[quote=The-Shoveler]I think you need to factory other things (do you own a economical car and can you make basic car and home repairs etc.._).
I don’t think you need to own a high maintenance BMW etc.. (in fact most people really don’t know how to handle a Boat/plane or high performance car etc.. to begin with).
You can get by with say up to a 5K property tax bill easy with around 3K SS or pension coming in (I see people do it all the time).[/quote]
I’m just going by most seniors I know who own and drive older cars. They usually pay for everything they have done on them … oil changes, tires and bigger jobs at the shop. No, they’re not expensive, high maintenance vehicles.
Okay shoveler, I guess one could pay up to $5K yr in property taxes out of a $36K annual income. But that’s a chunk of change for that level income. Perhaps they can just withdraw from savings for their annual tax bill only … and for any longer trips they might take.
I’m not a “senior citizen” yet but I’m a “road warrior” several weeks out of the year. I can tell you that the senior citizen demographic is alive and well out there on the road everywhere towing their 5th wheel, MC’s, boats, ATVs, jetskis or traveling in RV’s towing an economy car behind it, etc. It’s not uncommon for them to be gone a month or two. Most of them who travel in RVs or have 5th wheel trailers take their pets with them. Another subset drives a more economical vehicle and stays in motor lodges with their pets (that’s “my” group). It costs MONEY to do this! Gas is cheaper now but RVs don’t get good gas mileage and their owners also have to pay for campsites and other expenses and still pay the bills back home.
It’s a real stretch living on $36K and taking modest road trips if the bare bones bills back home are too high. $200K to $500K might only last 20 years if invested risk free. I guess that’s okay if you’re near 70 when you finally “retire.” But NOT okay if you’re 60-65.
