My Tireless Retirement - Week 235

 

This week was a quietly productive one for me.  First up was to go to Home Depot and do some “unshopping”.  I had a pile of storage items I realized I didn’t need so I wanted to get those out of the house and my money back.  But, the big reason to go was to make a big purchase.  I bought a new refrigerator.

 

This is the fanciest refrigerator I have ever owned 😍

When I moved into the new house the fridge in the kitchen was in bad shape.  I’m pretty sure it was in someone’s garage and the previous owner used it to replace the one he took with him.  I don’t know that for sure, but that’s my guess.  Especially as this one was scratched, dented and had a lot of dirt sitting on top of it, I suspect it sat in a garage or on a patio somewhere.  Inside it was surprisingly clean, but missing some of the shelves on the door.  The top freezer didn’t seal properly and it wasn’t long before I could tell it was struggling to keep things cool.  That being said, it did last long enough for me to research and figure out what exactly I wanted to replace it with and what I chose, to me anyway, is absolutely beautiful.  I am so happy with my new refrigerator which was delivered bright and early on Monday morning.

 

At Home Depot I also picked up a set of doorknobs with deadbolts for the front and back doors.  Replacing the locks was one of those things that was high on my list, but with everything else on my plate it took me over a month to get this done.  I was okay with waiting because the previous owner now lives in another state.  But still, it was something I felt I should do soon and with only one key I definitely wanted to get it done before I lost it.  I feel very safe here, but having new locks makes me feel even more secure.

 

I treated myself to another new appliance last week.  I purchased a new toaster oven, a size larger than my old one and it has the air fryer function.  I have to say I do love having an air fryer option.  I realized that I don’t want to heat up the big oven on my stove just to cook a small thing like a couple fish fillets, a corn dog or a small pan of cornbread muffins.  I needed something tailored more for the way I actually cook for myself now and this new appliance is perfect for that.  Surprisingly it wasn’t much more to purchase than just an air fryer.

 

Along with the projects I had the usual everyday tasks to keep me busy as well.  I did laundry, made a batch of chili in my cute little Crockpot, baked cornbread in the new toaster oven, among some other things, and kept things neat and tidy.  I love that every day I can keep house neat, clean and tidy in only a few minutes and the rest of the day is mine to do with as I choose.

 

When the ads changed on Wednesday I did check them out to see if there was anything to tempt me to drive into town.  It turned out there wasn’t anything so I was content to just stay home.  It had been steadily raining all day and night beginning Monday and I think the best part of rainy days is staying home with a cuddly kitty, a hot beverage and relaxing.  Doing only what one truly wants to do. So, that is what I chose to do.

 

Other than my cute little ghosts in my kitchen I had no Halloween décor with me so I had popped into Dollar Tree the previous week and selected two new items to decorate my porch.  I hung them up on Wednesday to welcome the month of October.  It is hard for me to believe it is already October.  The past three months have been quite the whirlwind for me.  I’ve really come a long way in such a short time.

 

So, How Exactly Did I Make This All Happen?

 

When I was doing my retirement planning and getting ready to retire I always knew that selling my home would be a big part of that plan.  I needed to use the equity from the sale of that home to invest and grow my wealth for better financial security.  I always knew that Social Security alone would not be enough for me to live on without a lot of frugality and sacrifice.  In preparation of my retirement I took full advantage of my employer’s matching funds for my 401(k).  I also added a lot to my savings accounts, made sure my emergency account was fully funded, added as much as I could to my health savings account (HSA) and paid off all off my debt.  Only then did I submit my retirement package and start to count the days until I was out of there.

 

While I built into my financial plan wiggle room to account for inflation, I did not expect or plan for things to go the way that they have this past five years.  After filing to start receiving my Social Security benefits I received my new tax assessment on my home from the county.  Utility rates were going to increase as was my homeowner’s insurance, car insurance, etc.  For the first time I realized that my beloved home that I had owned for over thirty years was becoming a burden, both physically and financially.  It was becoming difficult and costly to keep it up and it was beginning to feel a bit like having a full time job.  It was time to do what I had always intended to do in the first place and put it up for sale.  Fortunately I didn’t have to list it with a realtor.

 

Boxes & bins that went into the U-box

I got rid of so much stuff!

