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Crazy week in Groovyland. Groovy parents are in the midst of moving from house number one to house number two (they close next week on the sale of house number one). So our disjointed life has become even more disjointed (we’re living in house number two). The mattresses and boxes that furnished our lives with some degree of normalcy now have to be moved to the second floor of house number two. Oh, joy! And despite all the tumult involved with moving stuff and helping others move their stuff, the demands of being a phony-baloney blogger never take a week off. I curse the blogging gods and their unquenchable thirst for new content!
Well, blogging gods, you wretched, unfeeling bastards—here’s your new content.
Two Year Retirement Review
Since retiring in October of 2016, Mrs. Groovy and I have spent $72,587. That comes to an average of $36,294 per year.
The good news is that our spending has unfolded as expected. Going into retirement, we figured we’d be spending roughly $3,000 a month for the first few years.
Even better news is that our income over the past two years has more than covered our modest appetite for spending. Here’s a breakdown of how our groovy income was derived.
| Source | Amount |
|---|---|
| Pension | $39,450 |
| Dividends/Interest from Taxable Accounts | $22,815 |
| Dividends/Interest from Non-Taxable Accounts | $25,780 |
| Total | $88,045 |
Not too shabby. Annual income of $44,022 less annual spending of $36,294 equals a very successful retirement. Couple that with a friendly stock market and there are no complaints in Groovyland. We’re two years into retirement, we’re doing everything we want to do, and our net worth has increased by $160,000. The system works!
Groovy Ranch Is Approaching the Home Stretch
A lot’s going on at Groovy Ranch. Except for the gutters, the garage is finished. Forms for the walkways to the front and back doors have been placed. Cement for the walkways will be poured either this weekend or early next week. The shiplap has been placed around our linear fireplace. Interior paint should be finished today. Floors will be sanded and stained next week. But of all construction activity transpiring at Groovy Ranch this past week, the thing we were most stoked about was our rafter ties.
Here’s a video of Cam and Brian constructing the rafter ties.
And here’s a picture of the rafter ties stained and installed.
Groovy Ranch Is Currently Under Budget
Can’t say enough about Terry, his crew, and his subs. I’ve never seen a more conscientious bunch. These guys build a great freakin’ house. And they also build it for what they said it was going to cost.
As of now, we’re slightly under budget. Our garage, fireplace, and walkway upgrades have been offset by going under our allowances for lighting fixtures and appliances.
We did go a little mashugana on the countertops, though. The really cool quartz countertops (level 4) were just too beguiling compared to the humdrum granite countertops (level 1) that our contract allowed for. HGTV has left Mrs. Groovy and me far too jaded for our own good.
In the end, I expect Groovy Ranch to be about $2,500 over budget.
| Contract Cost | Adjusted Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| House | $228,750 | $224,950 |
| Garage | $24,750 | $27,600 |
| Total | $253,500 | $252,550 |
Final Thoughts
Okay, groovy freedomist, other than another rollicking episode of Talking Trash, that’s all I got. Have an awesome weekend. Peace.
You guys are rocking the spending! Impressive and inspirational. We are spending about $3300 a month since our May 4 retirement and are pretty happy with that.
We are currently traveling (although not by bicycle at the moment) but are starting to think ahead about where we want to settle. You are exactly right that finding a less expensive place to chomp Doritos is key.
Seriously impressed that you are currently under budget on your home build. Even expecting to come in over by $2,500 has got to put you in the 1% of people who have a home built for them. Well done.
Hey, Angela. Yep, we got very lucky. The builder we picked did a great job of pricing the house for our desired quality and finishes. So there haven’t been any surprises. Hardie plank siding, 9-foot ceilings, hardwood floors, tiled showers, recessed lights–all these things and more were factored into the bid. The necessity for upgrades, therefore, has been very limited. And as a result, Mrs. Groovy and I have had no problem splurging on a few things. Cheers.
The giant flamingo was fantastic. Super fun. 🙂 It was so big I don’t think it would fit in our living room.
Was this a rental you moved into temporarily or have the Groovy parents purchased two homes this year?!
Hey, Claudia. Good question. We moved into my parents’ house in May after we sold our Charlotte house. They bought that house, house one, in 2012 or thereabouts. In August, a house down the block from my sister’s came on the market and they bought it. They closed on house two in September and put house one on the market. We moved into house two in September. My parents moved into house two this week. They’re closing on house one today. So Groovy Parents only made one house purchase this year. But Mrs. Groovy and I will move three times. Charlotte to house one, house one to house two, and house two to Groovy Ranch. What fun!
I can not get over what you get for that price. I think that living in one of the most expensive regions in the US, and planning to retire to a much lower cost one is going to change dramatically how much we expect to spend in retirement. That fact rocks. That home you are building rocks. I can’t get over the value there, but again, I am sure it is far from the pricey area I am in near NYC.
Way to go!
Hey, GenX. Nailed it, my friend. Here’s one for you. My aunt finally moved from Long Island to Wake Forest. Her taxes on her Long Island home were $18,000. Her taxes on her Wake Forest home are $3,000–and her Wake Forest home is much nicer than her former Long Island home. Over the next 10 years, she’ll have an extra $150,000 to travel, have fun, and spoil the grandchildren. That’s the power of geoarbitrage. I love New York, but moving to North Carolina gave me a lot more options. Like I’ve always said: “It’s a hell of a lot less expensive to sit on the couch and eat Doritos in North Carolina than it is to sit on the couch and eat Doritos on Long Island.” Thanks for stopping by, my friend. Cheers.
