I am 53 my DH will be 69 in a few day my DH is self employed and our older children work with my DH in our business .. we are blessed with several grandchildren , We are active in our church , love living on our land .. we keep animals and have a huge garden.  although MS has slowed me down I led a full life spoil Grands and home schooling .. my DH say he rather work than retire .. we are debt free been that way for several years we are living life to fullest .

I'm 50 and DH will be 51 in a few hours.  We have been married almost 17 years.  Neither of us have ever had children.

I retired after 21 1/2 years as a 9-1-1 emergency dispatcher.  I was grandfathered under a Texas Legislative amendment that allowed civilian employess to retire after 20 years.  I had planned on 25 years then retiring to open a book store but an extremely--EXTREMELY--bad case of psoriasis and psoriactic arthritis put an end to the 25 years.  And the bookstore plans got put on a backburner.  I do have a B.S. that is completely paid for but right now my job is to stay home and itch. (LOL)

As my mother puts it, DH marches to a very different drummer in a rhythm all his own.  He enjoyed just working at whatever piqued his curiousity until just before we married.  After we married, he worked for a manufacturer that he was prepared to retire from but after 12 years of never missing a day of work, doing whatever they asked, etc, he was laid off the day after Christmas 2005.  I wasn't sure he would survive the blow to his ego, but it was the saving grace to our marriage which was slowly eroding.

He went OTR trucking for 5 months then stopped because of my health and started in his present job which he loves.  And evidently they like what he does because he is in a job classification he shouldn't have yet, getting small raises that he shouldn't be getting yet.  

All of our living parents are in the same town we are and all less than 15 minutes away.  My Momma has heart issues (3 bypass surgeries) but is a powerhouse all her own.  My father at 75 is growing more and more forgetful but we have finally moved him to a senior apt complex from a ratty house 30 miles out in the country.  DH's mother is in her own house and we have minimal contact with her (she claims I destroyed their family when DH and I married).

I have 2 brothers, 43 (deputy) and 30 (not).  2 nieces, 21 and 9.  2 great nieces 3 and 2.  DH has a sister 52 and she lives 50 miles away thank goodness.  And a niece 24 who works here but lives about 30 minutes away.  We'd love to see all of the nieces more but the yound seldom want to be around old fogies!

We had plans of an RV and seeing the country after retirement for both but unless things make a drastic upturn, we'll just keep on keeping on.

re-tired  

Cool to know about everyone - I will be 48 this week, my husband is 8 years older than I am and about 9 years from retirement. He has a fulltime job with benefits; I work for a few families to the tune of 60 hours a week, for now anyway. I have three children - two in college, one graduating from high school this year.

Our biggest concern is the looming retirement. Originally the place my DH works had a pension plan and he would have recieved $20 K each year of retirement from it based on his projected salary at retirement. Sadly the biz owners froze the pension last year - so now the estimated pension pay out each year in retirement will be $5000. It's something but suddenly we need to make sure that we are maxing out with his 401K and fully funding 2 IRAs which (if we can ever do it) MAY help us in retirement. haha. But putting that much into savings of some sort is beyond our current income, so we keep striving to end our debt and punch up our savings - it's hard and quite often stressful. I used to joke about planning to live with my richest, most successful child (which probably would drive them to NOT become famous and wealthy, ha) but now I worry that I won't even be financially secure enough to visit them whereever they end up.

I want to eventually move to working from home - I used to support myself as a writer but lost confidence and found myself in a series of office jobs that I didn't like, which eroded my confidence even more. Now I work in an area that I love and that has built my sense of self back up and am pursuing more writing work - and it's working out. So maybe in a year or two, I'll be working from home (saving gas) and feeling confident about it. Who knows?

peace.

I'm 48 and dh is 45.  Right now I've been a sahm for the past three years.  Once the kids go back to school, I would like to get a part-time job.  I have learned alot about being frugal and try to be frugal every day.  My dh has a military retirement and works full time.  My oldest kiddo will be a senior in hs this year and I also have a 13 yr. old ds.  We are also at the stage of trying to save for retirement and raising expensive teenagers!!  I hope I am passing some frugality onto them!  My kids know that if that want clothes from the name brand stores, it is back to the sales racks!  We have only been in our townhouse for one year and we have just learned that the value of our home will probably be in the hole in a few years.  Unfortunately, we do not have any family close by.   

Andrea

We are in the getting ready to marry and start a family stage.  I will be turning 27 in November, divorced (married at 18 and ex had and affair, was married for over 4 years). DB will be turning 30 in October and has never been married.

Right now we're trying to scrape back money into an emergency fund and get ourselves in a more stable financial position.  Once we have the vehicles in good condition and an emergency fund started we'll think about saving up for a house.  Technically there is a home for us in KY that needs to be finished, but we like it here in New Hampshire and my family is thinking of moving here to be near us.  The schools are also better here. But we'd like our kids to grow up on the farm, too.  So we have decisions to make, but not for a while at any rate. Ideally we'd like a bit of farm land to raise babies & bees, LOL!

We live paycheck to paycheck so its a struggle. Luckily the only debt we have is DB's student loans, and a credit card with a $300 balance that we pay double the monthly payment of faithfully--this is the card I took out to help repair my credit.  We could pay it off if we wanted too, but the interest is low.  Making payments give a better record than paying off the balance every month.  My ex-husband didn't pay the debts he promised to in the divorce and my credit is shot. DB had his tax rebate stolen the first time around (was that 2001?) and the gov't prints SSN's on the paper checks, and his identity was stolen.  We still get notices in the mail about mortgages and loans taken out in his name over the past few years. Argh!  But hopefully since his transitioning into a new job in less than two weeks things will get better.

