Debt Dumpers 2021

[Nettlelondon]

I am in the UK too and about the same age so I know the frustrations with the changes to state retirement age, particularly for women. I am in a slightly different position than you in that I am married, childfree (so my inheritors will also be nieces/nephews if there is anything left) and currently out of the workforce due to wider family requirements.

I don't know if you have done so but it may be worth visiting a reputable independent financial advisor to just assess where you are in terms of funding your retirement needs. We did it a couple of years ago and were rather surprised and a few friends have done it too. One of the friends had thought he needed to keep working at his current earnings level for several more years. However, after a realistic assessment of the situation he realised things aren't as bad as he thought. He hasn't changed anything as he knows that the longer he keeps working at his current income the easier his retirement will be, but it has completely changed his mindset and he is a lot happier now. A good starting point is to look at the CAB advice on financial advice https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/getting-financial-advice/ and then make sure that anyone you think about talking to is registered with the FCA.

When you have been a saver all your life relaxing the purse strings can be difficult, but what is the point of the hard work if you don't enjoy some of the fruits of it? And 2020 has certainly brought that in to sharp focus.

 

[npatellye]

I've read every message on this thread and noticed everyone seems to be from the US. Can I ask a few questions that'll means it'll more sense to me? I find it interesting knowing how other countries work.

1. Do you have a state pensionable age? In the UK it's a moving goalpost at the moment as people are living longer. When I left school in 1986 a woman's retirement age was 60 but it's now 67 before I'm eligible for the state pension.
2. Do you have a state pension? I noticed all the acronyms but I'm not sure which are private and which are state-assisted.

I'm a nurse so been lucky enough to keep my job throughout the pandemic. Last year I didn't spend much on frivolous items e.g. holidays, clothes, socialising etc due to lockdown and restrictions, so I bought a much-needed new car and next month it's a complete bathroom refit (had old one for 17 years). I don't smoke and only have the occasional glass of wine when dining out with friends. My biggest expense is holidays.

I'm 52 this year and intend to retire at 65 when I can access some of my NHS pension, and supplement it with savings until I can access my state pension at 67. However if this pandemic has taught me anything it's not to put all my eggs in my retirement basket.

That said, it'll take a change in mindset as I'm in the habit of saving, it makes me feel safe and secure and I don't know why I need to. I don't have any credit card or loan debt, and don't have any dependents so no need to provide for anyone after I've gone. Besides I own my home, which my much-loved nephew will inherit when I'm pushing up the daisies.

So my financial goal is not to be so uptight with money and allow myself to spend a little more and save less. As the saying goes - there's no pockets in a shroud.

1. I don’t know about a state pensionable age. At 67 (I think it’s 67), people can collect social security at the national level. I just turned 40 so that’s a very long way off for me, if social security even exists by then.

2. Social security is the closest thing we have, I guess. My husband and I fund our future retirement through paycheck deductions, IRAs, and saving on our own.

I pay heavily into the teachers’ retirement fund in our state, even though I’m no longer in the K-12 classroom (there’s a loophole that allows state employees to continue paying into if they’ve been 100% vested prior to becoming a state employee). I should technically be eligible to collect my pension from there at 37.5 years of service, which would mean age 62.5 since teaching wasn’t my first career out of college. I don’t expect to ever see my teachers retirement money, to be honest. That’s why I fund my other investment accounts as heavily as possible. Since I’m a certified K-12 teacher in a state designated shortage area, I could potentially collect my pension and still work and earn up to 66% of full salary once I retire. Many retirees in my certification area (world language) take various part time roles and long term sub roles in their retirement.

My husband should be eligible to collect full retirement pension from his job when he reaches 25 years of service, which he will reach at age 45 (in about 4 years). However, given the nature of his job, he can collect his pension and then also continue to be employed. He will definitely continue working past his eligibility age as our kids will only be 12 and 10 and the cost of living here in CT is exorbitant.

