Is The Shop Good Enough?

Projectnut, you bring up some good points.
The more I think about it, I really like the idea of living within our means especially as we approach retirement. I've always heard, you want to be debt free when you retire. These days, that's not an easy thing to accomplish. With home prices like you mentioned, college for the kids, property taxes, the ever increasing cost of health care etc.
The home we have now is in a very quiet neighborhood. it's well built and well insulated. Built in 2000 and I have a 200 amp service!!. The neighbors stick to themselves for the most part. The landscaping can be mowed, trimmed, blown and cleaned up without taking up the whole day. I have a Horror Freight within two miles, close to downtown, good restaurants, bars, Lowes-Home depot, shopping etc. We have our travel trailer parked at a storage place about 5 miles away for $65 a month.
Why would I want to dig into hard earned savings to pay for a larger piece of property with a home and shop space that will need updating for sure. ( = more money)
To buy a new home with a one acre lot in our area is close to a cool million. Of course the home is a custom. Too big with high ceilings, huge kitchen, four bathrooms etc. no pool yet.
Why does a couple need four bathrooms?
We would have to leave California if we wanted to upgrade space wise if we wanted it to be in our budget. Heck, you can buy 5 acres in the middle of nowhere for a very reasonable price. We like living close to our grandchildren, my mother and our kids.
I started this thread to hear myself think. It's good therapy to discuss this with my friends.

I think I'm about ready to say, sweetie, let's get the kitchen done then look into that master bath. :) Let's stay a while.
 
Janderso,
I can understand the questioning of should I or shouldn't I. If for no other reason to hear ourselves out loud and confirm our previous decisions. It is always nice to dream of that huge shop with your RV in one bay, machine shop in another and wood working shop in still another. But how often would we actually use all that space.

As I approach retirement in a couple of years, we have to make these decisions as well. We don't have a home at this stage and will have to buy something that will be our forever home. It is just the two of us and we don't have kids so no grand kids as well. I want a shop, all my tools have sat in storage far too long after we lost everything from 2008. Have worked hard to build up a nest egg since, living on our boat to keep expenses down and be close to Boeing and work.

I find myself looking at homes that are on property with shops and dream of them, then run the numbers against my retirement budget and question the logic. Most of the existing houses in the rural areas we want to be in would require a huge investment to bring up to date. We are contemplating buying some property and instead of a custom home, thinking about a manufactured and a metal shop. We are constantly pulled between what we want, what we need and what we can afford. It is a juggling act for sure. One thing I would like to be able to do is to do small jobs in the shop to help with finances. So the shop is not only a play area for me but a potential income. Nice to think about but is it practicable or cost effective.

The answer, no idea, still working on it. But it is good that we ask ourselves these questions.
 
As one of the guys I used to work with always said. "At this stage of my life I can afford anything I want! Fortunately I don't want anything"
 
Debit free retirement was our goal and we made it. This November will be the second anniversary of my retirement and my wife had to quite her nursing career about three years prior to my retirement due to health issues. I keep working until she was 65 and retired at age of 71.

We both have a monthly guilt free nominal allowance that works for use. Though of moving several times over the past 20+ years and just did not want a bigger house/mortgage. So we are both quite pleased with our decision and grateful that things worked out as planned for use.

If its not broke then don't fix it so site back and enjoy retirement!
 
I got lucky when it came to retirement. First off there were no kids, so those expenses never happened. Not spending the money was a positive, but no kids could turn into a negative some years down the road. Both the wife and I had good jobs and decided we would retire at 55. As it turned out she did retire at 55, but spent some long hours and long days taking care of her parents before they passed away. As for me when 55 came I really wasn't ready to go.

There were rumors of buyouts down the road so we talked it over and decided I should "stay until they paid me to leave". It took another 2 years before we were presented with a buyout. The choices were 1. Stay with the company in my current capacity and hope I didn't get laid off ( a layoff would negate any previous buyout offer). 2. Take a position at another facility where the Engineering Manager "hated people from corporate" and hope I could survive. 3. Take the money and run.

It took almost 3 seconds to make my decision. Needless to say I took the money and ran. The monetary offer was great, that and any accumulated pension (accumulated before the advent of 401 K's) could be taken as a lump sum. In addition we could take control of our own 401K and invest as we saw fit. The only downside was that I had to earn (either from new employment or investments) enough to make it from age 57 to 62 when Social Security became available.

Looking back leaving at that moment was the right thing to do. It wasn't long after that the company decided to move it's headquarters to Chicago. The people that stayed had the choice of going to Chicago or being terminated with minimal severance. About 4 years after the HQ functions moved the company was sold and the new owners decided to close the remaining production facility permanently. I've been "retired" 14 years now and haven't once been bored because of a lack of things to do. Working there was a great experience, and I enjoyed every minute of it.
 
