Retirement!

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blksn8k

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Never thought the day would come but I managed to retire at the end of April. I doubt I will be bored as I have several ongoing projects that need finished.

Those include several classic Fords and a 40x50 steel building to keep them in. The build comes first. So far I have ordered the building and poured the footer for a full foundation. Have to start somewhere...:haveabeer:
 
Congrats.



Your plan is better than my neighbors'....he spends his retirement obsessing over his lawn. EVERY effing day he's out there picking weeds, spraying for this/that...etc.
 
I like the 70 Mustang. Did you do the paint & body work on it?
 
I did most of the major body work on the 1970 Mach 1 but not the paint. That included replacing the entire under carriage of the car. The only original metal left on the car includes the roof, hood, deck lid, rear inner wheel wells, rocker panels and the center section of the firewall. Everything else, and I mean everything, has been replaced with either good, original Ford parts or all new aftermarket metal. The new stuff includes the tail light panel, trunk floor, transition pan over the rear axle, both quarter panels, the entire floor pan including all new torque boxes and frame rails, outer sections of the firewall, inner fender aprons, shock towers, radiator core support, both doors and both front fenders. I also replaced most of the cowl with good, original Ford metal as none of that was available new at the time I did the work. I did not do the tail light panel, rear quarter panels or trunk floor myself as all that was replaced before I bought the car. You are probably wondering why anyone would go to all that trouble and not just start with a different car. The answer is that this is an original Q code Mach 1. That means this car came equipped with the non-ram air 428 Cobra Jet engine. It is also an original 4-speed car. Those two things make this a pretty rare and, hopefully, valuable Mustang. I have been told that there were less than four hundred Mach 1's built in 1970 with the Q code engine and 4-speed transmission combination. Had this been even a base Mach 1 it probably would not be worth the cost of all that work. Some of the other original options on the car include tilt steering, full tinted glass and an AM/8-track stereo. The Grabber Blue exterior and black interior colors are also original to this car. This also might have been a good candidate for one the new Dynacorn body shells but those were not available yet when this project was started. I have also done all of the interior, wiring, glass and trim replacement myself. The major mechanical work to be finished includes installing the engine and transmission and the exhaust system. I have also waited to install the grille, headlights and front bumper until after the engine is back in.
 
Congratulations! :supercool:



I retired in 2010 at 64 years old and never looked back. The closer I got to my retirement day, the more nervous I got because I was not sure I was financially ready to retire. However, after the first few months of retirement I knew I made the right decision.



Oddly enough, I think sometimes I am busier in retirement than I was when I was working. The difference is that now I can do what I want, when I want, and now I feel that I alone control my life.



I did a lot of planning for retirement the last 5 years I was working, and I feel fortunate that I was able to get so much done in those short 5 years. Financially I am very secure and able to live on half my monthly income and bank the other half for my Bucket List travels. I went to Italy in March and going to back to Germany, Switzerland, and Austria in late September.



If you planned your retirement well, you will probably be alright and you certainly seem to have enough projects to keep you busy for a while.



...Rich



 
Thanks Rich. That's encouraging to hear.



For the past few years I had been trying to maximize my 401k contributions but who knows if that is ever enough? I'm using a small portion of that money to pay for part of the building cost and the rest is being transferred into an IRA.



I will say that between my pension and early SS (just turned 62) and not counting those past 401k contributions I am actually taking home a little more per month than I did when I was working and that is after health insurance. Not exactly an apples to apples comparison but it does mean that I shouldn't have to make any drastic changes to my lifestyle. I was able to keep my company health care plan for the next eighteen months and even though I have to pay it all myself it is actually less expensive than an equal plan through Obama Don't Care. Hopefully Mr. Trump will fix that before I am forced to go down that road. :grin:



By the way, if you know anyone who might be looking for a cozy little three bedroom ranch with lots of garage space near Akron, OH I will soon be putting my house over there up for sale. The new building will be on my property in PA and as soon as its done I will be moving all my junk back here.
 
Yep, Healthcare is a big issue for seniors.



I was fortunate that I am retired military (20 years active dutiy in the US Army)...and I had already switched to TriCare about 10 years before I retired. When I turned 65 Medicare kicked in and signed up for Part-B (Outpatient) which allowed me to keep my TriCare For Life healthcare plan along with their mail-order Pharmacy plan....I get all my generic drugs for free and pay about $20 for 90-days supply of brand-name drugs. I have not had to pay a dime to any doctors, hospitals or clinics. MEDICARE pays first and Tricare pays whatever MEDICARE didn't so I have no deductible and no co-pays :grin:



I get my Social Security, my military retirement, and my 70% VA disability pension. I am also collecting about $1600 a year in interest on the money I have in the bank. I pulled my money out of my 401K's and stock market when I reached 59-1/2 back around 2005. Everyone was predicting a collapsing economy and higher taxes....so in 2008 the bubble burst.

I still kept my 401k at my employer where I was working since 2006...didn't have enough accrued in that account that would mean financial disaster if I lost most of it.



When you consider that my Healthcare cost have dropped dramatically, and 2/3rds of my income is tax free, I am making more take-home pay than when I was working. I also get about half of the taxes I pay during the year, back when I file my income taxes with the IRS.



I think that the income from SS, Military Retirement, and VA pensions are pretty stable for the rest of my lifetime. Even if they did have a hiccup, like Congress shutting down the government etc., I have enough money in the bank to live for about 2 years without any changes in my lifestyle, and probably about 4 years if I get really frugal.



...Rich

 
Update. Here is a picture of the new building I have been working on since I retired. Still have one wall and the roof yet to cover with sheetmetal and a bunch of trim to install. Also need to cut out and trim the window openings then I can start installing doors and windows. I also plan to add a loft in the end closest to the house. Will soon be time start moving vehicles and parts from OH.



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You know you're a redneck if your garage is bigger than your house and the rafters are high enough to hang a deer from. :grin:
 
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All four sides are covered now. Hopefully we will get most of the roof done tomorrow. After that will be the roof trim, gutters, downspouts, doors and windows, probably in that order.
 
Why certainly. Still have two more windows and one overhead door to install. I'm also working on adding an office with an overhead loft for extra storage space.



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Thanks Rich. Where do you live again?



More progress pics:



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Also finished the installation of the other overhead door.



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Looks so nice!!! Wish I had one too! :banana:



Are you going to install insulation on the shed walls/ceiling? I'm wondering about condensation/ dripping inside.
 
Right now I am not really planning to heat the building as this is more of a storage building than a workshop. If I heat anything it would probably be just the office area and I do plan to insulate that part.

We have had several temperature changes and rain events and so far I have not had any issues with leaks or condensation of any sort. As a matter of fact, it rained here pretty hard all last night and this morning. Dry as a bone.

There is also a three-car attached garage where any cold weather work can be done if I feel silly enough to be doing that sort of thing during the colder months. I am retired after all. :grin:
 
Got a little more done this week. I installed another window, built a small workbench and extended the loft. I have one more window to install and plan to extend the loft again only this time another eight feet toward the center of the building. I don't really need the extra storage space right now but it is relatively inexpensive to do and you can never have enough storage space.



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