60+ year old thread.

Good morning, all! I think it's that day called Friday - or the last shopping day of the week for us retirees.

I don't think I have ever heard that one, Mark. What am I missing?

We have cancelled 3 trips so far this year - first one was back in early April to take my son and his family on a trip to Philadelphia. We rented a house to stay in...and the bas***** refused to return our deposit even though the Governor prohibited temp rentals in the State. Then we cancelled a trip we've taken with friends for 21 years in late April. Cancelled a trip to Nova Scotia for this September and are still hoping to get to Antigua in late October. Sure has put a hurt on this year's plans.

But, I'm just going to enjoy what I have. Life is too short.

Lynn and I are going to play 9 holes of golf this morning and then finish up the prep work to pull some honey from the apiary on Sunday.

Be safe out there!!

Oooh, wait!! I just remembered that I am supposed to get my first Social Security payment today!! I need to check my bank account!!!

 

Sorry for the lack of refund Mark. Our trip to the CMA Fest being cancelled this June really hurt. My wife was going to fly down and meet us after she finished work that day. She retired and then flying to a wonderful 4 days of music and activities would have been a great way to celebrate her retirement. I cannot say enough good words about the company that provides the tour package for CMA Fest. We rebooked for next year at the same price, and we were able to upgrade our seats for the nightly concerts.

 

Good Morning Folks. Hope you all have a good day.

 

We are planting 6 knock out rose bushes this morning. The area is cleaned out and prepped for the planting. Need to get started early while it is still cool. We still have a lot to do in the space but it is moving along at a fast pace.

 

Good Morning porch dwellers! Kind of a fumble around for things to do week; with a Doctors appointment Wednesday, didn't really want to start anything "big" and leave it. So, the little book of the List had lots of other stuff to tend to. Let's hope I can finish all the minor stuff that got halfway'd yesterday. Stupid little issues on things that are somewhere between Putz and Stuff! Trying not to have a project that was going to be a day or more, and almost all of them got stuck in the middle! But it's FRIDAY, so it's all going to go just great today, right?

Doctor 1 went well, but we're going to schedule a test to ultra-sound my legs. They just get tired too fast, especially if I mow. They feel worn, even though I feel not too tired. Probably blood flow. See heart Doctor #2 next week, but expecting good results there as well. Since my problems came without much warning last year, I am trying to pay attention! (Found my self in the ER and hospital right about Thanksgiving for Congestive Heart Failure!).

Trips? We didn't really have any planned, but the wife barely wants to go out past the bare minimum. She wouldn't even go finish the Passport photo at Walgreens so we could renew. Oh well, I spent the money on the house. Who was it just said they were going for "low maintenance"? That's a lot of work! I can testify!

Have a great weekend y'all!

 

Hi Mark, it's an old military joke from when my Dad was a marine, he just loved to tell it. So - There's three marines down in the hold of a ship. The sergeant comes by looks down the hold and says
" how many of ya are down there ? " One of the men yells up, " three sergeant" . Sergeant replies " Very well then. Half of ye come up "

 

Just love collecting that Social security after watching it get extracted from my pay for nearly 40 years.

 

So do I.

 

I started working part time while still going to school at age 15 1/2 with a work permit, by the time I start drawing SS I will have given them 50 years pay into it. I only wish it had gone into a fund for me instead of it already spent and my kids paying SS taxes that I’m drawing from. I hope when they retire it’s still there but I’ve encouraged them to put as much into a 401K as they can.

 

I am waiting until March, to get all I can without waiting until I'm 70!

 

Me too! Well March was my original plan but I just might go January unless I can keep working from home like I’m fortunate enough to do now. I already hit full retirement age this month so every month we wait after that gives us 0.67% a month increase.

 

They didn't tax my paper route money, or yard mowing..... first paying job was back in 72 at a music store.

 

I had the grass cutting job as well. But your first paying job beats mine I started as a spare hand in a cotton mill lol!

 

I got to be a little more upscale - maybe!
As a very remedial drummer, I got to start as the "drum department manager" after a couple of months. This still did not preclude my sweeping up, or gathering trash in the van, and making the dump runs.
My big start in the Music Biz!

 

David, it is hard for young ones to save for something that is 40 to 50 years in the future. For close to 20 years I maxed out my 401K at work and put the the legal amount into a IRA and/or a Roth IRA. In addition to that we were able to put $500 a month into a brokerage account. We may not have bought everything our hearts desired or had fancy cars but we are not broke in retirement either. Too bad the government want to take as much money from seniors as they can. In our current government environment there is no one looking out for us at all. It is all about big business and the wealthy class now. Congress will never do meaningful tax reform as it stands now. I am not talking about tax the rich but a 10% flat tax for individuals and businesses with no deductions or depreciation of assets. I know I would do better at tax time and so would you probably.

 

Sign me up for your tax plan right now lol. Would stop a lot of the special interest nonsense wouldn’t it. I didn’t start putting a lot of money into a 401K until 15-20 years ago, since that time I’ve put as much as allowed and although it’s not as much as I’d like it’s more than I thought I would have. That plus a small retirement from a previous job I will get plus a healthy SS income will see me through ok though I will have to be fairly frugal. Hence my beloved SR Access cab

 

Well put gents. When a large group thinks meaningful "tax reform" is a couple 12 packs a check, and those whose incomes in millions pay very little, it will take a lot to reform the system. I never made much until the last years of work, but after the boys ceased being kids, I put every raise into 401K, and maxed at whatever the company would match. I did my best to ignore it. It's not a lot, but far more than I thought it would be.

So, without too much pain, I put a bunch on the roof as solar - payback? It pretty much matches my daily use, and the wife pays the now very low cost bill. Since I got a year severance, I didn't touch it other than that. Last year, I didn't tap it except for my "monthly check" matching what I made. This year, we took some to replace our fencing, and I didn't expect to, but I took enough for 50% down on our new, and beloved RAV4 Limited Hybrid (Happy wife! And I love it).

Come SS time, I will quit taking from the account mostly, and replace with SS. We're not big spenders, and this years stay at home made it real easy to take my monthly money and spend it on the shed, the new greenhouse, and the pool fix. I did pop for the shed install, after I did the foundation, because they doubled the warranty, and included all the roofing materials and labor (duh!).

 

Lawn mowing, paper route and then started making wax candles selling door to door during the holidays. I was kind of a homely little kid (still am) so I think people felt sorry for me and bought the beeswax candles I made. About the third season of that my mom said - "with school and your other jobs you have to much going on so no more selling candles", can't remember why but I did what she said without much protest. A week or so later, ex marine corp sergeant dad barks at me, "Hey why aren't you out selling candles". "Well dad I guess you better talk to Ma". (Ma won)
First real job was dishwasher in a mom pop restaurant. Owner was so cheap that he would have me leave for an hour to go home and eat and then have me come back for another couple hour shift. I didn't know any better was just happy to be making a whole buck sixty five an hour.

 

I’m working poor and if I can get insurance for the wife I’m done next year.
Lost 25% of my 401 the last time I Looked and I don’t care.
I want out
They can kiss my ass
Actually EVERYONE AROUND THERE CAN KISS MY ASS....

 

Just let that 401k ride, The economy’s coming back and so will our 401ks, in fact mines already up above where it was pre-Covid. I just have to get out of the portion I have in those blue chip stocks before reality check hits investors, P/E ratios insanely out the roof on some of them.