OT -Retired and starting to feel the pinch

Retired for almost 9 years and have been able to keep up but feeling the pinch now due to health cost,ins etc. Wondering how many of our H.A.M.B ers are in deep s**t and are unemployed with a family and have quit spending on our hobby and just are surviving this mess. The dollar is buying a lot less.

 

still doing nothing but

I like indoor car shows, first priority is distance, entry fee , tow money
they better be a really fun show if i am paying for all of it
i started last fall going to a lot of the close to home shows that were low cost or had free food or other goodies
another thing that had to go was some motel rooms, i get up at 4am a lot of times and drive to show to avoid staying over, bring a lot of snacks instead of overpriced food and your own beverages
many shows were very reasonably priced some with $1 hamburgers , thats hard to believe
going to try to drive cars to a lot of the shows this summer so far best car can get is close to 17 mpg, the truck and trailer run 10 MPG on diesel so will be looking where i want to go
but I will still do some new wild and crazy things this summer like finding new places and shows to go to, and some very far away planing on a 2,000 mile trip one way to a show, and am avoiding going back to some shows why not try something new??
oh and overpriced charity shows, they have to be carefully considered, some i may attend if i am treated right

 

No extended trips to shows in 2011 but I refuse to let the economists talk me out of attending the Salina KS KKOA. I'll also hit a few local shows like Stutz's show in WY.

Vik - have you heard of the "the river" car show in SD held at a camp ground

 

These are the times I turn to modeling. 1/25 scale is a LOT cheeper than 1/1, and I still get my fix. Plus the Hot rods get done much faster (usually), I can have as many as I want, and there is the same great bunch of people to communicate with.

 

I did odd jobs, saved scrounged etc. Being in Oklahoma Lonestar is 500 miles, dewey stray katt 500, 130mi, salina around 250, hamb drags 250. I went to more cool shows 2010 than past. I didnt take off 2wks for vacation so I look at these as mini vacations. I do aim at taking cars that get mileage. My old 68 biscayne I put a 283 in got over 20mpg cruising to LSR last year. Not the fastest car but runs good and I have fun. Dont loose the faith. Maybe narrow down some shows but keep the dream alive!

 

Wife and I both retired. Our retirement health care went up 200.00 a month starting in Jan. We now pay over 600.00 a month in health premiums not counting our 20% co pays. That and other increases has cut into what we can afford to attend this year. We will attend most of the local shows this year. Last year we attended Hot August Nights. This year its not in our budget.

 

......Being retired only two years ....its getting tough already....don't know the future,but I'll never give up my hotrods....I really feel sorry for the working people and ever more for the nonworkers...life is changing for everybody and not in the right direction.....

 

if the new medical insurance bill is overturned now that there's a change in the congress, you'll lose the $900 a year credit for prescriptions for those over 65, so stay tuned....it's not going to get better, it's just going to get worse...
In California, the Blue Shield medical insurance company announced yesterday that it will be raising medical insurance rates as much as 59%.
This economy is not going to get better. We all need to adapt.
This has been going on now for ten years and it is by design to kill-off the middle cl*** and make the rich richer.
95% of the wealth is owned by 4% of the people.
That leaves 5% for the rest of us 300 million people.
The bankers and super business-friendly politicians have made sure this is so.

 

This time, the recession is not the same.

Try to hang on somehow. Hate to see people selling their treasures and not getting much $.

Good luck on your situation.

 

I am retired for about 6 years now. I am on SS and the first thing i did was to sign up with Secure Horizons. It cost nothing to join. the administer the health plan and even though ive had some serious health issues{skin cancer,hypoglycemia,ect} i havent put a dime out of pocket. They even paid for a plastic surgeon for the last operation i had on my face recently. I am a Happy Hot Rodder and loving retirement.

 

Benn rired for 2+ years and have picked up a part time job for gas money. I refuse to put less miles on my roadster just because gas is over $3.00 a gallon.

We plan to buy a new car this year and I wanted a new Buick full size since Pontiac is no longer,but now,I'm looking a Civics !!!! Geez........

 

..this all ****s, but is so true.

 

I'm two years away from retirement but see a lot of active retired people doing things to generate a bit of cash even if it is a modest bit.

At the airport where I work there is a group of retired men and women who show up once or twice a week to go to other locations (in a van in a group) to shuttle rental cars back to where I work. Not a lot of money in it but it gives them extra spending money.

My running buddy's dad shuttled dealer trades around the pnw for several years.
Drive a new car down to another dealer and drive another one back.
Now a lot of that is done trailering the cars locally but a guy with a late model pickup and good trailer might hook up with a local dealership and be somewhat on call for hauling those cars. And they would no doubt be glad to have someone available who is damned careful with the cars he hauls.

 

been down for seven years & loving every minute , just tighten the belt again today . Obama will take care of us ...

 

I've been retired almost 6, there is a lot of work around here if you want to work, seems I'm busier now than when I was employed full time. I am taking off tomorrow for Florida ,trying to find a deal on a Motorhome. Will wander back thru Texas on the way home. Jury duty starting next month. Retirement is GOOD.

