How many vacations have you got planned for this year?

[tvguy]

Social Security was never meant to be considered the sole source of retirement...always a supplement to our income.

EXACTLY. But the payments have grown so much that with planning, they can be your sole source of income.

 

[bcwife76]

2
Aulani in March (4 weeks from today!)
a Northern Europe cruise on the Dream in August with a few days in London and Copenhagen built in.

 

[HeatherC]

DH and I are in Florida for two weeks…just arrived today at Bonnet Creek in Orlando. Then we have a trip to Maine booked for last week in July and first week in August. Other than that, nothing planned yet.

 

[dvcgirl67]

We're fortunate to have a very good financial advisor whose top priority is a lifetime stream of guaranteed income.
Our primary source of income will be laddered annuities that will pay a fixed amount until we are both gone. They have locked in cash values, so if we don't live a long time, any remaining value will go to our heirs. My mom cleaned up on her annuities, living to age 90 and drawing $150,000 more than their cash value.
Social Security will be our secondary source of income, and all the models project it alone will be more than enough to cover our expenses. Of course, one of those checks goes away when one of us dies, and we have enough life insurance to replace 10 years of Social Security income.
My mom must have out frugaled your FIL. She passed away 10 years ago, and I managed her finances the last 13 months of her life. Her Social Security was only $1,250 a month, but her monthly expenses were only $650 a month. She had a pension and her annuities as pad for her income, but that all went into savings. But her house was paid off 53 years before, she paid cash for her car 10 years before. Her long term care insurance covered all but $300 a month of her tab, so even then, her Social Security was more than enough to cover everything.

It does sound like she out-frugaled my in-laws....amazing she could even live on so little.

I wish we had been involved or at least more informed about my in-laws "advisors" when they signed up with them. They retired right around the time my husband and I were married....and so we were busy starting our life together, but also, it's just not a "thing" in many families.....to discuss financial situations, certainly wasn't in my DH's family. And it 100% should be a topic of discussion where all parties are informed.

I had a much better idea of my parents' situation. We're fortunate, and we're in good shape. And my in-laws certainly would never have been in super dire straights, but they may have had to sell their home to downgrade to an older/not quite as nice retirement community had we not stepped in to help. But they found their "financial advisors" on a weekly local radio show that these people paid to "advertise" on . My in-laws talked about how they enjoyed going to the "family picnic" each summer at the home of these people...etc. They weren't "scammed" per se, but these advisors had no fiduciary responsibility towards them, which in our opinion was a mistake.

They could have found a fee-only CFP on that kind of show....I've heard people like that advertise in that manner...but that's not what these folks were. My FIL has a lot of pride, so it's tough to know when to step in...etc. Well...since my MIL's death....we've moved the last of his money out of the hands of that "company"....and will see that his needs are met for as long as he has left.

My FIL's property taxes alone are 6 grand a year. So almost 20% of his budget. But he loves his community....loves his golf, his friends...etc, so we're keeping him there. And we're in the process of straightening out his budget....he has an insanely high natural gas bill, but that's because he was on the "budget plan"....and that number still reflects that they kept that house at 75 degrees because my MIL was always cold (even bundled up with electric blankets on her...etc). That resets in August...and will come down. And his cable/internet/phone bill is ridiculous, so my husband is sorting that out. He has talked for years about how much his solar panels were saving him in electricity, but neglected that he'd taken out a loan on buying them....bought new appliances "on payments" as he recently told us. So, we've cleaned up a lot of stuff that we didn't know about....and we thought we knew all that was happening as we have been sending them money each month for nine years. We didn't. We're busy....and it wasn't that much from our end, but looking back....wish we'd known more. It's a fine line at this point, allowing him to retain his pride, watch out for him and step in when necessary. He's still able to and sharp enough to pay his bills on-line and a couple of checks....grocery shops, etc....but we're like Big Brother now...we see and know all things financial with him .

 

[DCLMP]

Just two. One already taken. We traveled a lot during Covid when things were cheaper. Prices are high right now.

