Author Topic: What do you do with RE part of it?  (Read 1604 times)

mistymoney

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What do you do with RE part of it?
« on: January 01, 2020, 11:44:07 AM »
Hey all,

Happy New Year!!!

One of my resolutions for 2020 is to try to nail down my RE budget (or just R ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ - I am 53 and not too close as yet!). I want to get a good idea of what I want out of post-career life so I can start to work towards that. I feel like I have been scrambling the past many years and need to focus/refocus on what I want my life to look like.

I don't have a real social network outside of a close knit professional group - this spans coworkers from my last 3 companies and shared educational and professional development venues......but I'm not sure how that would function once retired - I think it may fade away without the shared career stuff. 

I am a single parent with 2 adult children who will be leaving the nest in the next few years, one in a few months, the other will graduate college in 2021. I am unsure about if I will keep the house or not. I did a case study last year and I will update at the 1 year mark, but I don't want to discuss my particular financial situation here at the moment.

Rather - I am trying to figure out a good template (with and without the family house) and use that to make plans/decisions going forward.

I am just out-of-my-ass thinking 10k for travel. But - what would that get me? Seems like 1-2 major trips and a few smaller ones or 5-6 medium trips. Would that be accurate? Budget-wise?

Thinking of going back to/taking up tennis and/or golf...There is a nice but rather spendy venue nearby for such things. I might need some lessons before asking strangers for a game. So - lessons would be even more expensive.

What other things could I consider? Both that is fun, enjoyable, and potentially social? I'm not sure I can plan on seeing too much of my kids, one or both may move out of state.....but who knows?

I've looked into meetup groups for a few of my low-key interests, but I don't know if that's for me....

For things like casual entertainment outside of traveling - what kinds of budgets do you all have? It seems all my interests are really expensive. Opera/symphony/ballet, golf, horses, tennis, etc. I might be a little bit snobby, lol! I think I was accused of that once here.  But if I don't aim to do what I want in retirement - when would I do it? I'm certainly not doing any of this right now! I used to....

What should I be thinking about as I try to outline a retirement budget for these kinds of things?

2sk22

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Re: What do you do with RE part of it?
« Reply #1 on: January 01, 2020, 01:43:14 PM »

What other things could I consider? Both that is fun, enjoyable, and potentially social? I'm not sure I can plan on seeing too much of my kids, one or both may move out of state.....but who knows?


A simple first step you can do is to join a gym and participate in group fitness activities like Pilates or Zumba. My wife really enjoys working out with a group of people and has made several friends that way.

Dicey

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Re: What do you do with RE part of it?
« Reply #2 on: January 01, 2020, 01:50:02 PM »

What other things could I consider? Both that is fun, enjoyable, and potentially social? I'm not sure I can plan on seeing too much of my kids, one or both may move out of state.....but who knows?


A simple first step you can do is to join a gym and participate in group fitness activities like Pilates or Zumba. My wife really enjoys working out with a group of people and has made several friends that way.
Ha! Seven years post-FIRE and I've decided it's time to get my ass into a gym on a regular basis. I just bought a two-year 24Hour Fitness Super Deluxe Whatever Package at Costco. I figure I'll avoid the January rush by waiting until February to start the clock. I haven't belonged to a gym since the '80's. Wish me luck!

Oh yeah, the other stuff. I volunteer at the library and usher at my regional theater. I'm on three boards (two library and one arts) and am co-chair of a community-wide event that takes nine months of planning. Oh, and one philanthropic group for the arts. This year, I hope to start volunteering at my favorite thrift store. That will be a rabbit hole, for sure.
« Last Edit: January 01, 2020, 01:55:00 PM by Dicey »

Villanelle

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Re: What do you do with RE part of it?
« Reply #3 on: January 01, 2020, 01:50:33 PM »
My parents moved to a 55+ "active senior" community and it seems like it might address some of your angst points.  Their's--Sun City Summerlin in Las Vegas--is very large and as such there are so many groups and activities.  Into model trains?  There's a group for that.  Want to play tennis?  Several different clubs and groups.  Investing Club?  Softball?  Belly dancing?   Whatever.

And the nice thing is that you can generally try all those things and if you go once or a few times and they aren't for you, there's no commitment. 

2sk22

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Re: What do you do with RE part of it?
« Reply #4 on: January 01, 2020, 02:42:30 PM »
Ha! Seven years post-FIRE and I've decided it's time to get my ass into a gym on a regular basis. I just bought a two-year 24Hour Fitness Super Deluxe Whatever Package at Costco. I figure I'll avoid the January rush by waiting until February to start the clock. I haven't belonged to a gym since the '80's. Wish me luck!