 

I'm not retired but I always feel like I have taken too big piece of cake.
Living here in Finland with is extremely expensive. Very high taxes, for example my income TAX is 21,5% and sales tax for most goods is 23% and any kind of power be it electricity or gas are expensive too. How'd you like the gas price 7.40 per gallon I paid today at the lowest price station nearby.
It's tough to build any car well with good parts and at the same time have family and household to take care of. I try to be on time with bills and I have to always delay my purchases of the parts I need. Everything shipped another side of the world costs much and even the individuals have to pay import customs and taxes regardless things are not for resale. So no much traveling or shows but more penny stretching.

 

Am 59 years old got laid off 8-months ago,lot harder to find good position at 59 than 25 but hell justed started going to swapmeets,yard sales flea markets,craigslist even cl***ifieds here buying and selling car parts and am doing good at that.Feeds the family,pays the bills and haven"t had to touch my 401 or savings so I ain"t gonna ***** at all.Where theres a will theres always a way.

 

Amen brother. Thanks to big brothers at the top for *****ing us all out.

 

Corporate ***holes buy up companies and ship the jobs overseas. Many of my old good customers now buy everything in china and complain about quality, but they won't pay me for quality. They have "purchasing policies".

 

I'm retired, but haven't felt the pinch, in fact we purchased another new home in May. Alot has to do with how financially secure you were upon your retirement.
My wife is 5 yrs. younger than me, and continues to work, not for financial reasons, but because she loves her job. I truly have empathy for you that are struggling, like Doug said, it's not going to get any better.....

 

Hello, been retired for 12 years and no problems. I'm almost 67. I build a lot of Strombergs, custom linkage, intakes, this is what pays for my Hot Rodding and building my Hot Rods..
Duane..

 

Those buicks get darn near the gas mileage most civics do!

 

been retired 8 years,I like most everyone has had to cut back.Living in Michigan U.P. I am along way from any nostalga events.Sold my 66 fairlane 4 years ago because I did not use it much,big mistake.While I am lucky,compared to many others,it did not have to be this way.Corperate GREED and 20 years of allowing our work to leave has put us where we are today.I also agree,not going to get better any time soon.Here in Michigan,the old MOTOR capital,we just elected a GOVENOR who was the CEO of GATEWAY computer and sold it to CHINA.He ran under the philosophy of he was a NERD and good businessman,not a politician.Got him elected,OH WELL!

 

I live in Illinois, I will never be able to retire in Illinois, they just pressed in a state income tax of 5 1/4% , and in Chi town the sales tax is 10 1/4%. Add this to any woes you have in a state with no such taxes, Any one want to sell a nice little place in the country to a refuge from the taxed to death regions? They will kill hotrodding by pulling all my spare cash out of my pocket.

 

I'm not retired and I'm 55. I drove a big truck for over 21 years and for the last 12 of them for a local company that paid good and had every weekend off. I got hurt in April of 09 in Phila. and can't drive anymore so the company decided that I had put my road time in and made me transportation supervisor. That lasted until Oct. 27 of 2010 and then they decided to get rid of my position leaving me on NYS unemployment which ****s. My age and physical limits aren't letting me find work around here and I still have 1 daughter living here, my wife and 11 years left on the mortgage along with my yet unfinished 55 chevy. nuf *****in, yeah I"m feelin the pinch

 

I too, am retired and feeling the squeeze. I sill have a part time consulting job that is barely keeping the wolf at the door, but I don't know how much longer it will be there for me. I turned 65 in 2007 and got really caught in the real estate BS, because I was was downsizing homes and have ended up owning both. That, along with the giant hit my retirement investments took in 2008 and 2009 have put me in a situation I thought I'd never be in. I "played by the rules" (20% or more down and a fully do***ented 30 year fixed loan at a good rate and switched my investments from all equities to more secure vehicles at 65), but still got hammered good. I think my problem was that I trusted the American system of business too much, and never imagined what could happen when Wall Street ran amok.

To all of you who are having problems with paying for your medical need, I must ***ume you are all under 65. I am on medicare and it has served me very well. Last spring, I had a minor fire in my shop and burned my leg pretty badly. When all was said and done, I had slightly over $20,000 in medical bills and paid only $490 out of pocket. I have been very happy with my medicare coverage for the almost 3 years I have had it.

