Thursday, February 11, 2021

We Are DINKS again


 My Sweet Bear, retired from teaching two years ago, last month. Well sort of.  We worked out an early retirement buyout, and the University paid him for a year to be on special assignment, that assignment was stay home and relax. That ran out in December of 2019.  That is when we became SINKS. 

Before my midlife crisis, back in my home building days we did a lot of strategizing on market segmenting.  We started with newlyweds and nearly deads, also known as young couples buying their first house, and older couples buying their last.  Then there were empty nesters,  families whose children had grown up and left, or been forced out of the house.  We paid little attention to single people - looking back at it that was a failure to recognize a real market.  Most couples we assumed would have children. SINKS were couples with one income and no kids, more exciting (profitable) than growing families.  Then were were DINKS, double income, no kids, these couples could afford a home with more high profit margin amenities. 

So for over a year we lived on my income. Nothing to complain about, we lived well, took a vacation, even ended up with more cash on hand at the end of the year than at the beginning of the year. We were SINKS for a year. This month, Sweet Bear's retirement income starts paying.  He will be a Bear with an independent income. As a couple we will have a bit more discretionary income. It is good to be DINKS again. 29 months until my retirement income kicks in. Not that I am counting or anything.  

16 comments:

  1. So basically, your bears with a soon to be double income again is what your saying? You can gets lots of honey then!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  2. We would call that a whole bunch of "extra" money! Exciting.

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    1. And being stingy, I know where some of it will end up

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  3. Anonymous2/11/2021

    What we probably call a self funded retiree. I am one of those until I reach age pension age here for me at 67. Self funded retirees here receive no support aside from a few minor benefits of being an over 60s Senior Citizen.

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    1. Andrew, the US system is multi part. The national pension system, commonly known as Social Security, is funded by a tax on earned income (payroll). The full retirement age for that is currently 66, it will be 66 and 8 months in a couple of years. You can draw on that early, as early as 62 with a reduced benefit, or delay to as much as 70 with increases in benefit amount. Jay waited until 66. We also have tax differed retirement savings accounts, variously known as 401k, 403b or IRA. This is money voluntarily set aside from earnings, often with an employer match or contribution, with income tax differed until it is drawn. You can draw on that as early as 58 1/2, you have to start drawing on it by 72. The income from those will be about 40% of our retirement income when I stop working. I also have a small, old fashioned guaranteed pension, that I will start drawing at 65 ($518 a month for life, payable to who ever lives the longest.) Health insurance, Medicare, does not kick in until 65, that is why I have 29 months left to work.

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  4. Something to look forward to!

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    1. I need to keep reassuring myself that it will all be okay and we can start spending instead of saving, it is okay.

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    2. Just give me a new kitchen and then you can be as stingy as you want... with your money of course. I'll continue to spend mine on frivolous luxuries. 😘

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  5. I could talk retirement for days. There is nothing I look forward to more. We are so conservative we always underestimate benefits and overestimate costs and taxes. We’ll both get more exact numbers as we get closer to retirement (5.5 years for me: 7.5 for hubby.) we figure there will be one year we will operate at our lowest salary (Jeffrey’s first year of retirement, my third) and then it will slowly build over 4 years to where we’ll technically make more on retirement than we do working right now. (Once you account for what we pay in taxes, union dues, gas and the debt that will be paid off by retirement.) We’ll have 2 pensions (not taxed in NY) 2 SS monthly payments, and 2 deferred comp monthly payments (which we’ve been building for 29 years.) And we’ll keep our benefits with a slight boost in monthly payments. So hopefully all the hell of trudging through these last few years of work will have been worth it. Also, no human kids (dogs are wayyyyyyyy cheaper) so we’re Super-DINKS.

    Sassybear
    Www.Idleeyesandadormy.Com

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    1. Sounds like you have a good plan. I am the one that nailed down numbers, and figured out we can afford this. We paid off the house a couple of years ago (but we have a $700+ monthly condo fee!) Being debt free has been wonderful. 29 years of deferred comp, really adds up.

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  6. You guys are rich as Roosevelt. I hope you two marvel in your resources.

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