FREEDOM!

[Packratona!]

Both of us retired as of today, yippee! We will be FI within a month or so, paying off our mortgage. Will be living officially under the taxable level from now on for an indeterminate time, and completely debt free. This will enable us to get the O'Dumbocare health insurance (for what it is worth). The changes we are making to be able to do all this: park the paid-for car, biking, walking taking bus to get places on a regular basis except for an occasional trip. This way we can cut down on car insurance cost, repair bills, gas, and make the car last us for years more. We can do this because of where we live. Not eating out unless someone gives us a gift card. Cooking everything from scratch unless we get a prepared mix or something free. Purchasing and cooking food economically. Make our own bread much of the time. Make our own yogurt. Not buying any more clothes except when absolutely needed socks, uw, shoes will eventually wear out). Bowing out of most gift-giving, using up stockpiles for occasional wedding gifts and the like. One shared tracfone for emergencies/out and about (the one who is out uses). Land line with unlimited incoming calls (you call me, or if I call you, hang up and call me back). Lower level of internet (not highest available, but still ok). No cable. Library usage (order books and movies that we want, then renew a couple times online to use longer). No purchasing of books. Continue usage of store, manufacturers coupons, rebates and store sales for purchase of toiletries, cleaning supplies and drugstore items, though honestly we have a huge stockpile to chip away at that will last a long time. Cut our own hair. Cat going off the expensive flea meds.; he never had fleas and is an indoor cat so we were just doing it "in case". No soda or alcohol purchases unless we get it for gifts. Changing the fridge filter half as often or less than the manual says to. Air drying clothes except for a short tumble to shake the wrinkles out.
To cut our future living expenses down even further, now that we have the time, we will be decluttering over the next year or two; gradually culling things we don't need to keep. This will enable us to move to a lower cost area; moving, storage and housing costs will be less if we have less stuff. We may end up staying right where we are but it would be nice to have some different viable options for living even more economically (houseboat? mountain cabin? overseas?)
Anyway that is about it; I will report back in a few months to let everyone know how it is all going. Love this forum; this, Amy D., and Your Money or Your Life were my main inspirations.

[Simplemind]

Welcome to retirement. We are both in our 50's, living much the same way and loving being out of the rat race.

[iris lily]

Good for you, yay!
I am counting down. The health care thing has been a big worry of mine the past week but I put a number on the worst case scenario and guess what--we can afford that! so no more worry.

[JaneV2.0]

"O'dumbocare?" Nice characterization for a policy that seems to be helping you. I'm glad that it enabled you to retire early.

[pinkytoe]

Very nice...I think other than health insurance that one of the biggest keys to a simple retirement is choosing the right spot to live. Would be curious to know what part of the country you live in. Where we are now is not retirement do-able on our income.

[frugal-one]

Regarding the phone thing.... Magic Jack has been wonderful for us. It is $29 per year and you can call anywhere, anytime in the US (Canada too, I think) for free ... plus other countries at a reduced charge. It is totally worth it. We do still have our landline but use this strictly for long distance. YLMV

[Packratona!]

Regarding the phone thing.... Magic Jack has been wonderful for us. It is $29 per year and you can call anywhere, anytime in the US (Canada too, I think) for free ... plus other countries at a reduced charge. It is totally worth it. We do still have our landline but use this strictly for long distance. YLMV

Yeah we looked at that but you do have to purchase the phone to begin with as well as the $29 a year. And the landline is a package deal with the internet service that made it a better deal as I recall.

[Packratona!]

"O'dumbocare?" Nice characterization for a policy that seems to be helping you. I'm glad that it enabled you to retire early.

Was expecting this but won't pick up the gauntlet, sorry!

[Packratona!]

Very nice...I think other than health insurance that one of the biggest keys to a simple retirement is choosing the right spot to live. Would be curious to know what part of the country you live in. Where we are now is not retirement do-able on our income.
Yeah, the trick is to find a location that has a housing situation you can be content with, that your retirement budget can handle. It is important to also match that with a location that does not require ownership of a vehicle.