 

[nursejackie]

I am in the UK too and about the same age so I know the frustrations with the changes to state retirement age, particularly for women. I am in a slightly different position than you in that I am married, childfree (so my inheritors will also be nieces/nephews if there is anything left) and currently out of the workforce due to wider family requirements.

I don't know if you have done so but it may be worth visiting a reputable independent financial advisor to just assess where you are in terms of funding your retirement needs. We did it a couple of years ago and were rather surprised and a few friends have done it too. One of the friends had thought he needed to keep working at his current earnings level for several more years. However, after a realistic assessment of the situation he realised things aren't as bad as he thought. He hasn't changed anything as he knows that the longer he keeps working at his current income the easier his retirement will be, but it has completely changed his mindset and he is a lot happier now. A good starting point is to look at the CAB advice on financial advice https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/getting-financial-advice/ and then make sure that anyone you think about talking to is registered with the FCA.

When you have been a saver all your life relaxing the purse strings can be difficult, but what is the point of the hard work if you don't enjoy some of the fruits of it? And 2020 has certainly brought that in to sharp focus.

Thanks for all the information. I'm in the NHS pension but didn't become a nurse in my thirties and also took time out of the NHS to work in Australia for 3 years so I've only got 10.5 years contributions at the moment. Realistically I need to work full time until 65 (September 2034) as even then I'll only have 24 years paid in. I can claim the contributions in the 2008 scheme at 65 without penalty, but if I take the 2015 scheme at 65 the early penalty is 11%. I can take a lump sum without early penalty (which I intend to do) but that reduces the monthly pension even more. Saying that, I can't imagine giving up nursing altogether, if I'm able to function as a nurse I think I'd still be picking up the odd bank shift after retirement.

Of course reaching retirement age may not happen (my dad and 3 of my grandparents didn't live that long), also what level of fitness/activity will I have if I do? I don't want to be a rich pensioner who can't enjoy it, and have nothing now when I'm fit and able to do things. If only we had a crystal ball.........................

 

[DisneyMandC]

I've read every message on this thread and noticed everyone seems to be from the US. Can I ask a few questions that'll means it'll more sense to me? I find it interesting knowing how other countries work.

1. Do you have a state pensionable age? In the UK it's a moving goalpost at the moment as people are living longer. When I left school in 1986 a woman's retirement age was 60 but it's now 67 before I'm eligible for the state pension.
2. Do you have a state pension? I noticed all the acronyms but I'm not sure which are private and which are state-assisted.

I'm a nurse so been lucky enough to keep my job throughout the pandemic. Last year I didn't spend much on frivolous items e.g. holidays, clothes, socialising etc due to lockdown and restrictions, so I bought a much-needed new car and next month it's a complete bathroom refit (had old one for 17 years). I don't smoke and only have the occasional glass of wine when dining out with friends. My biggest expense is holidays.

I'm 52 this year and intend to retire at 65 when I can access some of my NHS pension, and supplement it with savings until I can access my state pension at 67. However if this pandemic has taught me anything it's not to put all my eggs in my retirement basket.

That said, it'll take a change in mindset as I'm in the habit of saving, it makes me feel safe and secure and I don't know why I need to. I don't have any credit card or loan debt, and don't have any dependents so no need to provide for anyone after I've gone. Besides I own my home, which my much-loved nephew will inherit when I'm pushing up the daisies.

So my financial goal is not to be so uptight with money and allow myself to spend a little more and save less. As the saying goes - there's no pockets in a shroud.

The "state pension" here would be Social Security. While the goalposts do move, it's based on the year that you're born (to some extent), and also how long you're willing to work. For example, my mom was born in 1959 and can collect full social security at 66 and 10 months. But if she works until 70, she can get something like 130% of what her social security payment would have otherwise been. I can't collect social security until I'm 67 (I'm only 31 now). I don't expect social security to still be solvent by then though, nor do I expect it to be solvent for the duration of my parents lives.

