My Retirement Project

Our 2025 Travel Plans

Other than some smaller driving trips, and trips to visit our granddaughters and family, 2024 was consumed with remodeling our new-to-us coastal home from pretty much top to bottom, bow to stern. But . . . with that now behind us, and with Social Security for both of us just beginning to roll in, we are setting our sights on a travel-vibrant year.

We are now without an RV, having sold it when we moved to our new home, deciding that after 20 years of joyful RV'ing it was time to turn our attentions elsewhere. So, all of our travel this year will be via brick and mortar lodging, or by cruise ship.

We started the year, as usual, by attending the Palm Springs International Film Festival. We stayed at a boutique hotel within walking distance of most of the film festival movie venues, which was really pleasant. Certainly the week in Palm Springs cost more than when we visited by RV, but that is one of the benefits our new Social Security checks are providing.

In April we are headed to Miami, Florida for a couple of days of fun in the sun before we board an Oceania cruise ship for a 10 day Caribbean sail. We've cruised to the Caribbean several times before, but this will be our first time doing so with Oceania, so that should be fun as well. I did just learn, however, that our Oceania ship is a refurbished old Princess ship, which made me laugh. We've done a good number of Princess cruises, so our 'new' experience with Oceania may well feel oddly familiar!

In July we'll be hosting our granddaughters here for 10 days, then returning home with them to Tennessee by plane, where Mike and I will then spend some time visiting before heading out to visit two new-to-us National Parks- Mammoth Caves in Kentucky and Gateway Arch in Missouri. That will bring our National Parks grand total to 47, leaving just 16 more to go before we can say we've visited all 63 of them. I question, however, whether we'll ever get to the three in Alaska that can only be accessed by small plane - see mention of my 'love' of flying below, ha!

In August we'll be flying to Iceland for a week of on-our-own touring, then board a cruise ship for the return home by way of upper western Iceland, Greenland, and Canada. We are very excited about this trip!

We'll celebrate my birthday in the Fall with a one week stay along the Central California coastline, where we'll alternate between coastal hiking and inland wine tasting.

In November we'll be meeting up with both daughters and their families in NYC to celebrate Thanksgiving, plus a significant birthday for one of our daughters.

The only wrinkle in our plans is that I experience immediate and severe panic attacks whenever turbulence occurs. I've done everything I can think of to overcome my turbulence anxiety, including attending lectures about the mechanics of flying, practicing meditation, and undergoing hypnosis, but so far nada improvement. So, I'll be visiting my doctor soon to discuss something stronger than the low dosage anxiety pills she previously prescribed. I do smile at how few she allots - 10 per prescription. In that I only take them when I fly, they last a good long time, so no concerns about becoming addicted. My multi-mile walks and hikes around here are more than adequate in keeping me serene in my day to day life!

Looking/Dreaming ahead to 2026, we are taking our older daughter & her partner to India (we took our younger daughter and her family on a Mediterranean cruise in 2023). In that I can't comprehend undergoing a 20 hour flight to India, we'll be doing a weekend stopover in London at the beginning, and a multi-week road trip around Scotland on the return.

Any travel plans for you all in 2025 or 2026? Inspire me!

About Those Grocery Store Prices. And Restaurant Prices As Well!

Those Grocery Store Prices, and my workarounds

I've had a number of spontaneous, casual conversations in grocery stores recently, centered around how out of control prices have suddenly become - it felt like we had a bit of a backing off occurring, and then, bamm, up, up, up they went again.

Over here, however, our grocery spend remains unchanged in spite of this most recent round of retailer shenanigans. I continue to menu plan, I continue to shop supermarket loss leaders, and I continue to purchase in season produce as much as I can. I also shop for some items at specialty ethnic markets, where prices continue to remain nicely reasonable.