[Dhiana]

I want to say congrats on your retirement but I'm a bit confused.
You couldn't make your own bread, hang your clothes out to dry, use the library, live simply before retirement? Understandably you can now reduce your car needs, etc but this retirement sounds more like you are hunkering down. Simply surviving vs. thriving.

If reading books/watching movies and home cooking in isolation are your passions then it sounds great, but I see nothing about interacting with friends/family or the rest of the world much.

[Packratona!]

I want to say congrats on your retirement but I'm a bit confused.
You couldn't make your own bread, hang your clothes out to dry, use the library, live simply before retirement? Understandably you can now reduce your car needs, etc but this retirement sounds more like you are hunkering down. Simply surviving vs. thriving.

If reading books/watching movies and home cooking in isolation are your passions then it sounds great, but I see nothing about interacting with friends/family or the rest of the world much.

Sorry about confusion; yes I did do a lot of that before retirement, which is why we could retire early. The major difference right now in retirement is determining on using the car very little. However we also are cutting way back on gift giving and clothes and other purchases now that we are retired. Not working in itself makes us able to spend less. We are hunkering down a bit for a while just to de-stress and get some things done around the house. I am sure that won't last long, ha-ha! Not anti-social completely, however; we will be seeing family when we can, and I have friends to see as much as I want also. These are kind of self-imposed restrictions, as in order to do more travel/buying/eating out we would have to at least work a part time job, and most if not all of that would be eaten up by increased health care costs as well as the normal costs of working. Neither one of us wants to work full time just for health care. There comes a point at which working burns you out so much it starts effecting your health, and that is worse than not having health insurance. We are going to watch the budget for a while to see how it goes with "simply surviving". I guess it depends on how one defines "thriving"; your definition might be different than mine or ours. Working at job you hate is not thriving. I am not into watching movies, but my husband does occasionally, in which case I was just pointing out that now that we are retired we will get them from the library. Which we did before, however before we would occasionally also go the the theater, which we won't be able to afford any more. Not being able to do so however I don't classify as merely surviving; it is just having priorities and making choices. As far as cooking is concerned; I actually normally cook for a great many persons each week, however yes in retirement that is something we will plan to cut back on. People will have to understand. Do I have to keep on working at a job that make me sick so I can spend hours each week cooking and feeding others? I don't think so. Anyway we are going to try this for a while. And I will still cook and feed others, just not as much. However, point well taken, and I will strive to maintain as much social contact as possible given our situation. But first we do want to hunker down for a while. We need it.

[Float On]

Congrats.
I meet so many people who retire here and then get bored puttering around their house and garden so they get a part-time job, make friends, do things and find value in their day. There are a lot of "fun part-time jobs here that come with perks - free shows, local discounts, etc".

[Packratona!]

Congrats.
I meet so many people who retire here and then get bored puttering around their house and garden so they get a part-time job, make friends, do things and find value in their day. There are a lot of "fun part-time jobs here that come with perks - free shows, local discounts, etc".

Actually I have been retired for almost 10 years, and I have made amazing new friends since I retired; something I did not have time for when I worked. It is just my husband who has just retired; we will see what happens with that but at least we will be learning what life will be like on a low income. It should be interesting! I would prefer to be free of the commitment of any job, to allow time for what I really want to do.

[Lainey]

That's great that you can both be retired now, Packratona. I'm curious, what was the tipping point to get you in the direction of an earlier retirement? Was it reading the book Your Money or Your Life? or something similar?
I'm always curious to hear the aha! moment stories, if you care to share -

[Packratona!]

That's great that you can both be retired now, Packratona. I'm curious, what was the tipping point to get you in the direction of an earlier retirement? Was it reading the book Your Money or Your Life? or something similar?
I'm always curious to hear the aha! moment stories, if you care to share -

Actually I read Your Money or Your Life, as well as Amy D's book and many others starting probably about 14 or more years ago. I took up ideas from these books and put them into practice so that some day I would be able to be financially independent.