 

[tvguy]

My FIL's property taxes alone are 6 grand a year. So almost 20% of his budget. But he loves his community....loves his golf, his friends...etc, so we're keeping him there. And we're in the process of straightening out his budget....he has an insanely high natural gas bill, but that's because he was on the "budget plan"....and that number still reflects that they kept that house at 75 degrees because my MIL was always cold (even bundled up with electric blankets on her...etc). That resets in August...and will come down. And his cable/internet/phone bill is ridiculous, so my husband is sorting that out. He has talked for years about how much his solar panels were saving him in electricity, but neglected that he'd taken out a loan on buying them....bought new appliances "on payments" as he recently told us. So, we've cleaned up a lot of stuff that we didn't know about....and we thought we knew all that was happening as we have been sending them money each month for nine years. We didn't. We're busy....and it wasn't that much from our end, but looking back....wish we'd known more. It's a fine line at this point, allowing him to retain his pride, watch out for him and step in when necessary. He's still able to and sharp enough to pay his bills on-line and a couple of checks....grocery shops, etc....but we're like Big Brother now...we see and know all things financial with him .

My mom's property taxes were $996 a year. (Thanks to Prop 13 in California) They stepped up for the people who bought the house. Same house with new owners, $9069 a year. My mom (and my dad when he was alive) had a motto, if you couldn't pay cash for something, you didn't need it.
Their first house they bought for $2,500 cash. Sold it 10 years later for $50,000, about their last house for $29,500 cash brand new in 1960.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Our first was the Grand European.
Budapest to Amsterdam
This one is Tulips and Windmills......

We has Russia and Egypt booked but that was a couple of years ago during the pandemic height, so both were cancelled. And we won't be doing them

Our first river cruise was a B2B Bucharest/Budapest, Budapest/Cologne.

We've also done a Tulips cruise (that one was delayed -twice since original reservation was March 2020 )as well as a Moselle/Rhine cruise.

We have a Norway cruise planned in the future.

 

[wabbott]

Three, maybe four.

April, May: Kentucky, Cleveland, Niagara Falls, Upstate NY, New Hampshire, NYC, Atlantic coast.

July: Rhine cruise, Switzerland, Italy

August, September: Mt Rushmore, Black Hills, Banff, Jasper, Vancouver, Alaska Cruise, Hwy 1 California, Big Sur, Universal Hollywood, DLR/DCA.

October: A week on the beach to rest (maybe).

 

[wabbott]

We've also done a Tulips cruise (that one was delayed -twice since original reservation was March 2020 )as well as a Moselle/Rhine cruise.

If it was the Avalon cruise departing 4/1/2022, we were on that one, too.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

If it was the Avalon cruise departing 4/1/2022, we were on that one, too.

No, we use Vantage cruises.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

2 main ones ... Disney Cruise in the spring, 2 weeks in Greece in the summer.
Beyond that is really just some long weekends that we don't plan very far in advance.

 

[georgina]

We budgeted for travel in our retirement plans, but money will be a little tight until December when I go on Social Security, and until April 2024 when my wife also starts drawing Social security. So that is about half of it, and the other halvf is we are just not comfortable traveling yet with covid

DH and I caught Covid in Orlando in May 2022. It was very mild for us. Since then we have been to England in July, he was 2 weeks diving in the Philippines in August, then Belize in November and the Caymans in December without incident. I was in Orlando in August and December. He had a hip replacement in early Jan and is heading to dive in the Red Sea in a few weeks. everyone has to do what they are comfortable with I guess. We still mask on planes and I expect some of his land trips in Egypt he will mask for.

 

[DCLMP]

My mom's property taxes were $996 a year. (Thanks to Prop 13 in California) They stepped up for the people who bought the house. Same house with new owners, $9069 a year. My mom (and my dad when he was alive) had a motto, if you couldn't pay cash for something, you didn't need it.
Their first house they bought for $2,500 cash. Sold it 10 years later for $50,000, about their last house for $29,500 cash brand new in 1960.

So… are you planning any vacations this year?

 

[tvguy]

So… are you planning any vacations this year?

See Post # 4

 

[DCLMP]

See Post # 4

You want me to count your posts?

 

[tvguy]

You want me to count your posts?

They're numbered, no need to count. (upper right corner)

 

[ronandannette]

Because you don't care to go away any longer, or they're not budgeted in your retirement plans?

Probably a rhetorical statement since "vacation" for many of us means a break from work. With no work, your entire life's a vacation of sorts.

 

[Jeannie]

Probably a rhetorical statement since "vacation" for many of us means a break from work. With no work, your entire life's a vacation of sorts.

Never even thought of that... and I've been retired for almost 8 years!

 

[dvcgirl67]

Probably a rhetorical statement since "vacation" for many of us means a break from work. With no work, your entire life's a vacation of sorts.

That makes sense, so when I retire....I'll be "vacationing"....and then I'll have to become European so I can go "on holiday".

 

[Jeannie]

To answer the original question, 5/6
Jan: WDW
May: WDW
July: Ireland
September: DVC member cruise followed by WDW
December: WDW