What are your retirement plans?

[Bill O]

Originally Posted by Captain Graham

PS Because she does not like boating in any way my sailboats have always been cheap craigslist boats that I fixed up. My current sailboat is a Watkin27 that I paid $4,000. Before this boat I was sailing an Alacrity 19 that I paid $500.

Maybe if you show her non-project boats w/more modern amenities, then she may change her mind. A boat show isn't a bad place to browse.
I would also shoot for a larger boat (mi. mid 30s) so it appears to have some "me" space if needed. (We don't have this issue, but understand many couples seem to want their individual time/space.)

[c.K.]

Originally Posted by Captain Graham

My background
I am 65 Years old and have been weekend sailing most of my life.
My wife is not a boater and really does not like sailing so living on a boat is not going to happen.
I also like a little adventure in my life which my wife does not share.
I also have been paying income taxes since 1973 and don't expect to just stop working when I retire.

So during our 38 Year marriage we compromised with our life style to fit our needs.
We have a nice home in a nice area (Northeast Ohio) for the family.
I have a job where I have traveled to remote areas in about 20 countries.
Places like Valdivia Chile, Ishinomaki Japan and Wolfsberg Austria.
These trips are normally 2-5 weeks long.
We have 3 boys and I have taken them on weekend sailing and camping trips while my wife enjoyed her time off.
My wife has been very involved in the school volunteering for almost everything.

With the boys all married the question is what are we going to do for the next 20 years.

My wife wants
1. To be within 10 hours drive from the boys.
Today Northeast Ohio is good but who know about the future
2. Have a family get together with all the boys and their families at least one per year.
3. Travel a little mostly in the US.
We have traveled to the UK and Paris but she does not like big trips.
Does not like the hassle of air travel.
Maybe a small camper or popup would fit the bill.
3. Wants a smaller house with one floor living.
She hates having the bedrooms on the 2nd floor and the laundry in the basement.
4. Wants to take some art classes like pottery, stain glass etc.

My wants
1. Something to do outside of the house.
2. Have some adventure in my life.
1 week to 1 month solo sailing or hiking trips will do nicely.

So with these different wants we think we are going to do the following
1. Downsize to a smaller ranch home in the next 5 years.
2. Most likely stay in Northeast Ohio but things my change.
3. During the Winter (Jan, Feb and March) travel around the US.
Maybe do the snowbird thing a few years, maybe get a camper and travel or maybe do a cruise or bus trips.
4. I have started 2 small boating business and expect to have them for the next 10 years.
See this thread for more info about my businesses
https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ss-212463.html
5. Do more volunteer work.
I have been in the big brother program for the past 5 years and it is great fun.
My wife will do some volunteer work at the schools, when the kids were growing up she did lots of volunteer work at he schools.
6. Take some college courses on subjects I am interested in.
They are free when you are over 60.
7. My wife always wanted to learn things like pottery and I think I would like to join her.
8. And lets not forget the required retirement actively , yells at the local kids to keep off my yard.

What are your plans?

you are on the right track , myself I'm 71 and still working , no dependents some volunteer work planning on coastal cruising when ever when ever
Good luck merry Christmas

[sail sfbay]

Bought a sailboat and equiped and rigged it for single handed sailing and a large comfortable powerboat. On the boats nearly every day either upgrading, cleaning, entertaining or just boating. When I am not doing that we camp in our fifth wheel trailer.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by sailingabe41ds

I am 62 ..few more years before slowing down...retire. My wife of 31 years and I did lots of travelling knowingly that one day the boogieman (ill health covid financial losses) could be waiting around the corner. Sure enough I lost her 13 yesrs ago. Now remarried...but little dedire to travel abroad at this time specially with all the restrictions.

The way I figure...sailboat to motorboat..motorboat to motorhome...motorhome to nursing home..and nursing home to final resting home.

We too plan on enjoying kids and future grand kids but we will not chase them half way around the country as they move place to place.

Currently in So Cal...probably move to northern Idaho and have our boat in the NW to explore that area and Alaska...God willing.



abe

I read this wrong and figured your wife was 31 !!!! ,

[Niall leslie]

Thanks to all for the various comments.
Mine are:
- Do what you'd really like to early in 'retirement' because illness may strike unexpectedly at any moment.
- If you've followed a conventional path spend a reasonably good portion of your retirement funds near the beginning of retirement when you're still able to undertake the things in which you're interested. There's not much point in having oodles of money when you are no longer in a condition to enjoy it's use.
- Ensure that you have a reason for getting up each morning.
best regards to all.

