Saturday, April 20, 2019

Do you have a number in mind?

Since 1996 I have kept Composition books on our savings/debt/budget. 
Our debit was much higher then our income.
We had two to put through college and weddings.
We both were at work and stuffed every extra penny into savings and debt.
Yes, we gave them a budget and let them roll with it- how they wished. 

In 2005 we arrested all of our debt, so it became our savings/ budget book.

By 2007 both kids were on their own paths. 
Savings were rolling for retirement. 

In 2014 I gave up on budgeting,
 having a basic idea of what we spent on what things,
giving each of those things a virtual or real "envelope"
and have lived that way.
The Composition Book became all about our savings.

In 2015 I developed "a number".
It is also the year we retired.
We also had taken our money out of the market
 and put it on the sideline about three years before. 

The number I came up with was using the base of 
"what is needed for the rest of your life" medical number
 that is often bandied around.  
At that point it was about  $250,000 for a couple.  
It has moved to $280,000.
BTW- our health care is relatively low in cost.
Thank goodness my husband stuck with the military. 

Then I had to figure that my income 
would drop a great deal if my husband passed before me.
The base had to get bigger.
I doubled the base.

For some reason, I just cannot get to that number. 
We are close, but not there. 

In fact, we have been just about even for about four years. 
We do save, a great deal, but we spend as well.
Our money is back in the market- as well as laddered CDs.
Even. Great trips, but even.

My thoughts are that, at this point, 
we need to be enjoying our income and interest.
At 61&68, there might not be a whole lot of years to just play.
Really, what are we saving for.
We already know we will never afford Tesla retirement communities.
That is OK. 
What do you think?
Even, save more, spend it all and hope for the best in the end?

Thursday, April 18, 2019

The top of the bucket list.

We did it.

Church of the Nativity


Warning to travelers
Vat for Jesus wine in Cana
Thursday Market



Temple Mount/ Dome of the Rock
Jerusalem from Mount of Olives


Western Wall

Holy Sepulchre

Mosaic of Nailing to the Cross

Masada
Our tour group
Red Sea- in Jordan (looking at Egypt/Saudi/ Israel)

Petra
It wasn't an easy trip.
We went with a group.
The spell is broken.
Travel is now back on the table.
Where next?


Travel

My husband had spent there years as a Special Forces Medic during Vietnam.
He got out and worked every other semester to make his way through university.
Nine years later he rejoined the Army as an adjutant.
We met in Germany.
I was a teacher in the DoDDS school system.

For the next sixteen years we lived in three countries: Hong Kong, Germany and Saudi. We also lived in six different states: Virginia, Indiana, Kansas, California, Hawaii and Arizona.
We both LOVED to travel and we paid for it through me teaching everyplace we lived.
We lived with "Big Blue" always packed. Handles, rollers on the long bottom. 70 lbs.


By the time he retired, we had traveled to many different countries and states.

Our last "tour" we were not in a good spot.
We returned to my home area of Arizona and dug in.

My career restarted and travel was a big part of that.
My job took me into 700 schools in 49 states. Whirl wind for sure.
He stayed home. Kids grew up. Parents passed away.

The journey took us out of Arizona, back to Kansas.
He went back to work in notifications (it was a war) and I went back to the classroom.
Big blue was permanently unpacked.

Then our oldest married, had children and moved, East.
Our youngest joined the Army. We gave him Big Blue.
Three years ago we moved here.

Long story short. We have not been out of the US, in any way, for twenty something years.

When we decided that we had to get past our PTSD, we had to wait for:
 the "kids" to settle,
Safety in the country's foreign policy,
and a place we both really wanted to go.