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When do you plan to retire and first trip

Steve Fatula

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I have met Steve and his wife. They are real people and Steve is sharing his experience with Health Sharing. You need to get over your personal bias and accept that there are legitimate health share organizations. Everyone needs to evaluate what works for them and be vigilant in whatever they select.

Yep, you were one of them (we'll be @ DSV Jan30-Feb14, you?). At Marco, met Steven Ting and Superchief (Bill). Met others as well.

I do get overly passionate about being cheap at times. Ok, most of the time. And I do like to think out of the box many times. But I try not to unless someone asks something, lol.

Ok, I'll edit to state we found VacationForever (love that name on so many levels) to be a very intelligent person on a wide variety of topics. We enjoyed meeting you guys. No clue if you guys have the same anything quite honestly, and couldn't care less. It's about people. SuperChief was very good to talk to and informative on some timeshare issues, and Steven we had a little less time with, but, he was super nice and generous too. Thanks Steven!
 
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VacationForever

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Yep, you were one of them (we'll be @ DSV Jan30-Feb14, you?). At Marco, met Steven Ting and Superchief (I think Rob?). Met others as well.

I do get overly passionate about being cheap at times. Ok, most of the time. And I do like to think out of the box many times. But I try not to unless someone asks something, lol.
We will be at DSV immediately after Thanksgiving for 2 weeks. We just decided that we would like to be there again around the same time frame when you will be there. We are late in making the decision and there are no 2BR available at DSV. We have gone ahead and try Shadow Ridge and it is in mid-Jan. We will do an ePlus if another 2BR pops up towards the end of January.
 
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Steve Fatula

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We will be at DSV immediately after Thanksgiving for 2 weeks. We just decided that we would like to be there again around the same time frame where you will be. We are late in making the decision and there are no 2BR available at DSV I. There is one week available at DSV II and we are trying to decide to take it or not.

It's quite possible more will come up, wouldn't give up yet. We're actually at Shadow Ridge the first 4 nights. That would be great if we could meet again!
 

Steve Fatula

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I wonder if it would be cheaper to buy an annual travel policy for around $600/year and travel continuously around the U.S. in Timeshares, mobile homes, or stay at your second home? Kind of like those people who live on cruise ships that find it cheaper than care facilities. I know you have to be a certain number of miles away from your primary home, but I wonder if it excludes second homes or mobile homes? If you are retired, there is no reason to stay at home.

There's SOME reason (at least for us) to stay at home at least sometimes. People we know who live here, relatives, hobbies that necessitate being here, and some others come to mind. But yeah, it's not awful! We built our home to be what we always wanted, and our final home. It has features we greatly enjoy and would be very difficult to replicate like our home theater room (not name only....). Not for everyone for sure, and I doubt the things we have done with our home would make it easy to sell. But that's ok, don't care. I enjoy working outside on the property, which again is not what everyone wants to do but it is me.

But I get the meaning here. It was enjoyable traveling wide and far this year. But since we didn't really stay anywhere for too long, it was also hard, the constant traveling. That's likely different than what you are saying. We have an even dozen resorts this year, most widely separated. We enjoy the non US traveling while we still can.
 

Brett

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I have met Steve and his wife. They are real people and Steve is sharing his experience with Health Sharing. You need to get over your personal bias and accept that there are legitimate health share organizations. Everyone needs to evaluate what works for them and be vigilant in whatever they select.

I'm a real person too !

I was pointing out that the differences between religious health sharing ministries and health insurance are not simply "profit" vs "non-profit" differences. And equating it to timeshares - I'm not sure about that analogy.
But if you think that is a personal bias I am sorry - but yes, I suppose we can all agree that everyone needs to be vigilant
 
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tomt73

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Almost everyone I know who has retired go on their dream trip shortly afterwards.

Our first trip after my retirement was five months long! The day I retired (at 60, BTW) we closed on the sale of our 24-year-residence house. Over the next five months, we traveled to and stayed with family, fraternity brothers, friends, and several timeshares as we made our way from upstate New York across the nation (south to Florida, then west) toward our under-construction retirement home in New Mexico. Along the way, we jetted around for a couple of weddings, visited wineries in Virginia, bought new furniture in High Point, NC, saw the Marines assault the beaches of Jacksonville, Florida, joined my parents for what became my mother's last Thanksgiving, took a swing lesson at the World Golf Hall of Fame, and saw how grand and diverse the American land really is.

