My husband and I are 57. We have 2 kids (a senior and a junior) still at home, both of whom plan to go to a state college at around $9,000/year. We have a home worth around $600,000 with $150,000 in mortgage debt left to go. We have $49,000 in a Merrill Lynch account, with $18,000 margin balance, leaving us with $31,000. We have a pension fund with $100,000. We will (probably, unless something goes drastically wrong inherit) $350,000 in the next 2-3 years.
We would like to sell our house and retire at age 62. We would significantly downsize-maybe a 1 or 2 bedroom condo in a walkable community. I checked out walkable towns outside philidelphia (because the state does not tax pension accounts or social security.) We would have 1 or maybe no car. If we have a car it will be used, paid for with cash and not a gas guzzler (toyota highlander) Our dream is to spend winters in the south of France, using VRBO we can find modest places for $2000/month-we'd stay 3-4 months. We are not clothes, fancy furnishings, jewelry buyers, nor would we go out a lot (dinner would be a 2 for 1 groupon, going out would be a free concert or museum.) Classes are an option-but we hope to take advantage of free classes because of our age-lots of colleges have them in the Philly area. One thing I'd like to do right now is get rid of the Merrill Lynch broker and go with the Vanguard idea I read about on your blog.
Is this do-able? If so,what should we be doing between now and then to make it happen?