I do the bulk of my repetitive items shopping (Apples, oranges, bananas, spinach, eggs, nuts, condiments, dairy, deli meats, cheeses, and bread) at Aldi's and Trader Joes's, neither of which varies their pricing much. I peruse supermarket fliers for whatever protein is on sale that week, then portion and freeze in recipe-sized quantities. I have a regular list of items in my freezer at pretty much all times - salmon, shrimp, ground turkey, ground round, Italian sausage, bacon, pork chops, chicken breast, chicken thighs, and the occasional steak.

And I'm still averaging $100 a week, the same as I spent in 2012 when I first retired!

Most of the recipes I make combine a protein, lots of vegetables, fresh herbs (which I cut from my backyard herb garden) and a small amount of starch. We eat really well, with pretty much everything arriving at our table full of flavor and low of cost. My standard is to cook once, eat twice. I prepare our side dish produce fresh for each meal, and often add a seasoned piece of toast for my carb-loving husband. So whether a first or second time serving, the meal feels more freshly made than not.

This cookbook, in particular, is a go-to favorite for incorporating all the above.

Those Restaurant Prices, and my workarounds

We primarily eat away from home on the weekends, given that I put a lot of time and energy into maintaining our social calendar. If dining at a restaurant-type venue, we generally come in at about $60, usually comprised of one alcoholic beverage each, and two small plates we share, plus tax and tip. We have scads of great eateries in our area, with our preference being to eat small and frequent, rather than the opposite, really more to manage our calories and weight than our pocketbooks.

Happy Hours, wineries that serve food, breweries that serve food, and upscale fast casual (which I define as having really flavorful food we order at a counter, plus a full bar for ordering adult beverages) are our venues of choice when not attending dinner-included events. I admit I would feel a little cheap if we went into a traditional full service restaurant and attempted to order & eat small, so we generally don't do this type of dining out any more, other than for the occasional celebration.

One of the benefits of the alternative dining we now frequently enjoy, is that people seem more relaxed in general, and quite apt to start spontaneous conversations, as are the wait staff. It's been really fun, actually quite a bit more fun than when we 'do' traditional dining, plus our weight scale doesn't yell at us the next morning, lol.

Retirement Blogging Re-Entry

Greetings!

Exactly four years after signing off from this blog, I find myself with a few new thoughts percolating in my head. I'm now fourteen years into retirement, crossing into my 60's at this point.

Do I still have anything of value to share to the wider blogging community?' I'm not sure, but I'm comfortable putting my toe back in the water, and seeing where it all goes.

Some updates from when I was last here:

We moved. We are now in a slightly larger home (by about 50 sq ft), and just 1 & 1/4 miles from ocean, compared to the three miles distance we were at previously. It's a small change, but it is also significant, both weather and walkability wise. Though we have a brand new HVAC, thanks to a whole house remodel we did during our first year here, we pretty much have just used the H (heat) portion, not the AC portion. I am amazed at the constant onshore breeze we now experience, and how other than one week last summer, when a heat dome descended, we simply did/do not need the AC. And being even closer to the ocean, and no longer atop a hill, has resulted in our walking to the beach and back almost daily from our house, because it's now such a relatively small effort to do so.
We have done another complete remodel here at our new home, likely, the very last one, because it is way more exhausting to do in my 60's than it was in my 50's, LOL! But, I will share that we received way, way, way over asking when we sold our first coastal remodel in 2023, primarily due to the extent to which we'd remodeled both inside and outside. So I take pride in that - I overheard one realtor in 2023 call our prior abode 'The Perfect House' when it hit the market, where it didn't remain for long - we received over a dozen offers within the first 48 hours, all for well, well above ask.
I have managed to lose and keep off ten pounds. I'm working on the last ten, which will put me back at my high school weight, and where I feel my best, appearance wise. I got there (115) briefly in 2023, due to the stress of moving and going through another remodel, but it returned and now I'm working to get it back off the 'old fashioned' way. 😊
I'm still hiking, biking, kayaking, and SUP'ing, and dipping my toe back into running.
I still adore my two precious (not perfect, mind you!) granddaughters, and they now come out regularly for a week of summer fun at Nana and Baba's, without Mom and Dad (though an adult does accompany them each way for now, generally the Baba as he's a better flyer!)
Lots of new hobbies have been taken up since we last spoke - Bridge, Sailing, Guitar, Women's Philanthropy Club, and Golf, and our social circle has also continued to grow. It is the sad and awful reality of being this age that some of our friends have succumbed to disease, and thus we realize we need to continue to make new friends to offset the inevitable contraction.
We have created a life where we pursue our joint hobbies and separate interests during the week, and enjoy lots and lots of social, dining, and entertainment engagements over each weekend. Life feels full, but boy, do I see the difference in my energy now vs when I first retired.

