The Boomer Chronicles

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Dan the Early Retired Man: Spending My Kids’ Inheritance Posted: 19 Apr 2011 05:59 AM PDT My cousin Dan, who retired in 2009 from the U.S. Postal Service at age 53, is getting some strange questions from friends about his spending habits: Since buying our retirement home in Arizona, I am repeatedly asked the same question: "How are you making the down payment?" Like most people my age I have an IRA and other retirement accounts, so I used some of this money for the down payment. You go to your computer, press some buttons and the down payment magically appears. It seemed perfectly normal to me, but it prompts a strange reaction, especially from my retiree friends: "YOU MEAN YOU ARE GOING TO USE YOUR PRINCIPAL?!" This is the question that makes me crazy. I have been saving for retirement for the past 37 years and now that I am actually retired, isn't it time to use this money? Should I wait until they roll me into the nursing home drooling on my shirt and being fed by a tube before I tap my retirement accounts? Maybe it's me. My mother died at age 70, my brother died in his early 50s, my father died at the age of 38 — not the best family history of longevity. A month after my brother died, I received a call from a close friend who was in the hospital having a quintuple bypass. My father-in-law waited his entire life to retire so he could travel and have some fun. With his retirement papers submitted and his house sold, he came home and found his wife dead. It's these experiences that change your opinion of life and retirement. I am 55 and I have, maybe, 20 good years before my first hip replacement and cataract surgery. In my opinion there is no better time to spend this money. Never having to be cold again is just the first step. A new kitchen with a double oven to convince my wife to move to a warm climate is a small price to pay. As soon as we get things settled in Arizona, I want to plan that long-delayed trip to Italy. And if by chance while driving around Arizona I see a nicely restored 1955 four-door Buick Special, I'm going for my checkbook. The third frequently asked question is the easiest to answer: "How are you going to handle another mortgage?" "KIDS!" or rather the lack of them. Kids are incredibly expensive and the kids I used to have were no exception. All of a sudden the kids are out of the house and you are no longer paying insurance on five vehicles. The minivan is gone, you don't buy toilet paper in "Sam's Club" and a half-gallon of milk will last an entire week. The lack of kids dramatically changes your cash flow. Having kids is a wonderful experience. Call them on the phone, take them to dinner and insist they come for Thanksgiving. Relish the memories of your time together with your kids and then, SPEND THEIR INHERITANCE!

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