A helpful beginning to a series on record keeping!

If you are like us you have a lot of paper records and a lot of online documents or records in your email. Add to that your online accounts and other variations and it can be a lot for you, your partner and/or your executor to figure out and access.

This looks like the start of a promising series on how to make your record keeping as simple and effective as possible.

Generally Accepted Record Keeping Principles

Pre-Retirement Finances - 2015 results and 2016 expectations

How are you faring economically as you approach or manage retirement?

The year has almost ended and I've been looking at our 2015 expenses to plan for the coming year as our income will stay the same for the most part. I'm still delaying collecting social security so that it will increase as I am betting on a long life. My parents lived to 88 and 92 and I want to maximize those payments as an inflation hedge. I'll start collecting some time after DH stops working full time in 2017.

2015 expenses

- Our cars cost us 3.6% less than 2014. Insurance was up but gasoline and licenses were down.
- Clothing and haircuts were up 49.8% as I redid my wardrobe.
- Phones, cable and other communications up 3.6% mostly due to cable bundle increases.
- Contributions were down 14.36% and dog costs down 27.7% as she did not have any illnesses beyond her routine care.
- Groceries, alcohol, household supplies and toiletries were up 8.5%
- Gifts were down 24.3% as we made no large cash gifts in 2015.
- Health care costs and housing costs (maintenance, insurance and property taxes mostly) were up 27.4% and 24.7% respectively.
- We cancelled my life insurance so life and excess liability insurance costs went down 28.9%.
- Recreation costs were down 22.52% due to decreased travel costs.
- Taxes were up 14.8% as we paid more realistic estimated taxes after a year of refunds due to filing amended tax returns to correct our ignorance of state tax laws for those over 60.

So overall, our expenses went up 5.25% which is not sustainable given current returns on investments.

2016

Expense expectations

Our health insurance cost has increased by 8.8% and our share of the cost of prescriptions and treatment has gone up as well. I am expecting our car insurance, homeowners insurance, life insurance and property taxes to increase in the 10% - 20% range each. I imagine Comcast will raise their rates as well.

What will go down? Car licenses. Gifts. Travel costs if we only go to California as we now have family guest rooms to use at both locations. My clothing costs as I am committed to buying fewer items. Books, hobbies, classes - all $0 as I plan no spending there.

I can try to reduce or maintain our spending on food but costs have been rising and healthy eating is important. Dog care, health related items, home repair, gasoline, etc. are all pretty much out of my control as they are necessary and I have to pay what they cost. We will likely start doing some pre-sale improvements as well although those may not start until 2017. We will make one major furnishings purchase of a new mattress and bedding. Research is necessary for that one!

I will continue to pay for Pilates sessions as a health investment. I want to take one vacation that is not a family visit so that will be added in. We haven't decided where it will be yet but probably in the US. We will keep going out to eat occasionally but have decreased that in the last couple of months as several of our favorite restaurants have closed.

Income expectations

My husband is federal employee and they are to get a 1% raise. He will get a yet to be determined bonus based on performance evaluation. The annuity payments I inherited from my parents will end after October's payment. Interest rates may go up slightly on our savings. I think this will be a wash.

What will you accomplish this week?

Christine over at Spring Cleaning 365 suggests that today's daily task be to "Write down every single thing that you need to accomplish this week. Then schedule those things (but make sure they’re the RIGHT things) on your calendar. That way you’ll know WHEN you will accomplish those things on your to-do list." Well I do love a list and I haven't been getting much done so let's give it a shot.

Hmm .... Lose 5 pounds while eating cupcakes and ice cream? Book a trip to Paris? Magically know exactly where we will move in the summer of 2017? Guess that isn't what she meant!

