One of the decisions that my wife and I made during the last few years of working before retirement was for me to take some consulting and teaching jobs since whatever income I generated would not impact or reduce my Social Security since I waited until age 67 to claim Social Security. We decided to use that extra income to refurbish the house, especially the kitchen and bathroom... but also to put in a 26 foot round pool, surrounded by a large deck with a gazebo and hot tub.
We knew that we could make this financial commitment because 5 years earlier, we achieved our financial freedom by becoming debt free
Looking back at our paperwork... all of this was done 10 years ago and I have been retired 6 years. There have been some repair bills on the hot tub but that is because we were advised to use powder chemicals when we should have been using liquid chemicals... and just normal wear and tear. However, the pool has never needed maintenance but we have had to purchase a new motor. During the summer months, the motor operates 24/7, so replacing only one motor is not that bad.
I am in a state of PROFOUND HAPPINESS AND RELAXTION every time I lower my body into the hot water of the HOT TUB. Out hot tub seats 6 people, so there is plenty of room for me to extend out my entire body with my arms over the sides to hold me up. I close my eyes and remain in that position for a good 30-40 minutes. Then, I turn on the jets that massage my upper and lower back which is especially comforting when I have overworked in the yard. I have lower back issues anyway so the massage is just a good way to keep my back relaxed.
I would say that I am in the hot tub every other day/night out of 365 days for a total of about 180 times a year and I get in the pool during the summer weeks about once or twice a week and typically that is for exercise purposes because I walk around the perimeter for about 20-30 minutes... after 4-5 revolutions one way, I turn and walk in the other direction against the water currents that my movement created.
This past summer, when we could not go to MYRTLE BEACH because of COVID, our backyard pool and hot tub got a workout and while others stayed inside, we were outside enjoying ourselves either in the sun or the shade, it did not matter.
This was money well spent...