[Jaqun]

My wife and I are in year 81/2 of our ten yar plan to cruise off into the suset. Both of us have been racing on crews for 25+ years. Started taking cruising courses and doing deliveries and bareboating around 15 years ago. Did some ASA's 8 years ago than bought a 30 ft. freedom 5 years ago. This past year sold our house, sold our freedom, bought a 40 ft Caliber LRC. Did 2 passages back and forth to Bermuda. plannign to crew back from the Carribean in the spring, Sail our boat and troubleshoot in the summer, possibly do a east coast to the carribean trip in the fall and ritire full time and sail off in the spring 2023. wife has been with me all along. Hoping to stay healthy and enjoy some of my golden years!

[EmeraldCoastSailor]

I am in a somewhat similar situation except I have one huge advantage; I live in FL. Here is my plan:
I will continue frequent day sailing on my 35’ sloop that is easy to maintain, single hand, and in general get enormous amounts of pleasure for a relatively small cost/effort. I’ll do coastal cruising in her on a more frequent basis to get my adventure fix on an easy and affordable basis. My wife will daysail but isn’t interested in adventure.

For grand adventure I bareboat charter in neat places. We have a no wives boys trip next month in/out of St Lucia on a big monohull which should be huge sailing fun. For when the wives want to go, I get a catamaran and live in a floating condo for a week. Everyone has a great time and sometimes you get some decent sailing in.

8 months ago we bought a nice yet modest 26’ travel trailer. No big 5th wheel monster but plenty big enough to have wife based adventures via road-trips. We did 3800 miles to New England and back last July and plan on repeating this trip this summer. We also plan a western adventure late summer early fall. And we go camping 2-3 days at a time at places within a half day’s drive on about a monthly basis.

Not sure I will have much time for it but I used to play a lot more golf and I’d like to pick it back up semi regularly.

[Ifitsworthdoing]

Am nearing my 60th birthday (next spring) and have been working my *rse off as an obstetric anaesthesiologist in the British NHS for 3 decades. My wife recently took ill health retirement with osteoporotic spinal fractures and is almost finished her 2 year recalcification program. We are both boating newbies but wildly determined to spend our retirement as liveaboards in the Mediterranean.

Our plan is to convert almost all of our savings (incl. our dirt home) into a lovely new boat - a motor trawler version of a sailing catamaran - and take that all over the Med and European inland waterways over the next decade. Winters will be spent either aboard (there are some nice overwintering expat marina communities in Spain, Italy and Greece) or home sitting someone's holiday home for a peppercorn rent.

We are hoping to be able to utilise some additional income streams as our pensions will not be large - I can do locum hospital work, and we may look into fiction writing (cf. Ed Robinson's Trawler Trash series) as well as hopefully monetising the cutting edge eco technology on our boat (which is planned as a cheaper version of the Swiss Silent-Yachts) demo exhibiting for various manufacturers at major Boat Shows ...

There aren't any grandkids on the horizon for the time being, and we reckon family members and friends will be keen to visit us (for waterborne weeks at a time) rather than the other way round. What we both are really looking forward to though is the camaraderie of the yachting community, and the joy of learning new skills.

[AJ_n_Audrey]

My situation is similar to OP's; I am 62, and I plan to retire in a little over a year. My wife is lukewarm on travel, but she is more enthusiastic if we are doing a trip with friends. We have two sons, both of whom live within a four hours drive. We will keep our current house (though if it were up to me, I'd sell it).

My plan, which I have repeatedly discussed with her to get buy-in, is that I'm going to sail south to FL and then to the Bahamas, which I've done a couple of times now. She will join me for protected water cruising (Exumas, Abacos, PR to BVI), but not on open ocean legs. On the longer legs from BVI to Winwards and south, I'm going to either get friends to go along, or singlehand. So my wife will fly in at certain locations, but she doesn't have to do open ocean if she doesn't want to.

Like OP, I want some adventure while I'm still physically able, because you never know what will happen. I'm goal oriented, so planning and prepping the boat for the Caribbean trip, hitting most or all the major islands is something which gives me pleasure.

We get together regularly with my sons and grandson, so I'm happy and my wife is happy with that. Plus they occasionally go on sailing trips with us, but that is limited because they both work.

The one area where our opinions diverge is on a second home. I found a beautiful place (well, actually needs some work), very inexpensive, rentable and probably a break-even based on rentals, on an island in the Windwards that I love. She is not yet on board, but has agreed to go forward conditionally. So we'll see.

My view is, I've got a social security record since 1974, and I'm ready to have fun. My former boss retired in Dec 2019 with thoughts of cruising, and then COVID hit, and now he is in early stage Alzheimers, and he will never cruise. That is not gonna be me, dammit.

Adventure before dementia.

[Captain Graham]

Originally Posted by Ifitsworthdoing

Am nearing my 60th birthday (next spring) and have been working my *rse off as an obstetric anaesthesiologist in the British NHS for 3 decades. My wife recently took ill health retirement with osteoporotic spinal fractures and is almost finished her 2 year recalcification program. We are both boating newbies but wildly determined to spend our retirement as liveaboards in the Mediterranean.

