Author: Easin' Along

This month, Easin’ Along is focused on our approach to improving our health and well being as we pursue an active lifestyle in our retirement. As a supplement to that effort, I thought it might be an opportune time to include a few articles related to the pursuit of better financial health as well. I offer these articles not as recommendations, but as options to consider.

A few weeks ago, I asked Bob Lowry, creator of the very informative website A Satisfying Retirement to scan his archives and see if he could find an article or two that Easin’ Along readers might enjoy. One of the articles sent to me related well to the topic of financial health and I offer it in the paragraphs below.  I think you will find it interesting.

I have written posts about high school reunions, even though I have never been to one. Now I’m writing about retirement and a mortgage, even though I don’t have one. Either I love showing off my ignorance or I am fearless. Maybe it is a combination of both. After all, a satisfying retirement is sometimes a walk on the wild side.

Even so the subject is important. Retirement brings its own unique set of concerns and decisions. Near the top of many lists is a decision about housing. Is it best to pay off the mortgage before retirement, or is that extra money better off being invested? If I pay off the house won’t I lose a major tax deduction? But, what if I have a major health expense and can’t pay the mortgage..could I end up retired and homeless?

Good questions with no clear cut answers. But, they are worth asking and examining some of the ramifications. As an obvious disclaimer, I am not a tax expert or a financial guru, so what I offer is opinion and some basic thoughts from my own research. Please think through your own situation carefully, consult a trusted adviser, and proceed with caution.

If you do a Google search about retirement and mortgages the majority of the sites and articles that rise to the top suggest paying off your home loan before retirement. They do admit that many people can’t do that, but it should be a goal.

 The reasons most often cited to pay off your mortgage:

1. Peace of mind. Even without a monthly payment you still have real estate taxes, HOA fees, maintenance, repairs and upgrades. But, if you delay fixing a leaking toilet for two months you won’t risk losing your home. That big monthly Must Paybill is gone.

2. Home equity is available. I strongly suggest this source of cash be used only for major repairs and upgrades to your property or something like a large medical expense. Home equity is not a piggy bank so you can take a 12 day cruise to Hawaii or buy a new truck. Too many people got stuck when they spent their home equity only to find the worth of the house dropped below the size of the loan. But, with home equity lines of credit charging low interest rates at the moment,  smart use can save you thousands in interest over more conventional loans.

3. You have more freedom to relocate or resize. Get in trouble with your mortgage and someone else might tell you when to move. Have no mortgage and you can decide when to downsize or move closer to the kids….or stay put.

4. You have a large source of retirement money available. If you move to a smaller home or condo or even rent an apartment, any profits after the house sale and purchase are yours. Though expensive and sometimes risky, reverse mortgages can provide a steady income from the equity you have in your residence too.

 

On the other side of the argument, these points are made:

1. Don’t pull money from other investments to pay off a cheap mortgage. Even losing the tax deduction of a mortgage may not be enough to make up for better performing investments. If you take a chunk of your retirement funds to pay off a mortgage the money left will not produce as much income or growth.

2. Tying up too much of your net worth in an illiquid asset. You own a $300,000 home free and clear. But, depending on the market conditions it might take you 6-9 months or more to be able to sell the house and see any net profits. If you need quick cash a house is not the place to find it (except through a home equity loan which comes with its own risks).

3. If you have a low mortgage rate can you earn more in investments? Then, use your cash to grow your nest egg. Depending on your investment strategy and resources, it is not too hard to get a rather safe return of 5% on your money. With a mortgage of under 4% are you willing to throw away that 1% of growth year and year?

 

Another consideration lies in what your plans are when you decide to move. For example, my wife and I plan on moving from our current home in four or five years. Housing prices have been rising in our area for 15 months in a row so the future is looking brighter. 

We know that at some point we want to move into a continuing care community (CCC). The “buy-in” will be somewhere around $250,000. If we own a home or condo and need to move rather quickly into the CCC because of health issues, our buy-in money will be unavailable until we sell. That may be too late.

So, we are giving serious thought to renting an apartment/town home when we move from our present home. The bulk of our profits from our current home will be invested for safe growth. While the yearly rent is lost in terms of equity or tax benefits, we will have liquidity when we are ready to move to the continuing care community. 

Again, I will remind you I am not a financial planner or expert. I have bumbled along pretty well for the past several decades, but there is always more to learn and consider. Since a home is generally the biggest expense for most of us in our lifetime, knowing what to do with that resource is vital.

Bob Lowry is an author and creator of the website A Satisfying Retirement. He and his wife Betty make their home in Arizona. Easin’ Along is grateful for this contribution.