More to come as I settle back in. I hope you all are likewise doing well out there!

I stopped coloring my hair, and let it grow long during COVID.
I'm still having fun with both changes!
See the concrete floor? This was smack dab in the midst of the stress
of our recent remodel, hence my pretty thin 115 frame.
I'm on my way back there, though!

Time To Say Goodbye . . .

Even though I'm not yet vaccinated***, life is picking up speed because most of our friends now are, as is my husband. As a result, I'm once again feeling the pull to turn my attentions elsewhere as our world begins to expand. So it's feeling like the right time to say goodbye to blogging for now.

***I'm getting vaccinated! I just learned that I qualify via my food pantry volunteering postion, and will be getting my first shot this weekend.

I will of course continue to visit those of you bloggers that I've come to consider friends over the years, and I'll continue to post on Instagram via WestCoastTamara. (As an FYI, I don't believe you need an account to view my photo posts, just if you wish to leave a comment.)

I'm also closing Comments down as I don't want anyone to feel obligated to leave a closing remark.

I am ever so appreciative that this blog was available to share my thoughts and to reconnect with fellow bloggers as we all did our best to navigate this most difficult of times.

Here's to brighter days ahead for us all!

Five Happy Things: SGOTUS!

Here are five things that have recently made me smile, laugh, or sigh in contentment. The hope is that by keeping track of and sharing them here, I will continue to focus on the good things in life, of which there are so, so many, even if its metaphorically storming elsewhere..

1. Doug Emhoff Sighting in DC. I was in Metro DC last week visiting my youngest daughter and two granddaughters, and on Wednesday we headed to the Distract Wharf for lunch and to walk around. While we were chilling along one of the docks watching the girls play, a detail of very serious people walked by, along with a handsome masked man wearing dark denim jeans, a white shirt and a jacket. After staring hard for a few moments, my daughter and I realized it was none other than our first SGOTUS.

2. 'I Love You Nana.' I get (and give!) lots of "I love you's" from my oldest granddaughter, but this past week is the first time my 2 year & 9 month old youngest granddaughter told me same. Heart. Melted.

3. Best Whale/Dolphin Sightings Ever. I have done lots of whale and dolphin boat excursions over the years, including in Hawaii and Alaska, but the one I did with my granddaughter during her recent visit was literally the best one in my lifetime. Firstly, it was, yeah, a gorgeous blue sky day. Second we saw not one, not two, but four whale breachings. It was breathtaking to watch the young adult whale (per onboard naturalists) leap out of the water again and again right in front of us.

But that wasn't all. After our thrilling gray whale sighting, we spent time being surrounded by hundreds of bottle nose dolphins (the Flipper dolphin if you will) that leapt alongside and under out boat for a good 30 minutes. There were lots of babies alongside their mother's, and my granddaughter was absolutely spellbound, excitedly telling me at one point that This is better than both popcorn and TV! 😄

We then went on to find a similarly large pod of common dolphin, who added to the excitement of our day by speeding alongside and under our catamaran within easy viewing sight for at least 20 minutes.

What a day! My only regret is that my granddaughter may have just experienced the peak of her whale and dolphin watching experiences at six years of age!

And, happily, we now know for sure that she does not get seasick. The swells were significant enough to require constant hanging on to guard rails, but the bigger the ups and downs of the boat, the more she loved it.

