Thread: Trailer Trash ... or...Getting a New "House"..sorta...

Originally Posted by gratewhitehuntr

TOPIC???

how big is your house?
what age are you going to retire?
what steps are you taking to make it happen sooner?
do you live at the edge of your means?
if so do you plan to change that?
and if you lose those means?

discuss

all good questions.
1. ~2000 ft^2 which is about right for me and the little woman, plus a 2-1/2 car garage
2. never. if I don't have work to do, I'll most likely kill myself.
3. I estimate I'll have enough to retire by the time I'm 45-47 at my current rate of savings. but I won't.
4. not even close.
5. n/a
6. I always make it a point to have 3 months worth of expenses (mine and my wife's) saved up. that money sits in a stable money market account. if we save more than that, it goes straight into a roth account. this is on top of our 401k contributions, which have been maxed out for a few years now.

the wife and i take retirement investment seriously and should be able to retire in our mid 40s even if the market never recovers. we view the house as an investment as well. we got it this spring for the same price as our rental (montly) since there were so many foreclosures. we were initially hesitant because of how small it is, but we decided it would be fun to get a smaller house and pay it off in 10 years, than to get one in the size range we were initially looking at (3500-4000 ft^2) and spend 30 years paying for it. I'm 27 now, my house should be bought and paid for by the time I'm 36. Not great, I guess, but I'm beating the spread, so to speak.

Wherever you want to move, go there A LOT and find people to talk to. Ask them about your soon to be neighbors and what they don't like about the place.
4 years ago I made a similar move (according to the theory that a well educated neighbor can be a pest just as an obvious idiot can but the latter may be simpler to be dealt with) but it took the new hood quite some time to adapt.
The people there make all the difference. Everything else can be bought at the hardware store.

I've been thinking along the same lines. When my disability gets approved I may just go the travel trailer route. Find a nice campground on the lake and stick there until I get tired of the location.