This is a great article, Ben. Scary, but good. I will push back on Pamela a bit. Pamela, you are absolutely right about not needing as much as most of us Americans think we need.
However, the issues with Social Security, Medicare, healthcare costs, and rising costs in general are not going to be solved by Congress in time to make any difference for those of us retiring in the next 20 years. These things should have been dealt with decades ago. Because they weren't, the changes that will need to be made now will be dramatic (slashing benefits, raising age eligibility, killing programs all together). As a progressive, I have wished for universal healthcare in this country, but it won't happen in my lifetime.
Let's turn to a positive subject. Ben's options for going abroad represent a way to move into a situation that offers a different approach and (often) lower costs. It is also something new and exciting to do in this phase of our lives. I think it's awesome, but I only feel that way because we have someone like Ben to help guide the journey.
I'm not talking about those of us who are already struggling. I was pushing back on the people who have a massive house in Westchester, New York, with the four car garage and all kinds of toys like a tvs and snowmobiles stored there, along with their massive SUV. And the bills that they pay to somebody to come, mow their lawn and clean their pool every week and plow their driveway each winter. The ones with a walk in closet, that could be a bedroom for most of us.
If you go around the rest of the world, you quickly realized that Americans are virtually the only ones, except the uber rich, who marry themselves to a house and a style of living so fiercely that they will virtually run themselves into the ground to keep it, when they could easily downsize said they could work in a job that they enjoy, that isn't sucking the life out with them.
The system in America is the designed to make us continually want more. And it does a good job of keeping us in our place because all of our focus is on making more money to be able to support that life.
I'll be the first to say that the system is really screwed up for those of us at the lower end of the scale... And this country is insane for not having universal health care ( I lived in the UK for 8 years and had both my daughters there, so I have lived experience with this).
All that said, my social security is a meager $800/mo, and I don't have an IRA, so the interest from the money from my house sale is gonna be what allows me to travel. And I will have to travel simply. But I'll take that over having to work until I drop, which is the alternative if I stay here because my SS will only cover my property taxes. And in a way, I'm fine with living on little... Because I will appreciate every single experience that I manage to make happen.
You are absolutely right - I stand corrected and agree with everything you say here. I wish every American could experience at least 6 months abroad in another culture so they could understand that you don't "have" to have the big house and the big car and the "buy" culture. (I also think just in general, getting the chance to experience a culture outside the US would do Americans a world of good in terms of their world view, but that's another thing altogether...)
I understand and appreciate what you are feeling about your reasons for living frugally. I grew up with parents who taught me the importance and the value of doing that. My dad, in particular, grew up very poor and I learned from him not to take anything for granted. (Whenever I see things like a $300 t-shirt on TV, I always hear my Dad's voice in my head, going, "really?!") :)
When I was living in the UK, I had to go to the doc once, and when I got into the office I kept trying to give them my insurance card, and they politely kept turning it down. I was competely confused and gobsmacked. So I get what you mean about that. I'm glad you had that available to you for the birth of your daughters! When they talk about universal healthcare here in the US and people yell about it being "communist" I want to scream.
Anyway, I wish you the best on your travels. I hope you find peace and fun and laughter. I know that working with Ben, you will be in terrific hands! If you're ever in Porto after the fall of 2027, look me up and we'll share a meal and a Caipirão!
Porto (or possibly somewhere between Porto and Lisbon) is definitely on the list. I take my leap next Spring, I'll probably land in Portugal (I may start the whole thing by walking the Camino Francais...I did the Portuguese Camino last Fall), and I may have to pop out for awhile but I plan to explore a lot of Spain and Portugal, and maybe Greece over a few years as part of my travels. So maybe we can make that meal happen!
Pamela, that's amazing! I'm so impressed with all your travels! I am not as adventurous as you are at this point. To be honest, I am not able to hike right now because of health issues, but I'm working through that. By the time we get to Portugal, I plan to be in hiking mode! :)
Enjoy your travels. We should keep in touch - I would love about your adventures along the way! If you make it to Porto, we'll toast your journey!
I would say the majority of those things that you point out are still political, because the majority of them could be fixed by Congress. Most especially the healthcare debacle in this country.
