How the hell are we supposed to retire?

soundz said:
I don't really get the point of worrying about retirement or retirement itself per say. Does it really matter if you die sipping lemonade on a beach or digging coal out of a mine? In the end you end up in the ground all the same.
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i think it is about having the choice of which to do, or not to do. sipping or digging, cause yeah, we are all heading to the same destination, but it is the journey that defines us.

stb222 said:
Stepford wives unite, move to the land of Jewish dreams that is just like Israel minus those pesky Palestinians trying to kill you all the time. The land is flat, the temps warm and the soil sandy, just ignore the are the dying people and the ones on vacation, it is your destiny.
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i hope that was a movie quote....

rick81721 said:
Or stay in stinkin nj, land of ridiculous taxes, too many people and shitty winters. Biggest negative I see in Florida is lack of mountains/big hills. Checking out s. Carolina and northern florida in may.
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This - we were on the topic of affording to retire. Being able to do things that make you smile.
Mostly we are looking at a huge mortgage, unbelievable tax rate, and rediculous cost of day-to-day living, the expense of kids.
There are reasonable places to live, and kids grow up and become self sufficient (hopefully)
the point was it can be done on a reasonable amount of cash.

------

What i've seen over the last 20 years - there is a huge difference in health from early 60s to early 80s - assuming
one of the big diseases doesn't punch your ticket. it is a slow decline, but steady. eye sight, hearing, motor & cognitive skills.
it effects everyone - some more than others. and yeah, there are exceptions (cause math)
Hopefully (y)our generation may do better - healthier food, work conditions, better understanding disease. as a kid 60s/70s, there was always someone dying of a heart attack in our family or town denville/boonton. young men (mid 30s to 50s) - this is almost unheard of now - so i'll claim moore's law is at work, and life will be extended - as will quality of that life.

I tried to define retirement for myself, but am having a hard time.
maybe waking up and wondering what to do that day?
 
soundz said:
I don't really get the point of worrying about retirement or retirement itself per say. Does it really matter if you die sipping lemonade on a beach or digging coal out of a mine? In the end you end up in the ground all the same.
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Man, you must be the life of every party you bless with your presence.
 
@fidodie it wasn't a movie quote but written in absurdity, sort of, but it's the truth. That being said, if my in laws move there, there would be a high probability that I would be there not long after. Florida is definitely in the bottom 20% of states I would like to live in.
 
It's funny this pops up again. I had been thinking of a condo investment in a place I wouldn't mind retiring. Not sure Florida would do it for me (I was eyeing Sedona) but it's something I'd like to put in the 5 year plan. Also on Saturday I learned an aquantance of mine is a financial planner. I wanted to grab her ear on this topic but the timing never worked out. Next time.

@soundz, if I'm in a coal mine near death then I won't mind going. But before then I'd like to have a little time away from the grind...
 
stb222 said:
@fidodie it wasn't a movie quote but written in absurdity, sort of, but it's the truth. That being said, if my in laws move there, there would be a high probability that I would be there not long after. Florida is definitely in the bottom 20% of states I would like to live in.
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So you have 3 choices to retire - NJ, SC or Fl. Do you stay in nj?
 
rlb said:
It's funny this pops up again. I had been thinking of a condo investment in a place I wouldn't mind retiring. Not sure Florida would do it for me (I was eyeing Sedona) but it's something I'd like to put in the 5 year plan. Also on Saturday I learned an aquantance of mine is a financial planner. I wanted to grab her ear on this topic but the timing never worked out. Next time.

@soundz, if I'm in a coal mine near death then I won't mind going. But before then I'd like to have a little time away from the grind...
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do not invest in retirement condo....absolutely not, no - at least at your age. renters will destroy it, and it will consume more money
than it makes, you can't take the loss deduction cause it is passive. the only reason to even think about something like that is because one has more money than they can spend. hence little or no interest expense, and small commitment of income stream.

create income with your money now, not more expenses! (or use it to reduce expenses)

besides, how would you know the location? We were planning on renting in a few different places as it approaches - then build the transition plan.

ktmrider said:
Why would you even think east coast ??? Northern Arizona area would be my choice . People move to Florida to die
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proximity to family - but then again, not much difference between a 2.5 hour and 5 hour plane ride.....
 
fidodie said:
do not invest in retirement condo....absolutely not, no - at least at your age.
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Good points, it was given maybe 30 seconds of thought so I hadn't considered any of that.