The other acronyms you're seeing are probably us talking about 401k, 457, IRAs, etc. These are all, generally speaking, plans offered by your employer. The 401k is the most popular plan offered by most private employers. Usually you're able to put in part of your salary pre-tax to your 401k and employers will match a certain percentage. For example, my husband puts in 6% of his salary and his company also contributes 6% of his salary. Contributions you make to your retirement plans pre-tax lower the amount of income considered for your taxes. So if I made $80,000, but contributed $15,000 to my 401k pre-tax, I would only be taxed as though I made $65,000.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

excellent advice.

i'll also add-whenever it comes to something that teeters more into the want vs need area for us (non essential work/upgrades to the house, replacing vehicles sooner vs later...) we also take into consideration an individual item is going to create a new or higher ongoing expense. will it cause our auto insurance/registration to increase? w/a hot tub we pay a bit more for homeowners insurances (and the cost of maintaining it-no horrible but still an expense), w/landscaping will it increase upkeep exspenses (watering and such)-also will it trigger the local assessor to maybe bump up our value and subsequent tax bill the next time he does his yearly drive about.

p.s. on landscaping-if it's near the house you might want to find out if there are any plant varieties that your insurance company considers a potential fire danger. we had a neighbor who had to pull out some beautiful ornamental bushes that went all the way around their home-when he bought he learned that all the insurance companies for our region consider them a fire hazard (the previous owner had planted them not knowing and their insurance company was never aware of the plantings).

This is us too. Were we separated at birth?
We've been wanting an inground sprinkler system and lawn care service. Not for mowing the lawn but for feeding and seeding. All dh understands is buying a bag of weed & feed and calling it a day. The weeds die and then new weeds take their place and this cycle keeps happening. Ugh. He doesn't understand there is more to it than that. Thatching, aerating and seeding need to be done too. What used to be a beautiful lawn is now 80% crab grass. Not that I'm one of those perfect lawn freaks but our next door neighbor has a service so our lawn always looks terrrible next to theirs. In the summer we spend half of our evening every night dragging hoses around to water all of our flowers.
We keep saying some day we'll get a sprinkler system that waters the lawn in the wee hours of the morning by timer instead of at night when it encourages mold growth and also gives a good soaking to our flower beds too without pulverizing them. I told dh this will be our reward to ourselves for paying off the mortgage. People have warned me how much higher our water bill will be. It's on our Some Day list.

 

[barkley]

Eating out less-It became our routine to each dinner out every Saturday and while that is not terrible I was finding little enjoyment. So on December 6th we agreed to not eat out in a sit down restaurant until January 6th and have done great. While I miss date night (under normal life conditions) I think we will try to cut it in half for 2021. I am thinking two eat out dinners a month. Realistic but not too restrictive and this money "saved" will do toward debt. Win-win!

if you need incentive-imagine yourself living in my state (washington). the way our restrictions have operated since our first in state covid case diagnosis ONE YEAR AGO THIS MONTH-we've only had the opportunity, with closures, eating inside a restaurant ONCE, and that was over 6 months AFTER i received a gift card for that restaurant in december of 2019. we have friends who have been utterly amazed at their household savings by virtue of not being able to go out for dinner (or even what they considered 'very occasional' cocktails and appetizers).

This is us too. Were we separated at birth?

dh still reminds me of how i managed to negotiate a lower price on a vehicle purchase when i insisted on walking outside the dealership after they claimed to offer their 'best and final price' to call our insurance agent and find out how much our premium would change. i walked in complaining how much our premium would be going up and the salesman magically managed to lower the sales price enough to accommodate

 

[nursejackie]

The "state pension" here would be Social Security. While the goalposts do move, it's based on the year that you're born (to some extent), and also how long you're willing to work. For example, my mom was born in 1959 and can collect full social security at 66 and 10 months. But if she works until 70, she can get something like 130% of what her social security payment would have otherwise been. I can't collect social security until I'm 67 (I'm only 31 now). I don't expect social security to still be solvent by then though, nor do I expect it to be solvent for the duration of my parents lives.

