Retirement Money
Our practice-retirement month on a fixed budget
For October we're living on what we expect to have after Greg retires. Halfway through: where it's easy, where it pinches and what we'll change.
Should we downsize? Two realtors and a spreadsheet
We priced our split-level, toured three ranch houses and ran the numbers on moving. Why we decided to stay, at least for now.
Where the old mortgage payment goes now
Three months after the payoff, $893 a month needed a plan. How we split it between savings, Greg's IRA and the roof we'll need.
We paid off the house
The last $893 payment went out in March. The phone call, the paperwork that came after and the escrow surprise nobody mentions.
Our first tax year without dependents
No more child credit, no more education credit, and a refund that shrank. What changed on our return and what I'll plan for next year.
Bumping Greg's 401(k) with catch-up contributions
After 50 you can put more in. How much we added, what it did to his paycheck and why we waited until the kid bills slowed down.
The empty-nest budget: where the kid money went
Groceries, gas, car insurance and the Venmo requests are down. Where the money went instead, by category, after a year.
Throwing extra at the mortgage: seven months to go
We refinanced to a 15-year in 2012. Why we chose to finish it early, what we gave up and the countdown on the fridge.
Reading our Social Security statements together
Greg at 62, 67 or 70, and my own record with a 24-year school career. What the statements showed and the questions they raised.
What my SERS pension estimate actually says
Twenty-four years in Ohio's school employee retirement system. Reading the estimate, the reduced-benefit ages and why I'm not drawing it yet.
Sitting down with our real retirement numbers
A legal pad, two statements and a pot of coffee. The first honest look Greg and I took at what we have and what we'll need.