For both of us, when we retired, we just got tired of the bureaucracy, the politics, having our employers own our time. Also the nature of our employment had changed, because of many issues beyond our control, and we were powerless to change things. It came to the point where it was drastically effecting our health and well-being; the stress, the lack of sleep, the frustration, the anger. We were both highly respected and were valuable, long-term employees. We just reached a point when we decided we had had enough. We will not be eligible for low cost health care through Obamacare until 2015 when our yearly income will be low enough. So we will have to survive with no health care until the end of the year. However, we came to the decision that our health was not worth staying in our jobs. Will either of us work again for pay? Doubtful but never say never! We just know we don't want to have to work at a full-time job that makes us sick, just to be able to get healthcare. Are we taking a risk, a chance that things won't work out? Yes, a big chance, a big gamble...but staying in the job would have been a gamble also.

[awakenedsoul]

Packratona,
I enjoyed reading your story. I'm doing most of those things, too. I am on the Silver plan for healthcare, and am also considered low income. I'm paying about what I used to pay with a catastrophic plan. Taking the bus really does make your car last a lot longer. (I try to drive just one day a week, combining errands.) I'm still pursuing work, but narrowing it down to those that are dream jobs. I also enjoy a little bit of part time teaching.
What will you do if there is a medical emergency this year? I don't mean to be negative, I had no health insurance when I was in my thirties and struggling. I totally get what you are saying about the job situation and the negativity...
Great thread!

[Gardenarian]

Congratulations on entering this new stage of life! It sounds like you have all your ducks in a row.

I took the summer off - a little taste of retirement - and I'm liking it! - though I do find myself a little at loose ends somedays. I think that's a good thing - I'm figuring out what it is I really WANT to do.

[Packratona!]

Packratona,
I enjoyed reading your story. I'm doing most of those things, too. I am on the Silver plan for healthcare, and am also considered low income. I'm paying about what I used to pay with a catastrophic plan. Taking the bus really does make your car last a lot longer. (I try to drive just one day a week, combining errands.) I'm still pursuing work, but narrowing it down to those that are dream jobs. I also enjoy a little bit of part time teaching.
What will you do if there is a medical emergency this year? I don't mean to be negative, I had no health insurance when I was in my thirties and struggling. I totally get what you are saying about the job situation and the negativity...
Great thread!

If there is a medical emergency the rest of this year, we I believe would be allowed to use IRAs for that even though we are not old enough to start drawing.We also have a Roth we can start drawing from if we need to. But hopefully that will not happen! Until then, the next 6 months we will avoid close contact with crowds (no kissing, hand shaking, etc.) and also avoid doctor's offices and hospitals as they are germy places. Also will try to avoid both of us flying at the same time, as usually at least one of us gets really sick after flying. We want to do that so the well person can take care of the sick person who flew. After the end of the year, we would not have to be quite so careful, as we should be able to qualify for the O'Dumbocare subsidy by then. Of course we will have to pay the fine for this year.

[Packratona!]

Congratulations on entering this new stage of life! It sounds like you have all your ducks in a row.

I took the summer off - a little taste of retirement - and I'm liking it! - though I do find myself a little at loose ends somedays. I think that's a good thing - I'm figuring out what it is I really WANT to do.

We are taking advantage of both being off, to purge/declutter our house. It is not much fun but is extremely worthwhile. Will have to re-read Don Aslett's books for inspiration! After that will do a lot of painting and fixing up to get it ready for possibly moving at some point (no rush). These are all worthy goals. Right now I am looking at the possibility of moving out of the country for a while, it would be less expensive than our situation though we are in a good situation actually here if we can manage to live under the taxable level, which we are planning to be able to do without too much trouble (aside from the lack of health care). Also if we make that move we would be able to get health care for much less than what we can purchase it for here; we would be able to work part time there possibly without the issue of losing low cost health care which we will lose if we earn much of anything here next year. We are looking at Ecuador, Panama, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

[herbgeek]

You can withdraw from your 401K fund or IRA before 59 1/2- you'd need to seek legal help to do this, but in effect, you take the same amount of withdrawal each year based on your life expectancy. Its a little complicated, which is why most folks don't know about that.

[Packratona!]