I'm starting with my commitments:

Wednesday: Vet for monthly shot, Annual eye exam
Thursday: Volunteer book sorting at library, Monthly book club in evening including pick up food to take

Add in weekly chores:

Sunday: Wash linens
Monday: Clothes laundry, Clean house
Wednesday: Grocery shop at supermarket, Vet for monthly shot, Annual eye exam
Thursday: Volunteer book sorting at library, Monthly book club in evening including pick up food to take

And now exercise - keeping in mind predicted rain on Thursday and Friday and that I cancelled my gym membership as I just wasn't using it enough. I have rearranged our office to make space for at home workouts and the warmer weather will make long walks easier:

Sunday: Wash linens, Walk the Beltline with Hubby with lunch at midpoint
Monday: Laundry, Clean house, Stretch DVD, Walk dog
Tuesday: Long walk with dog
Wednesday: Stretch DVD, Walk dog, Grocery shop at supermarket, Vet for monthly shot, Annual eye exam
Thursday: Volunteer book sorting at library, Monthly book club in evening including pick up food to take
Friday: Stretch DVD, Walk dog if weather permits
Saturday: Long walk without dog

What else needs to get done? Rake leaves in driveway and courtyard and prune 2 bushes. Complete Federal and State amended tax returns due to late arriving data from inheritance. Confirm room available for annual meeting for Friends of the Library and transfer membership email list to a Gmail account. Alter a top and a pair of capris. Watch 4 Craftsy class sessions on altering clothing. Thrift shops for donation and warm weather clothing additions. Check out new to me stores for wardrobe additions. Find new groomer for dog. Wash car. Schedule bone density test and mammogram.

It was interesting to build my list this way and it includes time with friends, Hubby and pet, health, exercise, volunteering, workable wardrobe efforts, and homemaking.

The list got pretty long even though it doesn't include daily cooking and clean up! Doable? I'll let you know how it goes!

Sunday: Wash linens, Walk the Beltline with Hubby with lunch at midpoint, Rake leaves & prune, Start on amended tax returns.
Monday: Laundry, Clean house (half done), Stretch DVD, Walk dog, Alter top and capris, Confirm room availability for Friends annual meeting (left 2 messages - no response).
Tuesday: Long walk with dog,  Watch Craftsy class sessions 1 & 2, Thrift donations and shop, Visit potential new groomer
Wednesday: Stretch DVD, Walk dog. Grocery shop at supermarket, Vet for monthly shot, Annual eye exam (rescheduled due to Dr. running very late), Wash car.
Thursday: Volunteer book sorting at library (to Friday), Schedule bone density test and mammogram, Watch Craftsy class session 3 & 4 (NO, already know this unfortunately so this was a waste of money), Finish cleaning house, Monthly book club in evening including pick up food to take.
Friday: Stretch DVD, Walk dog if weather permits, Clothes shopping (postponed) & haircut
Saturday: Long walk without dog, Transfer membership email list to Gmail account, Finish amended tax returns (NO, taking to an accountant).

Yes, I forgot that part of emergency preparedness

I was so organized with our emergency preparedness when we lived in S. California. The main emergency that could happen was a severe earthquake that required you to leave your house indefinitely or stay without services. Of course fire was also a possibility.

Here in Atlanta I haven't quite got the hang of it yet. Tornadoes, falling trees, power outages, snow or ice shutting down the city. We have the basics - smoke and CO2 alarms, a supply of water, extra food for us and the dog, flashlights - and I thought we had battery powered radios. That is until I looked to see how old the batteries were (2010 expire date in one and no batteries in the other that is in the basement in case of a tornado). So I joined in the shopping for last minute ice storm supplies and now we have enough to get us through what would be a relatively short power outage if it happens. I'm also going to fill up some buckets and jugs with water for flushing toilets, minor washing up and dog drinking water in case the water supply pump is impacted. We have drinking water for us already.

I know this is nothing for folks living in regularly cold climates but it really hits this city hard when we get freezing rain. We already changed our travel plans to 1 1/2 days later than planned because in all likelihood we couldn't have gotten to the airport early Thursday morning much less dropped the dog off Wednesday evening. So now we are scheduled to go Friday afternoon but come back the same day as planned. Cost extra and we will see if we get to go at all. I didn't want to wait until the airline cancelled because then the seats would fill full up fast on later flights. If Friday is still a travel mess we will simply reschedule for later and see DS and DIL then.

