35 year old teacher seeking solid retirement planning advice
Curious2077
12 years ago
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sherwoodva
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agosushipup1
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
nightmare experiences - seeking consolation and advice
Comments (17)Wow you are very determined to have stayed through all that abuse. I was a member of a community garden for 3 years and it was run very well-- even in the best of situations things like theft, and accidental damamge can occur. I would absolutely confront the manager of the garden. Perhaps not with a laundry list of complaints -- but a list of "I feel" - I'm very frustrated, I care very much about..." think it out - even write out what you want to say-- with a purpose in mind. It seems to me like it would be wise to have areas of the garden which could be claimed by gardeners, where they could claim a plot and then the produce, work, etc would all be theirs-- you might suggest this be a fenced area or some other kind of barrier so that helpful community workers couldn't run mowers over the fencing or barriers, and then suggest - general areas - in which things like blueberry bushes, community projects or more pernnial projects could take place. You may need to offer some really solid suggestions to problems you see-- ie..I did all this work and now the ground I worked on-- is covered with glass. I have been a valued memeber of the garden for years and for me this represents alot of work, I need to know this won't happen again-- so here is what I suggest as a possible solution. At the beginning of every spring I would be happy to help to divide up this area into individual plots and be responsible for "renting" out each staked off area to interested parties-- we can each have our own area- with returning gardeners getting to put a claim on the area they cared for last year as a first preference. In exchange I would like for you to explain to the worker on site that this is not an area of the garden that he is responsible for-- but that once a year after the stakes are removed he may mow it to the control the weeds. Perhaps your manager is overwhelmed or burnt out and doesn't have the energy or time for enforcing common courtesy, or simply doesn't see the need-- but for your sanity -- surely that is neccessary. That may be the reason there are only two surviving gardeners on the plot..I tell you the first time someone plowed over my carrots or put broken glass in ground that I had worked -- I'd be gone.. and if a healthy discussion -- and offering to take over or assist with the situation didn't help it in some way-- I'd bug out, or at least back down on the amount of energy I expended there. Like I said -- I used to be part of a community garden and it worked fabulously-- there were no fences, but some basic rules. Here is what we did-- someone was responsible for getting names and dividing up plots-- also for getting the entire area tilled, every year. We each paid some small amount for this-- I think it was $20 or something-- that funded the tiller rental & water useage. Each plot was about 12x12. If it was your first year- you could have one plot, unless there were extras--there was usually a waiting list. After you had kept a plot for a year- you could ask to have more than one and veterans got first dibs on spaces & on extra plots. There was a letter that was sent out every year with a map of the plots- on the map was the persons first name and phone number-- this made everybody accountable-- your space, your responsibility, and your produce. If your plot wasn't weeded or cared for next year you didn't get a plot-- if someone had a problem with something in a neighbors plot or a question you could call them-- you knew it, they knew it and it helped. Everybody had the managers # and could call them too. It was also nice cause if you were out working saturday - you could say hi to bob or sue or joe and you at least knew their name. The small amount of money paid out in spring was a way of seeing who was interested enough to do it- and got some buy in and-- helped to cover some of the costs. Every fall everything was broken down and there was an end of the year potluck and work party, and every spring it was all put up again...it was somewhat limiting-- but it did make it easier and it ran very smoothly. Rules were clearly written out -- they used cheap wooden stakes and string to mark the plots, and it was a wonderful sense of community-- a joy. Rules and respect are essential in most things-- community gardens are no exception. Good luck to you!...See MoreSeeking Advice on Building A Greenhouse
