Anciana--You are an inspiration! I hope to think more and more like you do as I age (although being away from the dog for months at a time would not be an option!)

Mollie,

I could be totally wrong, but a business associate of mine moved to the Houston area (the Woodlands) and purchased a HUGE home for around $500,000+. I believe his property taxes ect. run nearly $20,000.

BTW, most people don't want a large home after retirement.

Property taxes depend on where you live. We live in Plano, northern bedroom community of Dallas. He can apply for his homestead exemption if he's lived in the house on Jan. 1st of whatever year.

For about $55,000 pp you can spend the rest of your life going around the world on the QM2.

All meals provided.
Very cheap drinks at the bar.

Cabin cleaning provided.

Shopping available.

Ports of call change yearly.

Your lunch and dinner companions don't get tired of hearing your stories, because they haven't heard them before.

((I))

Enough replies have been added to this thread during the day that it probably means little for me to amplify on my remarks.

My point is/was that many people fear "having enough" for retirement - - and part of that is... that despite Medicare (and yes, I know that Medicare is my only medical insurance plan option after age 65), countless American families see the savings of a lifetime spent on "preventive" medical care and other medical expenses, for very old individuals. I won't be among them.

I won't agonize over multi-thousands of dollars per month in prescription medications, or other out-of-pocket medical expenses. Sometime in my late 30's I made a decision to live each day, starting out with the outlook "Today is the the beginning of the last decade of my life".

Once I do retire (and it may well be before the age of 62, when Mrs. Onassis died), I don't know if I will change that mantra to &quot;Today is the beginning of the last <i><u>year</u></i> of my life&quot;... or not, but I undoubtedly will adjust the timeframe of doing things I want to get done.

When I am no longer contributing financially to society and to my family - - and faced with &quot;life-shortening&quot; medical decisions, I will not choose to spend my money (or tax-collected money from you and me together) on &quot;life-extending&quot; anything.

Not having billions like Mr. Buffett, I very much do plan to share forward every penny I can hang on to... to my children (and their ultimately, perhaps, children) who inspired me to earn it in the first place.

It won't keep me from traveling after retirement, but hopefully... it will be mostly taking them places.

Guy, I would have taken a dog with me to Europe - it only cost about $75 extra on an overseas air trip - but cats hate changing places, they prefer one comfortable place and make do with loving company of my housekeeper's kids.
(I pay the kids for playing with my cats - they could hardly believe their luck when I told them that, lol... and I also have a web cam installed in the cabin, to watch the cats when I miss them.

Ira, I would guess the rest of my life would be very short if I could spend the rest of it on the QM2 for $55,000! Where did you come up with this figure for a lifetime of continuous cruising?

Few &quot;money problems&quot; are solved with more money. The problems -- as well as the solutions -- lie within the mind, the attitudes, and the spirit.

USNR,

Very interesting. Could you please elaborate with a few specific examples?

Hilarious, Ekscrunchy! And USNR-that last response was rather cosmic, perhaps, as mikeyB states, more clarification is necessary in order to discern the cryptic meaning of your words?

Sounds like a good deal to me..a lifetime of unlimited travel on the QM2 with three meals a day and cheap drinks (I would BYOB).....all for $55,000. Live for 20 years and it will cost under $3,000 a year! For that price I wonder if we have to throw in some entertainment. But do we get a room or have to sleep under the stars?

Would you have to pay taxes if you lived on a cruise ship?

I immediately knew what USNR meant, and I totally agree. Anciana's description of her retirement illustrates USNR's point perfectly.

People who think money will solve their problems can't think &quot;outside the box.&quot; Perhaps instead of more money, a person needs to learn to cook dried lentils creatively and not eat out so often. Perhaps instead of more money, a person needs to sell his 3000 square foot custom house and move to a farm in the rain forest. In other words, &quot;He is rich not who has much but needs little.&quot;

US citizens will still have to pay taxes but hey....we will still make out ahead. Think of the all the free movies we can see on board! And no heating or electric bills, either! I guess we could give up our passports and avoid the taxes but then we could not take any on-shore excursions. I would really like an outside stateroom, though.

We live on the Monterey Peninsula in California. This is a resort area with great weather so we feel like we are on vacation all the time. We still travel, but we always enjoy coming home. This is an expensive area to live, but once you get the housing figured out, it is great!

I am interested in where people find rentals in Europe that are not just as much as, if not more than, 2-3* hotels. The rental arrangements I have seen so far are not inexpensive. We travel relatively inexpensively (I think). I try to find decent overnight lodging for under $100 a night -- preferably more in the $75 area, but depending on which European country you are visiting, this can be difficult (esp. due to the dollar vs Euro). How would I find a month rental in Europe for, say, $700-800 a month?

Rentals in Europe, just as in America, are priced according to size, amenities, and -- most of all -- location. The more urban, the higher the price. Yet we found a lovely one-bedroom garden apartment in Paris with all the bells and whistles (including an online computer) for $700 a week.

We suggest, for starters, that you check out VRBO.com because on the left side of the web site is a list of countries. Select the country you are interested in, then indicate which cities or other localities that you wish to review. Take it from there. You will find a large variety of places. Deal direct with the owners. We were delighted with our experience, while others may have different experiences.

A few people have been confused about medical care overseas under Medicare. True, medicare doesn't cover it, but almost everyone has a medigap or supplement policy which often does. Plan C for example:

Foreign Travel Emergency
* 80% of the cost of emergency care outside the U.S.
* Up to $50,000 during your lifetime
* You pay a yearly deductible of $250

Most other plans also include this. Only emergency and non-routine care is covered.

gforaker-would you happen to know the monthly cost of this supplemental policy?

I'm sure there are other policies available, but we have been more than satisfied with our AARP supplement that covers foreign travel in addition to everything else...except Rxs..it costs about $140.00 each per month.