A Break From Retirement

Retirement is great...every day is Saturday.  But I needed a break from my busy schedule (ha) so I'm here on Kauai, Hawaii.  My son and his family live here and they are skiing in Bend, Oregon.  They needed me to come to house sit, dog sit and chicken sit.  Two Golden Retrievers and 8 chickens need to be fed!  I did this last January when they went skiing and I guess it's going to be an annual thing.  I'm happy to do it and love the time to just relax...more so than I do at home.  One can't relax too much!

It's a shame we all have to wait until age 65 to retire (officially).  You spend your life hoping that you'll still be healthy and happy so you can enjoy the 'golden years' in whatever way you can.  I saved with a vengeance and it is paying off now.  I'm living comfortably in Texas on my social security and the small pension from my 6 years with the State Department.

I supplement my income by selling on Ebay.  It's so much fun going to estate sales, finding a real bargain and then selling it for much more.  Each month I make at least enough to make my house payment.  This week I went to a garage sale here on Kauai and found a vintage metal foil, waxed paper and paper towel holder...remember those from the 50s or 60s?  I paid $1 for it and looked it up on Ebay and found it selling for $25-29.  That's the kind of fun you have on Ebay!

So back to the chickens.  I have them to thank for breakfast.  I went out and pulled 2 fresh eggs from the hen house and had fried eggs for breakfast. The best!  That makes up for the rooster who sends out his first crow at precisely 4:00 am.  After a week, I'm able to go right back to sleep until he goes off again at 6:00 am.  You have to take the good with the bad, right?

The beaches here are so beautiful.  I don't swim much but I do love walking on the beach.

This ends when I return home on February 11.  I had originally planned on coming here for my twin grandsons' birthday March 1-11.  So, about 3 weeks after I return home, I'll be returning to Kauai for another 11 days.            

Life is good.

Glass Beach...lots of beach glass

View of Hanalei and Bali Hai

Huge surf at Hanalei

Hanalei Beach and the pier

When The Check Stops...

When you're young or even middle age, the thought of retiring seems like a distant galaxy that you'll really never arrive at.  You think...I'll start saving. I'll start participating in the company's 401(k). I'll start an Emergency Fund. I really need to start saving.  You say, 'Honest I will.'  Next month.

I didn't start to get serious about saving until I was in my 40s.  I had a good job and my employers had a Profit Sharing Plan.  It's like a 401(k) but it's based on how well the company does, hence the name Profit Sharing.  It's a great idea...employees come to realize that the better their bosses do, the better their contribution to the Profit Sharing Plan will be.  When I left my employers to join the FS, (and they were just about the best guys in the world), I left with about $90K in my account that was 100% contributed by them. That was my seed money for today.

In 2007 when I joined the Foreign Service, I immediately began participating in their 401(k)-like program called the Thrift Saving Plan (TSP).  There was matching contributions and I could contribute what I wanted, up to the maximum allowed by law.  I was 59 at the time and knew I would only have 6 years in this, my second career.  I had taken a cut in pay to take the job so I decided to contribute much less than the maximum.  A year later, I bumped it up to the max and also started adding the "Catch Up" amount, which is for those 59 and over.  That's so you can...well, catch up.  My money began to grow.  The TSP did great and I felt good about the dreaded Age 65 Exit from the Foreign Service.

My last 2 years were in Pakistan and because it was Pakistan, those of us who volunteered to serve there were rewarded with Danger Pay and a Differential.  The Danger Pay is self explanatory.  The Differential is an add on to your salary to make up for the level of difficulty of the post and can vary from one country/city to another due to the cost of living, hardships, etc.  Because of this, I was able to save money like a mad woman. When I retired I was able to put a very large down payment on my home in Texas.

Dropping from a 6 figure salary to just Social Security and a small pension from Uncle Sam is a big adjustment.  But when you plan for it, it can be very manageable.  But I'm the kind of person who is always looking for added security.  I'm single with no one to turn to in a financial emergency.  I've found several ways to supplement my income and hopefully to not have to begin taking a monthly draw on my investments until I am forced to at age 70 1/2.  Let me tell you how.