I just saw that Shirley Goode has a great post about preparation on her blog today.

Good things lined up for next year already

The holidays aren't even over and we have already lined up some travel and events to really look forward to in the first few months of 2014.

We are traveling to visit family in S CA and N CA in January and February respectively and then to Key West at the very end of March/beginning of April. Plane tickets and dog boarding taken care of.

I have signed up for painting studio for 4 weeks in an attempt to finish 2 paintings that I started early this year. I'm waiting to here when the welding workshop will be held and my friend is kindly going to schedule it around my commitments so I can be sure to come.

Having received some 2 lovely pieces of fabric to make summer skirts I am looking to find a pattern and make a muslin version to get the fit right. Then I will be sewing and hitting up thrift shops to find cute tops to go with them.

We also reserved free tickets to a symphony concert on January 4th and there are a number of free concerts at Emory in January and February on the calendar. Book club is also meeting in January and we are reading The Goldfinch - I'm trying to get my hands on a copy as I am #276 on the library waiting list LOL.

The Friends of the Library winter book sale is in early February and we are trying to sell some different items this time as we were given a lot of origami paper, reusable tote bags, blank journals, cute bookmarks and bookplates, etc. Since this sale is indoors we are trying a table just for "fun stuff" - we'll see how it goes.

Then there is my commitment to myself to go to the gym 3 times a week when I am in town including taking a class on the middle day. My body will have to adjust!

Lots to look forward to - such a key to happiness.

The week that was just fine

As I sit here on Sunday morning with both Hubby and Poodle Princess still asleep I have been reflecting on this past week. It was fine despite a day off sick. It was fine despite some rainy weather. It was fine despite nothing memorable.

So why was it fine? I did some non-routine volunteer work for the library which had me interacting with some different people (happiness points for spending time with others). I made it to the gym twice including trying an introductory yoga class (happiness points for exercise). I walked the dog almost every day (happiness points for time with a pet). I went out for dinner and shooting pool with Hubby (extra happiness points for date night). We finally figured out how to visit sons in both S. CA and N. CA by giving up on the idea of doing it in one trip and also picked our dates for a Road Scholar program in Key West (happiness points for something to look forward to).

And then there is something only problem solving, recycling environmentalist, budget happy people like me would find happiness in although cleaning floors is not high on my list! The internet told me I could find a replacement sponge/scrubber piece for our floor mop just up the street and it was less than ordering one through Amazon. Bonus points: it was hard to change out the old one but with teamwork and a few words we managed to do it (really engineers no one person could do this by themselves - you need to design things better).

There were other things - talking, or rather listening, to my 92 year old Mom who is having a really good week and was quite cheerfully chatty about books she was reading and other things. She wasn't well for many months so this is so uplifting. Finding out the Bob Dylan is a welder who makes gates out of scavenged metal parts and that my friends are going to book a welding workshop at there N GA lodge. I've always wanted to learn to weld as an art form so hopefully I will be in town that weekend and go to the workshop. I'm excited about that possibility!

Such an ordinary week that was perfectly fine. Today we are going to see The Dallas Buyer's Club and maybe stop for coffee afterwards. A good start for another fine week.

Line dancing and the week ahead

Our across the street neighbor invited us to her 40th birthday hoedown last night and we had fun learning to line dance and chatting with others. We even bought cheap cowboy hats to wear - I got the white one and Hubby the black.

This morning is a brisk fall day and I have already been out raking some leaves and walking the dog. Not sure what the rest of the day holds but it should be good.

I have decided to focus on exercise, volunteer work and routine homemaking/yard work this coming work week. Fortunately for her, exercise includes some nice long walks for the dog!

So here is the exercise and scheduled activities plan for the coming week. The house and yard work will get fit in.