The other acronyms you're seeing are probably us talking about 401k, 457, IRAs, etc. These are all, generally speaking, plans offered by your employer. The 401k is the most popular plan offered by most private employers. Usually you're able to put in part of your salary pre-tax to your 401k and employers will match a certain percentage. For example, my husband puts in 6% of his salary and his company also contributes 6% of his salary. Contributions you make to your retirement plans pre-tax lower the amount of income considered for your taxes. So if I made $80,000, but contributed $15,000 to my 401k pre-tax, I would only be taxed as though I made $65,000.

Thank you for all the information, it's very interesting. It sounds like your retirement ages are similar to ours, but it must be sad and slightly scary for some, to have the possibility of no social security. We pay National Insurance contributions based on a percentage of your salary (I pay 12%) and must have 35 years full-year contributions to be entitled to the full state pension (currently £175 a week).

So basically, a 401K is like a company pension. I work for the NHS, our percentage contributions are based on salary and set by the Governement. I currently have to pay 9.3% of my gross salary, the NHS also contributes 14%. I've recently found out that as a single person with no dependents, if I die before retirement age no one else benefits from all my contributions, which was a shock to me. I hadn't made plans to overpay into the fund but now it's a definite no-no.

 

[Nettlelondon]

Thank you for all the information, it's very interesting. It sounds like your retirement ages are similar to ours, but it must be sad and slightly scary for some, to have the possibility of no social security. We pay National Insurance contributions based on a percentage of your salary (I pay 12%) and must have 35 years full-year contributions to be entitled to the full state pension (currently £175 a week).

So basically, a 401K is like a company pension. I work for the NHS, our percentage contributions are based on salary and set by the Governement. I currently have to pay 9.3% of my gross salary, the NHS also contributes 14%. I've recently found out that as a single person with no dependents, if I die before retirement age no one else benefits from all my contributions, which was a shock to me. I hadn't made plans to overpay into the fund but now it's a definite no-no.

For clarity for those in the US, the 12% doesn't just cover pension savings - it is effectively a tax originally ringfenced to cover all social security (retirement, unemployment, disability) and medical costs. However, at some point since it was introduced in the 1940s, it just became a general tax going in to central government coffers to be spent as needed. Different people have different contribution rates - the self employed pay a lower percentage but have fewer working age benefits they can access. And there ends today's international taxation lesson.

Instead of saving additional amounts in to your pension - although not as tax efficient but allowing for money to be left to family - it might be worth investing in a stocks and shares ISA (a bit like a 401K but from post tax income and with no age limits on when you can access the money). Although this is higher risk than a cash ISA it potentially has greater returns, especially at the current time of almost zero interest rates on savings.

 

[nursejackie]

And there ends today's international taxation lesson.

Hahaha

 

[DisneyMandC]

Thank you for all the information, it's very interesting. It sounds like your retirement ages are similar to ours, but it must be sad and slightly scary for some, to have the possibility of no social security. We pay National Insurance contributions based on a percentage of your salary (I pay 12%) and must have 35 years full-year contributions to be entitled to the full state pension (currently £175 a week).

So basically, a 401K is like a company pension. I work for the NHS, our percentage contributions are based on salary and set by the Governement. I currently have to pay 9.3% of my gross salary, the NHS also contributes 14%. I've recently found out that as a single person with no dependents, if I die before retirement age no one else benefits from all my contributions, which was a shock to me. I hadn't made plans to overpay into the fund but now it's a definite no-no.

It's frustrating/scary to know that social security is unlikely to be solvent long term. My father in law is already on social security, and has been for several years, because he is disabled. I don't mind contributing to social security knowing that I help others who need it, but it is frustrating to see so much money come out of my paycheck for it knowing that I'm extremely unlikely to ever see that back in my pocket. We try to save the best we can to make sure we'll be able to take care of ourselves and our parents, who have very little saved for retirement.