For the year leading up to joining the FS, my friend and I would go to estate sales every week, buy stuff and then list them on Ebay.  I also had 2 part time jobs after leaving my terrific employers.  But it's Ebay that was the most fun.  As soon as I returned to Texas, I started doing it again.  Just about every month I make enough selling on Ebay to cover my house payment.  When my PayPal account reaches a certain set threshold, I transfer some to my bank. It works like a charm.  If any of you frequent Ebay and want to see my auction, just do a search on the site for yayato3boys.  My 3 grandsons call me Yaya, hence the name.  And for my DOS friends serving overseas, I do ship to APO and DPO addresses.

I love photography...always have.  And after traveling all over the world, I have some pretty good photographs.  I have found 2 online sites where I can sell my photographs.  One is fineartamerica.com and the other is on Etsy.com.  Both places do all the credit card transactions so I don't have to worry about that.  To find me on Fine Art America, just do a search for my name and to find me on Etsy, the name of my store is my name...DebiDemetrion.  On FAA, you can have my photographs printed in all different sizes, matted or not, made into cases for your smart phone or even greeting cards.  It's very cool.  On Etsy, I am currently offering my photographs in 3 different common sizes.

Why am I telling you all this?  Well, the obvious reason is that I hope you'll visit one of the sites and order a photograph or bid on one of the many terrific items I have on my Ebay auction.  But there are a couple of other reasons I'm writing this.  One, to stress the importance of planning ahead for a huge financial change in your life when you retire and to stress that you need to start early putting money away for retirement.  The other is to let you know that there are many ways of generating income once you retire.  Find something you love to do and then find an outlet for it.  I've been retired now for 8 months and am still looking for the best way to market my skills.  I may find better ways later, but for now, this seems to be working for me.  And the longer I can leave my money in investments and hope it grows, the better.

Good luck!  And happy shopping!

Retirement...What it is and What it Isn't

It's now been 3 months and 7 days since I left the ranks of the employed. During the final months of my time with the Foreign Service, I had ups and downs when thinking about not working in a short time.  But when the time grew near, I was ready.  The last couple of weeks were stressful in Karachi, Pakistan.  About 13 days before the day I was to depart post, the bad guys attacked the airport.  Lockdown!  Each day I prayed that I would safely get to the airport, safely wait at the airport and safely get off the ground.  As it turned out, I did have a safe take off and after a couple of days in Santorini, Greece and a week of out-processing in Washington, I arrived home July 1 as a retiree.

I'm still not used to waking up and laying there realizing that I didn't have anywhere to go.  Well, that would depend on my To Do list, but I had no job to report to.  Every day is Saturday.  I guess I'll get used to it one day.

Back to that To Do list.  Good grief...I don't know how I ever did things when I had to work.  Every evening I update the list, moving the things that I didn't get done that day to the list for the next day.  I must admit a great bit of the things on my list have to do with selling on eBay (which is wonderful and great fun) and trying to start a bathroom renovation.  Finding a reliable contractor, one who will communicate with you and will do it for a reasonable price is not easy. And all that I've read about people getting fleeced has made me really cautious. I'm sure I'll find someone...I already have the piece of furniture that will be the vanity base, have ordered the granite top, have bought the sink and faucet and I have a gorgeous mirror that I bought in Honduras that will replace the awful wall-to-wall mirror there now.  Pictures to follow when it's all done.

So for any of you out there wondering just what us retirees do with ourselves once we no longer have to report to work...we still work but for ourselves!!

I love it.  I love that every day is now Saturday.  But I do depend on others to tell me which day of the week it is!

Retirement...I have arrived!

I am in a happy place.  It's called Retirement and even thinking about it puts a smile on my face.

I touched down in Washington DC on June 23, after spending a wonderful 2 days on the island of Santorini.  Two days was just perfect to spend time unwinding from a stressful final 2 weeks in Karachi, where I prayed every night that I would be able to leave on time.  The Taliban attacked the airport there 2 times and I was really afraid that it would happen again.  I worried during the speedy trip to the airport.  I worried while I sat for 2 hours in the airport.  I worried when the plane was taking off.  I quit worrying when I landed in Athens.  I no longer worry.

While in Washington, I had to go through an extensive medical check up.  I want to be added to the list of people interested in being contacted for temporary duty (TDY) assignments, so I had to update my medical clearance.  After being prodded and stuck with needles and my departure date from DC looming, I said I would complete all the appointments when I arrived in Fort Worth.  Tomorrow is my final appointment and I'll get a very thorough 'clean bill of health.'  It's nice to know that at age 65, all systems are go!