Monday - gym, follow up on board duties for volunteer work
Tuesday - OLLI classes, walk in park with dog
Wednesday - gym, grocery shopping
Thursday - volunteer work, walk in park with dog
Friday - gym, prepare for book club weekend away

Which leads to the weekend and a trip to the N. Georgia mountains with some members of my book club. Another fun girl's weekend.

It is a pretty basic life at this point in retirement but I am having a good time.

Well, if you want to be really depressed about healthcare costs in retirement ...

I just read this article and think I will go pound my head against a walll LOL.

Couples may need $220,000

What's up for April and March retrospective

I'm looking at the calendar and see I've got quite a bit planned for April.

Travel 
- trip to visit my Mom, brother and SIL in NH in early April
- book club weekend away at a member's mountain get away
Art
- one or two classes a week at nearby county arts center and "homework" in between
- I am hoping to be a "judge's assistant" the day before a big arts festival
- hoping to walk to nearby festival
Volunteering
- planning meetings and activities for May Friends of the Library book sale
- regular weekly shift sorting donated books
Exercise & Health
- final two Pilates sessions
- home exercise space ready to use
- start a home exercise program to replace private Pilates sessions with trainer
- find out if my braces are going to come off before son's wedding
- pre-op testing for cataract surgery
Celebrations
- our 32nd wedding anniversary
- a bridal shower for a friend's daughter
Personal Challenges
- stick to Spring Project 333 wardrobe with no purchases for that season
- shop thrift/consignment stores for needed summer clothes
- limit time on computer to maximum of 1 hour a day
- try for an "Austerity April" in terms of food and entertainment spending except when visiting Mom.

In addition, it will be time to get some Spring yard work done, the dog needs grooming before she is boarded in early April, and all the routine stuff will need to happen.  

Now let's take a look at how March went! 

I kept up with my Pilates weekly sessions and walked the dog a bit more including taking her to the park a couple of times. Not so great at keeping up with my PT exercises on a daily basis but my shoulder is getting better.

I bought quite a few clothes including getting my Mother of the Groom outfit and am happy with them all. Created list for my Spring Project 333 wardrobe and decided to get rid of one item on my Winter list as I really don't like it. I also bought a Kindle and have found ways to get free ebooks. I'll take it on my trip in early April and be happy to have reading in a very lightweight format.

I did more fun things and started an art class. Spent more time with friends and talked to loved ones who live a long way away more often. This was a really good thing!

My goal of saving EXTRA for retirement is progressing. I saved or made decisions that will save money later this year to a tune of $848.41 in March for a total of $1686.12 in extra savings so far this year.

We didn't Fix Up much - just a doorknob and the painting of a purchased table so it fits with our decor.

Not the most productive month ever but it will do.

Personal annual cost of living report

OK, I admit it. I am copying this idea from An Exacting Life. Love the idea of an annual cost of living report for the family. So here is my version comparing 2012 to 2011 and how we did in major categories:

HOUSING RELATED COSTS - Still outrageous, but better than last year. We seriously need to downsize.In the meantime I've been watching utilities, fighting for lower property taxes and making sure we maintain this place.
Natural gas – We used 590 therms of gas in 2011, versus 400 therms in 2012, a reduction of 32.3%! Wish I could take credit for the reduction but is was a warmer year. Rates also went down a bit so overall we spent 35.2% less in this category!
Electricity – We used 9278 kilowatt/hours in 2011, versus 8977 in 2012, a reduction of 3.2%. Spent 5% less too.
Water, sewer & trash – A reduction of 4.7% in water use, but the cost was 6.5% more! More work to do here as the water is the only part of the bill we can impact (sewer is based on water use and trash is fixed cost).
Property tax – We challenged our property value appraisal and won a small reduction that will last for 2 or 3 years. Our overall cost stayed the same this year if you include the cost of hiring an expert to handle the appeal. Since rates went up a lot that was still a win.Of course I would have also been happy if my house had actually been worth what they estimated!
Home insurance – A 10.3% increase here plus our excess liability rider went up 4.8%. One of those areas where it is so hard to impact cost although I call each year and ask for ways to cut it down.
Home & yard maintenance - This is a part of our budget that drives me crazy, but at least it went down 38.5%. I can't even remember why it was higher in 2011 - probably related to tree work. We do need to do some work inside this year and haven't even begun to grapple with a budget for that.