I will make one suggestion to those of you on medicare; select your supplemental plan wisely. I have talked to several of my friends, and none of them seemed aware of what there was offered, and most were going with a plan offered by their former insurer or something that came in the mail. This is a big mistake. Medicare has a great website that allows you to look at and compare the plans available to you in your area. You enter your zip code and the page displays the pertinent information on all of them. You can sort them by a number of criteria such as plan costs, out of pocket costs (yes, they are different), coverages offered, etc., so with a little ****ysis, you can come up with the best possible plan for your needs. For example, all of the meds I take are generic, which I can get for $10 for a 90 days supply at a number of places. Since I have no other specific medical needs, I can get by on a supplemental plan that has absolutely no premium other than what is deducted from my social security for standard medicare. Nothing, zilch zero. My girlfriend on the other hand, has one fairly expensive prescription, so we selected a plan that had prescription coverage that seemed to be tailored to her needs, but the additional premium she had to pay for it was a lot less than her prescriptions would have been. One of my friends knew he was going to have to have hip surgery, so he opted for a fairly expensive plan that had very good hospital cost coverage at a higher premium. Bottom line is that although Medicare is supposed to be universal, there is enough flexibility in the supplemental plans offered, that it can be used greatly to your financial advantage.

Sorry to be so long winded on an O/T subject, but I keep seeing more and more posts from Hambers in my age group. Combine this with the fact that most of the "seniors" (I hate the term) I run into on a daily basis don't seem well grounded on how medicare works and the difference between standard Medicare and the various supplemental plans and how they work.

One last point. Medicare is NOT a handout. You paid for it, and you should use it the best way possible.

 

I had no education for the most part after high school. I always did poorly in school. My dad always said, "you spend you whole day with your head under a hood or up a skirt". He meant it to be scolding, but I took it as a compliment.
The only thing I knew how to do was photography, so I worked for the same company for 31 years and worked evening and weekends for another photo company for 16 of those 31 years.
I had one new car...a '74 Dodge Van that I made last for 16 years. Not a chick magnet for sure.
No vacations except for a weekend at the beach or something like that.
While my friends were getting new BMWs and **** like that and taking their girlfriends to Hawaii, I worked 12-16 hours a day...sometimes 40 days straight.
I started to buy houses here in Southern California when I was 23. You could get a real nice two bedroom house in Pasadena for $25K.
So, I busted my nuts and drove a piece of **** and kept buying real estate.
After 31 years at the company, I had become a part owner. The other guys wanted to move to Valencia about an hour or more from my home, so I said...BYE! Two years later I sold off my part of the company. Done.
My back was in bad shape because of all the years of heavy equipment so it was all for the better.
So, at 52, I went home. I am giving my camera equipment to a fellow HAMBer rather than sell it. I want it gone.
Now, I am enjoying photography again, (but with digital) like when I used to go to Lions Drag Strip when I was 10.
You guys may have noticed that I put lots of stuff here of the events that I go to. I still love it and sharing it.
So, I'm careful with money, but I damn near killed myself for over 30 years, so I have no guilt and no regrets.
I wasn't smart enough to go to college. It just would have been a waste of time.
I only had one marketable skill and I knew I have to work harder and faster and better than my compe***ion. Like I said, it damn near killed me, but I've had surgery to try to fix what's left of my back.
I'm 60. I don't expect to be an athlete anymore.
It's a mess out there guys. The days of working for a company for life are long gone. And medical costs? OUT OF CONTROL.
Hang in there brothers and sisters...make home your sanctuary, spend lots of time with friends, NEVER go into debt...period or you'll get buried fast.
I grew up in the 50's and the only thing that I recognize today that remotely reminds me of those glorious days are these wonderful cars of ours....home, friends, cars and HEALTH...everything else is ********.

 

Been retired 7 years.Took a part time job to help.Times are tough for sure but unlike a lot of you,I think things will turn around now with a new Congress.I see new incentives for businesses to start hiring again.Try to stay positive if possible,maybe we have the worst behind us.Not wanting this to turn political,but read about The Fair Tax at www.fairtax.org. and see if you think this sounds good to you.
Do what you can to hold on, this is America and we always come back.

 

Well, I hope your right, but this place didn't go to hell in the past four years....there were six years before that weren't too rosy.
There's enough blame o go around.
To keep from being political and ruin this thread, I'll say this:
It's pretty well proven that it's up to us...you and me, to take care of ourselves. We didn't want "their" help in the first place.
It's pretty obvious that whomever is making national policy, we end up on the losing end.
So...being a fairly hard working and self-reliant bunch as hot rodders are, you and I will make ends meet.
"They" have done a good job of letting the banks and big-businesses run the show.
So, again, let's leave Washington out of it. Every stroke of a pen on a new do***ent will come back to bite us little guys in the ****.
So, the blame game won't work....and the "new guys" in office are just the same "old guys"...nothing will magically get better.
So, the topic should be...how to help each other, how to save, what ends can be cut, how to get out of debt so the money will be yours again...and how to work around and within the system.
We've already had some good advise about the Medicare supplemental funds....
That's darn good advise....

 

Hey guys, been retired for 15 yrs. Had to scrimp and save all my life, isn't much different now, but I love being retired. Went from having a little extra, to payday to payday during that time. I like being in the shop so I do work for other people to pay for my hot rod addiction. Price of gas ****S, but I won't let it stop me from doing what I retired to do, enjoying this hobby. I worry more about my kids that I do myself, they are holding on, but scary.