Comments (17)Diane, Dawna & Randy: Thanks so much for sharing your greenhouse knowledge and experiences with me. OwieBrain: When that precious baby finally lets you get back onto the computer, will you tell me what you'll do differently when you build the permanent greenhouse after the house you're building is finished? Dawna: Well, wish I'd known about the greenhouse auction too! That's the breaks! Thanks for describing your greenhouse so well. From your description, I felt I could really picture it! You and Randy both made me realize that I needed to go wider than I was originally planning. And thanks a lot for telling me that peagravel is hard to walk on. I had no idea! And, there is no way on this earth I am going to tell my DH just how much time you spend in your greenhouse....even though I am sure I'll spend just as much in mine! I wouldn't want him to think of it as "gaining a greenhouse and losing a wife...." lol lol lol So, where are y'all going to build in the fall? In the same area where you are now? Randy, I think I'd give my left arm to have a greenhouse as large as yours...but then, I'm not planning to make a living with mine, so guess it wouldn't be necessary for it to be that large! I love that yours is expandable. Also, thanks a lot for the description of the heating system...it is an area that has baffled me the most. The Jet Flow system sounds amazing! And the advice on estimating costs is so helpful. Since we've built the mega-garage/barn and the new chicken coop lately, we've gotten pretty good at estimating what it will cost us...and we know it always costs more than you think it will! Last week I was reading a newspaper article about my favorite regional gardening expert--Texas horticulturalist, writer/publisher and radio show host Neil Sperry. In they article they mentioned two facts that amazed me: (1) after THIRTY YEARS he believes his home landscape is "coming along" and he just about has it the way he wants it. That reminded me that home landscaping is a long-term project and I need to be patient! (2) His greenhouse is 30' wide by 60'long! Can you imagine having all that space? I am sure I'll never have a greenhouse that big, but it is fun to think about it, isn't it? With a son in college and with us writing that college some big tuition and dorm payments every semester, my greenhouse may have to start out small to medium and grow over the years, after he finishes college and all that. I do think I will start out larger than I originally planned, though, as wider seems better. I am learning so much from this thread. Hope those of you who have greenhouses will continue to educate me! Thanks! Dawn...See MoreNeed advice on closing retirement account.
Comments (23)Hi again dolcemia, I am pleased that your husband has a retirement plan ... and that you have one, as well. At what age can you begin to draw on them? Usually they are set up to begin at age 65 ... can you choose to begin drawing before that? For example, in Canada, the Federal pension, to which we all contribute, which began over 40 years ago, intends to have us retire at 65, with full pension (if we made full rate of contributions ... which you don't, if you earn anything near minimum wage, meaning that low income hurts, even into retirement). If I choose to retire earlier, they won't allow me to do it before age 60, and for each 2 months that I retire before age 65, they reduce my pension by 1% ... which means 6% per year, and if I chose to retire at age 60, there would be a 30% reduction. On the other hand, if I choose not to retire until after age 65, I get a bonus of 1% for each 2 months extra that I work and contribute, 6% per year. Is your pension set up so that as inflation continues over the years, does the amount of your pension increase, as well? If there is a provision for it to increase due to inflation, it's almost certain that it won't increase at the same rate as the rate of inflation, but less ... which means that it won't cover as many expenses as the years go by as it would earlier. They call that a pension being indexed for inflation. Is your husband's pension indexed to inflation? ______________________ Do you owe money on credit cards, that you don't pay in full each month when the bill arrives? Is it/are they mainline cards, or cards issued by stores? Do you know what rate of interest that you pay on those unpaid balances? Usually on mainline cards it's about 15 - 18% annual rate. Usually on store-issued cards it's up around 25 - 28% annual rate. If I loaned you $100. and said that you owed me $25. per year for the use of it, would you consider me some kind of rascal? May I ask you a question ... have you heard the saying, "A penny saved is a penny earned"? Do you believe it? If you say that you agree, I'd like to disagree, in terms of much of the stuff that, when you buy, you might be able to save a dollar on the purchase. When you consider most of the stuff that you buy ... when you prepare your income tax, can you deduct the price of it as you calculate the amount of tax that you owe? For much of the goods that most of us buy ... the cost is not deductible. Which means that we have to buy it using money that we've already paid income tax on, i.e., after-tax money. Let's suppose that you could save $1.00 on a purchase that you make. If you're in 25% marginal tax rate (i.e. the rate of tax that you pay on your top dollar of income), that means that you have to earn $1.33 before-tax, then pay 33 cents tax, leaving yu with $1.00 in hand to go out to buy that item. So .. if you save $1.00 on the cost of the purchse ... you've saved $1.333 of extra earnings, right? Plus... if you pay that 28% on a store-issued credit card, most of the things that you bought when using it were not tax-deductible, right? Which means that, if you're