 

 

I once heard it said that retirement can be divided into three phases.  There is the “go-go” phase, followed by the “slow-go” phase, which transitions to the “no-go” phase. I wanted to postpone entry into the second and third phases for as long as possible but, in order to do that, I had to improve my health and fitness habits greatly or else I was destined to be a “no-go” pretty darn quick. Improvements began at the YMCA.

One year ago this month, Helen (adorable wife) and I joined our local YMCA. I’ll share her experience with you in the paragraphs below, but, as for me, my life was changed the moment I walked through the door. Please read on.

A few days after becoming a member I attended an exercise class and shared that experience on Easin’ Along. I noted in the article (click here for a link) that my track record with gym memberships was not good.  I had joined them before–usually in the winter months–but, by the time warmer weather rolled around, I wanted to be anywhere but inside a sweaty gym. Therefore, I was concerned that the inevitable would happen and, eventually, I would  fall back into my old pattern whereby exercise would be something on the calendar for next week. Thankfully, the inevitable never came to pass. I LOVE the exercise classes and never miss one if I am in town.

Helen and I attend two forty-five minute classes a week. Our Tuesday class is led by Donna, a pert, perky, and skilled fitness instructor, who successfully manages to push us well beyond any self-imposed limitations at every session. More importantly, she makes it fun.   On Thursday, we are led by Debra, an energetic young Mom with an engaging smile and a terrific two-step who keeps us in perpetual motion.  Debra’s dance moves sometimes have me tripping over my own feet, but that only helps me to concentrate. I’m grateful to them both for their contribution to my good health.

In addition to the exercise classes, I also began a program of gym workouts.  The individual workout programs are made simple by the online system, Activtrax, which insures that each routine is varied and boredom is minimized. In the initial months I went to the gym at least twice a week, along with my two exercise classes. My program was set…or so I thought.

After a few months of both classes and workouts, an old nemesis reared its ugly head.  Osteoarthritis, a by-product of many years in the home building business, flared up somewhat fiercely in my hips and shoulders.  I refused to give in, but I did cut the gym workout back to one session a week. The change in my routine helped and, while the pain is still there, it has subsided to a level that I can live with. I now take long walks in a nearby park in the place of that one workout.

Helen’s experience has been slightly different.  She attends the exercise classes with me, but the gym workouts are not her thing. In her past she’s had surgery to repair a torn ACL; another to repair a torn meniscus; plus, she has recurring pain from an old shoulder injury.  Therefore, Helen prefers to supplement her exercise program with her newfound passion…pickleball. This discovery came about one morning at the Y when she noticed a group of ladies having a gigglefest in the gym while batting a plastic ball around with a paddle. Her inquiring mind wanted to know what was going on and she was invited to join in. That’s all it took.  Now addicted to the sport, she plays as much as her busy schedule will allow. An earlier Easin’ Along post will provide more information.

Unfortunately, Helen suffered a setback recently when she bent over to return a serve with her lethal backhand and felt an uncomfortable sensation in her thigh. This sent her to the sidelines. After a few days she realized that life without pickleball was unbearable and she returned to the Y to see if Donna, our fitness instructor, had any remedies that might help her return to the court. Donna patiently led her through a series of stretching routines and told her that if she performed them several times a day, she would soon get relief.  The routines are working. I’m confident that she’ll soon return to action as the Attackin’ Assassin on the pickleball court thanks to the help from Donna.

Around the time this post was being prepared, I read a timely article in our local paper that included this profound observation: People who exercise a little, live longer than those who don’t. Admittedly, that is paraphrasing the results of a long study which found that a small amount exercise is better than none.  We’ve all heard it before—get up and get moving—a simple walk every day will do wonders for your attitude and overall well being. I concur completely.

The joy that we have experienced on our retirement road trips have been significantly enhanced by our ability to hike along a wildflower trail, ride a bicycle around a picturesque island, or stroll through every venue of a street festival. In no way am I ready to give up any of that. Participating in an active retirement lifestyle as well as maintaining a “go-go” mentality requires more than a modicum of good health. Our approach has been to achieve that through exercise and, even though exercise ain’t exactly Easin’ it is a delightful way to help us continue Easin’ Along the retirement road.

 

 

 

P.S. Diet and exercise plan working well so far…I’m down 13 pounds in 12 days.  Seven more to go!

 

This post won’t go down as one on my longer ones because…I’m hungry!

As noted in our last post, we are going to post a four part series on our approach to maintaining (and improving) our good health to be ready for another year of an active retirement lifestyle. With the Meat Loaf Dinner (and the leftovers) having provided a savory sendoff to 2016, it’s time to diet. This series begins with a post on an attempt to lose weight.

