Today’s blog is following Think before you retire Tip #1 blog.
Some of the FIRE (financial independence retire early) crowd that I follow and love haven’t thought everything through. Some of them don’t own a house. That’s all fine and dandy for the time being but what happens when you have a heart problem (like me) or any other health problems? You’re not going to be 65 or 70 with a health problem and be able to move or visit other countries every month. You are going to need a “base” property in order to live out your days.
When you retire, you want to have your house paid off. There is no way, here in Southern California that you will be able to live off of social (in) security and be able to rent a house. Renting costs have skyrocketed and if you don’t own your own house you will be shit out of luck (sorry about the cursing). The average rent for a one bedroom apartment in San Francisco (apartment, not house!) is over $3000 per month. The average rent for a one bedroom apartment in Los Angeles is over $2100. The average monthly social (in) security check is only about $1500 per month. Even if there are two of you retired, you still have gas, electricity, t.v., cell phone, food, doctor appointments, travel (car, bus), insurance costs, etc., there is no way you can rent and live a “good” life while renting. Also if you’re renting, there is no guarantee that the landlord won’t raise your rent, evict you, or sell his property to someone who doesn’t want a renter.
If you’re like some of the younger crowd nowadays, who think the government is going to take care of them, think again. It’s not the government’s responsibility to take care of you. It is up to you. And you don’t want to live in a section 8 (low income) property when you’re 65 years or older. That is not the way to spend the rest of your life.
Let me know what you think in the comments below.
Here’s to reading on!
American Senior Citizen 