Is it finally time to retire?

Business Forum Personal Finance
1

My husband (69M) is already retired with no pension, and I (66F) am still working about 35 hours a week. Together, we bring in around $4,600 a month, and neither of us has a pension. We don’t have kids, no debts, and our mortgage is fully paid. The house is worth about $470K, and we have two good vehicles with no loans on them.

Our energy bills and other house expenses, including taxes and insurance, come to around $1,000 a month. We live a pretty simple life. Our combined OAS and CPP bring in about $3,770 a month, and we’ve saved close to $900K in TFSAs and RRSPs.

Is it safe to say I can finally retire?

2

I’d say you’re more than ready to retire. Just make sure your will is in order because that’s a good chunk of change to pass on.

3

Pat said:
I’d say you’re more than ready to retire. Just make sure your will is in order because that’s a good chunk of change to pass on.

Hey, I’m your long-lost child coming to claim my share! :joy:

4

@Noe
:rofl:

5

Pat said:
I’d say you’re more than ready to retire. Just make sure your will is in order because that’s a good chunk of change to pass on.

Haha, we’ve already got wills, but thanks for the heads-up.

6

@Dani
Time to start enjoying life and take some nice vacations.

7

@Dani
Definitely, enjoy your money while you can.

8

@Dani
Totally agree! Enjoy everything you’ve worked so hard for. Wishing you both well.

9

Briar said:
@Dani
Totally agree! Enjoy everything you’ve worked so hard for. Wishing you both well.

Best advice yet! Thank you :blush:

10

@Dani
I hope you don’t mind me asking, but why didn’t you have children? I’m in a similar situation and would love to hear what life was like without kids.

11

Cary said:
@Dani
I hope you don’t mind me asking, but why didn’t you have children? I’m in a similar situation and would love to hear what life was like without kids.

We’re in our 70s now, retired, and have no kids or close family. Honestly, I’m not too worried about how things will turn out in the next 10-15 years. Both my husband and I are recovering addicts, and when we got clean 35 years ago, having kids wasn’t something we felt we needed. We’ve had no regrets about it.

12

@Dani
I think the original comment was just pointing out that you’ve clearly saved enough, and it’s a bit surprising you’ve worked this long unless you love your job.

13

Drake said:
@Dani
I think the original comment was just pointing out that you’ve clearly saved enough, and it’s a bit surprising you’ve worked this long unless you love your job.

Back in the 80s, the standard advice was to save $1M for retirement, so that’s what we worked towards. I don’t feel like we oversaved, but we were careful.

14

@Dani
Why did you think you needed $1M when your OAS and CPP already cover your monthly expenses? Did you ever get advice from a financial planner, or were you just working off that old number?

15

Drake said:
@Dani
Why did you think you needed $1M when your OAS and CPP already cover your monthly expenses? Did you ever get advice from a financial planner, or were you just working off that old number?

Costs always rise. There’s always something—repairs, medical expenses, helping out family. We prepared for all the unexpected stuff. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

16

@Dani
Same here. We were told we oversaved, but it gives us peace of mind. No regrets.

17

Caiden said:
@Dani
Same here. We were told we oversaved, but it gives us peace of mind. No regrets.

Exactly!

18

Dani said:

Caiden said:
@Dani
Same here. We were told we oversaved, but it gives us peace of mind. No regrets.

Exactly!

And we still live below our means, and we’re happier for it.

19

@Caiden
It’s the way we’ve always lived, and it’s worked for us.

20

@Dani
It’s funny how you ask for advice and then just share your own thoughts without really addressing the questions. Classic ego move, lol.