You can withdraw from your 401K fund or IRA before 59 1/2- you'd need to seek legal help to do this, but in effect, you take the same amount of withdrawal each year based on your life expectancy. Its a little complicated, which is why most folks don't know about that.

Thanks, I assume you mean for the purpose of health emergencies?

[Valley]

I'm really glad that you and your husband will both be able to be retired and away from the stress of working. But, I really wish you didn't have to be so rude in using the term O'Dumbocare. I'm sure that you think it is amusing, but it really reflects a sense of crassness on your part. Especially, when you will be able to take advantage of the ACA to your advantage. You made your point the first time you used the term. I don't usually respond to these kind of remarks, but your rudeness in this situation was too much to ignore. Good luck to both of you in paring down your lives to the bare minimum.

[frugal-one]

Yeah we looked at that but you do have to purchase the phone to begin with as well as the $29 a year. And the landline is a package deal with the internet service that made it a better deal as I recall.

We did not purchase a phone???? used one we had. YLMV

[frugal-one]

We are taking advantage of both being off, to purge/declutter our house. It is not much fun but is extremely worthwhile. Will have to re-read Don Aslett's books for inspiration! After that will do a lot of painting and fixing up to get it ready for possibly moving at some point (no rush). These are all worthy goals. Right now I am looking at the possibility of moving out of the country for a while, it would be less expensive than our situation though we are in a good situation actually here if we can manage to live under the taxable level, which we are planning to be able to do without too much trouble (aside from the lack of health care). Also if we make that move we would be able to get health care for much less than what we can purchase it for here; we would be able to work part time there possibly without the issue of losing low cost health care which we will lose if we earn much of anything here next year. We are looking at Ecuador, Panama, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

Have you travelled to these places? Have you ever lived outside of the US? Costa Rica and Ecuador are lovely but I cannot imagine living there full time. As they say, a nice place to visit.

[Packratona!]

We did not purchase a phone???? used one we had. YLMV

Looked at it again yeah you are right just have to purchase the Majicjack for $59. It still comes out cheaper to get a package deal with our internet company.

[frugal-one]

Looked at it again yeah you are right just have to purchase the Majicjack for $59. It still comes out cheaper to get a package deal with our internet company.

Weird.. Magic Jack due in a few days for $29????? We will renew.

[Packratona!]

Have you travelled to these places? Have you ever lived outside of the US? Costa Rica and Ecuador are lovely but I cannot imagine living there full time. As they say, a nice place to visit.

Yes, I have lived in that area of the world as well as other areas outside the U.S. . There are a lot of Americans living in those places, especially for retirement. I can certainly imagine living there full time.

[Packratona!]

Weird.. Magic Jack due in a few days for $29????? We will renew.

Yes as I understand it the initial purchase is $59 then after that it is just $29 a year. We checked with our internet company and the package deal was better with internet plus land line phone. The deal with the phone is, unlimited long distance, if they call us, if we initiate call we have limited minutes. I don't think it will be a problem at all. Magicjack does seem like a great deal however.

[Spartana]

Congrats Packratonia! I think you'll really enjoy retirement, and even a bare-bones one can be a wonderful thing. When I first left work I lived very frugally for several years on just a few hundred bucks a month for my basic expenses. It was great. So many free and low cost things to do out there that you can be as engage and active as you want if you choose. I once wrote what turned out to be a very long list of all the stuff that I could do for free that I'd really enjoy. Ended up that I actually enjoyed those free things even more so then the more expensive ones. So other then budget travel, something I would give up in a heart beat if it meant having to go back to work to pay for, I found a really great life on a barebones budget. However, if I was you, I'd look for some kind of temporary medical insurance to cover you until you can qualify for the ACA. www.ehealthinsurance.com has many temporary plans available. not sure how much they cost, and they don't cover pre-existing conditions, but you might be able to find something affordable until you get an ACA plan.

[Packratona!]