I'm about to retire and don't have a 401k, and at best I might have $400k to invest when I sell my home. But I will be traveling the world because I don't need a 4 bedroom house with the two car garage, which is likely what those people have their $2M retirement fund our living in. They could be comfortable if they downsize, stop expecting to eat out several times a week, and they could likely spend a lot less on their vacations... And still be comfortable. Never mind that they could be using credit card points for their travel with the kind of money they are likely spending every week. I've managed to accumulate 500k+ points over the years by taking out points cards when I have a big spend coming up.
The biggest one is the fact that we live longer... And sadly, our families no longer want to take care of their elders here like they do in many other countries. I took care of my father, and honestly, that's one of the reasons I can do what I'm gonna do, because we invested the money from his home into something a little larger that we could both live in, and I put a lot of sweat equity into it, and it's increased drastically in value. The original value from his home wouldn't have lasted him 6 months in a nursing home, but I never would have allowed that to happen anyway... We actually went back to the nuclear family with 4 generations under one roof... My daughter and my granddaughter lived in my basement, and my daughter and I helped each other out with "sitting" for each other, when we needed to go out.
Perhaps if Americans went back to the nuclear family, and we voted in a government that actually does things FOR the people, instead of billionaires who are just lining their pockets with more money, we could get back to some sense of balance.
Most of these problems could, in theory, be addressed by policy. Healthcare costs, long-term care, the way Social Security is structured.
Where I landed after years of watching this stuff is this.
I stopped waiting for the system to fix itself.
I'm not cynical by nature, but I realized that waiting is "its own kind of trap". I don't spend mental energy on what should happen instead of planning for what is.
So I try to look at the facts as facts.
Healthcare costs X. Long-term care costs Y. Social Security buys less. These things are true. And the useful question, at least for me, is: given these facts, what am I going to do?
What you've written is actually a version of that.
In my experience, political discussions tend to pull energy away from solutions.
Which is why people end up arguing about what the government should do instead of figuring out what you can do. And for most people I talk to, there's actually a lot they can do.
In any case, sounds like you already figured out more than most, and I'm wishing you the best of luck with your travels!
This is a great article, Ben. Scary, but good. I will push back on Pamela a bit. Pamela, you are absolutely right about not needing as much as most of us Americans think we need.
However, the issues with Social Security, Medicare, healthcare costs, and rising costs in general are not going to be solved by Congress in time to make any difference for those of us retiring in the next 20 years. These things should have been dealt with decades ago. Because they weren't, the changes that will need to be made now will be dramatic (slashing benefits, raising age eligibility, killing programs all together). As a progressive, I have wished for universal healthcare in this country, but it won't happen in my lifetime.
Let's turn to a positive subject. Ben's options for going abroad represent a way to move into a situation that offers a different approach and (often) lower costs. It is also something new and exciting to do in this phase of our lives. I think it's awesome, but I only feel that way because we have someone like Ben to help guide the journey.
Best of luck to all of us!
Thanks Rhetta! I love the way you are thinking in solutions!
I'm not talking about those of us who are already struggling. I was pushing back on the people who have a massive house in Westchester, New York, with the four car garage and all kinds of toys like a tvs and snowmobiles stored there, along with their massive SUV. And the bills that they pay to somebody to come, mow their lawn and clean their pool every week and plow their driveway each winter. The ones with a walk in closet, that could be a bedroom for most of us.
If you go around the rest of the world, you quickly realized that Americans are virtually the only ones, except the uber rich, who marry themselves to a house and a style of living so fiercely that they will virtually run themselves into the ground to keep it, when they could easily downsize said they could work in a job that they enjoy, that isn't sucking the life out with them.
The system in America is the designed to make us continually want more. And it does a good job of keeping us in our place because all of our focus is on making more money to be able to support that life.
I'll be the first to say that the system is really screwed up for those of us at the lower end of the scale... And this country is insane for not having universal health care ( I lived in the UK for 8 years and had both my daughters there, so I have lived experience with this).
All that said, my social security is a meager $800/mo, and I don't have an IRA, so the interest from the money from my house sale is gonna be what allows me to travel. And I will have to travel simply. But I'll take that over having to work until I drop, which is the alternative if I stay here because my SS will only cover my property taxes. And in a way, I'm fine with living on little... Because I will appreciate every single experience that I manage to make happen.