Nearly nine years later, I sometimes feel like we're still on that first trip into retirement. The scenery and culture of New Mexico are unlike any other state, and our forays into ski country and around the West are simply side trips on our long, strange journey.
 

easyrider

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Im looking forward to retiring just so I CAN take on yardwork and gardening. I have a self-written honey do list of home projects I want to tackle, but that have been too much to want to take on while working full time.

Dave


One of our properties was my old construction yard. The goat heads took over the entire acre. The EPA will not let me burn these so I planted grass. I use a riding lawn mower on this property and figured out how to leave patterns. Just stripes for now but I think I could make anything if I used a combination of the riding mower, walk behind mower and weed eater. I haven't been bored enough to try this yet, lol.

I actually felt I was working harder in retirement than in real life but the reality is when you start at 10 am and quit at 2 pm things take longer to complete.

Bill
 

senorak

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I recently retired from teaching, (after the '18-19 school year), in June. My husband and I had a "summer vacation" planned for San Francisco soon after the school year ended. (It would be his first trip there in over 30 years. I try to get there at least once a year.) I didn't really consider that my "retirement trip" bc for me, it was still the traditional "summer break". My first official retirement trip was taken the end of August/beginning of Sept, (when the first official start of the '19-20 school year began). I was very emotional not be "going back to work" after more than 33 years of teaching. So....when a last minute exchange to my favorite city of San Francisco popped up, I booked it! I went alone, (as DH is still working full time). As I had hoped....visiting my favorite city, (when less crowded), was just what I needed.
I visited the "Legion of Honor" museum, which I hadn't been to in years. Being a French/Spanish teacher, this was perfect, since many of the works of art are from those artists. Plus, the views from the walk along the "Land's End" trail were just spectacular!!! Yes, I still teared up when I passed local schools, (especially my "favorite spot" in Mission Dolores Park), but I enjoyed visiting the city at a time when in the past, I had been unable to do so....due to working.
I do plan to travel more often, (other than summer/holiday breaks), but as others have posted.....my husband is still working FT, and we have 3 dogs. ***I also should mention that not only did I retire.....but we became true "empty nesters" as our oldest married, (he had been living w/ fiancee/wife for several years), youngest graduated college & moved out to work in Philly, and our daughter who had lived at home since graduating college 2 years ago, moved in with her boyfriend. These are all very positive events.....but I'm still trying to adjust to my "new normal".***

Deb
 

mas

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I retired in Jan. 2008, I am 67 and so is my wife. I am somewhat of a bike (non motorized) enthusiast and am a member of a senior bike club in our area. I have done quite a few bike trips with a company called VBT mostly in Europe but world wide. My wife is not a bike enthusiast and not a fan of long plane rides. Having said that I did manage to talk her into coming with me on the current trip to China with another travel company called OAT ( overseas adventure travel). We are currently in Shanghai where the sun is shining brightly and the temp is a comfortable 70 degrees. I already have two more OAT trips planned, one for Nepal-Bhutan and the other for Egypt-Jordan. Gotta do these things while you still can ☺. We are fortunate that we are both physically and financially able to afford these types of trips.

We use our timeshares to winter in Phoenix/California and Florida. Life in retirement is good!
 

Passepartout

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Having said that I did manage to talk her into coming with me on the current trip to China with another travel company called OAT ( overseas adventure travel). We are currently in Shanghai where the sun is shining brightly and the temp is a comfortable 70 degrees. I already have two more OAT trips planned, one for Nepal-Bhutan and the other for Egypt-Jordan. Gotta do these things while you still can ☺. We are fortunate that we are both physically and financially able to afford these types of trips!
Glad you are well! We have been on a few OAT trips as well, and they ae probably our favorite group travel trips- though like all in this genre, you can only go at the pace of the slowest guest. Anymore that's likely to be US.