Good luck to you :-) I joined a gym years ago and have enjoyed it ever since but it took me many years to persuade my wife to join me there. I like working out on my own but my wife really likes the group activities. The first three weeks of gym membership are the hardest. Its essential to exercise every single day until you get into a routine.

frugal_c

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Re: What do you do with RE part of it?
« Reply #5 on: January 01, 2020, 03:07:45 PM »
On the travel question, yes I think $10k is plenty if you are mustachian.   Look around, there are places in Asia, Europe, s America where the cost is so low you might actually spend less than staying at home. So you could potentially go for months at a time.  The main cost is airfare and that will depend on your starting location.  It is worth thinking about air costs if you relocate.  Now of course you can also spend 10k in a week if you want to go all out.  It kind of depends on what you want out of a vacation. You don't have to rough if either, you should be able to find all inclusive mexican resorts for a grand or a little more per week.  Just do a little Googling, see for yourself.

frugaldrummer

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Re: What do you do with RE part of it?
« Reply #6 on: January 01, 2020, 11:46:42 PM »
$10k sounds like more than enough for travel (that’s my working budget too). The key is to travel off season when you can, I just looked on Expedia and I could go to Lisbon, Portugal next month from the West Coast for three weeks for $1600 airfare and hotel! Especially if you have a travel partner, $10k could fund a couple nice international trips and some domestic travel to friends and family.

Golf’s an expensive hobby. (Although it might be a good place to meet men with means?). Hiking is almost free and could lead to meeting other people. As for ballet and opera, when you’re retired you could volunteer as an usher at your favorite venue and see tons of shows for free.

When the kids are moved out, you could always get a roommate for extra money.

My ex-husband left when I was 53. I took up learning to play the drums, played in an amateur pop-punk band for several years which was tremendous fun and entertainment. Now I mostly play percussion (including vibraphone) for my best friend, who is a professional singer songwriter. When I retire I expect to devote more time to playing music, which is a grand and relatively inexpensive hobby.   


Hirondelle

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Re: What do you do with RE part of it?
« Reply #7 on: January 02, 2020, 03:53:11 AM »
Start trying!

You mention some interest and if meet up groups would be something you'd enjoy - visit one and see if you like it. If not, you tried and lost a couple hours on something you didn't enjoy. Not too bad.

Some of your hobbies are expensive you say. You could pick one of them and focus on that. You don't have to take lessons in golf and tennis and horseriding all at once. But spending some money on a couple tennis lessons with people at a similar level of yours and/or in a similar age bracket may be a great way to commit to exercise and develop some new social contacts. After a course/series of classes you could continue playing with your new friends at a lower cost.

If you like operas and ballet try to visit cheap plays, e.g. looks at colleges and schools in your area. Treat yourself to a 'proper' venue every once in a while and look for discounts or deals. Or get involved as a volunteer to watch. I once was a hostess for a major sports event (world championships!) and after telling people where to sit I could watch the whole competition! It was a great way to see what I wanted to see for the cost of 0 and having backstage access to everything, including meeting some of the medallists on their way to the changing rooms. They were happy to take a picture :)

Lastly, don't be afraid to try new things as well. A while ago I signed up for a 5 week course in a martial arts/self defense sport. I never thought it would be something for me, but ended up loving it so much that I've done it more than all my old favorites.

Greystache

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Re: What do you do with RE part of it?
« Reply #8 on: January 02, 2020, 06:32:44 AM »
We budgeted $10K for travel. That usually means one big trip (we alternate between international travel and extended road trips around North America) and several small trips to visit family and friends. You can reduce costs by travel hacking, house sitting, etc. if you want to. We travel pretty conventionally, staying in moderately priced hotels or staying with family and friends.
I also golf quite a bit, usually about twice a week.  It's my main social outlet and a means to maintain contact with friends and former coworkers. I budget about $5K per year for golf.  That includes at least one golf trip per year.  You can spend as much or as little as you want on golf.  If you are a member of a private club or insist on playing high end courses at peak times, it can be very pricey.  I don't do it anymore, but I used to volunteer at a golf course in exchange for playing and practicing. If you divided the number of hours I put in by the value of the "free" golf it came out to about minimum wage. But it was a way to hang out with a bunch of other like-minded people a couple times a week. 

mistymoney

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Re: What do you do with RE part of it?
« Reply #9 on: January 02, 2020, 08:37:08 AM »
Great ideas here, thank you one and all!

And in particular, I like the idea that I can start out small, and start now...well as another poster said - maybe in February. :)