Congrats Packratonia! I think you'll really enjoy retirement, and even a bare-bones one can be a wonderful thing. When I first left work I lived very frugally for several years on just a few hundred bucks a month for my basic expenses. It was great. So many free and low cost things to do out there that you can be as engage and active as you want if you choose. I once wrote what turned out to be a very long list of all the stuff that I could do for free that I'd really enjoy. Ended up that I actually enjoyed those free things even more so then the more expensive ones. So other then budget travel, something I would give up in a heart beat if it meant having to go back to work to pay for, I found a really great life on a barebones budget. However, if I was you, I'd look for some kind of temporary medical insurance to cover you until you can qualify for the ACA. www.ehealthinsurance.com (http://www.ehealthinsurance.com) has many temporary plans available. not sure how much they cost, and they don't cover pre-existing conditions, but you might be able to find something affordable until you get an ACA plan.

Thanks Spartana for the encouragement. I agree with all you say, it is great to be retired. Amazing that the participation rate for employment today is only about 50%. We are looking into some temporary health care would have to pay for it plus the fine. It is a risk, we could go bankrupt if either of us has a serious health issue between now and the end of the year. We will see. I am excited because I went to a party yesterday and met a very nice young lady who is in dental school, she said she could get us in as patients at the school so that will lower our dental costs substantially. $35 for cleaning, full xrays, very thorough exam. Living in a city has it's advantages! I am so amazed at all the ways I am still learning to lower our living costs. Exciting!

[Packratona!]

Very nice...I think other than health insurance that one of the biggest keys to a simple retirement is choosing the right spot to live. Would be curious to know what part of the country you live in. Where we are now is not retirement do-able on our income.

We live in South Florida. It is the best weather in the nation, I love it. Love our location. We can walk and bike everywhere as well as take buses, trains, and planes very easily. I am looking forward to trying living with very little car use. Will be interesting to see how long we can go with no car use for day to day living. We will still use it for longer trips however; the Florida Keys are a little over an hour away, and we love to snorkle. Also we love trips to the Everglades to hike and view the incredible wildlife. That is also about an hour away. No state income taxes. Lots of very reasonably priced tropical fruits; one friend brought me mangos from her tree this week, another friend brought me jackfruit the week before. Yum! Also tons of international restaurants and grocery stores around.
We bought at near the peak, so "lost" half the value of our house, however lived in it all these years and now it is slowly regaining its value.

[awakenedsoul]

Packratona! You might like this website as far as dental care: www.zellies.com. I've been using her system for over 10 years, and no longer have to see a dentist.
I am able to bike and take the bus everywhere, too. I do use the car once a week to keep it running, and for things like Costco stock ups and filling my 5 gallon water bottles. It's really made a difference in my gas bills. My auto insurance is also lower. I didn't realize it when I bought this cottage, but it's an ideal location for retirement. I'm within a few miles of grocery stores, the library, post office, Costco, the gym, and local parks.

I'm spending the day on housekeeping, and it's nice. When I was working long hours, I was so exhausted when I got home. Now I can clean at my leisure and enjoy a pleasant home environment. Glad to hear your home is regaining its value. It's fun hearing about your retirement. You sound very enthusiastic.

[Packratona!]

Packratona! You might like this website as far as dental care: www.zellies.com (http://www.zellies.com). I've been using her system for over 10 years, and no longer have to see a dentist.
I am able to bike and take the bus everywhere, too. I do use the car once a week to keep it running, and for things like Costco stock ups and filling my 5 gallon water bottles. It's really made a difference in my gas bills. My auto insurance is also lower. I didn't realize it when I bought this cottage, but it's an ideal location for retirement. I'm within a few miles of grocery stores, the library, post office, Costco, the gym, and local parks.

I'm spending the day on housekeeping, and it's nice. When I was working long hours, I was so exhausted when I got home. Now I can clean at my leisure and enjoy a pleasant home environment. Glad to hear your home is regaining its value. It's fun hearing about your retirement. You sound very enthusiastic.

Thanks awakenedsoul. By the way, where can I get one of those 5 gallon bottles for free (empty)? I bought one of those pumps you attach to the top, plan to fill use it beside our sink if there is another hurricane warning and no water from the tap. So easy to use for hand washing and also rinsing the dishes. I may have to just go buy one, where do you buy them? I have never noticed them for sale just know that if you sign up for delivery with a company they bring them to your home or business.