FOOD & HOUSEHOLD GOODS RELATED COSTS
I have been working on cutting back in this area and in fact we reduced both our shopping and eating out expenses. A reduction of 13.5% for shopping and 3.9% for eating out.

CARS
We have two of these lovelies and live in car centric Atlanta. No public transit for us. However we spent 10.8% less on gas in 2012. That is due to driving less, lower gas costs and buying discounted gas debit cards when offered as a promotion by our grocery store (more please!). Of course car insurance went up but since I track it with license and tax costs I'm not sure of the percentage.

HEALTH CARE
Despite new glasses, orthodonture, pilates and PT for me as well as the usual doctor and dentist visits we spent 3.6% less in this category. I'll take what I can get and be grateful for good health insurance.

So now for the not so good news. We made less in 2012 due to Federal employees no longer being able to get bonuses or raises and a sharp decrease in my consulting work. We also spent 5% less overall, but the two didn't even out.

Still, overall we are happy with how we spent our money this past year. We maxed out our retirement accounts, slightly increased our donations, and gave some major gifts to family members including our portion of our son's upcoming wedding. Our travel costs went up but we had more time with family and a brief vacation. I don't regret a penny of any of that although I know it will not be sustainable in retirement. Just means we have to move closer to family!

Do you ever look at your spending this way?

What will you retire to? Lifestyle meets finances

Recently my brother asked me what hubby and I thought we would do when we retired.  I answered that we had a vary vague picture of that as it was 5 years out for hubby and until then we would be continuing along as we do now assuming no major unplanned life upheavals.  My brother and his wife are older than we are and have both officially retired.  They are just starting to think about how they will spend their time.  My SIL will do fine as she is high energy and highly social. My brother continues to work as a consultant. They both help my 91 year old mother a lot. They will figure it out although they didn't plan it in advance.

I think that for most people pre-retirement planning tends to focus on the finances and not on what you will be retiring to.  Leaving work means leaving structured days, possibly purposeful and rewarding activity, lots of social contact and perhaps intellectual stimulation.  How to prepare to replace all of that?

Our plans are vague for our official "retirement" in 5 years when hubby turns 65.  That is when hubby expects to leave his current job and his plan is to move somewhere and find a new job. In fact a few days ago he asked me if he would need to earn the same amount from 65 to 70 as he earns now! He does love his work and I do think part-time work will make him happy. I'd like the flexibility of his working part time or on a project basis so we could travel more as a couple but we'll see what happens. I am already semi-retired/working part-time and am experiencing some of the challenges of moving into a non-working lifestyle. I'm not alone - it was a topic of conversation at my book club this week.

So what will we be retiring to? It will have to be a combination of financial capability and desired or necessary lifestyle decisions.

I recently received an email from TIAA-CREF which contained the following key lifestyle questions as part of an article on financial planning checkups. As they said, it’s not easy, but you should factor lifestyle issues into your financial planning. To get started, here’s their suggested checklist of questions that you can copy and paste, and then modify with your own specific questions. Of course it is the answers that will matter the most!

__In addition to my retirement, what financial issues do I need to consider in balancing multiple goals over time, such as funding education for children and grandchildren, caring for elderly parents, and providing a legacy for my family and charitable organizations?

__What’s my target date for retiring? Will I be ready to leave my job? Will I work part time? Once I’m retired, if I underestimated my lifestyle needs, what next steps should I take?

__As I near retirement, are there questions I need to be asking about transitioning to healthcare coverage for retirement years, election dates, continuation of coverage for my spouse or other dependents, costs?