Literally through a friend of a friend who knew someone who knew someone I was contacted by a couple looking to purchase a home as an investment.  They made me a very generous offer and without over thinking it (first time in my life that ever happened) I accepted their offer and got to work.  With a thirty day closing I had no time to waste so I spent the first week packing only the things I wanted to take with me.  What was left was priced for an estate sale, put up for sale on Facebook Marketplace or loaded into my car and taken to my neighborhood thrift store.  The truck and motorhome were already sold, which was not part of this plan at all, and I let that momentum carry me forward.  Within three weeks I had sold everything listed on Facebook Marketplace and held my estate sale.  I added everything I had made from those sales to the money from the sale of the truck and the  motorhome.

 

During this time I had also booked a U-haul U-box to come a week prior to closing so I could load the boxes of packed items and get them stored until I landed.  At the time I booked this I had no idea where I was going.  I actually thought I’d end up staying with the BFF while I figured that part out, but as I was doing everything else I was also researching places and looking at all kinds of different houses on Homes.com.  And then I did something I never thought I’d do.  I opened ChatGBT and told it what was going on and what I was hoping to find including a general idea of where I wanted to live and what kind of town I wanted to reside in.  As a result, it gave me some really solid options to look at until I found my place.  It matched my criteria and magically Homes.com had homes in that area that were exactly what I was looking for at prices that fit well within my budget.  I reached out to a realtor and went from there.  Sorry BFF, I will not be invading your space after all.  I’m sure he was quietly relieved.

 

My little road warrior

With my appointment set at the title company to close on my Boise house I went ahead and booked my hotel stays.  My plan was to use the proceeds from my estate sale to cover all of my travel expenses like gas and food and the proceeds from the truck to handle the hotel expenses.  Amazingly the estate sale did far better than I ever expected and I was able to handle all of my travel and hotel expenses with those proceeds alone.  I still had money left.  It took me three days to reach my destination and the next day the realtor showed me around town and took me to see a handful of homes I was interested in, the first one being the one I was most interested in and it ended being the one I bought.  I had a budget and this home came in well under budget which I was absolutely thrilled about.  Ten days after I arrived I checked out of my hotel and moved into my new house.

 

I didn’t pack  any furniture except for the buffet I use as a TV stand and a night stand.  No bed, nothing to sit on or eat at.  Fortunately the previous owner left behind a rather decent faux leather recliner in like new condition so I had that to start with.  Still do.  Once I closed on my new house (and while I waited a week for the U-box to arrive) I was able to use the proceeds from the truck to get everything I needed – new carpet, a bed frame, mattress and new bedding, a dining room table and chairs, a washer and dryer, a shed kit for the washer and dryer, a kitchen island, groceries and a bunch of other little things.  The money left over from the estate sale paid for applications fees, charges to set up utilities, some more groceries and that sort of stuff.  I still had money left from the budgeted amount for the new house as well as the sale of the motorhome so I ended up rolling that along with the remaining proceeds from the Boise house sale to use to invest in my future and grow my wealth.  By the time all was said and done, I’d done alright.

 

This dining set is perfect!

My new house is a tiny home, a park model RV, in a 55+ community.  I have a land lease that includes my water, sewer, trash and cable.  I pay separately for electricity, internet and propane.  My homeowners insurance and property taxes are less than $350 per year which is a significant savings over what I used to pay and because this home is so much smaller so are my utility bills.  Even with the land lease I am money ahead.  By the time I subtract what I was paying for water, sewer and trash in Boise it makes my rent only $250 a month.  I don’t know anywhere you can rent a home for that price.  Based on my previous expenses this was a very smart move.

 

Blessed with plenty to eat

What this now means for me is that my monthly Social Security check is not only enough to cover my housing costs , but it still leaves me with about two thirds of that income left over each month for living.  I can now afford to live very comfortably on my Social Security alone and still contribute to my savings each month should I choose to do that.  I likely will because that will allow me to replace my car whenever that needs to be done, it will allow me to afford to travel more and it will also allow me to enjoy some other nice things from time to time.

 

Had I continued to live in my previous home things would’ve been really tight and I would’ve needed to regularly dip into my retirement accounts in order to make things more comfortable and cover expenses like a new roof or home repairs.  Traveling would’ve likely been on an occasional basis and there wouldn’t have been much in the way of extravagance.  But now, I can pretty much do whatever I choose, within reason, and that is something I’ve never had before.  This move has given me financial security and freedom for the first time in my life.  I don’t have to worry anymore, which is how our retirement years are supposed to be, right?  To me, that is absolutely priceless.