[awakenedsoul]

Packratona! We have water stores here. I got mine there. It's much cheaper than those services that deliver. I buy several gallons in advance and get a discount. My five gallon jugs have a tap. It's really convenient. Sometimes they shut off our water here because the pipes in this area are old. It's also just nice to have in case of an emergency. Sounds like a good idea to have with your hurricanes.

[Tussiemussies]

Sounds great! Congratulations on your retirement!

[Blackdog Lin]

Just found this thread, and would like to add my congratulations on your new retirement lifestyle. You sound like you have your ducks all in a very nice row.

I am a fairly new retiree (October '12) and absolutely love it. Life as it should have been all my life. Having the time to easily be frugal and simple: priceless.

[Packratona!]

Thank you Tussiemussies and Blackdog Lin.
Yes we are having a ball both being retired now. SO nice not to be rushed or harrassed. And to have the time for free or very low cost things that bring so much joy...

[awakenedsoul]

I agree. I love puttering in the garden, reading on the porch, walking the dogs at a leisurely pace, and taking the bus. It's so nice not to feel like I have to rush. Didn't realize how pressured I felt when I was working so much...

[Rachel]

Again, with the O'Dumbocare crack. These forums are not supposed to be political. This policy is helping you, by the way.

[Rachel]

PS--Don't bother replying to my post, I'm not reading this thread any more.

[Packratona!]

Hello All; thought I would check in and let everyone know how things are going after 6 months of FI. Especially since a lot of people seem to be reading my thread, thanks for the audience! Things have gone really really well!!!

I am enjoying learning about gardening in a city. This week a neighbor gave me some rosemary to plant, and I gave her some basil and cilantro seeds from my plants that went to seed. I am also experimenting with a planting the bottoms of some turnips I ate; stuck them in pots and they are growing and flowering; we will see if they make seeds! I have lots of beautiful butterflies that visit my patio!

We continue to declutter and downsize, that is very time consuming and quite a process. But it will be all worth it in the end.

Today we went to a local farmers market and bought some rutabagas, Chinese or napa cabbage (not sure which is which), fresh beets, some cactus fruit, green beans, jumbo eggs, tofu, a lot of day old bread rye, etc, ) from a local bakery, and a lot of other stuff, all for very good prices of about a dollar a pound average.

We have not done too much traveling as we are having too much fun doing things locally and at home. Next month however we are planning on joining family members in Orlando, where they have already rented a house and also a time share condo, and they want us to join them. Should be a very low or no cost trip as we will will be riding along with some of them and also staying in their rented house.

I am getting all the social life I desire at this stage, and get together with local friends once a week or whenever I want. I also am able to spend some time helping a needy elderly neighbour who has no living relatives.

My one complaint lately is that I don't have enough time to read! But hopefully things will calm down after a while.

We did end up having to do without health insurance for a half year, since we could not afford the required health plan. But now we have a plan, for what it is worth, however like many others, we lost our doctors, who we have had for a long time, and have had to choose doctors who have inferior ratings. Also the choice of hospitals is limited. We are contemplating moving to another area of the state which has better coverage (such as out of network coverage) at a better price. Because it does limit our ability to travel; for instance the hospital across the street from us is not part of our plan, so we have to travel to a different city to reach the only hospital where we are covered. Not sure how that will work out if we call an ambulance, as if we call for an ambulance it will automatically take us to the nearest hospital (where we are not covered). I assume we will have to pay for our own ambulance to carry us to the hospital in another city where we are covered. Because the health care issues are in such turmoil in this country right now and will be for the foreseeable future, that is one area where it is difficult for individuals (and companies) to plan. Friday I go to meet my new doctor.

One thing that has not worked out as well as I had hoped, is that I am not using my bike as often as I would like; it is just SO convenient to hop in the car to run errands that are less than 2 miles away and are easily bikeable. I am sure that if we actually sold the car, it would be doable, however we are not willing to take that step at this time. Mr. Money Mustache would be so disappointed ha-ha! But hopefully I will get back into it soon. We really are not using the car all that much and are within our plan for yearly milage. Gas costs have gone down too so those costs are well within that goal we had set up. I consider the car to be an expensive, discretionary "frill" for our circumstance; nice to have and we enjoy it, however it is not really a necessity as we live in a large city with lots of different types of public transportation.