If it's pink and ruffled, my granddaughter is there for it.
The pink leggings underneath were a compromise. 😀💖

4. Bloody Mary's. Yesterday, Sunday, my husband and I went for a long walk along the beach in San Clemente, stopping in at Cafe Mimosa along Del Mar Avenue on the way back, because I had spotted Bloody Mary's on their menu. I came to the Bloody Mary scene somewhat late, discovering them in 2016 at the famous Darling Oyster Bar in Charleston, SC, and have loved them ever since.

The Bloody Mary served at Cafe Mimosa did not disappoint. And I loved that it came with a pickled green bean, pepperoncini, and thick slice of bacon.

Yum!

5. The Return Of Happy Hour. Happy Hour pricing pretty much went by the wayside when the pandemic hit last March due to restaurants having to move to first take out only, then take out and outdoor seating only, thus limiting significantly any of their special event 'slow time' pricing such as Happy Hour. As time-flexible retirees, we had gotten used to enjoying great food and cocktails at discounted Happy Hour pricing, so we've missed it for sure. However, now that our county has moved into a less restrictive tier, meaning restaurants can expand capacity by reopening some of their indoor seating, Happy Hours are beginning to resume operations, and we'll be partaking for the first time in a year this coming Friday. The restaurant we're going to seats their Happy Hour customers outside, which continues to be a non-negotiable priority for both of us.

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That's it for me at the moment. What's making you happy this week?

New Retirement Budget Category

After a full decade of living on fixed withdrawal rate on our Day 1 retirement portfolio (meaning no budget increase year over year, even as our investments have continued to grow), we are moving into a new era of money streams that includes Medicare, pensions, and social security. I'll break these down a bit more below, but the overall result of these new money flows is the creation of a new budget category we're labeling simply Miscellaneous, and today's post is about how we've elected to allocate that money this year.

Prior to the onset of Medicare for my husband upon his reaching age 65, we were spending $12,000 a year on just his medical premiums alone. This has now dropped to under $2,000 a year, leaving us with $10,000 in 'new' money to reallocate.

Also new are two modest pensions that add up to an additional $15,000 a year.

Still to come is Social Security for him upon reaching age 70, Social Security for me upon reaching age 62, and Medicare for me. We've gone back and forth about whether to keep our retirement budget as is and just lower our withdrawal rate, or keep our withdrawal rate as is and increase our annual budget to include these new revenue streams. My argument was why in the world would we pull less than our already modest pull, particularly in that it doesn't include the value of our home? My husband's argument was that we were already enjoying a nice retirement lifestyle, and it would leave a larger legacy for our daughters.

It took some time, but I finally convinced him that the girls would be left with plenty of money regardless, so why not enjoy the opportunity to live it up just a bit more while we are still alive? Plus, I pointed out that we could always elect to pass along gifts of money to our daughters while still alive, rather than waiting until we both died, should we so choose.

So instead of throwing the additional $25,000 back into savings, we created a new budget category. I wanted to make a deliberate effort to spend the money both thoughtfully, and throughout the year, rather than all at once, because I believe there is value to contemplating our decisions, and then building in wait time. Otherwise, my concern is we will focus too much on 'what's next' rather than enjoying what already is.

So after much thought, here is how and when we've elected to spend this year's Miscellaneous allocations:

January

Two Advanced Frame inflatable kayaks (upgrades to our current Intex inflatables)
Sliding Coastal Door in upstairs Guest Bedroom to replace old and unsightly pocket door
Repainting of all bathrooms after recent remodel
Removal of Spanish style arches in our downstairs Primary Bedroom

February

New family room furniture

March

Two carbon fiber bicycles to replace our 16 year old aluminum frame bicycles

April - July

Nothing in that we'll be taking delivery of our new family room furniture, plus be away on an extended RV trip

August

Reupholster a small chair sofa in our living room, and our six dining room chair cushions.

