I think my sister got hey one of those, too. She should never have to use the stove!
You donāt want to die that way. I used to forget about things on the stove every now and then, but now I set my phone alarm every single time I put something on the stove or in the oven.
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LOL - Young folks can get into trouble with tea pots too. The first gift from my husband when dating was a tea pot (he used to come over for tea after class or dates). I accidentally uined the bottom of it a year later letting it run dry while talking to new acquaintance at the apartment laundry room. I still have it, on top of the cabinets as sentimental decorā¦ a topic for the declutter thread.
In later years, my mother rarely (if ever) used her stove), even though once upon a time she had cooked a lot. She used her microwave for Meals On Wheels dinners and for frozen entrees.
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My mother (91) has one of those electric egg cookers and loves it. It makes regular boiled eggs, poached eggs and can steam a sort of omelette.
She also has a Keurig coffee maker so she doesnāt have to lift a kettle. She usually eats lunch and dinner in the dining room but likes breakfast in her bathrobe.
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Everyone should have one of these! My 30 somethings have had them for at least 10 years.
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That only works until you donāt remember to do thingsā¦
We are very off topic here. Isnāt there already a thread about safety for seniors! If notā¦letās start one!
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Glad for the suggestion about safety for seniors thread to keep this thread on topic.
At a wedding last night, spoke with a couple who is going to cross the retirement threshold soon. They were glad to hear what we had been doing - they have pensions, so their strategy will be a little different. He loves his work and no reason to not continue longer than her. DH and I retired at different times - he when he could no longer tolerate his boss and he knew we had enough funds in retirement to end work on his terms, at 64 1/2. I hung in to keep insurance until we both qualified for Medicare (my birthday is 4 months after DH, both born in 1956).
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The theme I hear when talking to newly retired friends (and some getting close enough to seriously considering it): Itās hard to swap from Savings mindset to Depletion mode.
Our financial advisor assured us itās a common reaction, even when there is clearly enough pension/SS/assets to ensure a well funded retirement.
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I think the issue with ādepletion modeā, for me anyway, is not at all a problem with spending but more an awareness that if the sky falls my employability is drastically curtailed by my advancing years (and thus my ability to replenish dwindling resources).
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I donāt think depletion is the right word. Itās hard to switch from saving to spending. That doesnāt mean depleting your money. It means spending wisely so you donāt deplete it.
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The phrasing Iāve heard is accumulation vs decumulation.
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We have more than enough money. Our financial advising ran one of those scenarios where there was a significant downturn in the market and found we would still have more than enough to fund a very comfortable retirement staring right now and going past age 100. But I STILL have a hard time emotionally with the idea of not bringing in income. Itās crazy I know but I canāt really overcome it. .
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The real theme to me is to have your investments make enough so that you nest egg actually is staying the same and not depleting. Our annuity income stream replaces our income, and the annuities are holding their value. Our 401k, 100% stock funding groups (3 fund groups that do well within our choices) is performing well in the long game.
We have not gone on expensive trips or spent a big chuck of money on toys or a second home, but in the future if we really want to spend on something important to us we can.
Some people do choose to do a lot of travel while the couple is healthy enough to do so. One friend will resume their state park check off after recovery from her hip replacement (something she put off for a bit).
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When you have a pension your strategy is certainly different. In my case, why continuing working when I could stay home for 76% of what I was making? I would in essence have been working for 24% of my salary. Nope. Retired when I maxxed out the pension.
Since I stopped paying into both my pension and my annuity, my income really hasnāt changed, and Iāve been retured 7 years now.
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So for you it is a fear that if you exit the job, down the road if you needed to re-enter the job market, you would not be able to do so with the earnings/career that you now have.
How to overcome fear that maybe is not truly rational but emotional. A not uncommon situation for many.
DH was so beat up with his work (emotionally) that it was such a relief for him. When people ask how he is, he says āfantasticā and means it.
My sunset career was a bit of a grind. Liked the work ok, but it was repetitive work; I did work with a few people that made it more enjoyable. As soon as I qualified for Medicare, I stopped work and had the insurance convert over nicely.
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Iām jealous of these pensions, though I wonder if some is due to us getting social security? Full retirement after 30 years and no surviving spousal payment is 40% of the average of the highest 3 years of salary. Hās after 32 years with so spousal survivorship was about 50%. We are eligible for SS though. And H did have to pay 5% into his pension. I do not, but newer employees do.
Firefighters and police do not receive social security and have a different formula. They only need 20 years and theirs is about double of ours give or take.
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You are bringing in income, itās just unearned income (SS, a pension, withdrawals from your retirement accounts are examples).
You have to get used to NOT contributing to these accounts, and actually using the income they generate.
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Husband and I had a big discussion a few months ago about what to do with the RMDās that we have to start drawing next year. We have a substantial amount invested in non-retirement accounts, plus we almost own our house (tiny bit of mortgage left). Son is nicely solvent, no weddings ever that I can see, no new cars desired, already have bought furniture etc. as needed.
Not that we would spend it all; much would be reinvested. But some ideas were (1) fixing stuff around the house and yard (honestly, we could have been doing this all along but the āextraā income seems to be a psychological difference for husband) and (2) a bucket list kind of travel; looking at Australia/New Zealand.
For me, it will be a relief to finally feel like we can spend money instead of saving for our old age. Because at 72/73, we have maybe 20-ish years or so left if weāre very lucky.
Husband is of the mind set that if it works, itās fine. Sees no need to repaint the house, inside or out (weāve been here nine years). Our fence badly needs replacing but until it actually falls down, heās good. We seriously should have redone the kitchen when we bought the house but I think it would have ended in divorce just trying to agree on what to do.
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Back to insurance and Medicare and RX for a minute- does anyone use Amazonās or mark Cubanās pharmacy?
In many states (like mine) teachers do not pay into SS, so if your entire career is spent teaching you get your pension but no SS. I worked more than 10 years paying into SS so I get a reduced benefit ($200 per month),due to the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP).
If my wife predeceases me, I donāt even get survivor benefits from her social security, due to the Government Pension Offset (GPO).
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