I am still struggling with eating more healthy food; it has been tempting to purchase (and eat) post holiday chocolate bought at 80% off clearance sales! Also when I eat potluck at friends' houses we all really EAT! My goal to lose 50 pounds in two years is still within sight, and I have just purchased a new food scale. That is how I lose weight, by weighing my food and recording i, with a very gradual reduction in weight of food consumed over time (with the corresponding reduction in my body weight). The plan that I have developed works well!

The long and the short of it, is that I STILL am learning new ways and new skills, to spend less and have more fun. It's amazing! Lots of ideas for projects; will keep you all posted!

[SteveinMN]

Glad to hear the good news! It is a big transition, and not something to expect to accomplish all at once. But it sounds like you're doing well!

[Teacher Terry]

Glad you are enjoying yourself. Traveling is one thing that my hubby & I are doing more of. We will take a month trip in our rv to see friends, family, yellowstone & Grand Tetons. Then in May 2016 we plan to go to Hawaii for a week with family. Our next trip after that is Ireland & Scotland. We went to Poland in Oct.

[awakenedsoul]

Teacher Terry, Wow! All of that traveling sounds marvelous! Good for you!

Packratona, Glad to hear things are going so well. Since I last posted on this thread, I've gone car free. I think you're wise to have a car, if you need it. My boyfriend has one, so I have kind of a safety net. I like the bus, but it can be tiring. I feel like I have to take recovery days after audition days. (It takes me 2 and a half hours each way to get to the studios in North Hollywood.) All of that sitting makes my muscles ache...

About the health insurance: I had a bike accident and the ambulance took me to our local hospital. Now there is an issue because the hospital wasn't in my network. I was unconscious, so I think they will have to cover it. They are still settling the case, and it happened in Sept. I use an acupuncturist instead of a doctor. But, like you, I'd have to travel to get a doctor in my network. (By bus this means a three hour trip each way....)

Hope it all works out for you. You sound really happy...

[Packratona!]

Glad you are enjoying yourself. Traveling is one thing that my hubby & I are doing more of. We will take a month trip in our rv to see friends, family, yellowstone & Grand Tetons. Then in May 2016 we plan to go to Hawaii for a week with family. Our next trip after that is Ireland & Scotland. We went to Poland in Oct.


That sounds great! We plan to travel more eventually. Ireland and Scotland sound great.

[Packratona!]

That is interesting about your hospital experience awakenedsoul. Like I said, we may move to another area just to be able to get on a decent plan that will cover emergency room visits out of network. Problematic to travel without that.

[awakenedsoul]

Packratona, I hope you don't have to move, just for that. You're smart to be thinking about all of that stuff now.

[Packratona!]

Thank you awakenedsoul. We want to be able to travel in retirement, and being able to afford a plan that covers out-of-network care including more than one hospital in our area is important. On the other hand, I visited my new Obamacare doctor today for the first time, and all I had to do was walk across the street; I can see my house from her office! It appears that if we have to have an emergency room visit our plan will cover it at other hospitals, but not if they admit you. If we need to be admitted we would have to pay out of pocket for an ambulance to take us to the hospital where we are covered.

However, better options for hospital care is not the only reason we are thinking about moving. My husband wants to get out of a city for the peace, quiet and dark night skies. I would like to have more space for gardening. We also would be moving to be nearer one of our 3 kids, though we would be leaving 1 here if we move.

[Blackdog Lin]

Adding my congratulations on everything working out so well for you. So glad you are so happy in your retirement.....

[Packratona!]

Adding my congratulations on everything working out so well for you. So glad you are so happy in your retirement.....

Thank you Blackdog Lin. Really I am having a ball. Actually I have been retired since age 47 but now we are both retired and FI. So even better! Still contemplating taking off to dwell outside of US or at least on the road for at least part of the time, trying to figure out the logistics. First thing is to spend this year downsizing! Always a good thing!