in 25% income tax rate, you have to earn $36.00 pre-tax income, then pay the 25%, or $9.00 income tax, leaving you with $27.00 ... oh,oh ... not quite enough to pay that $28.00 owing. Drat!! When you buy a car (or do you lease) do you pay cash for it, or do you finance it? If finance, do you shop around to find the best rate of interest and terms? Are you a member of a credit union, or are there some in your area? Sometimes they offer lower rates, or better terms, than the usual market offers. Do you try to pay the loan off as soon as possible? I recommend that. Be sure to pay off the loan quite a while before you need to replace the car. Then keep putting away that amount of money (or nearly as much) each month, building a fund to enable you to make a far larger down payment on the next car. It would be best if you can pay the full cost in cash ... that lets you put the amount of interest into your own pocket that you'd been paying earlier to a lender. I like keeping my money in my jeans over paying others to borrow theirs. Do you have an emergency fund? That is, if you had no family income for 3 months (or, even better, 6 months ... or, better yet, a year) would you have anough money available that you would still be able to live fairly comfortably? It's important to have such an emergency fund, in case unexpected expenses crop up ... including if we get laid off from work, especially if permanently, as your husbnad is dealing with at the moment. I recommend learning how money works - it's an interesting hobby. And, know what? It pays well ... very well. As I said earlier .. pay off your store-issued credit card balances fully when they come in each month ... save yourself 35%. And that saving is ... guaranteed. Where else can you earn 35% on your money ... guaranteed!?!? Good wishes for making your money work harder for you than for the other fellers! ole joyful...See MoreFinding a contractor to fix 140 year old windows?
Comments (42)I am so glad that you love your Marvin windows--we have one small bay window from Marvin that we added in the kitchen , but the fact is, on a house with 46 windows, the cost-effectiveness of replacing that many windows is not justified. At least not here in upstate, NY. That one window alone was over $1000. When I priced out windows this summer (and I looked at about eight different companies), the only ones we could afford were about $300-400 per window. For "crappy" vinyl windows. Still, that was an $18,000 investment on a house that we paid $125,000 for. The numbers just didn't add up. If we went to Holbrook Designs (exclusive Marvin dealership here in Albany), the new wood windows were $800 and UP! Even if we got the $800 windows, we would be talking over $35,000!! In Holbrook's defense, they were absolutely lovely and professional on the phone and warned me of their costs before they came out to measure and give me the ubiquitous sales pitch. Storms were about $120 each. Is cleaning four surfaces a pain? Absolutely. But my two oldest kids can help me from the inside while I work from a ladder on the outside. Might be a pain when I get older, but we do actually have window-cleaning companies around here if necessary. And in a house with three kids and two dogs, we are not exactly "neat-freaks," so deep cleaning the windows in fall and spring is plenty for me. I thought this decision to keep my windows would be hard for me (check out earlier posts I have put on about the same thing...some as far back as 2006--that's how long I've been mulling this over!), but I am really fine with it now. These windows have lasted for 150+ years...I'll let someone else make the decision to rip them out somewhere down the line! Not gonna be me :) I do think it's to each his/her own, however. My sister-in-law has a charming little 1930's bungalow but likes everything new--so she had no problem replacing all of the original windows and doors with new ones--and covering up the old wood floors that needed some TLC with laminate. They love it and are happy with their choices. So that's fine! But for me, I like the solid, somewhat imperfect but historic feeling of our house. In it's 150 years, it has only been owned by three families (one of which was my husband's grandfather), so I can just imagine all of the life events taking place there. And with the windows, I just like imagining how many people have actually looked out those same windows over the years. I know--romantic and corny. But I can't help it--history teacher with a minor in urban renewal and you get a historic architecture sap!! ;) S...See Morefeedingfrenzy
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agojakkom
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agomaifleur01
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agojoyfulguy
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10 years agolast modified: 9 years agojakkom
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agojoyfulguy
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agojoyfulguy
10 years agolast modified: 9 years agomaifleur01
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8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoTroy Farwell
7 years ago
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