I'm gradually getting settled in my new home.  So far, I've received 3 of the 4 shipments, one being my car that was in storage for 2 years.  There was some damage to the outside of the car, probably done when it was shipped out of Muscat, Oman, but my insurance will cover that.  Apparently it wasn't tied down well and there are scratches all across the very front of the roof and a dent the size of my fist which is rusted.  Once repaired, it will be fine.  A word to the wise...while serving overseas, get Clements Insurance and don't drop it until all your things arrive in good shape!

The last shipment should be here this week.  That shipment includes the items I was using in Karachi.  What I have now are things I haven't seen in either 4 years or 2 years.  Lots of clothes have been taken to Goodwill!  Fortunately lots of them still fit me, but I really look forward to getting this shipment.  It includes the Rosewood bedroom furniture I had made in Karachi.  And since I am sleeping on my mattress on the floor in my bedroom, I am anxious to receive this shipment.  My Keurig coffee maker, my Kitchenaid mixer, the rest of my rugs and so much more are in that shipment.  Then I can get all the clothes put away and really get my house in order!

A couple of home improvement projects will keep me busy for a while.  I want to take out a sliding glass door leading to the back yard and put a french door in instead.  I also want to do a bit of remodeling on my bathroom.  Projects are good things.

I still am not used to the fact that I don't have to go to work.  Every day is now Saturday for me.  I still have lots to do on my house but when that's all done, will I be bored?  I don't think so.  I want to start selling on eBay again and have a few friends who want me to sell their stuff.  I want to find a good way to market my jewelry as I have over 400 necklaces ready to sell.  I've had a website where I have photos of them but so far, not tried to really sell them.  That website is www.designsbyyaya.blogspot.com in case you're curious.  I also have over 10,000 photographs from my travels around the world that I would love to somehow earn a few dollars on.  I have another website with some of those and it's www.debidemetrion.blogspot.com.  I'm not sure if I want to market my photos somehow or get in some sort of business of taking pictures.  Lots to think about.

But right now, I need to think about getting dressed and starting the day!

Into the Teens...

I've never been one to 'wish my life away' but lately, I've been counting the days down to wheels up on June 19th, my last day to serve in the Foreign Service.  For the past 6 years, I've served in Honduras, Oman and Pakistan and my days as a Diplomat are rapidly coming to an end.  I am now 19 days to the end of one chapter and into another...the status of Rowdy Retiree.  

My first job was when I was 15 years old.  I got a job at our local department store in Coronado, California where I grew up.  I worked as one of the 2 gift wrappers during the Christmas holidays.  When I got my first paycheck, I went around the store spending the entire check on Christmas gifts for my mother.  The owner, who knew my mother, was so, well, upset, that he called her.  "Fae," he said, "Debi just spent her entire paycheck on Christmas presents for you!"  I guess he thought that maybe I wasn't being very fiscally responsible.  Of course my mother was crushed that I didn't keep any of the money for myself.  I did what I wanted to do and my gift was seeing her happy with what I bought for her.  Since then, I've worked nearly all my life except for 5 years when I had my kids and stayed home with them until they were both in school.  It's time for a change.

I'm really excited about returning home to Fort Worth.  I can't wait to get settled in my new house and knowing I won't have to pack up again in 2 years is a big plus.  I see lots of trips to the nursery in my future, buying plants for my back yard. I want perennials and a vegetable garden and a patio and a cover for it and...so much to do!  

With all my travels, I've bought lots of things...artwork, rugs, furniture.  I hope I have enough room for everything.  I've also framed several of my photographs from my trips.  And as for my rugs...I'll be changing out rugs with the seasons!  

So tomorrow I will say 18 more days.  Then 17, then 16...and before I know it, I'll be zipping up my suitcases the night of June 19th.  Saying goodbye to this job will be hard, but welcoming a completely new lifestyle will be easy.

Winding Down

As expected, I have mixed emotions about leaving the Foreign Service. As the days and weeks go by and I approach my June 20 departure date from Karachi, I've reflected on the good times I've had and how those memories will be with me forever.  I'll miss so much of this lifestyle when I make my transition to retired person.  But I'm also excited about returning to Texas and now that I finally heard that I am a homeowner once again, I am thinking about what all I will now have time to do in that house to put my stamp on it.  I know all my carpets will look beautiful on the floors.  I was lucky to find a house with no/no wall to wall carpet, so I won't have to rip anything up!