Your first 2 years look great. Nice job.
The Groovy ranch is coming along quite nicely. The rafter looks great. I’m looking forward to the kitchen. 🙂
Thank you. Us too. If the kitchen comes out as expected, I think our home may be worthy of a feature of Southern Living! Now I’m talking a lot of sh%t. You’re the best, my friend.
Good work on your two year retirement review. I’ll be able to do the same review in a few months, but I know that my spending will be more – maybe I’ll have to get some pointers from you!
Thanks, David. Own your house and car outright and live in a low-tax state. It’s amazing how richly you can live when you’ve subdued the big three expenses.
Wow. $2,500 over budget is unheard of here. People normally allow an extra 100K when they build.
I had to google ‘mashugana’.
🙂
LOL! I only know about “mashugana” because I grew up on Long Island. It’s hard to avoid the rich and colorful aspects of the Jewish culture there.
Looking good. You’re definitely giving me house envy! Congrats on staying on target with your spending. It’s gotta be nice to be essentially making a profit even in retirement.
Yes, we were pleasantly surprised about our income. We tracked our brokerage account dividends because they were part of our income and we needed to pay taxes on them. But we never tracked out tax-deferred account dividends until this post. We has no idea they were going to be more than our brokerage account dividends. Ah, the wonders of FI. Thanks for stopping by, Abigail. Always a pleasure hearing from you. Cheers.
Groovy Ranch is looking and sounding great…I can’t believe how close it is to done already. And to get it just about on budget is amazing.
I’m even more amazed by your retirement numbers. I would love to get our expenses down near yours. Great job!
Gary @ Super Saving Tips recently posted…5 Dangerous Terms That Make You Spend Your Hard-Earned Money!
Thank you, Gary. We keep pinching ourselves over this build. It has gone amazingly well. And I hear ya on our numbers. Win housing, transportation, and taxes and you win retirement. We’re very fortunate.
Those. rafters. are. AMAZING! Thanks for sharing the numbers – it’s great that you’re under budget. I’m guessing that almost never happens. Hope everything settles down for you soon. Missed meeting you last week but great to say “hi” to Mrs. Groovy on the phone! 🙂
It was great speaking with you Amanda! We missed you all too!
Thank you, Amanda. We’re really happy with the rafter ties. They really bring home the industrial chic/farmhouse we were looking for.
P.S. Mrs. G was really happy she got to say hello to you. She’s always been a big fan our yours. (Me too, btw.)
Those rafter ties are really cool looking, nice touch!
Really wish you guys were at FINCON but I’m glad I was able to buy your ticket to go and meet folks.
Thank you, AF. We definitely had a little FOMO going on last week. So many great people at FINCON. But we’re happy our ticket didn’t go to waste. So glad you were able to hobnob with our illustrious tribe. Perhaps we’ll see you in DC. Cheers.
“Annual income of $44,022 less annual spending of $36,294 equals a very successful retirement.” — it’s like that Dicken’s quote — result HAPPINESS.
I don’t think I know of any project, especially a home, that came in under budget. You guys are not just “half normal” you are maybe a third normal 🙂 It’s looking great too. Love the high ceiling and rafters.
I think the key to our success on the budget front is that all the builders we considered were very realistic on costs. For instance, in all three bids we received, the combined cabinetry and countertop allowances were between $25K and $30K. In other words, none of the builders were playing games. As a result, we’ve had little need for upgrades. And the upgrades we did go for only increased the project’s cost a little.
I dig rafter ties. We have those in our cabin – they make it look cabin-y or farmhouse-y in your case.
We went way over budget on lighting when we built our house. Our contractor sent us to a place that didn’t have prices on any of the merchandise – big mistake. The place was also next to a high-dollar strip joint. We should’ve known better.
Your last two sentences made me laugh!
Same here.
When I don’t see prices I get nervous. Who knew a “gentleman’s club” could be a red flag for lighting fixtures. Thanks for stopping by, Brian. Your comment is an instant classic. Cheers.
Love the beams on the ceiling. You didn’t go over budget by much. I’ve heard of MUCH worse!
Thank you, Tonya. When I was a younger man, I used to get all excited about girls, football, and beer. Now I get excited about rafter ties. Is that pathetic? Or is that a sign of a wise soul?
With both house and retirement coming in under budget, sounds like life is going swimmingly over in Groovyland, minus the extra move into house #2. Missed you guys at FinCon this year and I’m not going to lie, there were a lot of folks who were hoping that you would be there too.
The feeling is mutual, Mrs. WoW. We can’t wait to meet the real-life versions of the WoWs. The virtual versions are certainly awesome.
Love following your most recent adventure in home building. It is a pleasant departure from financial numbers, more numbers and yet… more numbers. I do love me some good numbers but your adventure helps me stay sane. 🙂
I was wondering if you would be willing to share some of you two year annual expenses at a high level by main categories (housing, transportation, food, restaurants, travel, etc). We are trying to get at our expenses are struggling with how normal people get to $35K or less a year in expenses. You seen semi-normal so I would love to see some details if you are willing to share.
Keep on blogging!
“You seem semi-normal…”
I love it, Crusher. At least one person recognizes that I’m not a Ray Romano sounding nutter. I am normal, god damn it! And, yes, I love your suggestion about digging into our financial numbers. Look for it this week, my friend. Cheers.