Janderso said:
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Didn't google it, from memory of B&W baseball films on ESPN. There was a major league pitcher who throw a high lob to home plate. Little energy in the ball, so tough to knock it out of the park. Ted Williams did in an All Star game stepped toward the mound to get a little more into the swing. It never caught on, probably because hitters decided knocking it into the gap to 2 bases was good enough.
 
Don't make the mistake of thinking that moving out of California will save you money on the cost of a house. No, sir. Lots of areas are expensive these days if for no other reason than being places that are nice to live. I live in the Seattle area, outside of the city but within the public transportation footprint. My house is 90 years old, 600 square feet, with a damp basement (I built the shop, so that's not factored in), and I am embarrassed by my house's high appraisal value. But that's not my comment. I think you should remodel and update the things about your current place that you want to change. A set of granite(like) countertops probably wouldn't cost more than the cost of rental vans and trailers to move to a new location. Bring your house up to your standard, and if you still decide to leave you can recoup some of those expenditures. Seems better to me than just walking away.
 
When I retired years ago for health reasons I moved onto my sailboat and my son moved into what we called the family home. I got rid of everything that wouldn't fit on the boat except for my car. After a couple of years the car went to. I was living on the boat down in Mexico. Life was good and the living was easy. $325 per month covered all of my living expenses.

Even when I brought the boat back up to San Diego I still didn't get a car. Everything I really needed was within walking distance. Or accessible on the excellent public transit system in San Diego. During this time period I realized that you really don't need that much to be happy. That true happiness comes from an inner peace. Not from what you have.

When my mom needed a place to live I moved off the boat and bought a comfortable home on 5 acres in the foothills east of Fresno. Debt free. Now I have acquired a house and garage full of stuff. All my stuff gives me something to do. Sometimes too much. Yet I could easily live without any of it. Who knows how long my mom will be with me. She turned 102 this month. After she passes I will most likely downsize again. And probably move closer to my daughter. That may not be possible. As Jeff said home prices have skyrocketed in most of California over the last several years.

Still have the boat. It is in Morro Bay. Close to my daughter and her family in Cambria. When the time comes if I can't find a place to live debt free somewhere close to them I will use the boat as my beach house and stay where I am.

One of our friends in Morro Bay suggested to my mom once when talking about moving that we could always rent. My mom's response was classic. We'd rather live in a tent on our own land then rent. If I am able to move I will downsize to a small 1 bedroom single wide manufactured home with a 2 to 3 car garage for a shop. There are a couple of areas where I think that I could do this and still stay debt free.

Life is still good and the living is still easy.
 
mickri said:
When I retired years ago for health reasons I moved onto my sailboat and my son moved into what we called the family home. I got rid of everything that wouldn't fit on the boat except for my car. After a couple of years the car went to. I was living on the boat down in Mexico. Life was good and the living was easy. $325 per month covered all of my living expenses.

Even when I brought the boat back up to San Diego I still didn't get a car. Everything I really needed was within walking distance. Or accessible on the excellent public transit system in San Diego. During this time period I realized that you really don't need that much to be happy. That true happiness comes from an inner peace. Not from what you have.

When my mom needed a place to live I moved off the boat and bought a comfortable home on 5 acres in the foothills east of Fresno. Debt free. Now I have acquired a house and garage full of stuff. All my stuff gives me something to do. Sometimes too much. Yet I could easily live without any of it. Who knows how long my mom will be with me. She turned 102 this month. After she passes I will most likely downsize again. And probably move closer to my daughter. That may not be possible. As Jeff said home prices have skyrocketed in most of California over the last several years.

Still have the boat. It is in Morro Bay. Close to my daughter and her family in Cambria. When the time comes if I can't find a place to live debt free somewhere close to them I will use the boat as my beach house and stay where I am.

One of our friends in Morro Bay suggested to my mom once when talking about moving that we could always rent. My mom's response was classic. We'd rather live in a tent on our own land then rent. If I am able to move I will downsize to a small 1 bedroom single wide manufactured home with a 2 to 3 car garage for a shop. There are a couple of areas where I think that I could do this and still stay debt free.

Life is still good and the living is still easy.
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San Diego, Morro Bay, Cambria. Talk about expensive!!
I love San Diego. Unfortunately so does everyone else.
November 9th 2018, my wife and I had my 2017 F-150 and the clothes on our backs. Yes it was terrifying but in some ways, there was a sense of freedom. I get it.
Minimalism has merit.
 
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