Our plan is to convert almost all of our savings (incl. our dirt home) into a lovely new boat - a motor trawler version of a sailing catamaran - and take that all over the Med and European inland waterways over the next decade. Winters will be spent either aboard (there are some nice overwintering expat marina communities in Spain, Italy and Greece) or home sitting someone's holiday home for a peppercorn rent.

We are hoping to be able to utilise some additional income streams as our pensions will not be large - I can do locum hospital work, and we may look into fiction writing (cf. Ed Robinson's Trawler Trash series) as well as hopefully monetising the cutting edge eco technology on our boat (which is planned as a cheaper version of the Swiss Silent-Yachts) demo exhibiting for various manufacturers at major Boat Shows ...

There aren't any grandkids on the horizon for the time being, and we reckon family members and friends will be keen to visit us (for waterborne weeks at a time) rather than the other way round. What we both are really looking forward to though is the camaraderie of the yachting community, and the joy of learning new skills.

Since you are new to boating I will give you my standard recommendation.
Before you buy an expensive boat buy a smaller cheaper one and see if you like it.

My father had a friend who day sailed a few times on friends sailboat.
At 65 he sold his home in Connecticut to buy a new expensive sailboat to cruise the Caribbean. They (Him and his wife) sailed down to Florida got divorced and lost $100,000 on the boat. His dream became a nightmare.

Hopefully you know what you are doing.

[Captain Graham]

My wife's parents retired to Holiday City in New Jersey. (Near Tom's River)
A very large 55+ community with club house, pool, social groups, bus trips, etc.

They had a great time for the first 10 years but then it become depressing just being around old people.

When her dad died we invited her mom to live with us in Ohio and she jumped at it.
My youngest son was still in high school and she loved talking with him and is friends.
She also liked going to school football game, plays and music events.

My wife and I agree that we always want to live in an area where we can hear kids playing.

[MicHughV]

Like others here, I retired some years ago.

Initially, I missed " going to work", my job, my fellow associates, etc.

For a short period of time, I did some part time work, but that soon dried up.

I then decided to embrace my retirement and havn't looked back since. I'm busier than ever, just not work related.

Boats come in every shape, size and form. Though I have been a sailor for most of my life, I was also introduced to fishing. This puts you on the water during the day, but gets you back home by evening, maybe even with some fresh fish.

For the longest time, I trolled a pair of rods of the stern of my sailboat. My catch rate was a hit and miss affair. I have since " learned how to fish" and my fishing rod collection has swelled from 2 to 17. My success rate has also skyrocketed.

I mention all this to give you an alternate "boating" option.

[michaelrene]

51 now, retirement in 9 years. Decent pension of about 5000/month. Was planning on selling house and getting a 42 ft catamaran and sailing down to the equator and circumnavigate for 10 years or so. The wife was on board and even agreed that if I got dementia to cut the life jacket and let me go. I won’t remember her doing it. (Lol just kidding). But now grandkids have entered the picture and she is not sure anymore. Might have to compromise and get a large boat here at home to live on during the summer and at a house for the winter. I live 20 minutes from Sarnia Ontario Canada and currently sail a Tanzer 7.5 on Lake Huron. Last 2 summers I’ve taken 2 week vacations and sailed up to tobermory and into Georgian bay. It’s an amazing experience and a small taste of the cruising lifestyle.

[waterman46]

Originally Posted by Mrs.

Yeah,my husband wants to,but I'm still not on 'board' yet.

Some people just are not attracted to life on the water, or they can't tolerate living in cramped conditions, and I hope that's the main problem for you, rather than an issue caused by being in a small space with your husband for too long.



People's behavior can change drastically when they enter a different lifestyle. Since I know nothing of your situation, but you did post here, I'd hope you can soon find a satisfactory answer to your current predicament.


Do give sailing, and in general, voyaging on the water a chance! For most of us here, it's the spice of life!

[Captain Graham]

Originally Posted by Niall leslie

Thanks to all for the various comments.
Mine are:
- Do what you'd really like to early in 'retirement' because illness may strike unexpectedly at any moment.
- If you've followed a conventional path spend a reasonably good portion of your retirement funds near the beginning of retirement when you're still able to undertake the things in which you're interested. There's not much point in having oodles of money when you are no longer in a condition to enjoy it's use.
- Ensure that you have a reason for getting up each morning.
best regards to all.

Very good advice.
Do the things you like early because time is always moving forward.

I read a study that explained most people spend more the first 5 years of retirement then the last 5 years.
The point of the study was that you do not need to always take more money out of your investments as you grow older.
Yes inflation will cause your base living expenses to go up but your discretionary spending will drop.