__Based on the lifestyle I want in retirement, what’s the best time to apply for Social Security and Medicare? How do I start that process?

__Where will I live, and do I want to downsize or upsize?

__What will I be doing once I retire, and what’s the cost associated with that? Can I actually afford to retire and do all that I want to do?

__What are my options for receiving income that best meet my lifestyle needs, including when to take required minimum distributions?

__What are the tax implications for the lifestyle I want to lead?

5 years to retirement - Financial planning to do list?

I have already transitioned to working very part time instead of full time, but my slightly younger hubby loves his job and plans to remain in it until he has 20 years of service which will bump up his Federal pension a bit. So health willing we are planning to officially "retire" at the end of 2017 when he is 65 and I am 68.

I've been researching advice on what to do in terms of financial planning to prepare for this life change and here is what I've found is recommended for us to do in 2013.

1.       Cash Flow: Write out two budgets – one with current expenses, the other with expected expenses in retirement.

2.       Investments: Use computer programs to project retirement needs and investment returns.  Discuss with a financial planner your goals and how to adjust your asset mix to meet them.

3.       Defined Benefit Retirement Plan: Ask your benefits office to project your pension in monthly and lump-sum payments

4.       IRA & 403b: Put the maximum in your plan.  Wait as long as possible to tap the money so earnings grow tax-deferred.

5.       SS: Check your earnings statement annually.

Some of this makes sense and some doesn't.

1. We have an annual budget and have tracked our actual spending for years. Since we expect to sell our house and relocate it is very hard to come up with an expected budget 5 years down the road. All we can do is continue to save as much as possible while making sure we also live each day fully.
2. I can do this online and will do so.
3. Again, this is available online.
4. We do maximize these and will do so in 2013.
5. Will do.


The bigger question that is unanswerable right now is what will our life be like in 5 years?

Will we both be healthy?
Will our children still live near each other in southern CA so that will be where we will move?
Will we still have elderly parents living on opposite sides of the country?
How will we want to spend our time? Because I have greatly reduced my work hours I am faced with this now.

How do you plan to prepare for your retirement when it is 5 years out - both financially and in terms of a satisfying lifestyle?

Planning - a fun weekend, to do list completion and more

We aren't very good about making plans for the weekend unless we have tickets to a play or something like that. I realized this morning that there are several things going on this weekend that I really want to do. We had hoped to go hiking with friends but that is delayed a week. So, here is the start of my weekend plans for fun -

Friday evening - meet the artist photography show opening at natural history museum followed by dinner out - perhaps at a burrito place we haven't been to yet.

Saturday morning - walk the dog in park and shop at farmer's market while there.We want some recently picked north Georgia apples in particular.








Sunday afternoon - mile fundraising walk for historic neighborhood firehouse followed by party for runners.











I don't think we will do all of these things, but I feel happier just thinking it!

So now to the To Do list - start report for consulting project, register for Morningside Mile, buy groceries, walk dog, make phone calls on list, etc.

What do you have planned for the weekend? 

My financial questions: When do you have to stop contributing to a ROTH IRA?

As part of my simplify challenge I made a list of financial questions I needed to get answered. Once was getting clarification on when we would need to or should stop contributing to our ROTH IRAs. I want to emphasize that the information below is what I learned from various internet sites and in no way is professional financial advice.

That being said, the answer seems to be that under current law you can continue to contribute as long as you have earned income (not investment income) and don't exceed the maximum income limits. You also cannot contribute more than your earned income. Although you have to start taking minimum withdrawals at 70 1/2,  you can still contribute if you are earning income. You earnings on your investment would continue to be tax free.

I'm not sure what we will do while we are still earning income. Once we start taking withdrawals I imagine we will not continue to contribute to our ROTH IRAs. Of course the laws pertaining to them could change at any time and that would affect our decisions as well.

Does anyone know more about this?