Pamela
You are absolutely right - I stand corrected and agree with everything you say here. I wish every American could experience at least 6 months abroad in another culture so they could understand that you don't "have" to have the big house and the big car and the "buy" culture. (I also think just in general, getting the chance to experience a culture outside the US would do Americans a world of good in terms of their world view, but that's another thing altogether...)
I understand and appreciate what you are feeling about your reasons for living frugally. I grew up with parents who taught me the importance and the value of doing that. My dad, in particular, grew up very poor and I learned from him not to take anything for granted. (Whenever I see things like a $300 t-shirt on TV, I always hear my Dad's voice in my head, going, "really?!") :)
When I was living in the UK, I had to go to the doc once, and when I got into the office I kept trying to give them my insurance card, and they politely kept turning it down. I was competely confused and gobsmacked. So I get what you mean about that. I'm glad you had that available to you for the birth of your daughters! When they talk about universal healthcare here in the US and people yell about it being "communist" I want to scream.
Anyway, I wish you the best on your travels. I hope you find peace and fun and laughter. I know that working with Ben, you will be in terrific hands! If you're ever in Porto after the fall of 2027, look me up and we'll share a meal and a Caipirão!
Porto (or possibly somewhere between Porto and Lisbon) is definitely on the list. I take my leap next Spring, I'll probably land in Portugal (I may start the whole thing by walking the Camino Francais...I did the Portuguese Camino last Fall), and I may have to pop out for awhile but I plan to explore a lot of Spain and Portugal, and maybe Greece over a few years as part of my travels. So maybe we can make that meal happen!
Pamela, that's amazing! I'm so impressed with all your travels! I am not as adventurous as you are at this point. To be honest, I am not able to hike right now because of health issues, but I'm working through that. By the time we get to Portugal, I plan to be in hiking mode! :)
Enjoy your travels. We should keep in touch - I would love about your adventures along the way! If you make it to Porto, we'll toast your journey!
Well I am writing about my journey towards the nomad life... So go check it out...
Cool - will do!
I would say the majority of those things that you point out are still political, because the majority of them could be fixed by Congress. Most especially the healthcare debacle in this country.
I'm about to retire and don't have a 401k, and at best I might have $400k to invest when I sell my home. But I will be traveling the world because I don't need a 4 bedroom house with the two car garage, which is likely what those people have their $2M retirement fund our living in. They could be comfortable if they downsize, stop expecting to eat out several times a week, and they could likely spend a lot less on their vacations... And still be comfortable. Never mind that they could be using credit card points for their travel with the kind of money they are likely spending every week. I've managed to accumulate 500k+ points over the years by taking out points cards when I have a big spend coming up.
The biggest one is the fact that we live longer... And sadly, our families no longer want to take care of their elders here like they do in many other countries. I took care of my father, and honestly, that's one of the reasons I can do what I'm gonna do, because we invested the money from his home into something a little larger that we could both live in, and I put a lot of sweat equity into it, and it's increased drastically in value. The original value from his home wouldn't have lasted him 6 months in a nursing home, but I never would have allowed that to happen anyway... We actually went back to the nuclear family with 4 generations under one roof... My daughter and my granddaughter lived in my basement, and my daughter and I helped each other out with "sitting" for each other, when we needed to go out.
Perhaps if Americans went back to the nuclear family, and we voted in a government that actually does things FOR the people, instead of billionaires who are just lining their pockets with more money, we could get back to some sense of balance.
Thanks for the time to write this up Pamela.
Most of these problems could, in theory, be addressed by policy. Healthcare costs, long-term care, the way Social Security is structured.
Where I landed after years of watching this stuff is this.
I stopped waiting for the system to fix itself.
I'm not cynical by nature, but I realized that waiting is "its own kind of trap". I don't spend mental energy on what should happen instead of planning for what is.
So I try to look at the facts as facts.
Healthcare costs X. Long-term care costs Y. Social Security buys less. These things are true. And the useful question, at least for me, is: given these facts, what am I going to do?
What you've written is actually a version of that.
In my experience, political discussions tend to pull energy away from solutions.
Which is why people end up arguing about what the government should do instead of figuring out what you can do. And for most people I talk to, there's actually a lot they can do.
In any case, sounds like you already figured out more than most, and I'm wishing you the best of luck with your travels!
Really enjoyed this! So clearly broken down, well done
Thanks Joel, appreciate this!