So that begs the question, how do people make $$ in real estate (other than developing land), flips?
 
rlb said:
So that begs the question, how do people make $$ in real estate (other than developing land), flips?
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Do all the work yourself or have friends in good places. Plenty of people make money as slum lords, you just have to know what you are getting into. You could get respectful people for your property or you could get Spinal Tap renting your place. The shorter term the rental, the higher probability you loose at somepoint.
 
rlb said:
Good points, it was given maybe 30 seconds of thought so I hadn't considered any of that.

So that begs the question, how do people make $$ in real estate (other than developing land), flips?
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What Kevin said, and they start with some $$, and no interest expense - the depreciation offsets the income rather quickly, so very little taxes.

if you have $100k invested an account collecting 7% with a 20% tax rate - that is 5%. so instead, purchase a 100k condo that rents at 1300/month with 300
in expenses. that produces 12% (less replacing the oven after it starts on fire, and the 3 months of repairs between renters.) - but you got to do it yourself,
a management company will take a large percentage (it was 50% at my vacation rental) - our hillsboro condo did well for awhile, then the sheriff got involved in one. then someone left after 2 months, the there was the flood. i think i wrote about that somewhere.

now that you have income, the interest expense on the next place can offset any taxable gain. If the place actually appreciates, it is a capital gain (there should be one
anyway, because the basis is the cost - depreciation.

it takes money to make money.....
 
rlb said:
Good points, it was given maybe 30 seconds of thought so I hadn't considered any of that.

So that begs the question, how do people make $$ in real estate (other than developing land), flips?
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they treat it like a business. as far as taxes go, there are deductions available for your expenses that are only associated with the rental property. you have to keep in mind what kind of tenants you are renting to. a lot of people also outsource the management of the rental property, so they hire a firm to take care of everything for them (repairs, collecting rent, yadda yadda). the firm takes a big cut of the rent and you just end up getting a check in the mail.


**edit** pat already responded...
i think what pat is getting at is that if you have to have a loan on a rental property, you are most likely going to lose money on it. if you can buy it cash, then you'll have a positive cash flow from the rental as long as you screen tenants and do a lot of repairs yourself. if you outsource it, then you'll obviously be cutting down on the scratch you take in.
 
Just received this. Now I can retire!

Attn:,

I am Jin Chung,I am the Internal Auditor of the Wing Hang Bank Ltd, Johnston Road Branch 131-133 Johnston Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong.An Iraqi Name Bashir Al Basaer, a business man made a numbered fixed deposit of (346,736,899.68 HKD) valued to US$45,500,000.00.Upon maturity several notices was sent to him, even during the war,(2005).

Again after the war another notification was sent and still no response came from him. We later found out that Bashir Al Basaer and his family had been killed during the war in Gunfire that hit their home where his personal oil well was. After further investigation it was also discovered that Bashir Al Basaer did not declare any next of kin in his official papers including the paper work of his bank deposit. So, US$45,500,000.00 is still lying in my bank and I need you to act as the next of Kin to claim the fund. You will also be required.

(1) To Assist in the transfer of the said sum to your account
(2) Advise on lucrative areas for investment in your country.
If you agree to render your service 45% of US$45,500,000.00 for you,55%
for me, email me your Telephone/fax # if you are interested.

Thank you.

Jin Chung.
 
For the East Coast vs West Coast the proximity to people/family is a huge deal. Florida is pretty far but VA/NC/SC is definitely within driving distance. Sure you can say a plane trip is quick but the cost adds up and it's hard to do last minute. Plus 99% of us live in NJ suburbia so visiting people etc requires a car.

I've been half-assed looking for the past 6 years or so. West coast seems to have a few options but it's incredibly hard to go and search out places. Sure it's nice to visit some but it's hard to get a feel for what life would be like there if you are only there a few days on Vacation. Sedona was mentioned. Yeah beautiful place but I'd be shooting hippies after a week. But then again Flagstaff would be cool or somewhere close to Sedona but how do you realistically feel out those places?

I've got a few checkboxes of must-haves and am currently now leaning towards VA. Cost of living isn't as low as NC/SC but there's a few things I like more but there's plenty more areas I need to visit before I make any decisions. I definitely can't be to far from good culture which is a potential problem in a lot of those cheaper areas...
 
rlb said:
So that begs the question, how do people make $$ in real estate (other than developing land), flips?
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get married
buy a house
fix house yourself
????
profit

for the record, i rode Mahlon at 830am and was back home in charlotte at 11:15pm that evening. the drive is a day eater, but a weekend trip for family needs/emergencies is not too baad.
 
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