Reflections on Being Retired One Week and the Budget

Where did the first week go?  I had heard that time seemed to go by even faster after you retired from the workplace.  Our first destination of Savannah was really more of a vacation with tons of sightseeing and other activities.  There will be many other weeks of mostly downtime with some hikes and mountain bike rides.  Our budget allows for some admissions to museums and other attractions, but not at a “vacation-type” pace.

At this point, being away from work has seemed more like being on vacation than not having a career anymore.  Sometime that will change, I assume.  So what really is different besides going from 3,000 square feet home to our 40 foot camper?

• Being able to stay up later and sleep in somewhat
• I really miss our children, but we will see them in June and probably again in the fall
• I do miss the work challenges of helping to run a dynamic business
• I miss the people that made up our work team
• The positive is my wife and best friend and I get to be together all the time
• I do not miss the ever present deadlines and new demands on my time
• I do not miss the home and lawn maintenance
• The camper has some maintenance to be done, but being all new it is still enjoyable
• Having time for hobbies – this has not happened yet.  Our spare time has been in investigating some upcoming campground options.  Our next stop in Charleston, SC will be for 10 days, so will have more downtime then.

Other changes:

The Social Interactions

At home, we only occasionally saw and visited with our neighbors.  At campgrounds, we have neighbors come and go, but there is always time spent visiting with them as we all have the common interest in travel sights and RVing.  I’m normally the type who would rather read a book or work on a hobby than in chatting with others who I do not even know, but there is something about the campground culture where we can compare notes on the next destination or easier/better ways to wax the RV exterior.   I have found that I really do enjoy sitting around the campfire and visiting with others.  Pat of course thrives on this.

The Budget

This is something that I did in my work for the last 40 years.  Develop a detailed budget, track the actual results to the budget, explain differences, and usually develop plans to recover from unforeseen challenges.

We also have a detailed budget for this journey we are on.  I’m just starting to track the actual costs.  Some items are more and some less so far.  It will take awhile to allow expenses to normalize.  We are going from a decent income to one that is greatly reduced, so our lifestyle will take some adjustments.  I will provide some detail on this at a later date so if someone wanted to try this journey they would have some actual data.

Without going into great detail, here was my original plan to provide enough income for us to enjoy this travel life and still provide a good income for our later years.

• Investments – keep a good balance of around 70/30 stocks/bonds, treasury, etc., and withdraw no more than 4% per year.  Less in a down year.
• Take my pension as an annuity
• Begin taking social security at 63.5 years

This plan all seemed to work out fine.  The income provided equaled the expenses even allowing for yearly inflation.  Then, I decided at the last minute to take advantage of the SS rate increases by delaying it for a year.  This delay will yield a guaranteed 7% increase.  Can’t ignore that.  Although it means taking more from investments that could gain much more than that in an up market year.  A trade off.

The bottom line is the largest change for us is the transition from the accumulation years to the spending down years.  When we are out, I have to remember the budget.  We truly enjoy cooking healthy meals in the RV and will only eat out a couple of times per week, per the budget.

Some photos from the day visit to Tybee Island, a beautiful coastal beach, pier and marshy, grassy low country.  It was more developed than what I imagined.  Many hotels, condos, and rental properties.

Tomorrow we move to Charleston, SC, for 10 days, then north to Myrtle Beach for 6 more days.