And yes, a 401k would be closer to what you describe as a company pension, except your heirs would get the remainder of the money you have in your 401k when you pass. So if my husband were to die right now, I would take possession of the money in his account. There are still traditional pensions like you describe with some organizations, but that's more rare in this day and age. Usually you find those in specific union areas (coal miners) and police departments/fire departments. I believe that many of those state that the pension ends when the pensionholder dies.

 

[CaleCakes]

excellent advice.

i'll also add-whenever it comes to something that teeters more into the want vs need area for us (non essential work/upgrades to the house, replacing vehicles sooner vs later...) we also take into consideration an individual item is going to create a new or higher ongoing expense. will it cause our auto insurance/registration to increase? w/a hot tub we pay a bit more for homeowners insurances (and the cost of maintaining it-no horrible but still an expense), w/landscaping will it increase upkeep exspenses (watering and such)-also will it trigger the local assessor to maybe bump up our value and subsequent tax bill the next time he does his yearly drive about.

p.s. on landscaping-if it's near the house you might want to find out if there are any plant varieties that your insurance company considers a potential fire danger. we had a neighbor who had to pull out some beautiful ornamental bushes that went all the way around their home-when he bought he learned that all the insurance companies for our region consider them a fire hazard (the previous owner had planted them not knowing and their insurance company was never aware of the plantings).

I hadn't thought about fire hazardous plants! We added mulch to our flower beds last year but we must have gotten a crappy mix because every few days I was battling weeds. I want to dig them all out and do zero scape in those areas- I think that is what it is called when it's all rocks. I'd like to plant those giant agave plants in the beds, move some of my elephant ears, and also plant a few palm trees to line the driveway. We have 6 circular beds now that line the driveway. They have some tree in them but the tree hasn't done anything- hasn't flowered, barely got leaves in the spring/summer. They just look like dead sticks.

That is a lot but you can do it!
My advice? Separate these into 3 lists: one of financial goals, one of personal goals like cleaning the garage and one that’s a wish list like landscaping and a hot tub.
Then list the financial goals in order of priority. Can you hang onto your vehicles for another 6-12 months? Is it a want or a need? That will give you some time to bang out some of the other debts before taking on more debt.

We can definitely hold onto the vehicles longer and replacing one is more of a want than a need. Neither one is in need of any repair, we keep up with regular maintenance but my 2016 will need spark plugs and a timing belt I've been told. The quote is $1400 which is manageable. I was holding off to see if I was going to keep it. I'll probably go ahead and get that done since I drive a lot for work I don't want to get stuck somewhere undesirable!

I already have some updates to my goal list so I am going to make a more fluid list with categories. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Thank you for all the information, it's very interesting. It sounds like your retirement ages are similar to ours, but it must be sad and slightly scary for some, to have the possibility of no social security. We pay National Insurance contributions based on a percentage of your salary (I pay 12%) and must have 35 years full-year contributions to be entitled to the full state pension (currently £175 a week).

So basically, a 401K is like a company pension. I work for the NHS, our percentage contributions are based on salary and set by the Governement. I currently have to pay 9.3% of my gross salary, the NHS also contributes 14%. I've recently found out that as a single person with no dependents, if I die before retirement age no one else benefits from all my contributions, which was a shock to me. I hadn't made plans to overpay into the fund but now it's a definite no-no.

Everyone who has worked can collect Social Security. Even if a wife is a stay home mom and never worked a day, and her husband dies, she can collect her husband's SS. This fund also pays if a child loses a parent or if an adult is permanently disabled. There are very few instances where people cannot collect SS.
8 Types of Americans Who Aren't Eligible to Get Social Security (investopedia.com)
At 65 people are elegible for Medicare which is medical coverage for elderly. People who collect SS for disability are also elegible for Medicare.
Workers don't have the option to not pay SS taxes. It too is a percent of our income.

401K is named after the code of the tax law that allows people to contribute to their own personal retirement fund without that contribution being subject to federal income tax. There are other codes such as 403b and 457 but 401k is the most common.