 

These past 6 years have been so good; I don’t even know where to start listing what I’ll miss when I return to a normal life.  Probably the biggest thing I’ll miss is working with the local staff at the posts…Tegucigalpa, Muscat and Lahore.  Unless you are exposed to other cultures and people in other countries, you can’t appreciate how much I will miss this part of my job.  Living in America, we tend to believe that our way is the best way, the only way and any other ‘way’ is unacceptable.  This is totally not the case. I've learned so much from the Hondurans, Omanis and Pakistanis.  Not only do you learn that there’s more than one way to do something, depending on your circumstances, what supplies you have to work with and the skills you have to get the job done, you also learn that that your way may not be the best for all.  And the way of doing business around the world is amazing.  When I was in Oman as well as here in Pakistan, I would look at carpets…gorgeous, expensive hand knotted carpets.  There would be 30 carpets unrolled in front of me and the shop keeper would say…”Take some home with you and see how you like them.”  Hey, we’re talking over $1000 per carpet and this man is telling me to just take a few home.  “Pay me later”, he says…”or bring them back.  It’s OK.”  Of course, they knew that once you got it home, you’d fall in love with it even more and the carpet would never be returned.  You would go back the next day or week with cash in hand, thanking him profusely for letting you take them home to see just how you liked them.  Can you see Macy’s doing that?  Heck no.  There’s also a place in Islamabad who would sell items and, knowing we were diplomats and would be leaving in a year or 2, would buy back the items you had bought (less a small percentage) when you moved on if you decided you didn't want to keep them.  It’s kind of like a rental service for local items without having to keep them forever if you don’t want to.  This helps you avoid the problem of accumulating a ton of things at each post around the world.  After a 20 year career, I can imagine a home looking like a museum!

What will I not miss?  That list deals mostly with the quality of life.  It will be nice to be able to drink the water from the tap again.  I will love being in the same time zone as friends.  Being able to pick up the phone and call my doctor, insurance company, or whoever it might be that I have a problem with instead of waiting a week for emails to bounce back and forth.  And I will not miss being chauffeured around!  I can’t wait to get my car back!  And I won't have to soak my vegetables in bleach water.  

There’s another thing that I’ll have to deal with when I return home.  I've had the greatest opportunity to travel the world and see things that most people never get the chance to see…and experience things that others will never experience.  I’ll have to be very careful to not go on and on about my travels and experiences when with friends.  I have photo books with photos I've taken that I’ll leave out and if people ask, I will be happy to talk about my travels.  I may need to find an outlet for my love of places I've been…maybe the library or schools that sponsor things like this where I can share my experiences.  As much as I want to share where I've been and what I've seen, I don’t want to bore my friends.  I can see their eyes rolling and them thinking…’here she goes again.’

I can’t wait for what’s in store for me…

Countdown

Today is February 15.  That means that it’s 45 days until I fly home for my last R&R.  And it also means that in 136 days, I will leave the ranks of the fully employed.  Yes, the State Department, for many reasons, forces us out when we reach the magical age of 65.  Since March 31, 2008, I have dreaded the day that I no longer have to use a password for every one of my devices, computers and access to my office.  This has been a dream job for me and my only regret is that I didn't discover it sooner.  

The Department of State puts out information for those retiring and it starts out telling you what to do one year from retirement.  Well, that’s hogwash!  Take notice…you should be preparing for retirement the day you punch the first time card of your first job.  I've done a fairly good job of preparing to be on a fixed income but I’m the first to admit I could have done much better.  If your employer offers a 401(k) or any type of savings plan, participate in it to the fullest extent you can.  Don’t think that you can always do it later.  “Later” will be here before you know it.  Starting early (and sticking with it) will give you a better chance of not outliving your money.  I've been reading all the documents I've saved over the past year on retirement and that phrase is scary.  "Outliving your money."  I've plugged in several ages when they ask for ‘life expectancy.’  One table had me running out of money at age 90, another at 98.  My dad passed away at age 97, my mom at 56.  Options are spend less, make more money or dye young!  I hope I have lots and lots of my dad’s genes running through my body that will help me slide into old age gracefully and for a long time with a good quality of life.  So if that happens, just how long will it take me to run out of money?  I sure don’t want to entirely depend on either of my children in my advanced years.  After taking very hard looks at my finances and deciding that I want to just work part time, I think I've saved enough to supplement my Social Security check and the annuity I’ll get from my government service.  The message here (in case you've just been skimming) is to SAVE as much as you can while you can. 