September

New washer, dryer, and dishwasher

October - November

Nothing . . . money now all spent or allocated other than December below

December

Holiday checks of $1,000 to each of our daughters

I haven't given any thought to 2022 at this point, because I really do want to enjoy and appreciate the above 2021 items, other than that I would imagine our year end giving to our daughters, plus some preferred charities, will continue to increase. Otherwise, what I'm really left with is a good deal of appreciation for the impact that having a well under 3% withdrawal rate has had on our portfolio in retirement, similar to how living below our means for 30 years got us to retirement well ahead of schedule.

And not to be too simplistic, but I do think it's also a testament to how being iron-fisted in keeping expenses like groceries, utilities, and insurance in line, works together to leave additional funds for spending elsewhere.

Five Happy Things: Whales, Plus Alaska!

So here are this week's Five Happy Things . . .

1. Granddaughters And Visits. My husband is currently on the east coast with my daughter and granddaughters, helping out with the girls while my daughter gets the house ready to be placed on the market. She and my son-in-law will be relocating to Germany in the spring as part of his next naval assignment, but currently my son-in-law is at sea so she has much appreciated the presence of her dad to lend a hand during a very stressful time. We are FaceTiming multiple times a day currently, and I smile each time at how cute the girls are, and how both exhilarated and exhausted my husband is . . . we are our granddaughters favorite 'toys' and without me there to share the load, he's wiped! 😄

Anyhow, he and my oldest granddaughter will depart the east coast for California today, and I'm so excited to pick them both up from the airport tonight. She'll be here for a week, then she and I fly back together to the east coast so that I can then lend a hand to my daughter, while also getting to spend time with my youngest, two and 1/2 year old granddaughter.

2. Sunshine and 70's Weather In Winter. I do not particularly enjoy being alone for long stretches of time, so knowing that my husband would be gone for five days, I made a series of dates with girlfriends to do outdoor activities like hiking, biking, and kayaking. The weather, most fortunately, has been glorious this week, and it's been much appreciated.

Cocktails at the beach with my gal pal Wendy, after a long beach walk this past Friday.

3. Gray Whale Migration Season. It's gray whale migration season here, which roughly runs from December - March, and this weekend is our annual Whale Festival, tampered down significantly due to COVID, of course. Still, there will be much going on at our harbor, and one of the activities I've signed up for is an adult-child marine art lesson and whale watching tour to do with my granddaughter.

I've done a good number of whale watching tours, and they are always fun, but this will be my six year old granddaughter's first time and she is beyond excited.

4. Retiring Friends. My husband and I retired quite early - I was 48 and he was 56 - but now that we're ten years into retirement, many of our long time friends are entering their 60's and thus beginning to join us. One of my best friends just announced that she will be retiring on April 1, and another close friend will be hanging it up this summer and wants to start RV'ing together. As an extrovert, this makes me sooo happy!

5. RV Caravan Tours. Nearby friends recently purchased a motorhome, and as a result of their doing research on where to go, and how, told us they were thinking of joining up with an RV caravan tour to visit Alaska. Which has been a state my husband and I have long wanted to RV around after seeing just snippets of the state's incredible natural beauty during two previous ship cruises. So I asked her for more information, she gave me an extra brochure she had on hand, and I was off to the races. The various trips into and around Alaska via western Canada look amazing!

Most of the trips run between 50-60 days, plus we'd need to add in additional two - four weeks to get to the starting points and back (Seattle, WA or Coeur d'Alene, ID, depending), so about three months in total. In that we are hoping to be in Germany next summer visiting my daughter, plus doing our delayed walk across Spain, we are eyeing the summer of 2023 to do this trip.

In the interim, however, there is a shorter two week caravan down to Baja Mexico to visit the gray whales that birth there each winter that we are eyeing to do in early 2022. These tours all begin at the California/Mexico border, which is just 90 minutes south of where we live, so we are thinking it would be a great introduction to RV touring in order to see if we like it, before committing to the much longer Alaska tour.