On Being Retired

 In 2014, I turned 67 years old and in January of 2015, my wife and I had retired.  I retired with full benefits, she retired with reduced benefits at 62 and as not eligible for Medicare until age 65.  Cobra Health Insurance was available but very expensive.

During the last three year of my working career, I worked for a local university and intentionally set aside money during those three years in the exact amount that I needed to pay for Cobra insurance so that she could retire early.

With health insurance covered, our house mortgage paid for and since we had no other debt, all we needed was enough money to pay our monthly expenses.

Combined our Social Security was $3,000 and our monthly expenses were $2,500 so there was plenty of money left over about $5,000 to cover the cost of two weeks at Myrtle Beach.

Also, during our last three years before retirement, we installed an 24-foot round above ground swimming pool, build a huge deck around the pool, had a large gazebo built, and brought in a hot tub.  We created our own little vacation area in case we did not have the money to go anywhere.

My wife had purchased a cancer insurance policy for $10/month and when I got cancer at the age of 60 and she contracted cancer about 4 years later, we received $20,000 each to pay for initial expenses and then as long as we received treatment, we got another $10,000 each year.

I am 76 now, and have been receiving $10,000 each year for 15 years.  According to the cancer that I have, I will continue to receive treatments until I die as it never goes away.

From 2015 until around 2020 when COVID hit, my wife and I travelled all over from Hawaii, Alaska, Mexico, the USA, to Europe, including taking 8 cruises covering the Caribbean and Mediterranean.

We travelled so much that now we don't really want to go anywhere except Myrtle Beach.  

When I turn 80 my wife will be 75 and I doubt we will even go to Myrtle Beach.

• We have been retired for 10 years now and have loved every minute of it.
• We wake up whenever we want to or whenever the cats decide we need to be up, unless we have an early morning doctor's appointment.
• We both have hobbies and have something to keep us busy and entertained all the time.
• We exercise daily and eat a healthy diet that includes no red meat, no alcohol, plenty of fruits and vegetables and in my case plenty of beans and lentils.
• We go out to eat once a week and purchase pretty much anything that we want or need although, we have OUTGROWN WANTING STUFF,
• We have been saving money, looking deals, and using coupons for the 30 years we have been married, so it is just natural for us to continue the process in retirement.
• We planned for our retirement - it just did not happen.