East Tennessee is the home of NASCAR and moonshine and some of the best moonshine in the country is manufactured by country volunteers at the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains...
But... that is not what I like about East Tennessee... what I like is the fact there are not many people that live here and if there are not many people, then those of us who live here and NOT CROWDED like living in some of our cities... including cities in Tennessee like Knoxville, Bristol, Nashville, Chattanooga, and Memphis.
Both my wife and I are retired and have been retired since 2015 and while we were working, we probably spent $100 each week on gasoline. That's $5,200 each year or about $$433 each month. Retired, and before gas prices began increasing, we were spending about $133 each month... So, even with these increases in gasoline prices, we have a long way to go before we get to the same level of expense when we were working...
Yes... it is true that we don't have the same level of income these days... but, fortunately, my wife and I decided to start saving money for retirement a long time ago... which looking back was very smart. We also decided to become debt free 15-20 years ago which was also a very smart thing to do as well...
So... if there is any advice I can give, it is this:
1. Become debt-free as quick as you can and stay that way...
2. Start saving for your retirement based upon how much you think you will need each month when you are retired... this will involve making a retirement plan which very few of us do... this plan is flexible and will change over time...
3. Establish a lifestyle with which you feel comfortable and then make sure you do not violate that lifestyle outside of an emergency...
4. Look around your house and identify all the things you have purchased and how often you still use them... we have a tendency to buy stuff that we use for a while and then get bored with them... Those purchases should have never taken place...
No comments:
Post a Comment