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Retirement Prep

We've been talking a lot lately, and we are beginning to plan our purchases more prudently - with an eye to what might be useful in retirement, but, also, what would fit into a reduced budget.
An example of this is a wish Dennis had before Christmas - he's long wanted a good camera, and he found one at a good price - $400, one that had been more originally.
My first impulse was to say, fine, that can be your Christmas gift. Den was actually the one to hesitate in buying. He decided to think about it for awhile.
Now, we will have some room in our budget for indulgences like that - not everyday, but certainly, annually. The change we will have to make is to plan for these financial outlays.

[POST-CHRISTMAS]

We're back at work today - Den had kids yesterday, mine come for the first time today. I have 3 preps - it may be difficult, at first, but I'm looking forward to the change.

I signed my letter of intent for next year - the last time I should be doing that. I'm hoping to make it to the end of the school year (May, 2018), but, there is an outside chance that I will be leaving after 1st semester. My intent is to stay the entire year, but that will depend on my health and ability to do the job.

  • It's physically harder - when I get a cold (as it is difficult to avoid when you're around young people), I take a lot longer to recover. 
  • I don't have the time to exercise as regularly as I want to. By the time I get home, I'm pooped!
  • Meetings are draining, and I find my attention wandering.
  • I'm still sharp, but I do find that mental processing takes just a smidge longer.
  • I'm less patient with antics of misbehaving students.
  • I'm less patient with whining - of both students AND staff.
  • Some days, I'd just like to start the day in slo-mo, rather than jump out of bed at 4:45 am.
  • I want to see the grandkids more often. Vacations have to be planned around the school year.
For these, and other reasons, I'm about ready to retire. Getting our ducks in a row is what I'm focused on at the present:
  • Paying off bills - should be easier to do once our house is finally sold - cross your fingers, it should be one week from now!
  • Getting the paperwork in to transfer the NC retirement money to SC.
  • Investigating the Medicare options.
  • Taking care of any big medical expenses this year - while we have our insurance, and to take maximum advantage of the deductible.
  • Looking into part-time opportunities - with colleges, schools, and businesses.
  • Finishing my first book.
A large part of that process is to engage in conversations that allow us to consolidate on a master plan that we can both live with. That will require consensus about:
  • What our living arrangements will be - in place in SC, in another home, somewhere else, in a rental, an RV, or temporarily migrant with friends and family?
  • How we should spend our time?
  • How we should spend our money?
We're not there yet. We have differences in our expectations. It will require some effort to reach agreement on all of these things.

UPDATE: I met with my students - they are generally nice kids. They were shocked that they had homework this week, however, and a quiz, too. They'll adjust.

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