UPDATE: See the comment below to see how wrong information on the internet can apparently be. I like the possibility that if I am not earning income in a few years as the older spouse then we can still put money into my ROTH. Ditto for not having to withdraw.

More resources on when to take Social Security

The Wall Street Journal has a great summary article about When to Take Social Security that provides links to a variety of calculators that will help you with your planning.

What we learned on vacaton about housing decisions

In my limited observations, one of the most difficult decisions related to aging is what kind of housing to have at different stages of life.  I have seen one person handle this extremely well.  She was in her late 80s, single and healthy when she decided to sell her single family home and move into a retirement apartment complex.  She carefully disposed of everything she wasn't going to take with her, prepared her home to sell, researched the potential retirement home options with a focus on only those that were rentals and offered some additional assistance such as meals and availability of short term nursing care, and then moved forward.  Why only rentals?  She is quite aware that her situation could change suddenly requiring a greater level of assistance and she did not want her money tied up in a property that she would have to sell to be able to afford care.  Good move in light of the real estate debacle that has occurred since.

Then there is a relative who impulsively put his home up for sale without thinking through what kind of housing would come next.  The desire to be rid of the cost and effort of a single family home is understandable - I feel the same way.  Once this person started looking for the next housing options reality set in as none of them were as nice as the current home.  After much discussion and with the advice of another relative who is a realtor, he was able to cancel the sales contract with our help.  Is his current living situation ideal?  Absolutely not but a lift has been installed on the stairs and other changes can be made as needed.  Is he willing to move into the type of housing available that better meets his needs?  Not at this time.  Can he afford to stay where he is and hire additional help?  Yes.  Is he sleeping better and feeling less stressed since taking his house off the market?  Absolutely.  Just imagine the stress and difficulties if the house had been sold and no decision had been made about next steps.

My husband and I talk about where we want to live once he retires in 5 1/2 years.  We know our current home and yard are untenable.  We want to live nearer to family and probably near a coast.  We tend to focus though on where to live geographically and not on what kind of housing and financial arrangement would be appropriate.  That is something we seriously need to talk about over the next few years.

Here is a link that can help you and your loved ones think through this important decision - Senior Housing Options

Here's what I packed for vacation

I am on vacation for the next week and will post when I get back.  The dog is off to "sleep away camp" also known as her rescue foster family - she has fun there.  She didn't have much to pack - her harness & leash, her crate/bed, special treats and her raincoat.

I actually put together outfits this time before I packed.  We will be in 3 different parts of S. CA and the highs and lows will vary from 88 to 58 with a projected 91 when we get home.  We are gone 7 days counting the two travel days and here's what I am taking (plus a hat, purse, waist pack, camera, paperback books from library, sleepware, underwear and toiletries of course).  I'll use the clothes I take as exercise clothes after they are worn.  It all fits into a very full roll-a-board and backpack (with the purse inside for going on board).

2 shorts(brown and cream), 3 capris (denim, tan, black) & a blue violet dress(at the last minute I threw in a pair of lightweight jeans as weather forecast got cooler)

 4 short sleeve tops & 4 sleeveless tops

2 short sleeve cardigans & 1 long sleeve hoodie

 

 4 pairs of shoes (would be 3 but for the dressy dinner)

 4 necklaces & 3 pairs of earrings

I put together outfits - Day 1 on the plane there and Day 7 back on the plane with different shirts but the rest the same.

Day 2: Huntington Beach - walk the dog, go to the pier and out to lunch and exploring; then get dressed up to check out a restaurant for a potential wedding venue for son and fiancee (you can't tell but that is a blue violet dress with a black cardigan)

Day 3: morning/lunch in Huntington Beach; afternoon/evening in hot Pasadena with other son & his sweetie

Day 4: brunch in Pasadena followed by family reunion BBQ in west valley

 Day 5 & 6: Hanging out with FIL in west valley with outings hopefully!

We'll see how this approach works out.  Enjoy your week!

