If we had made this decision our entire financial situation would have been different

My husband and I have never been good at sitting still. After finishing college, we decided to follow his career. Since I could work almost anywhere, the decision seemed logical. I can’t count the benefits of opening ourselves up to new opportunities, people, and experiences. We have been to many places and met people who have enriched our lives immeasurably. But we also paid a price.

our decision

Over the years we have moved 24 times. Aside from staying long enough for our sons to finish middle and high school in one city, we’ve always been game to go wherever he asks. As you can imagine, this lifestyle has led us to buy and sell many homes.

We decide to move to a new state (or country) and put down roots for a while, and then when something happens that’s “too good to pass up,” we move on.

As you can imagine, buying and selling homes so frequently means that we rarely make enough money in real estate to write about them. We never stayed in one house for long. In fact, the only homes that made impressive returns were the homes we sold in the summer of 2022, which was largely due to COVID-19 and the resulting housing shortage.

compromise plan

Deciding to move so often meant we never stayed anywhere long enough to pay off the mortgage. We currently have a mortgage and I know my husband will take it until he retires (I hope I never retire).

When it comes to retirement, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. For example, we often hear experts say that people should pay off, or at least downsize, their mortgage before retirement. But we planned to retire with our mortgage paid off, and part of that plan was to pay off all our other debt. As long as you don’t have any other debt, it looks like you’ll be fine with your retirement budget.

The point is this: We know that if we had planted deep roots and refused to move, we wouldn’t have been in this boat. By now, any of our first five or six homes would have been paid off. And that would have been really (really) good. But that wasn’t what we wanted. All we wanted was to experience new places and meet new people. We wanted to see more of the world.

Despite what experts say about taking out a mortgage in retirement, we have no regrets. How could we? We have friends scattered all over the world and memories of places we thought we would never visit.

But every decision comes with a cost. We traded our mortgage-free life for one of travel and experiences. I’m sure it was the right choice for us, but it won’t be the right choice for everyone.

your decision

I mentioned earlier that I have a budget for retirement. Even if you’re too young to imagine yourself growing older, your retirement budget can act as a GPS to show you where you are, inform your decisions, and give you an idea of ​​how much you need to reach. your goal.

Your retirement budget is simple to put together and consists of just three parts:

1. How much income you can expect to receive: This includes Social Security payments, pension payments, bonds, rental income, and other guaranteed sources of income.
2. How much you can expect to spend each month: This includes housing, food, utilities, transportation, medical care, travel, and other expenses needed for your retirement dreams.
3. Expected lifespan: Let’s face it; None of us know how much time we have. However, there are many life expectancy calculators online that can give you a rough idea.

Once you have a rough idea of ​​how much money is coming in and going out each month, you will also have a rough idea of ​​how much you need to save and invest.

One visit to a good financial advisor will tell you if you’re on the right track. If you’re nervous about meeting a financial advisor because you don’t have enough money or are embarrassed about past financial mistakes, don’t let that stop you. Your financial advisor has seen it all, and nothing about you or your financial situation will shock them.

Last year, Bloomberg reported that nearly 40% of all homeowners in the U.S. own their homes outright. I may not be one of them, and that’s okay. I have my own plan, so you can too.