We rent a 2 bedroom unit (its pretty much a townhouse), with a master and a smaller bedroom, 1-1/2 baths, eat-in kitchen, large living room and partially finished basement w/washer&dryer hook-ups.  The smaller bedroom is an office now, it will be a nursery in a year or two.  If we have more than one while still here, we can move into the smaller bedroom and put two kids in the bigger room.  Right now we're discussing finishing the basement (painting the concrete walls a neutral tannish color and pulling up the ratty carpet on half the floor and putting down peel & stick tiles, maybe a drop ceiling) to make a family room and move the office into to help with some extra space for when kids arrive. A place for us to have as a retreat at first, and a larger play area later on.  Ideally at that point one of us would be at home.  If needed we'll work out a way for us to work opposite shifts, or something. We'll get it figured out when the time comes!

60 and still working, retirement looms large on the not-too-distant horizon (5-7 years away?).  1920s house is fully paid but kitchen needed updating when I bought it in 1987, as cupboards have no toe-kick -- I am looking at slide-outs on each cupboard when renovating.  "10 cents more, go first class" is what Dad always said when doing updates to his home.  Have made improvements over the years:  new roof came first, rip everything off & some new boards in roof/facia that were ant-infested, vinyl siding, new garage doors (only after garage was straightened), leaf-guard gutters on house then on garage another year, siding garage after straightened and new doors.  All improvements were paid by cash as they were made.  I'm trying to think if there are others I didn't mention.  Fence was purchased from someone who had lost their last dog -- just enough to suit my purposes of fencing in the back yard for only $200!   (Would have been $2000 for new.)

Newer car is needed and have newer washer/dryer, new fridge, will need newer gas stove if the oven cannot be repaired on this one.  I sorely miss lights on the new stoves.  Mine has a light.

I am cutting back, buying the $30.00 food boxes (lasts a single person at least a month) through programs such as Angel Food Ministries or Great Food For All, cut my own hair and then have a friend check for wisps, for a savings of about $20 per month at the cheapest hair places, am switching to handkerchiefs as I find them after having gone through 5 boxes of tissues in 3 weeks when I was sick.  Making the switch to CFL's to cut down on energy bills.

I have lots of linens, yarns, etc. for planned retirement projects.  In the past I had homestay students, which allowed me to pay for desired items for the house.  Most furniture items are secondhand.  I did buy new china/crystal/silver (always on good sales) in younger days but would advise those starting out to purchase these items secondhand if at all possible.  There is just so much out there from previous generations, many beautiful and of course still functional.

The house where I live is on the same street my grandmother used to live, as well as a bevy of aunts/uncles/cousins.  The yard is small, but boasts black raspberry canes, I have some blueberry bushes to put in, some grapes and some blackberry bushes (grapes & blackberries on closeout at Walgreens with register rewards).    Also have black walnuts and I manage to get some that the squirrels leave and the dogs don't play with.

Have relatives nearby as well as in other states.  Many good tips and friends here.

My stage is similar to a multi-level platform! I am 34, married, 3 kids between us (1 disabled dd is 15). I am a  full time college student and a  full time waitress. Too many hats, but this is my life! Dh is a truck driver ( local) and boys are 6 and 9. We have different custody arrangements, so I need a secretary too! We are outgrowing our house and are starting the process of buying a modular. Things are good, but I know they will only get better with help from family and friends!

Dh and I have been married 29 years this July.  We have 2 children dd (21) in Dec.  and ds (17) in Oct.  Dd graduated from hs. in 2006, is married and has a 1 yo dd. of her own.  Ds is 16, just got his permit and has 2 yrs. of hs. left before graduation.  Dh's mother lives with us (15 years), she is now 75.  His df lived with us for 6 years and then 2 yrs. in a nursing home with alz.  He has now passed.  They had been div. for 30 yrs. when she moved in and then he moved in 6 mos. later.  After he passed mil 's brother moved in and he has been with us for 7 years now.  All of them are or have been in serious health when they came to be with us.  We had to get mil a mobile home of her own when she would not stop smoking in the house with our kids.  I have asthma and ds has had respiratory problems.  So that has helped some but it sure cost a lot more.  All are on fixed incomes.  My dm lives in an apt. across town, but has many health issues.  She has been in a wheelchair for 21 years now and has no use of legs at all. She has a live in helper, so I only have to be avail. on w/e or holidays.  The helper is 69 and retires next Aug., so we will be needing help by then. I hope we find someone she likes quickly.   Between all of them and homeschooling and church and finances, it keeps dh (49) and me (48) on our toes.  Dh just had first dr. appt. in 29 years this wk.  So far all looks good except cholesterol and bp.  I love reading more about your lives.  We really are more alike than we think and yet all so different.

What ever you do, even though they cannot fully understand what you are going thru, lean on family and friends for support.  You are very lucky to have family close by.  And don't give on your SSD!  It is very discouraging because it took me two years.  It is good that you are looking for ways to stay busy and still not over do it.  Be proud of yourself for trying and hang in there, remember to pray and know that God is in control.

 I am 36 and also suffer from FMS, IBS, and RA.  I have two boys and am single but planning to get married again next year.  Being sick has totally turned my life upside down, sometimes I feel just getting thru each day is impossible, but I have to remember I am God's child and do the best I can.  Let him guide me to what he wants me to be and don't worry about what others think.

Take care! I wish you all the best!

dingydiva:

 I am 36 and also suffer from FMS, IBS, and RA.  I have two boys and am single but planning to get married again next year.  Being sick has totally turned my life upside down, sometimes I feel just getting thru each day is impossible, but I have to remember I am God's child and do the best I can.  Let him guide me to what he wants me to be and don't worry about what others think.

I'm 33 and also have FMS and IBS. I know what you go through!!  And you've got the same attitude I do.