Later. . . . Jim
 

joestein

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I'm 55 and hope to retire in 5 years or less from the corporate world. We have a plan that if we can pull it off it will be a life long dream fulfilled and hope it becomes our life in retirement. We have enough Maui weeks, (12) 2BDRM units in the even years and 10 during odd years, and HHI weeks (8) that the plan is to spend 6 weeks in Maui in the winter and 4 weeks in the spring or fall on HHI.

With the Maui weeks we will stay 6 weeks in either a studio or 1BDRM, have friends and family come a few weeks and then rent the rest. The LOs will really bring amazing value when we can use and rent them in this way.

We will look to do the same on HHI for June or Sept. This will be the culmination of why I did what i did with all the Marriotts I've bought over the years now counting 27.

I've had this dream for sometime but lately I've been wondering how I will feel when the time comes.

Having all those weeks to live in Hawaii sounds great. Isn't the maintenance a bit overwhelming? How does paying the maintenance compare with owning a 2nd residence. I am thinking that there is little to no investment in the TS, but the annual maintenance might be higher in cost than owning a condo. Of course with the condo there is an intial investment but also an exit value. Very curious.

Joe
 

jd2601

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"I have done quite a few bike trips with a company called VBT mostly in Europe but world wide."

I have done the VBT bicycle tours also. I really enjoyed their tours. I have only done the US tours mainly in Vermont. They do a great job!
 

pittle

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When I retired December 31, 2001, we moved to our condo at the Lake of the Ozarks, but on February 1 - we flew to Acapulco and spent a month at the Mayan Palace there. It was an awesome escape from the cold in central Missouri. We had often done 2 weeks in February before retirement, but the month was awesome! For the next 6 years we went to one of the Mayan Palace or Grand Mayans for the month of February. In 2007, we moved to AZ and did go to Mazatlan in February 2008, but the temps there were pretty much the same as the ones in Phoenix, so we now go somewhere cooler in the summer and do 2-3 weeks in Puerto Vallarta in November. Our family loves to go for Thanksgiving there.
 

bluehende

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Having all those weeks to live in Hawaii sounds great. Isn't the maintenance a bit overwhelming? How does paying the maintenance compare with owning a 2nd residence. I am thinking that there is little to no investment in the TS, but the annual maintenance might be higher in cost than owning a condo. Of course with the condo there is an intial investment but also an exit value. Very curious.

Joe

We owned a beach house. By beach house we mean a house a couple miles back. Entrance and exit costs and values are hard to quantify. You lose the time value of the cash used for the house and hope the increase in value is better than other investments. With closing costs both ways that would be a crap shoot. Look at our house. If it were on the beach I would have beaten the markets by a little. Where we were the markets beat it over 30 yrs easily. Our house had well septic and cheap taxes. With this we certainly owned for far less than maintenance fees would have been. However my timeshare has never called me to tell me I have a branch sticking out of the roof or the house has been broken into (a real problem with seasonal homes). My best guess is that if you enjoy tinkering around the house then having 2 is worth it. To me those are chores so spend the money and enjoy your time at your timeshares with no stress.

There are 100 other factors that may or may not apply to you. My parents moved into the house so we are happy with our decision. When they passed it became more of a burden.
 

Sugarcubesea

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We retired in early 2015 at 66-ish [delayed entirely by cost of health insurance], and ran away. https://seniorgapyear.wordpress.com/ We're currently on a 2-week drive around New Zealand after cruising here. There'll be pics on the blog in about three weeks.

We still have a house, but its days are numbered.

I totally get the delaying retirement. I’m monitoring my investments and if I don’t hit my number that I need I might have to stay till 66.
 