Readers of Easin’ Along know that food is a big part of what we’re about on this website.  In fact, our slogan–“Slow walking through the Golden Years with Faith, Family, FOOD, and Fun” points out the fact that we love good food, and love sharing our culinary experiences with Easin’ Along readers. However, with a New Year underway, I decided that it was time to crank it back a bit and give up on some of the love for a while. Don’t get me wrong…we’re still going to write about food here, and we’re still going to share our recipes (see last week); it’s just that I need to re-work my program a little until I get back to a reasonable starting point.

When it comes to body type, I’m one of the luckier ones. I’m 6’4” tall which gives me an abundance of places to hide bad stuff. Furthermore, I’ve got great genes.  Anyone glancing through an old family photo album would immediately notice that I descend from long line of ancestors that resemble scarecrows or string beans.  My history with weight gain is that I put it on slowly and lose it rather quickly. Nevertheless, I couldn’t put it off any longer…It’s my time to lose.

The realization that the time had come was when my clothes became unbearably tight. There is nothing worse than tight clothes.  Before we left on our trip through America’s Heartland, I ordered three pairs of my favorite Dickies Cargo Pants from Amazon–they’re so handy when travelling–but, right after Thanksgiving, I noticed that the Dickies were a little snug. They simply refused to nestle in between fold #1 and fold #2 on my hips…some of you may know what I’m talking about. Things only got worse from there even though I had: (1) stepped up the intensity of my gym workouts at the YMCA; (2) gave up desserts; and (3) went for extra long walks. It was all to no avail and thus, it was time to diet.

The same thing happened to me about eight years ago when I retired from my homebuilding career and was waiting to start some part-time projects.  I was pretty sedentary during that period and before I knew it, I ballooned up to 246 lbs–the most I have ever weighed.  Fortunately, my part-time work required a lot of walking and, with a little careful eating (grilled chicken sandwiches), I was able to drop 25 lbs in about six weeks. I may go back to part-time work at some point, but not in the immediate future, so I needed a plan and turned to Nutrisystem. The thought process was that if I was paying for it, and had Easin’ Along readers to share the journey with me, I might actually stay motivated to hit my goal of losing 20 lbs within eight weeks or less.

I ordered one of the plans for men that include all of the food, both prepared and frozen. The package was delivered last Friday.  I didn’t open the boxes containing prepared foods, but I did store the frozen items in the freezer as fast as I could without looking at them. Day One would be Monday and I knew that would be here soon enough.  I did pick up the brochures and took them (and a cold beer) to the Man Cave to begin the education process. What I learned was that the only box I needed for the next week was a red one marked “Turbo Takeoff”. The frightening thing was that this box didn’t look all that big. I took another sip from the beer.

By Monday I logged in my starting weight of 242.2 in the Nutrisystem app. I had read enough of the brochures to know that my breakfast would be a small muffin, some black coffee, and all the water I could drink. There would be a “Turbo Shake” to mix and drink a couple of hours later, then lunch of a small cup of Loaded Potato Soup.  In mid-afternoon I destroyed the wrapper of a Peanut Butter Chocolate Crush Bar and devoured it before I went to a meeting at the church where I sat “zombie-like” thinking of little else but dinner. Arriving back home, I opened the package of Rotini and Meatballs and cooked it in the microwave as I peeled a fistful of carrots. Admittedly, the dinner meal was good, but I was still starving and felt weak.  Nevertheless, I made it until halftime of the NCAA Championship Game and called it a day.

On Tuesday morning I drank my coffee and ate another muffin.  I was still a little lightheaded, but determined to make it to my exercise class which I did after another Turbo Shake. The exercise class helped and was enough of a distraction that I was able to concentrate on things other than food. The rest of Day Two was a definite improvement over Day One. I am now on Day Three and, while I am still craving a Thickburger and a large fry, my frame of mind is much improved. Taking advantage of the ability to eat an unlimited quantity of non-starchy vegetables has been a significant help in reducing the cravings (See picture at top). An improvement in attitude arrived when I weighed in that morning at 238.4. Progress was being made.

There is a still a long way to go. I will continue to post weekly updates on the diet progress until the goal is reached and may even do so periodically after that point in order to stay motivated. Again, the overall goal is to be able to participate in the active retirement lifestyle that Helen (adorable wife) and I have chosen for our Golden Years. Please come back to join us for the next posting and we will have an article on our approach to staying healthy through exercise.

Until then, we’re Easin’ Along…now, where did I put that celery??

UPDATE: Real progress…down seven lbs. by Friday morning!