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Since I can't prove who does and who doesn't, who are involved in western events things, "use" or "smoke", I can only say that I personally have never heard of any young kids in the farming/ranching communities doing it. However, I would suspect that if any organization found out, from a Judge or whomever, that a kid was "using" or "smoking", they would be suspended from the organization.
But, then again, we aren't necessarily looking for someplace to live, based solely on "no drugs" or "possible drug use". Even though we'd have to live in an apartment, we just want part of our living "area" to be more "western/cowboy/rodeo" related than where we currently are. We also want to live somewhere where the age bracket is older, like us. Where we currently live, it's like living in a dorm at a college/university. That young! Nobody here even knows what the words, rodeo-western-cowboy-ranch-farm means/is.
Move to Iowa. The state is begging for people to move here and there’s plenty of old people. Sounds like Western Iowa might be up your alley … close to Sioux Falls South Dakota and Omaha Nebraska. I bet you could find an old house or trailer in a court to rent. Nobody would care about your western clothing here.
So your wife never saved anything either? Why did your income go down at age 52? That's prime earning years for most.
It's obvious, to wife and I, that you didn't read my last post that clearly. My wife was the saver, because she made a very nice income after getting her Bachelors Degree. I didn't know her at the time, but her salaries, after we met, continued to be very good. Much higher than I ever had!
My income didn't go down at age 52, it FINALLY went up. Before getting a job in purchasing/inventory management, my highest paying job was $11 per hour.
Maybe you could generate some income doing a work from home job yourself. I think building your nest egg should be a priority.
Or you could do food delivery or driving.
I think it would make a lot of difference.
It sounds like you need to meet with someone who could help you analyze where you are and what's possible - seems to me (and I am no expert):
1) Analyze your current assets and debts.
2) Analyze future income
3) Take stock of vehicles and future longevity of each
4) State wife's current income (for your info) and see if she might be open to getting a more well-paying WFH job.
5) Figure out something you can do to earn income and do it.
6) Identify where you want to live. Look up "low income senior housing" in the place(s) you select. Move there.
7) What about medical insurance? If you don't have it, one of you should work a job that provides insurance for both.
8) Analyze your spending habits and make adjustments (food, entertainment, etc.)
The cowboy stuff can wait.
Don't panic, but do make a plan and start implementing it.
Good luck
It's obvious, to wife and I, that you didn't read my last post that clearly. My wife was the saver, because she made a very nice income after getting her Bachelors Degree. I didn't know her at the time, but her salaries, after we met, continued to be very good. Much higher than I ever had!
My income didn't go down at age 52, it FINALLY went up. Before getting a job in purchasing/inventory management, my highest paying job was $11 per hour.
I'm sorry, I read your post as if your income peaked at age 52. So, if you have a 401K or IRA from your high-earning wife, plus 2 people potentially receiving SS, I think you can probably afford to buy something and start building equity. Paying rent as a retiree is a sucker's game!
Maybe you could generate some income doing a work from home job yourself. I think building your nest egg should be a priority.
Or you could do food delivery or driving.
I think it would make a lot of difference.
It sounds like you need to meet with someone who could help you analyze where you are and what's possible - seems to me (and I am no expert):
1) Analyze your current assets and debts.
2) Analyze future income
3) Take stock of vehicles and future longevity of each
4) State wife's current income (for your info) and see if she might be open to getting a more well-paying WFH job.
5) Figure out something you can do to earn income and do it.
6) Identify where you want to live. Look up "low income senior housing" in the place(s) you select. Move there.
7) What about medical insurance? If you don't have it, one of you should work a job that provides insurance for both.
8) Analyze your spending habits and make adjustments (food, entertainment, etc.)
The cowboy stuff can wait.
Don't panic, but do make a plan and start implementing it.
Good luck
First, and foremost, the "cowboy stuff" can't, and won't, wait! That comes from both wife and I. Second, ever tried getting a job when in our early or mid 70's? Wife is 74 and I'm 72. I fully retired in 2010 and got my Early Retirement from SS. I don't like driving, as in pickups and deliveries. Never have. After leaving my last job, in 2007, to move out of Colorado, I tried getting another job, but couldn't find anything with the experience I had. So, it was decided, by wife and I, that I would take care of our apartment, laundry, dishes, vacuuming and other cleaning, while she worked. That was fine with me. To this day, I still do all of it and wife is very, very grateful for it.
At our age, we have Medicare A/B, a Supplement and Drug Plan. My wife also gets her nice full SS, along with her job pay. Yes, she get both. She actually waited until she was of age to get her full SS and was still working a full-time job.
Neither of us will work at Walmart or in retail anywhere.
So, we can't afford to buy a newer vehicle or a house, so we have to put up with our 2005 Dodge Durango and living in an apartment.
I'm sorry, I read your post as if your income peaked at age 52. So, if you have a 401K or IRA from your high-earning wife, plus 2 people potentially receiving SS, I think you can probably afford to buy something and start building equity. Paying rent as a retiree is a sucker's game!
My income did peak at 52! My highest wage before then was $11 per hour.
Now, when living in an apartment, just what does a resident get that they don't have to pay for. Maintenance in the apartment, including the replacement of any appliance. No cost for landscaping and no property tax.
IOW, there are pros and cons to both buying a house and renting an apartment. A person can have terrible neighbors either way, but, when buying a house, a person has to try and sell the house, whereas, when renting, you simply hand in a 30-Day Notice and move. Much, much easier!
There are plenty of retirees that rent apartments. Just look at 55 Plus Communities.
Imagine if you had kept working until 65 or 67 or even 70 like so many people are doing now. And if you'd invested that equity from your Colorado home into another property or piece of land. You'd be golden.
Anyway, the job market in 2022 is very different from 2010, which was at the height of the recession. To fund the comfortable retirement you are looking for, you may have to drop back into the labor market.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LoveBoating
There are plenty of retirees that rent apartments. Just look at 55 Plus Communities.
Now, when living in an apartment, just what does a resident get that they don't have to pay for. Maintenance in the apartment, including the replacement of any appliance. No cost for landscaping and no property tax.
When we sold our house, in Oct 2007, we only made $5,000 equity on it. My wife just told me that. Not enough to do anything with, except help us to partly pay for our move to NC.
Yes, "stable payments", but if anything in the house or outside breaks down, the homeowner has to pay the expense. Like I said, "pros and cons to both renting and buying".
Imagine if you had kept working until 65 or 67 or even 70 like so many people are doing now. And if you'd invested that equity from your Colorado home into another property or piece of land. You'd be golden.
Anyway, the job market in 2022 is very different from 2010, which was at the height of the recession. To fund the comfortable retirement you are looking for, you may have to drop back into the labor market.
Which you said was out of budget for you.
Well, one thing for sure, I don't want to go back into the job market. And, working until 65 or 67 or even 70, it would have to be for the same company. Age discrimination is very "alive and well" when it comes to older Seniors. My wife was out of work for a year and a half, after we arrived back here in Colorado. She had excellent references and job experience, but each time she got an online/internet interview, she was getting interviewed by someone young enough to be her granddaughter. For the job she has now, we both know she simply got lucky. My wife includes her college/university education (2-AA's and the Bachelors), but doesn't include the years. She got her Bachelors Degree 25 years ago. One Human Resources Director told her "your college/university education is way to far back to even talk about it. Finance and Accounting has changed too much."
As for me, I can no longer include my military (Navy) experience, due to when it was. I enlisted in May 1968. Doesn't take much to figure out how old I am.
Anyway, living in the right place, we can have a wonderful/comfortable retirement. We know how to reduce our spending.
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