEISH amount of coins off his hands. We purchased at pennies for what silver is worth and because silver has gone up quite a bit this year, have been able to sell for big profit and have been using the money to pay off debt and make upgrades here for our retirement. We aren't doing any long term investing in metals. That market is too volatile and we aren't poised financially to take big risks like the wealthy who invest in gold and what not.

 

So, I'm sorry that I wasn't able to promptly clarify my previous post.

 

Also, I am glad for you that your 401k's have been good. Ours have been disasters. DH's company offers only two possible 401K options both of which have been losing propositions for many years. We stopped contributing because we were losing our shirts, so to speak. DH's pension from his previous company was stolen by the company that bought the first one out. There was a class action lawsuit by the previous employees against the company and the settlement which the lawyers reached entitled the lawyers to a massive sum of money and $35.00 checks to each employee. Yes, you heard that right.....we got $35.00 for the $75,000.00 we had invested. We were told we were lucky to get that because in most cases, there is no recovery at all. His current company does not have a pension and has the pathetic 401K situation. Due to the economy the employer stopped the matching program which makes the 401K thing not even worth participating in because the rate of return is so low.

 

The Roth was the same way, we couldn't get it to earn any money unless we took significantly bigger risks. Plus, something that wasn't disclosed to us when we invested, was how much money would be used for "administrative" fees. $25.00 per stock purchased and $30.00 per month for maintainance. The interest paid was less than the administrative fees for a number of years until our contributions were high enough to finally match pace. Even then the interest was so low it became obvious that it wasn't worth continuing to contribute. So, we just let it ride and didn't add to the balance. It lost enough money last year that we finally cashed it out at a loss since there wouldn't be any tax penalty (figuring we had better get it out before every last penny was gone) and used it to buy the above "junk silver" which has netted a wonderful profit. There are a lot of people willing to buy junk silver coins at very high rates because they view it as a hedge if the dollar goes bust. (Frankly, if the Feds don't get their acts together, this is a very real possibility.)

 

DD's college savings fund was a disaster. Complete and utter disaster. When we had to cash it out to pay for her classes last year, we had initially invested $10,000.00 which was supposed to grow. Nope, after 10 years of contributions, it was worth $5800.00. Huge loss and so all we were able to do was pay for her E.M.T. and Paramedic Classes. It wasn't enough to cover her first year of nursing school.

 

In our rural area, there are very few financial advisors and we've worked with three. I have come to the conclusion that they are all charlatans or at least quite adept at avoiding "full disclosure" and finding bad investments that pay them nice commissions to sucker people in. I won't work with another financial advisor and I don't care who refers them or what their reputation is....I'm done with that. We finally started seeking out the advice of the local college economics professors and have found them to be far better advisors.

 

I'm truly very glad that the market has worked well for you1

Faith

[Jane in NC]

Hi Jane,

 

We don't invest in metals speculation. I should have made that clear. What we are doing is rather short-term and helping us to get out of debt.

 

We had a source of junk silver (90% silver coins that are scratched up so they don't have the "collectible" value) that we could purchase for just about nothing....

 

<snipped FaithManor's post>

 

 

 

Glad you clarified this. I think that some of the charlatans of which you spoke also are persuading people to invest in metals speculation.

 

My mother-in-law did a huge favor for me in my financial education. Her husband had managed their finances so she was completely clueless after he was incapacitated by a stroke. She had to learn what was what from ground zero. She bought a personal finance book for me and we started talking about money, investing, etc. These were conversations that I did not have in my home or with my friends so I will be forever grateful.

 

You have been beyond unfortunate with your retirement and education accounts so I can understand why you are leery. Not everything we have purchased has proven to be a winner, but over time we end up on the positive side for the most part.

 

Unfortunately many so called financial advisers are really salesmen. Jane Bryant Quinn, a personal finance journalist, recommends only using those who charge fees, not the sort of "adviser" who earns a commission. Fee based planners can be expensive--but much cheaper then losing your shirt!

 

I certainly am no expert but I do think that people can make investments without a great deal of risk if they first educate themselves. Read personal finance books, columns like those by Michelle Singletary or other personal finance writers, magazines like Kiplinger's or Money. I trust my gut more than I trust a lot of the so called experts.

 

Jane

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

I will be 52 when we finish hs'ing, and dh will be 62. After being on only one income for all these years in order to homeschool, there will be no question that I will have to work! We are very frugal, but have no savings, and very little in our 401k.

 

How are y'all swinging it that you will not have to work, be able to travel, etc., after presumably being on one income for the homeschooling years? I would LOVE to not have to work when I am done, especially as I'm not really trained for anything and would probably have to either go back to school, which I wouldn't want to do at that time, or work retail or something. :bigear:

 

We are assuming that Dh will have his military retirement, and his current job's retirement, plus the 401 K, plus Social Security. If we stay in this house, our expenses will be low. With all the kids gone, I can see us having way more ready money.

[Denisemomof4]

I had to laugh at your post. Just last night I got angry for all the WASTE going on in this house. Ds spilled my very expensive raspberry/sumac killer, then I found an opened bag of organic spinach, NO attempt to try to keep the air out. It was all wilted. Then I found a half cut, organic bell pepper half sitting in the refrigerator unwrapped.

 

I wanted to fill the spray bottle to spray the horses yesterday, but someone, likely younger ds, broke the tip off. If they would just stop touching my stuff....... oh, and his favorite thing is to fix my pens so that when I click on them, the spring makes the pen fall apart. :glare:

 

I know I'm going to miss him one day, but I get really frustrated at him sometimes.

 

My income won't be needed. With four kids out of the house, the money we'll be saving on electricity, cheaper medical costs (hopefully!) and FOOD, we'll HAVE the money to do as we please. I also will save money on gas because we run around so much now, and won't be buying curriculum, clothing, etc. for six people, only two. Oh, and NO MORTGAGE!!!

 

It's going to be an AWESOME, PEACEFUL life. boy will it be lonely. :crying:

 

Is there ANY way you can contribute more to a 401k?

[Jane in NC]

 

It's going to be an AWESOME, PEACEFUL life. boy will it be lonely. :crying:

 

 

I hear you, sister!

[cdrumm4448]

Hedgers may buy gold, but for individuals? None of the personal finance columnists I read suggest it.

 

We have owned gold for 20 years. Gold is recommended as a hedge against inflation for individuals. I tend to see hyperinflation in the future, so I sure am glad we invested in gold.

[jld]

Jane, thanks for your answer about gold. Dh agrees with you. I was just asking because I thought I had heard that gold was always a safe investment. Clearly that is wrong (thanks for educating us!).