Sugarcubesea

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Jan 1, 2015, just turning 64, DH retired after 42 1/2 years. 7 days later we were in Kauai for 13 weeks. It was a hard decision to retire being 8 12 years younger, but after DH was diagnosed with Parkinsons Disease a few years prior, we didnt know how well we could travel if we waited 9 more years. So we had a plan. Travel now, take pictures, and relive the memoreis when we no longer could travel. Fortunately, we were offered good health insurance as part of his retirement package for less than $500/mo combined.
We are Wyndham owners and visited 56 of their properities since retirement. The memories piled up and we met so many wonderful Wyndham owners and Tuggers! The places were great but the people were outstanding! We looked forward to meeting up with different couples all over the country. We attended the annual Wyndham meetings and the annual Tugger get togethers in January in Orlando.
Thanksgiving Day 2018, DH unexpectedly passed away, not from PD, but a pulmonary embolism. Its been a rough year. I never thought Id be a widow before 60. I dont know what I would have done without the wonderful friends we made in those 3 3/4 years. They picked me up & put me back in motion instead of letting me become dormant this past winter in Iowa and the rest of the year.
So... dont wait, plan that vacation/retirement and go at it with gusto and no regrets! Who knows what tomorrow brings.
Oh, by the way, Ill be at the Annual Wyndham meeting in Austin and the TUG get together in Orlando in January. Introduce yourself. I love meeting new people!

your post is inspiring me to figure out how I can save more so I can retire at 65 as life is a gift an no one knows when that gift goes alway.

I’m so sorry for your loss.
 

Makai Guy

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life is a gift an no one knows when that gift goes alway.
So true. I'm now of an age where the end of life is no longer such an abstract concept.
 

Passepartout

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So true. I'm now of an age where the end of life is no longer such an abstract concept.
True indeed. That vow we took, 'til death do us part', has deeper meaning, like, which.of us will spend some time alone? It's all a little discomforting. Not something to dwell on, but to be prepared for to the extent possible.
 

Rolltydr

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Jason Isbell has a great song “If we were Vampires” about that very subject. If you haven’t heard it, I highly recommend it. It’s a great song about love.


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Passepartout

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Jason Isbell has a great song “If we were Vampires” about that very subject. If you haven’t heard it, I highly recommend it. It’s a great song about love.
One of my VERY favorites! Here it is from Austin City Limits:
Tears running down my cheeks. Listen to it with a loved one.

Jim
 
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geekette

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One of our properties was my old construction yard. The goat heads took over the entire acre. The EPA will not let me burn these so I planted grass. I use a riding lawn mower on this property and figured out how to leave patterns. Just stripes for now but I think I could make anything if I used a combination of the riding mower, walk behind mower and weed eater. I haven't been bored enough to try this yet, lol.

I actually felt I was working harder in retirement than in real life but the reality is when you start at 10 am and quit at 2 pm things take longer to complete.

Bill
I definitely like the work hours better!
 

BarbmC

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Next year I will turn 60 - hoping to retire at 65, my husband is 10 years older than me - and I'd like us to travel while we still can! On the list, Hawaii (I was there 35 years ago on my honeymoon with my ex husband) Europe - including a river cruise, Panama Canal Cruise, Alaska Cruise with my kids and grandkids. I could go on and on - hoping that I can retire then :)
 

Fredflintstone

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Having all those weeks to live in Hawaii sounds great. Isn't the maintenance a bit overwhelming? How does paying the maintenance compare with owning a 2nd residence. I am thinking that there is little to no investment in the TS, but the annual maintenance might be higher in cost than owning a condo. Of course with the condo there is an intial investment but also an exit value. Very curious.

Joe

Personally, Joe, I think buying a condo is better IF that’s the place you want to be at. Yes, Hawaii is super expensive in many areas, but there are a few gems left that are still affordable. As an example @slip bought a beautiful condo on Molokai and actually lives on Oahu after making a job transfer from WI. He, in my opinion bought right. Just for fun, I looked at what the rent is on Molokai on Airbnb and it averages to 120 a night so slip could rent it out if he ever wanted to.




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Passepartout

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Next year I will turn 60 - hoping to retire at 65, my husband is 10 years older than me - and I'd like us to travel while we still can! On the list, Hawaii (I was there 35 years ago on my honeymoon with my ex husband) Europe - including a river cruise, Panama Canal Cruise, Alaska Cruise with my kids and grandkids. I could go on and on - hoping that I can retire then :)
BarbmC, I'd hope that you can perhaps fulfill at least some of those Bucket List items before you retire. You don't say, but when you are 65 and dealing with all those 'age 65' items, retirement, Medicare and all, that 75 y.o. guy you want to share your travels with may be slowing down. Only you know your exact situation, but my teeny tiny bit of advice is. . . DON'T WAIT! You won't regret it.

Jim
 
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