We were DINK so everything we buy it’s for us or the dogs. MIL passed in March and that was the end of the line for the last of living parents. All our accounts as far as any $$$ we have as joint owner, beneficiary, and/or survivorship which means money and accounts immediately passes to the other in case either croaks and the house and land is joint ownership with survivorship. The car titles are in “or” status as well. Effectively, there shouldn’t be anything through probate this way. Just as good as a trust but better in a way, in the fact that there's no children involved that could make things stickier.
Retired last March at 57 as a shift supervisor at a pharmaceutical plant run by a big brand name in drugs, and the wife retired from her DOE sub-contractor job in March 2017. Strangely, been busier now than when working. We just paid off the house and besides utilities and insurance, only have a car payment at 1.72% interest. By the time we can start collecting IRA dividends without tax penalty and Social Security if it's there, we'll be making more in retirement than we did actually working. And still not having to touch the 401k's or initial core IRA investment. If we didn't work hard and save often over the years, I'd still be working. But we don't have to, so instead of 4:00 am alarm clocks and night shifts, it's 6:30-7:00 am wakeups on our own. Best thing so far about retirement is having to check what day it is.
Obviously had some time to reflect on our own mortality without the pressures of work or alarm clocks ruling the day. Still wandering a little trying to get a handle on this retirement thing, and also wondering whether a job instructing at a local technical college as an adjunct teacher is in my near future. They want me to come on board, but not sure. Supposedly only have to teach one week every 3 months or so. Or so they say NOW. Not sure about that once I get there, if I choose to go. Don't need to work, but not working makes you find something productive besides honey-do list items. But I don't want to work full time. I could have stayed doing what I was doing if I wanted full time work. Jury's still out on that.
I want to work on the 85 442 also, but there's so much other crap that seems to be more of a priority at the moment. I really need to fit that into the schedule somewhere or I'm afraid that might get pushed off the list. I thought when I retired I'd have so much more time to do things I wanted to do, but it isn't quite like that. At least not yet. It'll come. I got to get caught up on all the crap I never got around to when we were working.
My legacy is I'm going to be that old, crusty-*ss b*st*rd that has a bunch of cars that ain't selling them. 🙂 But my mistake is thinking the up and coming snowflake crowd could even conceive what a V8 is, let alone bug me to sell them one of the old cars like I did to those old guys with the 69 442's back in my day. Might have to do an explanation tour with handouts with this new crowd. I know I'm old, but not old enough to forget. I just think the days of raw power are seeing twilight days. Not because of the car companies, but because of the younger crowd not seeing the "old" cars the same way as we did when we were their age. They simply don't get it. There's a handful that like the old stuff, but it's rare. If they can't plug an iPhone into it, they're not interested.
l guess my other legacy is helping G-body (mostly Olds cuz that's all I know, really) owners overcome obstacles in restoring their rides in some small way. Maybe they can pass on those things to others that they got from me.
As long as I wake up on the green side of the grass, I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing. If I can just figure out what that is... 🤔