That money is taxed the year it's withdrawn from the account during retirement, with the benefit being that you would expect to be in a much lower tax bracket by then due to lower annual income. Our individual states don't offer any type of retirement benefits that I'm aware of. Some states don't tax pension income or disbursements from a retirement account and I know people who have moved out of New Jersey to Pennsylvania to avoid their pension being taxed. The state of FL has no income tax for any age, so that's why it's a popular state for people to move after they retire.

I've read on financial blogs that one could get a better ROI by investing themselves instead of paying SS taxes but it was designed as a safety net for those who didn't save enough. Some people were lulled into thinking SS would take care of them later and didn't bother saving. Life would be difficult to live on SS alone.

 

[CaleCakes]

Updated goals and progress:

° Discover balance $6,311 PAID!! I figured why pay 14.99% interest when I can just get rid of it.

° AMEX balance $8125 Paid $3000 This takes care of the $1965 that was at 12.99% and put some towards the remaining that is at 1.99% I can keep chipping away at this now that it is my only card left.

° Start a Roth IRA for myself. Need to look into this hopefully this week

°Keep money in savings! Had to move 6k out to pay Discover, but that is ok there is still plenty to feel comfortable in case of an emergency.

°Purge the garage. Some of my outside Christmas decorations got trashed in a wind storm we had so I threw them away yesterday. Moved some other decorations to the attic. Going to work on the garage more today.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I hadn't thought about fire hazardous plants! We added mulch to our flower beds last year but we must have gotten a crappy mix because every few days I was battling weeds. I want to dig them all out and do zero scape in those areas- I think that is what it is called when it's all rocks. I'd like to plant those giant agave plants in the beds, move some of my elephant ears, and also plant a few palm trees to line the driveway. We have 6 circular beds now that line the driveway. They have some tree in them but the tree hasn't done anything- hasn't flowered, barely got leaves in the spring/summer. They just look like dead sticks.



We can definitely hold onto the vehicles longer and replacing one is more of a want than a need. Neither one is in need of any repair, we keep up with regular maintenance but my 2016 will need spark plugs and a timing belt I've been told. The quote is $1400 which is manageable. I was holding off to see if I was going to keep it. I'll probably go ahead and get that done since I drive a lot for work I don't want to get stuck somewhere undesirable!

I already have some updates to my goal list so I am going to make a more fluid list with categories. Thanks for the suggestion!

Even if you have all rocks, weeds will still grow. My parents shore house has all stone for landscaping, as do most homes there, and even with putting a layer of thick plastic down before applying the stone, weeds STILL come through. I doubt people still put the plastic down these days, being more environmentally conscious, but this was how it was done in the 70s and early 80s when they bought their 1st house, then later built their 2nd one.

 

[piccolopat]

That is a lot but you can do it! My advice? Separate these into 3 lists: one of financial goals, one of personal goals like cleaning the garage and one that’s a wish list like landscaping and a hot tub. Then list the financial goals in order of priority. Can you hang onto your vehicles for another 6-12 months? Is it a want or a need? That will give you some time to bang out some of the other debts before taking on more debt.

I like the want vs. need questions but I wish my DH had the same definition of "need" that I do! Procrastinating moving forward on something can be very good long term, whether it is postponing replacing a vehicle or waiting on a "needed" home repair. I'll give you 2 examples. When we added on to our home in 2009, DH was convinced we needed to have our driveway redone because it had some cracks. Here we are in 2021 and I still haven't made arrangements to do this and the driveway has held up just fine. I'll probably have some repair work done on it this year to avoid having to replace the entire thing. Another example, we were having trouble with our minivan back in 2013 (it was a 1997 model so 16 years old but relatively low mileage). DH decided we needed to replace it and so we got a 3 year lease on a new SUV. Well, the van was still running and he decided to keep using it to "save" mileage on the new car. When the SUV lease ran out in 2016, the van was still on the road. We finally scrapped it in 2018 when the transmission died. In the end, we could have waited on the replacement car.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

if you need incentive-imagine yourself living in my state (washington). the way our restrictions have operated since our first in state covid case diagnosis ONE YEAR AGO THIS MONTH-we've only had the opportunity, with closures, eating inside a restaurant ONCE, and that was over 6 months AFTER i received a gift card for that restaurant in december of 2019. we have friends who have been utterly amazed at their household savings by virtue of not being able to go out for dinner (or even what they considered 'very occasional' cocktails and appetizers).

