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The Retiree Next Door??????

JunksterJunkster
in Off-Topic
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/the-retiree-next-door--how-successful-retirees-stretch-their-savings--163042598.html

I always enjoy reading these type of articles. I may have to check out the e book referenced in the link. I am completely debt free (no mortgage etc.) and always thought of myself as the master of frugality. But how in the world the married couple need only "$1000 a month to sustain their lifestyle" is beyond me. Heck, even the single guy living off his Social Security of $2170 a month seems a bit spartan to me. When I was younger I paid my dues. I scraped, saved, lived like a miser and worst. But now in my advanced age I would hate to live out however remaining years I have left forever worrying about budgets, monthly expenses, and outliving my nest egg.

Comments

  • Old_JoeOld_Joe
    Hell, $1000/month wouldn't cover our utility bills, never mind anything else. You say that link was dated 1940?
  • davidrmorandavidrmoran
    haha, it would cover our utils, but less than 3/4 of our property taxes.
  • JohnChisum
    Where do they live that they can survive on $1000 a month?
  • JunksterJunkster
    edited September 2014
    >>>They moved into an over-55 community in a quiet town outside of Seattle and invested $100,000 (cash) into a modest home within walking distance of her wife’s job (no car necessary). It costs them roughly $1,000 a month to sustain their lifestyle.<<<

    Maybe something lost in translation here. Is that $1000 a month above basic necessities? It sure reads like they live on $1000 month or am I missing something? Edit: Maybe that is $1000 a month each or a total of $2000 a month for the couple.
  • JohnChisum
    edited September 2014
    I didn't read the link but I will now. Seattle is an expensive place to live.

    Edit: PS Having read the link, I am more confused than ever. First, this person was drowning in debt. Later on it is revealed she has $250,000 in a retirement account. Somewhere in between lies the reason. The story fails to say how.
  • Old_JoeOld_Joe
    Yes, I had the same reaction, John- just finished reading the entire article. Still doesn't add up. Just to cover most of the main stuff, $1000/month covers food, clothing and medical for two, taxes, utilities and housing maintenance & repair?
  • davidrmorandavidrmoran
    The decline of grunt skeptical (but not cynical) reporting is bad enough (while at the same time we live in a golden age of substantive online investigation), but worse and mostly unremarked is the decline is hardcore skeptical demanding editing. Where is the ed who said This is great, so much detail, please return and get the whole damn story, the whole thing, cashflow details and all, else review your notes or let us go over them together to form new questions. This has a ton of detail, and the two women did work extra-hard to pay down debt, while the $12k a year is for both clearly. How much SS? is just a start. As an ed I would ask for much more.
  • hank
    edited September 2014
    Number of Children Living in Poverty Drops Sharply Census Bureau Reports
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/17/us/politics/census-report-poverty-income.html?_r=0

    Excerpt - "Poverty thresholds vary with the size and composition of a family. A family of four was classified as poor if its income was less than $23,830 last year; for one person, the threshold was $11,890."

    Junkster, thanks for the story.
    davidmoran, thanks for the rant.


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