So just how will I exist beginning July 1?  I hope to find a part time job that will make me happy.  For 6 years, I've loved getting up and going to work, which is more than I can say for a couple of the jobs I've previously held.  I've always lived well within what I earned and am not extravagant. And I sure need to be able to take a couple of trips a year to Hawaii to see my son and grandsons.  That’s a must. A full time job just won’t allow me that time away. I’ll also go back to hitting the estate sales, picking up great bargains and selling them on Ebay.  I did that while I waited to hear about my job with State and loved it.  It’s addicting!  You can make some good money doing that.  I’ll also look for ways to make money using my love of photography.  Besides selling the photos online, I’d love to find a way to photograph special events, like birthdays and anniversaries and then present the photos in books.  And there are also the 350+ necklaces that I've been making in my spare time over the last 3 years.  We can’t use our DPO (Diplomatic Post Office) mail to earn money so I've had to wait until I retire to really begin marketing them.  I do have a website with just photos (http://designsbyyaya.blogspot.com/) and soon, I can add more information, including prices and a way to order them.  Or I can sell them through Etsy or Ebay.  And finally, I've signed up for the State Department’s program for retirees.  In an effort to not lose all our experience and knowledge gained in our years of service when we retire, we can get on a call list and be offered short term assignments.  Could be a month or up to 4 months, I believe.  We can sign up for domestic, overseas or both.  There are many advantages to this, one being we get the same salary rate that we had when we retired.  And that’s a very good thing.

All in all, I think I’m going to be just fine.  This is a comfort to me but it’s still a huge change in my life and I hope I’m up for the challenge.  There are some things I’m not looking forward to…seeing guys with their pants hanging around their knees, women with their boobs exposed in skimpy clothes and the whole list of expenses I've not had for 6 years.   But, the trade-off is that I can drink the tap water, buy meat that’s really beef and not probably water buffalo and be able to work in a garden again. 

It’s the little things in life that matter.

A New Year...New Plans

Happy 2014!!

New Year's celebration in Pakistan

I survived New Year's Eve here in Karachi.  For the first time in many years, I partied.  And this morning, my head is reminding me why I decided years ago to not party.  Oy.  But I thought I would start the year off right by writing on my blog.  And with the big change that will occur for me in 2014, I wanted to get off to a good start.

2014.  It’s a year I’ve been talking about for 7 years.  It was 2007 when I decided to apply to the Foreign Service as a Specialist.  And due to mandatory retirement, I only had time for 3 two year tours, with no time for language training or anything else that would cut into those 3 tours.   It’s a decision I’ve never regretted.  Well, the only regret is that I didn’t do it years sooner.  I had this “Six Year Plan” and with just one little hiccup, it’s gone according to schedule.  I will retire in June with 6 years, 3 months service to my country. I’ve saved like a mad woman and will be able to do just fine with just a part time job when I retire.  Youngsters, take note.  Start saving NOW for retirement because it will be upon you before you know it.  And at age 65, you sure don’t want to have to look for full time employment because you have to.  It’s one thing if you're young at heart, mind and body, but if all you want to do is retire, it’s a real bummer if, due to finances, you must work full time.

The end of March, I’ll fly home to Texas to buy a house.  Is it possible to look for, find and buy a house in 2 weeks?  I think I can make it happen.  And I need a realtor who realizes the very little work involved and is willing to take a reduced commission. I mean, why not?  Usually people drag their realtor around every weekend for months, looking at dozens of houses.  And they really earn their commission.  Not me…I’ll only have 14 days in town to buy a house so that I can close on it when I return to Texas July 1.  I’ve already been looking at houses for sale online and think the task is completely doable.  Let’s hope I’m right.  Even though I’ll only need a very small mortgage, I still need to be able to put something down on the application for income.  So I have to buy it while I’m still employed. 

2014.  It’s also a year when I pledge to spend more time with my grandsons in Hawaii.  I’ve only been able to visit them once a year and with the miles I’ve accumulated on American Airlines with all my travel, it will mean a few flights to Hawaii. 

So, bring it on! I’m ready for 2014 and all the lifestyle changes it will bring.  

Ringing in 2014 in New York