Which further proves how our ability to save/pay down debt is related to our choices we make. Once that choice is taken away from us, it exposes what we were spending on that thing. I never would have chosen to give up travel for 16+ months but now that it's been forced* on me, we are able to put it toward our mortgage which makes it also more "visible". Before, it was a little getaway here and there, long weekends or big trips. We've never tallied it all up over the course of several years.

*I don't mean forced as in lockdowns but based on my employer's policy that we have to quarantine for 14 days if we travel out of state.

 

[barkley]

I believe that many of those state that the pension ends when the pension holder dies.

there's no rhyme or reason when it comes to pensions, esp. ones from government employers.

mine-if i pass then my spouse receives 100% until he passes. if he predeceases me no one gets anything upon my passing.

dh's-if he passes then i receive 100% until i passes BUT if i predecease him he can ask for a recalculation to put our disabled adult son next in line for at least a partial survivor's benefit.

(note-we both worked for identical government agencies, just different counties in the same state).


on social security-i knew several people who could not receive. my late mil worked her entire career in a state job that did not take social security taxes. employees knew this upon hiring on and that they would be reliant upon their pensions and any retirement savings they amassed on their own. near where i grew up was a naval shipyard with thousands of civilian employees. these jobs also did'nt pay into social security so the only retirees that received it were ones who amassed enough quarters prior to hiring on or after they left (not unusual for them to leave and put of retirement a few years to grab a few more quarters to push them over the edge for ss eligibility).

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I like the want vs. need questions but I wish my DH had the same definition of "need" that I do! Procrastinating moving forward on something can be very good long term, whether it is postponing replacing a vehicle or waiting on a "needed" home repair. I'll give you 2 examples. When we added on to our home in 2009, DH was convinced we needed to have our driveway redone because it had some cracks. Here we are in 2021 and I still haven't made arrangements to do this and the driveway has held up just fine. I'll probably have some repair work done on it this year to avoid having to replace the entire thing. Another example, we were having trouble with our minivan back in 2013 (it was a 1997 model so 16 years old but relatively low mileage). DH decided we needed to replace it and so we got a 3 year lease on a new SUV. Well, the van was still running and he decided to keep using it to "save" mileage on the new car. When the SUV lease ran out in 2016, the van was still on the road. We finally scrapped it in 2018 when the transmission died. In the end, we could have waited on the replacement car.

The problem with concrete is that once it develps cracks, water can seep in. When that water freezes, it expands and the crack widens and lengthens. Every winter it gets worse until the whole thing looks terrible and the only way to fix it is to replace the whole thing. If you can seal the cracks early on, you can delay having to replace it.
When we first bought our home in 96 dh wanted a stacked stone planter along the front and sides of the house. He allowed the delivery truck to back up across our driveway, to dump the stone in the front yard. He couldn’t understand why my dad was rambling on like a mad man about letting such a heavy truck on our driveway. My dad has been in construction all his life but we were young and rolled our eyes. Months after the delivery we could see all the cracks it left which worsened over the years and finally in 2010 we had it replaced. $8000 to correct our mistake. After that, we decided nothing heavier than a pick up truck is allowed on our driveway. You live and learn.

I used to want to get rid of a car if it needed an expensive repair. It would feel unreliable to me. My dad would say “Isn’t $1500 less than 4 or 5 years of car payments?” Yes but... blah blah blah. Excuses.

Now I get it. If I can delay any purchase, I do.

 

[jen7233]

I have to say, now that I paid off my car, I like it a lot more

 

[jen7233]

Interesting, Suze Orman is now recommending a 12 month emergency fund in 2021, up from 8 months her prior recommendation.