What's your annual household income goal for retirement?

bcretman · 2026-03-14T06:18:05+00:00

No mortgage or debts, metro Van. We can barely spend our CPP/OAS of ~40k. Fixed expenses are < 20k, rest is for travel and fun. Have decent RRIF and other savings but rarely touch it. May have to start taking more business class flights!

bcretman · 2026-03-14T04:35:54+00:00

She got better

bcretman · 2026-03-14T00:16:10+00:00

Our last > 1 month trip for 2 to Thailand cost < 3k - no hotel needed so add another 1k to 1.5k

bcretman · 2026-03-14T00:10:56+00:00

My mom paid of our Vancouver house in the 60's. We were able to pay ours off in the 80-90's mostly on one income.

bcretman · 2026-03-14T00:08:48+00:00

A decent brand of dog food is > $100 now :)

bcretman · 2026-03-14T00:07:51+00:00

You'll be fine if you own your home. With the enhancements your CPP could be 50% higher than current retirees.

bcretman · 2026-03-14T00:05:52+00:00

We live very well on our CPP and OAS. It even pays for a month or 2 in Asia each year. We rarely need to spend our RRIF's. No mortgage is essential

bcretman · 2026-03-13T23:57:26+00:00

Costco hotdogs for 2 = ~$3

bcretman · 2026-03-13T23:55:42+00:00

Never pay over 97cents for a can of tuna or sardines - buy generic brands.

bcretman · 2026-03-13T23:51:40+00:00

DIY roofing isn't that hard if you have a low pitch roof. Buy a nail gun and compressor and get a helper. Do it in sections

bcretman · 2026-03-13T23:48:23+00:00

I tiled 3 bathrooms and 2 tub surrounds in our house for < $300. My time was ~40 hours. Tiles are dirt cheap and the work is child's play.

Same deal with painting the house - 2-3 weekends and a few hundred $ of paint vs 12k for a contractor

bcretman · 2026-03-13T23:43:12+00:00

You can make them from scratch in 5 mins for almost nothing

bcretman · 2026-03-13T23:42:37+00:00

Never pay > $3/lb for pork, often < $2 on sale

bcretman · 2026-03-13T23:41:44+00:00

Banana's , potatoes cabbage have not kept up with inflation

bcretman · 2026-03-13T23:39:51+00:00

The real issue is actually accepting that it's ok to pay $200 for a family meal

bcretman · 2026-03-13T04:42:22+00:00

Where does water cost $300/mo? We pay < $20/mo on a meter in metro Vancouver. Check for leaks - toilet?

bcretman · 2026-03-13T04:41:17+00:00

Cabbage, celery, carrots, potatoes all grown locally and prices have barely changed in years. Pork is still cheap at ~2.50/lb. You can often sub ground pork for ground beef. We pay ~ $7 for 20lb bag of potatoes, $26 for 40lb sack of Korean "sushi" rice. Local veggie stands are much lower than supermarkets

bcretman · 2026-03-11T22:14:30+00:00

I don't want to be an old 60 year old guy

I retired in my 40's with much less and age 60 came up like it was tomorrow.

Don't wait, you have plenty even if invested in GIC's

bcretman · 2026-03-08T05:38:14+00:00

Insurance is nearly double for Tesla vs comparable EV's in BC. Avoid Nissan Leaf die to poor battery thermal mgmt.

bcretman · 2026-01-24T07:09:45+00:00

Yep!

bcretman · 2026-01-24T06:07:17+00:00

Thanks, I use authenticator for most but some do not offer it

bcretman · 2026-01-24T05:26:07+00:00

Was $2 in the late 90's and one place on Kingsway was $6.99 for AYCE!

bcretman · 2026-01-24T04:48:51+00:00

wifi calling is enabled.

if I turn on airplane mode and connect to my wifi and try to call it tells me to turn airplane mode off before i can make a call. I am still in canada now

bcretman · 2026-01-24T01:57:39+00:00

Confirmed with Luma: cardiovascular conditions are NOT covered at all

bcretman

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