Barbaraok

How do you know what I have researched? Again, I was in academia for 40 yrs. you think we didn’t do EXTENSIVE research when getting ready to retire? Really? As you noted, the 4% rule is based upon~a 2% return on VERY CONSERVATIVE investment s. It has lead a lot of people into trouble when interest rates fell to unprecedented levels after the crash. Are you suggesting that you’ve only gotten 2% or less returns on your investments. Also rate of inflation has been very low the past few years. Or are you advocating it for others but not yourself? My biggest problem with your original statements that a $1.5M principal was required for retirees - which is always put forward by investment companies trying to get new investors. If the average age on these forums was in their 30s & 40s then that might be a starting point. But I would venture that a lot of us are (1) all ready retired, (2) are not trying to maintain lifestyle similar to when they were working, and (3) have experiences as retirees that are worth exploring.

Because of a lot of different medications that Dave takes, he has to be careful with interactions. When his gastric reflux began interfering with his daily life, he tried different OTC remedies but he can't take omeprazole because it interferes with his Plavix. However, there is a new (non-generic) drug called Dexalant that doesn't interfere with other medications and Dave was given a trial set of pills. They seemed to help, but when we went to get the prescription filled, our Insurance denied coverage ($600/month) until the physicians wrote to justify the need to have that specific drug. Agreed that there is no way to have a written budget that can take into account what prescriptions you might need 6 months or a year from now! We are lucky in that our Part D plan (paid for by our former employer) is very good and for most prescriptions it is $20 for 90 days worth of medication. What is really galling is the pharmaceutical companies engaging in price gouging on generic meds, for example the cost increases for insulin!

We've been retired 12 years and with the exception of the year of the 'crash' we have made much more than the 4% on our different investments. The key is to have a diversified portfolio and hopefully not have a huge amount in the traditional 'safe' investments for retirees.

Yes, the math can get really complicated. DiffyQ is what is needed but since the variables are so difficult to pin down, it is almost as bad as trying to determine orbital probability for any atom beyond hydrogen.

Jim, are you suggesting that as a woman I would not understand the 4% rule, or that my education is in some way lacking?

You are assuming that (1) the rest of us don’t have investments that are currently growing, (2) that everyone will live 30 years past retirement, and. (3) we are all 20years away from retirement. Plus, you are assuming a LESS than a 4% growth every year the money. Are you currently retired? If not, what are you basing your amount needed in retirement? And how old are the people you are pitching your scenario to? You might be amazed to find out that people can live on less than you think.

We live quite comfortably on less than that. Plus you forgot to include SS in your retirement income stream. Plus $1.5M would give you $50K a year if you figured to spend it all by the time you are 95, without taking into account it’s earning potential.

It pays to choose your grandparents well. my mother turned 96 this summer, older than her Grandmother ( my great grandmother) who died 3 months short of 96. Her sisters are 95 and 9o, and all of them are still active, mentally as sharp as ever! I inherited a lot from my father, hoping I also got the Norwegian long life genes.😊

Linda, we did the same thing. I love the ‘What if” sheet in Turbo Tax that allows you to put in various amounts for the coming year and see how it affects your taxes. We just moved the money into the same type of fund and let it continue to grow.

Jim, I would agree with you if all of the retirement funds are not in 403b/401k/IRAs that will be taxed when pulled. By NOT taking our IRAs until 701/2 we kept them working for us. And they have done VERY well since we retired. Plus, whatever is left goes to our heirs unlike SS. It really does take some analysis to figure out what’s the best way to go and what is right for one person isn’t what’s right for another. Same with financing part of purchase of rig versus keeping tax deferred funds working. Have to run different scenarios to figure what works best for the individual.

What you got was the RV driving test. We we did ours, I had a truck carrying gas cylinders pass me and one of the cylinders came flying backward - - I was able to slow down and avoid hitting it. But got docked for not looking both ways at least three times at a 4-way stop. Dave had his test drive shortened when he was rear-ended at a stop light. Didn't heart the coach as we had an extended drop hitch which bent in the radiator of the van that hit him. It was company car and the owners paid for everything. Examiner said we both kept our heads in stressful situations, so we passed!

The test is pretty much the same for Class A and Class B exempt. Go with the Recreational/RV one - - you don't want to sign up for the CDL and have a very angry examiner on your hands. Yes, you are OVER thinking it.

You don't need to go all the way to Livingston, you can renew at any DPS office in the state. If coming across on I-20, then stop in Longview and renew.

You can also renew Class A a& Class B BY MAIL.

OK, they have redesigned the Escapees website - where are the forms and booklets now? My eyes must really be going because I don't see them anywhere.

We all find that we really don't need to take that many clothes with us because we seldom see the same people each week, etc. You can always pick up more Tees if you need them along the way. Same for "dressy clothes", if needed there will be somewhere to get something appropriate if needed.

Zulu, I didn't say that you were derisive, what I said was that I have heard people make comments through the years about those who took a lower immediate income but had better retirement packages. As you said, the terms you used probably weren't the best.

Did you call the people in Taylor county and ask them to help you? That is one thing about Polk County, all levels of the government KNOW about fulltime RVers and are very helpful.

For years I have heard ‘friends’ deride people who work in local/state/federal governments/education, etc., as to our ‘getting’ something for nothing. Yes, we have a good retirement, but that was because we were generally paid less than someone in private employment, we Made the determination to do with less in our immediate pockets to have a little more latter on.

Call the Polk County Auditor and they will walk you through the process. If you are domiciles in Polk County you have their phone number on your current vehicle registration

Best decision we ever made. We had each had a life-threatening illness, want to enjoy how ever much time we have and do it when the body is still able to have a little 'get up and go' left in it.

I looked at your 6 month review and didn't notice any health care costs? Also Long Term Care insurance?

But if you are using city water from spigot, that isn’t going into your fresh water tank, is it. Get the bowled covered, black tape if nothing else.

But municipal water systems are not creeks.

You aren’t that different from us. Once we had to flush out. Otherwise, we dump fresh water and fill with municipal water on a fairly regular basis and don’t sanitize. We do dump water and refill when taking out of storage each spring, and then dump the desert water as soon as we get to the coast as the desert water is so high in TDS.