Check out my post at Baby Boomers Blog Carnival this week

Great reading over at Baby Boomers Blog Carnival including my post on an often neglected piece of retirement planning (How Long Should it Last?).

What other blog carnivals do you find helpful?

How do we use this time?

Recently I watched a TED Talk by Jane Fonda who focused on life's third act.  One thing she said, "How do we use this time?" - referring to the years after 50 - resonated with me.  It can be a challenge to use our time meaningfully while aging.  My struggles to decide what to devote my time to revolve around a series of questions.

- Should I seek out more paid work to continue to use my education and experience to contribute financially to my family or can I let that go?
- Do I seek out volunteer activities that address problems in the world that I dearly wish were solved or do I pursue those that hit the "sweet spot" of my lifelong interests and provide a "fun" quotient?
- How much time do I spend on health related activities such as exercising and creating healthy meals?
- Do I devote a few or many hours to having fun, exploring my world, sharing time with friends?
- How much time do I spend on activities that are of low or no value to me and how do I stop doing that?

I could go on.

How do you use your time during your third act?  How did you decide to use it that way?

How long should it last? Factoring replacement costs into retirement planning.

When planning for retirement we get lots of advice about setting a realistic budget and understanding how much health care and long term care might cost.  However it seems to me that little attention is paid to looking at the costs of replacing major things in our lives.  If you are renting, the list may be short but if you are a homeowner then there are potentially a lot of expenses in your future.

When we were working with a fee only financial planner a few years ago to estimate if we were on track for saving for retirement, one of the things I did was to estimate how many times in our remaining lifetime we would have to replace appliances, a roof, cars and electronics.  I made a table of every costly item that might need replacement, how old the current version was, the estimated life span of the item and projected replacement cost.  Some things might have to be replaced many times and others only once in my remaining lifetime.  The costs add up. 

Here's some estimates I found on the internet.  It could be helpful to use this information to consider your retirement plans.  I know I'm wishing I still lived in the stucco house with the clay tile roof!

Replacing a Roof

Material	Life Span (years)	Replacement cost per 100 sq. ft.
Asphalt shingles	12 - 20	$160
Clay tile	50+	$480 - $1,100
Concrete tile	50+	$300 - $375
Metal panels	25 – 40	$150 - $775
Slate	50+	$470 - $935
Wood shingles and shakes	10 - 40	$210 - $310

 

Other Household Basics

Material	Life span (years)	Replacement cost
Aluminum siding	20-50	$2.50 per square foot
Carpeting	11	$1.60-$6.50 per square foot
Exterior deck	15	$8.50-$24 per square foot
Exterior paint	7-10	20-75 cents per square foot
Garage door	20-50	$425-$1,270
Garage door opener	10	$425-$1,270
Veneer (brick, stone)	100+	$9-$13 per square foot
Vinyl floor	20-30	$1.25-$5+ per square foot
Vinyl siding	50	$1.55-$3 per square foot
Wood floor	100+	$3.50-$10+ per square foot
Wood siding	10-100	$1.50-$4.80 per square foot

A 2009 article, (By the Numbers: How long will your appliances last? It depends) gave the following estimates for a variety of home appliances.

Appliances

Appliance	Life Expectancy (years)
Air Conditioners (room)	10
Air Conditioners (central)	15
Boilers (electric)	13
Boilers (gas)	21
Compactors	6
Dehumidifiers	8
Dishwashers	9
Dryers (electric and gas)	13
Freezers	11
Furnaces (electric warm air)	15
Furnaces (gas warm air)	18
Furnaces (oil warm air)	20
Garbage Disposers	12
Humidifiers	8
Microwave Ovens	9
Range/Oven Hoods	14
Ranges (electric)	13
Ranges (gas)	15
Refrigerators	13
Refrigerators (compact)	9
Thermostats	35
Washing Machines	10
Water Heaters (electric)	11
Water Heaters (gas)	10
Water Heaters (tankless)	20+